Who Is The One That Counts?

I feel so acknowledged here I have fail and failed and failed many time times in my effort to be creating / being living in eco-friendly place that are right for me and align I have failed to save a pond in Kharghar did everything in my capacity and understanding to save it and felt so so miserable and every day I see and set of buildings being built there, I have failed to bring people together for long term commitment for environment...and I use to feel terrible about doing nothing As always from childhood I had and still have this craving to do and be something for nature and now( as I realised anything will change only via people) for humans ( they are also major part of nature) . I crave this feeling of community of doers who truly commit and make things happen however imprefect. And then I use to think may be I was not enough Now I think , I am enough I did ..I was in dust and heat ..put in efforts and emotions not only arm chair philosophy..so I take credit of failures with pride and happiness in my ❤️ Thank you 🙏 Hide full comment

A man of his time, Theodore Roosevelt did engage with and push the limits in all areas of his life. Yes, he was a supreme egotist, but he is correct in that success often comes from focusing on the elements of total engagement and commitment. It also applies to the idea of the spiritual warrior in our time. In my humble opinion, the alchemy of possibility might not develop otherwise. I cannot predict where fate and fortune will will rise up to meet me. I try to never underestimate the value of hard facts and realistic evaluations, but unforeseen helpful elements, and what feel sometimes like outright miracles, cannot occur unless you are there, totally engaged in the process. Hopefully, the process contains more than one person. Multiple people allows multiple talents for perspective, and more windows for solutions to enter, as long as they don't fight. For me, compassion is the element that holds people together and soothes the pain of the inevitable disappointments and bumps in the process. It also fosters space for things to shift and perspectives to grow, sometimes producing the very thing that emerges and determines the success of the final outcome. As for claiming credit, it is not a worthy goal. Celebrate, but then be free of it. One of my favorite guiding quotes is "You can accomplish anything if you don't care who gets credit for it. " I hope I quoted that correctly. I have some experience with the "great devotions and enthusiasms " part. As a maker, craftsman, artist, and doer, enthusiasm has led me into a lot of personal creative projects I wanted to do. But it is fleeting. It is that delicious, egotistic, illusory rush that gets you started. We need it, or a lot of us might not do or learn anything. But then it deserts you when limits of reality time, energy, and obstacles assert themselves. Then it is about follow through. Then it is a battle with the demons of self-doubt, maybe desperation, and the struggle to be in the moment and keep meeting whatever unexpected reality presents itself, and asking myself the question about what needs to come next. Asking questions is critical. Often, what calls and needs to be done is not what I "want" to do, but for the greater good it may need to be done. Then "Great enthusiasm" has nothing to do with it. Devotion to constancy is what carries me. Sometimes a good night's sleep brings the shift in seeing that is needed. Knowing that ventures have succeed in the past reinforces the determination to keep moving forward. And sometimes you have no choice. There is an end, and you must meet it. Like the fighter in the ring, sometimes I feel beat up and I am totally spent and exhausted at the end. Hide full comment

When someone makes a mistake or a blunder, there are two ways of dealing with the consequences: One way is pointing a finger of criticism towards that person, blaming and condemning him or her; the other is to feel for that person, appreciating and admiring such a person for taking a firm, upright and courageous position. They dared to embrace the possibility of both victory and defeat. I have witnessed the heroic and courageous stand both in India and in the USA. In India Mahatma Gandhiji and his freedom fighters fought nonviolently against the British people's unjust occupation and possession of India. In the USA, black Americans fought against racial discriminating policy and action done by white Americans. The black Americans under the leadership of Reverend Martin Luther King Jr fought nonviolently against the prejudice positions held by the White leaders. It takes time, awareness, devotion , courage and action to be free from the oppressors. It takes time and bold actions to attain freedom. Cultivating and practicing nonjudgemental mindfulness is one of the wise ways to fight against injustice. I am happy to join my hands with people who are marching for truth nonviolently and bravely. Namaste! Jagdish P Dave Hide full comment

I was just walking on the grounds and beach of Teddy Roosevelt’s Long Island Country home and the woods down to the beach are lovely. I was trying to imagine the family enjoying the orchard, trails and views across the Long Island Sound and the marshes and birds. I picked up a few crystal tumble stones that glistened in the sun, edged with snow. I was ruminating about how presidents in the past were proud to represent their promising young country. They acted with integrity and exemplified leadership with morals and generosity, strength and conviction, that there was a just and noble way to build a country that felt like freedom from oppression and fascism. I was pondering what he would think of the USA today. I’m Canadian, visiting friends whose son just passed suddenly of a virus. I wondered what Teddy (his nickname and where we started calling plush toys Teddy Bears) would have thought of the pandemic also, or what the administration might have done afterwards to commemorate those who died from it and how we might do better next time? And then I can home to read this quote! I feel called to muster up more strength, more leadership in me to dare to do MORE for the good of my country, or at least for more of the good people who are suffering from climate anxiety, cultural anxiety (partly due to our neighbours in the US who vote according to delusional greatness or freedom of an ungenerous sort, mixed with fear and intolerance, disguised as religion.) I have US friends obviously, but they are embarrassed by what is going on and having trouble figuring a way out of the mess their country is in. May it swing back to the moral values it once held dear, and even help progressively save the human race from mass extinction rather than perpetuate it. Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt would have done a better job of it! Hide full comment