Planning for the year 2008 starts now

Here are some suggestions to get you started in mulling over the past year—perhaps the last decade. Feel free to add your own.

1. What did I learn? (skills, knowledge, insights, etc.)

2. What did I accomplish? A list of my wins and achievements.

3. What would I have done differently? Why?

4. What did I complete or release? What still feels incomplete to me?

5. What were the most significant events of the year past? List the top three.

6. What did I do right? What do I feel especially good about? What was my greatest contribution?

7. What were the fun things I did? What were the not so fun?

8. What were my biggest challenges/roadblocks/difficulties?

9. How am I different this year than last?

10. For what am I particularly grateful?

Another Suggestion: Consider listing all the things in your life you would like to let go—anything you no longer want. Give thanks for what they've brought you in terms of learning and usefulness, and then burn the list. It's a symbolic gesture to help you release the old and be open to the new. The next step is to list what you DO want—experiences, knowledge, material things, relationships, healings, whatever.

In doing this, you'll be using the principle of vacuum—releasing what you don't want and embracing what you do.

I'm confident that anything you can do to make this event become more dramatic in terms of your own personal and spiritual growth will be valuable.

Make it a great New Year by ending the last one well.

Fireflies in our community

FIREFLIES

by Jude Allen

I spent an evening focused on fireflies once. Sitting at the edge of a shallow bank about three feet near Kheenjar Lake in interior Sind, near Thatta; It was perhaps early evening, sometime in February 1998, and maybe on a Sunday. My vagueness is due to being a long way from Karachi’s urban civilization for several days, and having lost track of time; which is what I came there to do.

No television, no radio, no newspapers, no fax machines. DHL hasn’t even reached there yet. Not much to do at night but to sit still, smoke cheap “beeri” cigarettes, sip some “Kawa” tea and watch fire flies. Not very exciting; which is great if the last thing you want in the world is excitement.

The tree in front of me was full of fireflies - as though somebody had overdone it and put too many white lights on a Christmas tree; jokes aside. The fireflies were doing synchronized flashing. Altogether. On. Off. On. Off. The locals out there told me they were all males “calling out for love.”

One of these little flashers landed on my pillow when I went to bed. So I put a water glass over him and watched him up close. And wondered;

How much control does a firefly have over his light?

Could one be trained to do Morse code and be worked into a flea-circus act?

Does a firefly ever attract teeny-tiny moths?

Is his light like the stars and always there, only we can’t see it in the daylight?

Does a firefly enjoy getting turned on, or is it more like having hiccups - just an urgent involuntary spasm?

Do fireflies come with different wattage, like light bulbs?

Do firefly bulbs burn out, leaving old fireflies to wander around in the dark, unnoticed and unloved?

What might it be like if we humans were similarly equipped? What kind of pants would we have to wear?

I know some children who give off a lot of light; because they have absorbed a lot of light them selves. They even sing a song called “This is my little light of Joy” and when they sing, they sing it with pride. They shine. This is not the kind of light you can actually see with your eyes of course. But then, there are lots of parts of the spectrum light that we cannot see. We only experience the results of its existence. It takes a different kind of looking.

These ‘Children of Light’ are sometimes camouflaged by the relentless battering they receive by the Fatima Senior Choir and the Parish Priest, Fr. Archie D’Souza. Yet, they let their light shine all the while. And, though they may be left out of all major occasions of the Holy Church of God to sing songs of praise, they continue to shine all the while. And, even though they may be restricted from singing for masses such as requested weddings and special occasions, they still sing & shine all the while. A long time back on Mother’s Day too, they were considered outcasts and forbidden to sing songs of love to their very own mothers…..their mothers are still proud of them. That little light of theirs just keeps shining on. They are the St. Dominic Savio Junior Choir;

And they live by this motto which has become a part of their vision

To Look this way is to See.

To See is to have Vision.

To have Vision is to Understand.

To understand is to Know.

To know is to Become.

To become is to Live Fully.

To live fully is to Matter.

To matter is to become Light.

And to become light is to be Loved.

And to love is to Burn.

And to burn is to Exist.

Off and On! Off and On! Off and On………..............

Maybe the Fireflies and the St. Dominic Savio Junior Choir are on to something?

Life’s Irreplaceable Lessons

You're holding the bat wrong, son!

By Jude Allen

Dedicated to my friend and mentor

(Late) Mr. Issac Lucas

I still remember as little kids…we were playing in the compound when we got this invitation for Alfred Anthony’s (‘Alfie’ as we know him) birthday. Uncle Lucas decided to throw him a party. So there we were…the usual stuff that kids do, we were doing; that is, eating chips and drinking loads of Pepsi…and then came that special moment which Uncle Lucas had probably planned weeks before. He made Alfie to dance on a song; He wanted to show-off his nephew’s talents in front of all the other kids. I still remember the excitement in his eyes as Alfie danced away with those little feet of his whizzing about as fast as they could. I can never forget the smile on that proud uncle’s face.

I came to respect the man for his authoritative stature and serious temperament. He scared me with his naturally raspy voice and big eyes. We always tried not looking into his eyes too much out of fear that he could read just about anything that went on inside our mischievous heads; and we kept a low profile too whenever he was around ‘cause we knew all too well that he was a man with two sides - a bad side, and a worse side.

Then there was that signature trait that no one could mimic – a deafening whistle from one end of the compound to the other that was meant to wake up all his family members and the rest of us folks even in our deepest sleep. Indeed, he was a big guy, strong and always full of energy.

My morning routine would usually be a good one-hour strenuous exercise at 5:30am in the church compound. It was at this time I would spot the big guy on his way to church. Like clockwork, he would be there every morning to help the priest set up altar and prepare it for mass. I would greet him with the usual “good morning uncle!” and he in turn, would occasionally exchange tips on boxing and other sports of our mutual interest. It is no wonder that most of his family members excelled in sports. We adhered to his advice just out of fear; which in turn yielded amazing results. Soon I was part of the school football team………his daughters I recall, made it to represent Pakistan in various athletic meets. All thanks to the big guy who backed and supported us all the way.

He would occasionally seize me by the hand and yank me away from my friends just to give me bits of advice on something or the other. It was during these times I felt as though my life was about to end. It was those eyes again….constantly probing into my head, observing me, the strength in the grasp of his hands would stop the flow of blood in my arms and then, softly like a butterfly settling gently upon a flower he would give me small lessons in manners. I can recall a few of these special lessons:

1. Respect your elders, they know what they are saying.

2. Never mind what they think…I believe in you.

3. Say 'Sorry'.

4. Say 'thank you'.

5. Say ‘I love you’ to your mum more often.

6. It’s okay if your dad was wrong. You can still forgive.

7. Next time I see you with a cigarette, I’ll break your bones and then I’ll tell your mum. (That’s how I never picked up the habit)

8. Do not talk like that and correct others who do; and if you hear Alfie talk like that tell me…I’ll break his bones.

9. Be kind to animals – they too have feelings.

10. You look very weak Son. You need to eat. Eat good food – not that junk you have in your hand.

11. Talk to God – he’ll guide you through.

12. Your holding the bat wrong son.

13. Son, when you are right, don’t be scared.

14.Jude, I don’t hear you singing these days. You must sing.

15. Read books! And when you find something written good, keep it, save it and learn from it.

16. It’s like this because God wants it this way.

He would repeat lesson # 16 over and over again and with spontaneous confidence. Then he would give me that look as if to say, “Don’t worry – you’ll find a way”

The years went by and I was growing. Growing up wasn’t that easy. I was instinctive with a rebellious streak and an attitude to match my ego. The big guy now wasn’t that big as he used to be. His hair had streaks of white and his movements slower than before. But he was still commander-in-chief and twice crossed differences with my growing opinions to the point of verbal outbursts of anger between us. I was no longer afraid of the big guy – or least I think, but I did not dare say it. Deep inside I believe he was still reading my mind the way he always did – and then to confirm my belief, he said it out aloud “Don’t be afraid of me – be afraid of God.”

We settled our differences in the end just the way he taught me to. I said “I’m sorry!” and he said “I love you, son! Forgive me if I was wrong.”

It was then, that I learned something about the big guy. He was bigger than life itself. Stronger than what we all had imagined him to be. For not one day in my life have I ever bowed down to anyone younger than myself to ask for forgiveness as he did. I guess he just lived by what he believed and he wanted to pass the gift onto others.

Now as I recall his last days in the hospital, the big guy suffered in agonizing pain. Occasionally he would stir a bit, open his eyes for brief seconds – during this moment he looked once in my direction - a good 10 seconds. I felt the fear once more as the commander-in-chief looked into my eyes. I felt him reading my mind as I was asking God why did it have to be this way. I felt it as he started intercepting the signals in my brain and then he answered me in his silence “It’s like this because God wants it this way.” - It was the last time we spoke.

To this day, I find it hard to believe that the big strong guy is not around anymore. It feels like he’s still there somewhere watching everything – doing stuff that we cannot really see. Saying stuff that we cannot really hear but we know he’s saying it ‘cause we can feel it within us. It was then I remembered a poem that someone had written. I saved it owing to lesson number 15 of Mr. Issac Lucas. I share this with the family and friends he leaves behind just as he would like me to:

I AM THE GENTLE AUTUMN’S RAIN

Do not stand by my grave and weep;

I am not there.

I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle Autumn’s rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush,

I am the swift uplifting rush

Of quiet birds circled in flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand by my grave and cry;

I am not there.

I did not die.

Author Anonymous

Thank you dear friend for the valuable and irreplaceable lessons.
Someday I hope to get down to holding the bat right!

PASSION

Passion is Universal Humanity. Without it, religion, history, romance and art would be useless.

------- BALZAC

3fifths - The Media Company

Check out the company's website:
www.3fifths.com

We are creative, unique and very affordable when you compare our pricing with other creative agencies out there in the market. We can even develop software for you, provide you domains and webspace, design and upload your website and manage the back-end software for it.

Do you want to start the following businesses?
a) e-business /e-commerce setup
b) Open up a small franchised restaurant / cafe
c) Develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for your restaurant
d) Need to develop special and unique recipes with a complete food costing
e) Need to get a franchise from overseas into Pakistan
f) Require entry-level management motivational workshops conducted right on your company's premises
g) Have your own Higher secondary educational school with a running, reliable management

These are some of the things we can do for you besides executing turn-key media management, event management, PR campaigns, corporate documentaries and so on.

Call me at 0300-2367970 and get to know more.