Where The Mind Is Without Fear
Shri Rabindranath Tagore
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
WINNERS VERSUS LOSERS
(From Shiv Khera's "You Can Win")
The Winner is always part of the answer;
The Loser is always part of the problem.
The Winner always has a program;
The Loser always has an excuse.
The Winner says, "Let me do it for you";
The Loser says, "That is not my job."
The Winner sees an answer for every problem;
The Loser sees a problem for every answer.
The Winner says, "It may be difficult but it is possible";
... The Loser says, "It may be possible but it is too difficult."
When a Winner makes a mistake, he says, "I was wrong";
When a Loser makes a mistake, he says, "It wasn't my fault."
A Winner makes commitments;
A Loser makes promises.
Winners have dreams;
Losers have schemes.
Winners say, "I must do something";
Losers say, "Something must be done."
Winners are a part of the team;
Losers are apart from the team.
Winners see the gain;
Losers see the pain.
Winners see possibilities;
Losers see problems.
Winners believe in win-win;
Losers believe for them to win someone has to lose.
Winners see the potential;
Losers see the past.
Winners are like a thermostat;
Losers are like thermometers.
Winners choose what they say;
Losers say what they choose. Winners use hard arguments but soft words; Losers use soft arguments
but hard words.
Winners stand firm on values but compromise on petty things;
Losers stand firm on petty things but compromise on values.
Winners follow the philosophy of empathy: "Don't do to others what you would not
want them to do to you"; Losers follow the philosophy, "Do it to others before they do it to you."
Winners make it happen;
Losers let it happen.
Winners plan and prepare to win.
The key word is preparation.
BE A WINNER
Letter from a former Golfer(Contributed by Shri S K Suri)
"Dear Younger Me:
*I can’t play golf anymore. I tried to swing the club the other day,
but my body wouldn’t cooperate. The best I can do now is sometimes
take walks on the course, but my eyes aren't as good as they used to
be so I don’t see much. I have a lot of time to sit and think now, and
I often think about the game.*
*It was my favorite game. I played most of my adult life. Thousands of
rounds, thousands of hours practicing. As I look back, I guess I had a
pretty good time at it. But now that I can’t do it anymore, I wish I
had done it differently.*
*It’s funny, but with all the time I spent playing golf, I never
thought I was a real golfer. I never felt good enough to really belong
out there. It doesn’t make much sense, since I scored better than
average and a lot of people envied my game, but I always felt that if
I was just a little better or a little more consistent, then I’d feel
really good. I’d be satisfied with my game. But I never was. It was
always "One of these days I’ll get it" or "One day I’ll get there" and
now here I am. I can’t play anymore, and I never got there.*
*I met a whole lot of different people out on the course. That was one
of the best things about the game. But aside from my regular partners
and a few others, I don’t feel like I got to know many of those people
very well. I know they didn’t really get to know me. At times they
probably didn’t want to. I was pretty occupied with my own game most
of the time and didn’t have much time for anyone else, especially if I
wasn't playing well.*
*So why am I writing you this letter anyway, just to complain? Not
really. Like I said, my golfing experience wasn't that bad. But it
could have been so much better, and I see that so clearly now. I want
to tell you, so you can learn from it. I don’t want you getting to my
age and feeling the same regrets I’m feeling now.*
*I wish, I wish. Sad words, I suppose, but necessary. I wish I could
have played the game with more joy, more freedom. I was always so
concerned with "doing it right" that I never seemed to be able to
enjoy just doing it at all. I was so hard on myself, never satisfied,
always expecting more. Who was I trying to please? Certainly not
myself, because I never did. If there were people whose opinions were
important enough to justify all that self-criticism, I never met
them.*
*I wish I could have been a better playing partner. I wasn't a bad
person to be with, really, but I wish I had been friendlier and gotten
to know people better. I wish I could have laughed and joked more and
given people more encouragement. I probably would have gotten more
from them, and I would have loved that. There were a few bad apples
over the years, but most of the people I played with were friendly,
polite, and sincere. They really just wanted to make friends and have
a good time. I wish I could have made more friends and had a better
time.*
*I’m inside a lot now and I miss the beauty of the outdoors. For years
when I was golfing I walked through some of the most beautiful places
on earth, and yet I don’t feel I really saw them. Beautiful
landscapes, trees, flowers, animals, the sky, and the ocean – how
could I have missed so much? What was I thinking of that was so
important – my grip, my back swing, my stance? Sure, I needed to think
about those sometimes, but so often as to be oblivious to so much
beauty? And all the green – the wonderful, deep, lush color of green!
My eyes are starting to fail. I wish I had used them better so I would
have more vivid memories now.*
*So what is it that I’m trying to say? I played the type of game that
I thought I should play, to please the type of people that I thought I
should please. But it didn’t work. My game was mine to play, but I
gave it away.
It’s a wonderful game. Please, don’t lose yours. Play a game that you
want to play. Play a game that gives you joy and satisfaction and
makes you a better person to your family and friends. Play with
enthusiasm, play with freedom. Appreciate the beauty of nature and the
people around you. Realize how lucky you are to be able to do it. All
too soon your time will be up, and you won’t be able to play anymore.
Play a game that enriches your life."
