A Review on the book “You can Live Successfully in Your Lifetime”

Title: “You can Live Successfully in Your Lifetime”

Author: Ben Abbott

Publisher: Three ESS Publications, Delhi, India.

Year of Publication: NA

Genre: Self Help/Guide

Gist of the Book

The author in this book mainly talks about the good principles to be followed to lead a successful and happy living. The book gives the ways and means to deal with all kinds of problems in life and how to progress to achieving our goals and accomplishing the highest standards in life. In fourteen chapters, the means to a successful living have been discussed with all facts and examples.

The first chapter talks about the challenge. In here the author has desperately created a scenario where by the readers are made to build confident with the words “I CAN” in whatever we do and plan in life. With this beginning, next it talks about the success. We often wonder why some people excel in life and some don’t. That wonder is good if we act upon it. After that wonder we will have to learn from the secrets behind the success of others and from the mistakes of ourselves. After having learned their secrets and contemplated on our mistakes, we have to take the first momentous steps, which constitute third chapter. First we have to make a decision in life. Clear decisions of what we are going to achieve in life. After having made the decision, we have to act on it. We should not be hesitant while making a decision because no one is perfect and we are bound to make mistakes in life. It is said that we have to chat or sing “it can be done” as we embark upon our action. The action we take must bear results at the end which can lead to the fulfillment of the ultimate decision we have made. That is the success!

With a first step towards clear decisions, the door to conquest in life will be opened. In chapter four, this door has been discussed. Once the door is open, it is the initiative that can take us a ride towards the goal. Initiative can be the first step discussed earlier. A man with an initiative does not wait for the opportunities to knock rather creates his own opportunity and grabs it.  Opportunity says “ They do me wrong who say I come no more, when once I knock and fail to find you in; for every day I stand outside your door and bid you wake and rise to fight and win” Walter Lalone. The two doubtful words “IF” and “MAY BE” in life robs every individual of initiative. These have to be replaced with the affirmative words like “I CAN” and “I WILL”. Never procrastinate what can be done today. Dare to Begin! Today! Now! 

The time is very important in every task in our life. The more of it has been discussed in chapter five of this book. The time has been described as a passport to achievement. Time has to be used to the fullest and should not be wasted unfruitful. It has to be kept in mind that “time and tide, waits for none”, awake and make the most of it!  While using time to the fullest, it has to be balanced with the energy level in our body. Abundant energy is the lifeblood of progress and successful living. Inactivity, negative thoughts, physical pressures and uncontrolled emotions cause tiredness while activity, constructive positive thoughts and controlled emotions and actions create energy. A sound mind in a sound body is the basis of achievement. So the good health is vital while we maneuver to achieve great goals in life. The Chapter seven of the book talks about the essential components that help to accomplish great goals in life. The strong self-confidence and courage are the two things that can overcome almost all obstacles in life. Others include being optimism, thinking outward and avoiding diffidence and timidity in life. Confidence generates confidence; therefore, we have to act with confidence to gain confidence.

To be on tract in life and not having to disappoint for the things we are not able to do and appreciate for the things we are capable of, we have to chart our course in life. We have to search for our natural abilities and aptitudes and set out clear goals in life. Everything has to be well planned and progress has to be tracked and achieved. Plan career far ahead, concentrate on single main goal, keep an eye on the “winning post” at the end of the race. Be the man who made it and not the man who almost made it. The next chapter discusses about the external factors that helps in our course of way towards successful living. Our success and happiness depends largely on how we treat others and how others treat us. We have to learn to deal with various kinds of people in life. We have to increase our friendship circle. Friendliness creates friendly environment. Therefore, be friendly toward others and they will be friendly towards us. Teamwork is very important to achieve a certain goal in life. In a team work, we have to possess good leadership skills and also a team spirit. In a team we have to be good listener and also a good speaker. The chapter also talks about how to develop a good speaking skill.

Not everything in life is so smooth to walk upon. Like everyone says 'life is not a bed of roses to walk upon softly'. There are many hard knocks. The next chapter describes about the hardships that we face in life and how to overcome those. Confucius said “our greatest glory is not in never-falling, but in rising every time we fall”. We have to learn from our mistakes and start over again with greater strength gained from the difficulties we face and looking forward to greater accomplishments.  The chapter eleven of this book talks about the power behind our destiny. The power in here is not the physical power the author is talking about. More powerful than the physical power is the power of thought. Whatever that happens in this world are all results of the power of thought. Thinking before taking up any action is very important. We have to think and plan and then act. The task to be accomplished has to be broken down to smallest units that are achievable. The accomplishment of these every unit will lead to the achievement of larger goal. The chapter also talks about the importance of having a good memory and increased vocabulary which all aids to achieve goals in life.

The next chapter in this book describes about our habits and how to overcome bad habits with good ones. The bad habits can be removed from our life by not practicing it or by doing just the opposite of these bad habits. For example the habit of being late to office could be displaced by being on time always. We have to be the master of our habits and they will serve us well for they have the greater influences in our life. The next chapter talks about the importance of having strong and abiding faiths in ourselves and in whatever we do. For example we cannot see the atoms, yet we believe its existence and feel its influence in our day to day life. Likewise there are many other things in life which requires our faith. Faith combined with action, an honest effort on our part will make a smooth progress toward successful living. The last chapter talks about the three fundamental principles which can guide us through the road of successful living. First principle is “each improvement of one beneficial human quality immediately strengthens other qualities, thus making it easier to win over harmful ones. Second principle “start a constructive mental attitude or emotion in action and it grows progressively strong, feeding on itself and third principle is “ how a person thinks and acts has a definite effect on how those with whom he comes in contact think and act”. Therefore it is seen that achievement of success and happiness depends on how we think and act. Deliberately and regularly think and act in an affirmative, optimistic, constructive manner and we are on the sure road of successful living.

Interesting facts from the Book

1.    “A wise man learns from his experiences but a wiser man learns from the experiences of others. Those who make a rapid progress in life learn from both the experiences of their own and others”

2.      “Opportunity comes to him who waits – works while he waits. Opportunity knocks again and again for all those prepared to grasp it” 

3.      “Two big ‘Ts’, TOLERANCE and TEAMWORK smooth out the human irritations and life becomes richer and more enjoyable”

4.   “Perseverance and Perspiration are the two horses in life that will accomplish the unbelievable”

5.      “The six honest serving men; WHY, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, HOW and WHO, they taught me all I know”

*****THE END*****

Happiness - Others Happiness is our Happiness

Today I want to write my own understanding of Happiness. Happiness is something which we experience often but it is very difficult to express and define it. I once read in the book "How to live without Fear and Worry" that the Happiness is very subjective. My happiness won’t be the happiness of someone and the happiness of others may not be my happiness. 

According to the teachings of Buddha, all sentient beings starting from the unicellular microbes to multi-cellular mammals want happiness and don’t want sufferings. But they don’t know that the seed of suffering is unwholesome sinful acts and the seed of happiness is the virtuous acts.  As a result, all suffer due to ignorance. It is also said that what we are today is the result of what have we been doing in past lives and what and where will we be in next lives will depend on what we do today. This basically explains why there are differences among the people living in the same society. Some live beyond their means and some can’t even live up to their means. This is all because of what has been in-stored for us from the past lives, what is generally known as previous Karma. Being Buddhist, I truly believe life after death and cause and effect. If we do good, good will come upon us. Give happiness to others and you will be happy. 

Once I was watching His Eminence Gyalwa Dokhampa's talk on restful mind. He talked about happiness. Rinpoche said that happiness is living the present, not thinking about the past and future. Past is gone and future is uncertain. He also gave an example of how illogical the happiness is. None of us feel happy or appreciate that we don't have toothache at the moment, but the moment we have a bad toothache and is being treated by dentist and gives no more pain, then we feel the happiness of not having toothache anymore. So Rinpoche talked about appreciating the present moment and feeling satisfied. Satisfaction is the ultimate happiness in this world. The moment we are dissatisfied, we are not happy. So one way to be happy is to feel satisfied with what we have in this life. Do not be obsessed with what happened and what would happen. Happiness as discussed earlier is very subjective. For some, if they get something to eat and wear, it is their happiness, for some the happiness is to what they desire and it is happiness for some to help others. The happiness that we gain after helping others is long lasting. If we help someone who is in dire need, they will become happy and that virtuous act of ours will be rewarded with happiness befalling on us. Even from religious point of view, it is believed that first think of the wellbeing of others and our own wellbeing will be taken care of karmically. If we pray and work for the wellbeing of all sentient beings, there is no need for us to pray for ourselves. That virtuous act of ours will re-bounce back to us and the effect will be double the efforts we have put in.  

Help those who are in need of. Give when they beg. Talk when they ask and listen when they talk. Make them feel one of us in the society. This means a lot to them and that is happiness for them. That happiness of them will multiply and will be our happiness. Always believe that, what we do to others will come back to us one day. So give happiness to others to get happiness for ourselves.    

*****END*****    

Not Productive With Available Time - Jo Barnes

Just completed a mini book by Jo Barnes on Don't Give Up. Below is one Reason, 3-Not Productive With Available Time, for failure.I did my job of sharing now as author wants it!

We all struggle for time right? There’s just simply not enough hours in the day!

In reality time is a fallacy. It’s all relative to what you’re doing. Think about it. If you go on holiday, how quick does a week or two weeks pass by? Compared with the two weeks leading up to the holiday which really drag!

I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but it’s important to understand. You create your own time.

There are only ever 24 hours in a day, 1,440 minutes, 86,400 seconds! This will never change. There will always only be 24 hours in a day.

So, stop worrying about time and start focusing on what to do within the time you have that is going to make the most difference to your business!

Whether you have 10 hours a day or 1 hour a day to spend building your business, it’s crucial you know how to make the most productive use of that time to take you closer to your goals.

One of the reasons we waste time, is because we don’t make fast decisions. We have a idea to do something, whether it be to write an article, a report, record a video, create a product, contact an influencer. Whatever it is, it starts as an idea and the sad thing is, that for many it ends as an idea!

Here’s why. We take that idea and we go online to research how to bring that idea to fruition or we look for verification that it’s a good idea. This process may take us an hour, a day, sometimes weeks or even months before we’re convinced it’s a good idea and by that time we’ve lost interest or someone else has done it.

I’m generalising, but I hope you get my point.

The fact is we need to make decisions much quicker than that. We need to have had the idea and taken action on it within minutes!

How many ‘ideas’ have you got accumulated in various ‘To Do’ lists. How many ideas have you got cluttering up your ever note, your notepad, one note, your diary.

You may have ideas everywhere. Dump them.

You may think you’ll get back to them, but the likelihood is you won’t.

Being productive is about having an idea and acting on it there and then. Live in the moment.

You have your clear plan of what you want your business to look like, so your only thought should be -­‐ “Is taking this particular action going to take me closer to my vision or further away.”

If the answer is closer, act. If the answer is further away, dump the idea. Don’t add it to a someday notebook. Someday will never arrive in the way you think it will and things will have dramatically shifted by then anyway!

Positive Action Steps

1. Make fast decisions.

2. Plan your day to the minute. Rather than a ‘to do’ list, plan your tasks as an appointment schedule. 9am -­‐ 10am -­‐ write report. 10am -­‐ 11.30am -­‐ call xxx. 11.30am -­‐ 1pm -­‐ create videos. I think you get my drift.

3. Once your day is planned -­‐ STICK TO IT! Sometimes your tasks may take you longer than expected. Learn what takes you a little longer and plan for that in your day. Understanding yourself and your skills is super important.

4. Stop wasting time on facebook (or any SM platform)! Unless you are on there for a very specific planned reason, turn it off! I teach Social Media, that’s my specialty and where I spend most of my time, and I can tell you, unless used wisely it is the biggest time sucker of all time!

A Farewell Speech- By the then Sherubtse FINA Secretary 2011, Ms Sonam Choden

For all those who have been through schools and colleges, there is one day that all have to face – a graduation day. A day where you breathe freedom yet shed tears for leaving behind the place where you transformed from a boy to a man or from a girl to a lady.

Graduation is filled with multi-emotions, you feel elated yet dejected, happy yet sad. As this will be among the last days you will share with your friends and lecturers. The feeling seeps in later as the days conclude and you wish it never ends. Another happy effect of graduation is because of your teachers who pamper us unlike their routine days. Smiles spread on every face, they tell us so lovingly that they had a great time even though it’s not completely true. And then we realize that they are so flexible and lovable.

There are also times on your graduation when several of your 'not so good friends' come up to you and apologize for their behavior. You are taken aback and fall short of words. They hug you and you hug them, a generous gesture to forgive and forget and also communicates that you were and will be a great friend. So you see friends and not so good friends hugging one another. Everything is possible on graduation.

Robert Gallagher said that change is inevitable. As you stand on the brink of moving into life beyond Sherubtse, change will be inevitable! It is inevitable that structures and processes and relationships will change in their day to day lives. It is inevitable that you will face new challenges and it is inevitable that things may seem a little different in the years ahead. Yes, life definitely is going to become a little “shaken up and stirred”.

But as we look back the journey- a journey that started out with hesitant, tentative steps, we see just how far you, dear seniors have progressed. It has been an honor and a privilege being part of your journey and one which has been embedded with wonderful memories. Allow me to take you all back to the point from where this journey began, so tighten your seat belts dear senior because we care going to leap across time…remember your first day in class PP (Pre-primary) where you didn't have a single friend and all you did in the class was sucked your thumb and starred at one another.Then you actually started to feel the weight of the books when you are in class eight, the heavy pressure and importance of education is perceived only when you are in class 10. Every biting nails whether you would qualify or not, then when in class 12, I bet you worked the hardest  because deep down you knew life is soon going to get tougher. After class 12 you all were rewarded, proudly you became a SHERUBTSEAN that you will always be.

From the first hesitant, excited, nervous step you started form the college gate, hoping to rock your college life till this very moment where you are sitting in the same auditorium where you first got oriented and registered somewhere in the corner or back or front is the place where you first sat. See, the time has just flown by, I bet you are packed well with all the memories you have made here. I would like to share one example of team spirit that is very unique about Sherubtse, football for sure is like an oxygen to human here, I was witnessing one of the matches where a team was losing- quite significantly and the referee seemed to be making some tough calls. The stakes were high, shoulders were rounded and frustration levels were rising. A senior was sitting nearby. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called out firmly “check si…you can do it!” followed by the teams name. Just that! And that was all it took. Heads lifted, shoulders straightened and the team played their hearts out. I don’t recall the final score who won and who lost- it didn't seem that important. But I do recall how those words encouraged them and they played their best game ever.

So from the moment when you cheered your team in the various x,y,z football tournaments to the moment where you played your best match just to stand up to your supporter’s expectation, from losing your real name to getting new nick names, from the first walk you went to last walk you will be going, from the heavy credits in Cafeteria to the long bills in Shonzey, from the first time you came to this stage to the awesome graduating night last Saturday, form your first love to the last final proposes, from Youngphula to Pangthang, from the limited restaurants such as NP, Galaxy  and Mountain to 45 minutes lift to Trashigang, from the trips to works, from singing to dancing, from viva to presentations to assignments, from internal exams to main, from the various SSU, Singye Karm  night to class picnics, from the welcome dinners to the farewell dinners, from balancing time well between movies and books to walks, from your first stipend to the last, from you first friend here to the best friend now, from bunking classes to photocopying notes, from the so called scope bench to the lazy afternoon classes, from marching in the ground to running from class to class in search of your classroom, from your first module tutor to whole faculty now…brace yourself well when you leave all these behind.

It is these memories Ladies and Gentlemen; you will seek refuge when you miss Shercol. So, I would like to pay tribute to each and every one, you have all left and will continue to leave an inevitable legacy of excellence, achievement and a fine ethos and tradition for generations to come. I believe that the vast majority of you stroke to work to your potential you aimed high, you set your goals for the most part, and you not only achieved them, but in fact surpassed them.

So ladies and gentlemen, as you face and tackle the inevitable changes, hold true to yourself. Remember to hold onto your value system, your work ethic and most importantly your humanity. It is these qualities that will guide you further on your journey. Today’s achievements may fade and even be forgotten. The applause may become a distant memory and your certificates and medals may gather dust on the shelf or in your drawer. But you will always be remembered for caring enough, for helping someone, for making someone special and appreciated and for being the kind of person that others enjoys spending time with. 

Your life is remarkable occasion – I have no doubt that you will rise to it! So this is good bye seniors, we will miss you. One way or another, you have had quite an impact on this place and you will leave quite a gap here. But we won’t have any shortage of memories. We will remember you for being supportive. We will remember you for being adventurous and if we are honest, we will also remember you for being always someone who could be looked upon. Most of all we will remember you for being a great person to have around. I wish each one of you on behalf of Sherubtse family, immense luck, laughter, happiness and love in each and every step of your life. You have worked hard to get your degree; it’s time to take a bow. Congratulations Graduate! I bet your future is strong and bright, make sure you hop well and smartly. Thus, make sure you don’t just survive but LIVE your life and most of all serve the country intelligently, just like any Sherubtseans would do. My intention today is not to remind you all that it is time for you to leave but just to let you know that you will be remembered in a special way. Thank you indeed and do shine on.  

                                                                              Speech Courtesy: Ms. Sonam Choden, 2011     

       

NyaGoe - The Strongest Man

In olden days Bhutan has been well known for the Nyagoe or the strongest man who were usually the Pazaps (soldiers) or the right hand man of the rulers then. With bare foot and sword always in hand, they were the most furious of all. 

Before 1907, Bhutan has been ruled by various regional rulers and every ruler fought for the power wit each other. The only weapon that they used was the sword and the shield for protection. Only the ones with strongest men will emerge as winners and will rule. The Trongsa Penlop (Ruler of Trongsa region) Jigme Namgyal came as the ultimate strongest of all others and he unified Bhutan as one. After that in the year 1907, His brave son Gongsar Ugyen Wangchuck was then crowned as the first King of Bhutan which marked the beginning of Bhutan's journey as an independent and sovereign nation. More than 100 years now, Bhutan has come a long way under the dynamic and farsighted leadership of the Wanghuck Dynasty. 

Had it not been the Nyagoe tactics and skills of the Trongsa Penlop Jigme Namgyal and his men, Bhutan could not have found the way of this journey towards peace and prosperity. In order to thank and to mark the sacrifice and the tactics of their skills, the Bhutan Broadcasting Service (BBS) has started to crown the strongest man of Bhutan starting last year. BBS has been going round the country selecting one Nyagoe from each District. After having selected, they are being trained and guided and screened to top five.  The top five then compete during the Birth Anniversary of His Majesty to select one of them as the Nyagoe of the year. The competition is very tough. They have to compete among others and also with the time. They have to drag a log, carry it on their shoulder, then chop it, after that they have to carry a bag of sand and then finally a carry two wheels of a truck. The weight of the log, sand and wheels ranges from 100-130 kilograms. The weight increases as they mover higher up the competition. 

Moreover in the final day, other competitors are made to wrestle, compete in shot-put and also bull-fighting. The winners take home various kinds of prizes. The show has been spectated by many throughout the country. The main objective of the show was firstly to preserve the dying culture of Nyagoe in Bhutan and culture preservation is one of the pillar of Gross National Happiness and secondly it also helps us to remind ourselves of the braveness and the sacrifices our ancestors have made to unify and then to preserve the sovereign of our country. This year, 2015, the top five Nyagoes have been selected and the best among the best will be given the title as the Strongest Man of Bhutan on 21st February coinciding with the birth anniversary of His Majesty.    

Going Veg - A Healthy way of Living

According to the teachings of Buddha, it is a great sin to slaughter animals. Lives are equal, every living beings want happiness and does not want sufferings.  

I happened to watch one of the programs on National Geographic Channel. They were filming the diverse culture around the world. On that day their focus was on the life of Nomads in Tibet. Nomads totally depends their livelihood on cattle, normally they rare yaks and sheep. Starting from the food they take to clothes they wear and the shelter they live in, all from those animals. They showed the lifestyles of nomads and the intimate relation that they have with animals. There was one family, a father, mother and a son, probably of 7-8 years old. Mother was preparing something inside the tent and father with the help of his son were preparing their meal outside. They brought a sheep from a herd and father suffocated it to death. A son watches the scene as it will be his responsibility too later. As father worked on carcass with his sharp knife, he was saying prayers. The commentator said, these prayers are for sending the soul of that dead sheep to rest in peace (Heaven). I was surprised by this act. In fact this is their way of living and I do not intend to defame them. I just found that paradox interesting.

Not only nomads, even those living in urban areas totally depend on meat. They also make offerings to gods which I think is not a good practice (God would never demand meat/anything). People know it is sinful to take meat but they go for it every day. Human beings are very complicated. I once watched an episode on Bhutan Broadcasting Service, a Jangchubshing program, His Eminence Gyalwa Dokhampa said, "the humans are the most confusing beings; they sacrifice their health to garner wealth and later sacrifice their wealth to regain health. And also they live as if they are going to live forever and die as if they have never lived". This is very true. Human beings talk something, believe something and act very differently. 

Even from scientific point of view, eating meat is not a healthy way of living. Too much of it will cause many life style diseases. Moreover it was also proven that effect of climate change will be reduced directly or indirectly if all people stop eating meat. Also many kinds of zoonotic diseases are at higher risks to be transmitted to humans if we depend too much our livelihood on meat.

  

If we go veg, it is cheaper at first and very nutritious. Green vegetables are good for our health, it causes no harm but helps build strength in our body. There is no risks of falling ill having consumed vegetables. Even from religious point of view, it is not a sinful to take vegetables compared to meat. Therefore I would like to urge all my friends to go veg and lead a healthy life. In Bhutan, on the first and the fourth month of the Bhutanese calendar, the sale of all kinds of meat is banned. This is mainly to encourage people going veg. Green vegetables are healthier than the red meats. Go veg and lead a green life.    

Dry Day – Wet for Them

There is a policy that Tuesdays are to be observed as dry day whereby no bar should sell any liquor to anyone. In fact it is a good policy to control those people from consuming alcohol at least a day a week. But people often are seen under the influence of alcohol on this very day.

Many of the college mates are settled here in Thimphu (A city in Bhutan) but they rarely get to meet each other. If it is not for the events like baby showering of their mates, they don’t meet. They go to office and back home in the evening and that’s it, don’t get time to get along and enjoy few moments over a cup of coffee or tea or a glass of wine. But there are these three friends who make sure at least they meet once a week. They always keep in touch themselves through social networks. They make plans through facebook chats and make themselves available for each other right after the office or sometimes even during the office hours. But it so happened that they always make a plan on Tuesdays. They know that it is a dry day but unknowingly or knowingly they will have made the plans to hang out.

They get together and go in search of a very quiet place to hang out. Bar to bar and place to place they go in search. Finally they will get settled themselves for a drink. One sip after another, they talk about the old college days. More they drink, more and more they talk about old gold times. They drive from place to place, sponsors after sponsors. They drink until they think it is enough for them. There were also times when they missed office the next day due to hangover. 

When the day is time for everyone to keep themselves dry, it is a day for these three to get themselves drenched in liquor. They hang out till late night and get home so late. They will receive calls from every angle but when they are together, they listen to no one. Although it was not a right day for them to hangout, they at least give time for each other. Life in city like Thimphu, the time has come where even the people living next door will be a stranger. Many friends though live in the same city, do not get to meet. But the three, find themselves time and keep in touch, which in fact is a good way to cherish the old memories. It is very refreshing sharing the old day’s memories.   

Corruption

Let me be frank here, I have never heard of corruption until recently when it has become an issue in our society.  It was not in my vocabulary then, the word corruption. The Anti-corruption Commission in Bhutan was established in early 2006 if I am not wrong and since then has been digging out all the corrupt activities and with the help of all kinds of media, it was communicated to whole nation and that is how I came to know about corruption. First of all I would like to define the word in my own, according to my understanding, “Corruption is an activity, using or abetting the use of what is not ours like public resources, power and authority vested on us with full trust by the King, Country and People”.

Corruption can be big or small; it can be done through a single word or through a single piece of writing. I find the main reason for corruption is the greedy minds of people along with the avenue for them to commit it. If people think enough is enough, there will not be any such cases. And also if the good systems and practices are in place making no room for corruption, definitely no one will be corrupt. If we abstain from any form of corrupt practices that we encounter in life, we are helping firstly to the society and secondly we are clean and there won’t be any obsessive feelings within us. But there are also chances where we are not corrupt but are dragged as corrupt as a result of someone who actually is the main culprit.

If the corruption persist in the society, rich will become richer and poor remains poor. The disparity will be increased. The people with power and wealth and those influential will have all the benefits. As a result of this, it is imperative to root out corruption at an early stage. Corruption is thought to be more prevalent in a democracy where various kinds of political parties are thought to be more vulnerable to corruption. Anything can be done to woo the voters. The other prone areas of corruption include large projects, remote places where people are easy to be cheated, Human Resources recruitment procedures and face to face encounter of clients and an official.  

Corruption is a poison that can affect the entire society. It has got no cure once infected but can be prevented from happening. Government alone can’t take all the responsibilities in preventing the corruption. If every individual think for the same goal of clean society and work in hand in hand, corruption can not only be prevented, but can be rooted out completely. If we take one step further in our mentality, we can be the change we want in our society. We all must abstain from being corrupt and also report corruption before it grows. Corruption affects us ultimately, therefore, we all must work together to make a corruption free society.

Waste Management- An Individual Responsibility

Waste is pest that infests every society. Be it urban or rural, at this point of time, the challenge of waste management is faced by everyone, everywhere. The waste has some connections with the upcoming of civilization and industrialization. But this is not something anyone can take control of. With the increasing number of population, the necessities have grown. When we ask for our needs to mother world, we also have to be accountable of what we do to her.

The waste was not a problem in olden days. People hardly talked about it. No plastics used and the papers used were the hand made that was not readily available. No technology and no constructions. People at that period of time would not have even thought of such menace that we are facing at present. There are different kinds of wastes; Solid waste (degradable and non-degradable), waste water, e-waste, medical waste, industrial waste and mechanical waste from automobile workshops. Some of these waste especially the one which is non-degradable, e-waste and those coming from industrial sites and automobile workshops are very hazardous to every living organism. It pollutes soil, rivers and also the air we breathe in. 

Necessity is mother of all inventions. People invented many things to ease their livelihoods. All kinds of machineries, edibles and technologies have been invented. All these technologies after using it for many years become e-waste. If we happen to visit the landfill sites in every city, major chunk will be e-waste followed by papers and plastics. In Bhutan with the increased import of all the edibles, the plastic wastes have been increased. Almost all the edibles imported are wrapped in plastic covers. All these plastic covers either end up in landfill or are seen everywhere along the road sides and in towns. The improper dumping of waste has increased over a time with the increasing number of people living in the city. The problem has been the same in rural areas because everyone fully depended on the packed foods which are imported. Even the places where there are no inhabitants, the visitors and the passerby could have littered the place. Recently there has been a report that even the far flung religious shrines are faced with waste problems. The littering of the places is all because of the carelessness of the people. Having no love for the Mother Nature and this is how we repay for so much the mother has provided to us. 

We are becoming little more irresponsible. Our mindset and attitude have to be changed now. We are civilized and have to act like one. There is no one after us to clean up our mess. We have to be accountable of our own activities. We have to start from self. If one of us start thinking about this world and help manage our own waste, remember, one rascal will be reduced. Waste is directly related to anthropogenic activities. If we are mindful of what we do, there should not be a way to create waste. If this could have been the practice long ago, we would not be facing an epidemic outbreak of this waste pest. Now is the high time we look back at our mistakes and let not the next generation suffer because of our uncorrected mistakes. Waste cannot be controlled but can be managed. There are private individuals and also the government workers coming door to door to collect the waste. It is an individuals' responsibility to at least segregate and take to the dumper trucks and dispose it off. If we segregate the waste, it would be useful in many ways. The total amount of waste going to landfill sites will be reduced and also it is a source of income for some as there are people who really believe in "cash in trash". Do not litter, never think 'a small piece of paper would not make any difference, an empty bucket could be filled drop by drop'. We have to be ashamed of ourselves to litter. Even if someone litters, pick it up and teach them a lesson in life. 

DO NOT LITTER, KEEP OUR PLACE CLEAN, USE USE-ME!!!     

Wildlife Conflict- A Conflict in Itself

Bhutan still being the agrarian society in the region, agriculture is still considered the backbone of the nation where government has been investing a lot since the beginning of the plan period in early 60s. People in the villages solely depend on agriculture productions for their livelihood. The survival depends on the efficiency of the collection of harvest for the year.

The farmers are always been challenged by wildlife. Sometimes the effect is devastating that they are left nothing to depend on for the entire year. In the early years, some people have been hunting down those animals which threaten their crop yields. The other challenge for some is that they are not able to hurt animals since they feel that it is a great sin to hurt others. For them the only way to get along is by guarding their fields and shooing the animals either by shouting or threatening them. People spent sleepless nights throughout from the time of cultivation till the harvest. In early years, besides worrying about their survival for the year people were also worried by the heavy taxes being levied on them by the petty leaders. This burden however has been removed from people as benevolent leaders came to the throne.

The more challenging came when government realized the importance of preserving the bio-diversity and the effect of having disturbed the natural food chain. People in the villages were informed about the illegality of hunting down animals. There were no other alternatives then. Many lost their crops to the wild animals and helpless were those poor farmers. Wild cats hunting down cattle, wild boars and others bringing down crop productions and in lower regions of country, both crops and people were threatened by wild elephants. Government has been putting every measure sine then to curb the effect. Government started compensating the loss of crops to wild life and other calamities but the compensation was not able to meet the year’s expenses. It was very difficult to choose upon the two very important issues; the issues of crops being destroyed by the wild animals and the issues of deteriorating the number of wild life as a result of hunt down. Both are very important and have to be promoted. On one hand, government has a mandate of promoting agricultural products to gear towards self-sufficiency and on other hand it is also internationally given importance on the preservation of natural bio-diversity and also considered illegal to hunt down animals.

If both are to be promoted, the wild life conflict would just grow and the dream of gearing towards self-sufficiency would be in air. Both are equally important and even the farmers have now understood the effect of hunting down the animals not only from religious point of view but also from the biology point of view. Our farmers have been very co-operative with the government and government on other hand has been very supportive in maximizing the yield and also various measures were undertaken to minimize the wild life conflict. The government had issued metallic fencing, introduced fire balls to shoo away animals especially the elephants. Recently government has also taken an initiative in providing all farmers an electric fencing which frightens away the animals but are harmless. The electric fencing was well received by the villagers and now government has a plan to introduce same method throughout the country.   

This wildlife conflict has been a conflict for long and still a problem for many in some parts of the region. It is a conflict in itself, a conflict between the two important issues, the issue of maximizing the crop productions and the issue of saving bio-diversity. Hope there will be a peaceful co-existence of all soon. 

There is NO End to What we Want in Life

Before when I was a small boy, I would love to go to school when my brothers and other elders walk to school. I would always tell my parents, when will l be going to school. I would learn from my brother the things that he has learnt from schools. Then it was in 1995, I first went to school with my brother, very much excited in my newly bought school uniform.

Then I would long to reach high schools. High Schoolers, they looked very different from the juniors. They speak well, know how to dress up tidily and live in a decent way. When I climbed up the ladder of education, even the tension increased within me. I knew I have to work hard in order to qualify for next level especially when I was in class nine, by then I was in high school. I used to feel proud when I meet some of my younger siblings of junior school who looked envious (just like me). When I was in high school, then I started dreaming of college, a college where everybody lead their own life. I used to hear lots of stories of college days from our teachers and other elders from our village about their college lives. Quite inspiring, I started to work hard and finally I got an opportunity to go to college in Bhutan. Then I thought that is it. When in college, then I was tempted to get a job soon. I longed to finish college life even faster and get a job for myself. I did bachelors degree and fortunately I managed to get through civil service examinations. Then after having done post graduate for one year, I got into job in the year 2013. 

Now what? This is not the end. Now I want to climb up the career ladder as fast as I could and lead a happy life with happy family. I don't know what would be next mission in my life. I understood there is no end to what we want in life. In one way that is how we achieve our dreams and goals in life but on other hand, it is being too much greedy. What so ever, we have to have a mission in life, a mission, a goal that helps us to reach the epitome of good human beings in the society. 

A Typical Village Life in Bhutan

Peace the night is, no honking, no howling and no roaring noises that are usually a nuisance in urban areas. After a daylong hard work, all members of a family get together for a diner. They share all their day’s experiences with the family members and also discuss the plan for the next day. After having a diner, they sit near by fire and talk of many things. Sometimes the parents tell them stories and at the same time teach a lesson to their children in life. Then they go to beds and relax with peace in mind and heart.

People in the village are timed by the crowing of roosters. Before dawn some elder people of the family get up and finish-up all household chores before sun rise. The lights of the day light flickers through the cracks of wooden windows. As the sun rays reach the nearby hill top, mom comes to wake-up all the children who are in a peaceful sleep. She wide opens all windows to make sure the children know that it is a time for them to go for a day’s work. Mom will have readied the breakfast. They all sit down for the breakfast and share responsibilities for the entire day. Daughter will help her mom do the household chores while son will help his father do the external works like fetching of fire woods, fencing, field works, cattle herding and many other physical works. For small children, it’s a time for them to learn from their elders to help parents and most of the time they go out to mingle with other friends of their age and play around.

People in urban places are timed by an alarm clock which is often not respected even by the one who has set it the other day. All get up late and get late to works and schools without breakfast. No breakfasting or lunching or dining together. All take one after another if they wish to take. Many people if it is a government holiday will have no work at all. Some watch TV, some go to play, many sleeps and some chit chat with neighbours. Never gets home on time. Everybody goes out and comes home so late. People in urban areas go to bed with so many tensions: office works, financial constraints, peer pressures and many other obsessive disturbances. A typical village life and an urban life are totally different and I prefer a village kind of life. I refer peace in mind, heart and body.   

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Wish Come True

Every one of us, you and I always make a wish and even if we don’t make a wish, it’s a human instinct to long for something or someone we don’t have in life. For some, they say “oh it is a wish come true for me” when they achieve something unexpected in their way of life. For some it is a way of opening a sentence while giving a talk or to acknowledge someone for having achieved something in their life. Wishes are never same for everyone but there are few who share the same wishes in life. There are so many wishes a person make in his/her life, but how much he/she fulfil depends on how much hard work they put in or sometimes a luck favours.

I was writing this with TV on and it’s a sheer coincidence that I happened to watch the movie “TED” on one of the Hollywood channels. A young boy who was abandoned by all other friends in the neighbourhood got a Christmas gift from his parents, a huge (of his size) teddy bear. He was so happy and that night he wished if that teddy could talk and be friend with him forever. The next morning, to his amusement a teddy bear talked. His wish has come true. That was movie and I am complacent that such miracle will not happen in real life. When I say this, it doesn't mean that I don’t make a wish and I don’t believe that a wish could come true. My wishes are my prayers, every morning and evening, I just pray for well being and happiness of all sentient beings. My dreams are my wishes and I dream to lead a happy life without having to pass through any obstacles in life. My ambitions and desires are my wishes and I desire to be one of the most successful people in this world or at least up to the expectations of my beloved parents and the society.

People often say that a person without a wish never succeed in life but also have to be mindful that not all wishes we wish could be fulfilled in life. That is where a frustration comes that actually can down us in life. Wishes have to be something that can be fulfilled or other words time bound. If we wish to bring down stars or wish to become princess/prince (if you are not born as one), that is something universally known that it can’t be achieved. So we have to wish intelligently and in a smart manner. With good wish in mind (or some say wish in heart), we will have a clear mission in life that would ultimately lead to a successful life. Best Wishes!

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Waiting for Snow Fall in Thimphu

Thimphu is about 2,460 meters above sea level, surrounded by high hills which are more than 3000 meters above sea level. It lies along the Wangchhu river that runs north-south of Thimphu valley. More than 2,000 households and more than hundred thousand population, Thimphu has grown from a small village like town in early 80’s to one of the busiest and largest city in Bhutan. More than 30, 000 cars plying daily over the city roads and averagely over 100 new constructions being approved annually, city has been challenged with so many problems like traffic congestion and environment degradation.

If we look at some of the pictures back in 80’s of Thimphu, we could see major portion of land being used for cultivation. Now most of these cultivatable portions of land have been developed into concrete buildings and roads constructed every nook and corner of the city, it is very difficult to maintain green areas within city. But however the government of Bhutan always work with a mission to take up the "Green Socio-Economic Development" which is a development without compromising environment in any ways. With that objective, Bhutan has been taking every measure to maintain the sustainability of the pristine natural environment. In a similar way, Thimphu City has been spending certain portion of its capital subsidy in greening the city. Every year a large number of saplings are being planted in every open spaces and many region within the city are identified as environment precincts which is a "no development zone"  

Despite these initiatives, it has been a challenge to control development that jeopardizes the environment. Developments are driven by the needs and it is a mandate for the government to serve the needs of the citizens. The effects of these have been already being experienced with untimely rainfall, drying up of water sources and late or no snow fall. Thimphu used to experience early snow falls during the month Januaries before. Snow fall is one of the exciting moments for young and old. It gives immense pleasure and is also considered as sign of good harvest back in the village. Children go out to play and adults stay inside nearby heaters talking of their past experiences over a cup of hot butter tea or some over a glass of Ara (Locally brewed wine). The day of first snow fall is also a government holiday in Thimphu for the civil servants and school going children. This year, 2015, all the residents of Thimphu have been talking in and out about the snow fall being delayed. Many are expecting in the February month but some are complacent that last year, 2014 it also snowed in the month of March for the second time, so they are still expecting the same this time.

Some people are talking about the climate change effects the reason for late or no snow fall. Even if some nation fights for climate change, they can still face the consequences of climate change of the world. Climate Change is not something we can escape but we can put forth some measures to curb the effects. If the climate change has to be stopped completely, the development in the world has to be stopped or a population growth has to be halted. This can’t be done since the needs for the people have to be served as discussed earlier. But we can neutralize the effect of developments by ensuring the balance between the developmental activities and the environment conservation. If we cut one tree, we have to replace it by planting two trees. This is how we have to manage the use of natural resources sustain-ably.

  

We have to think about our next generation. What we have been enjoying today is the fruit of what we have received from our ancestors. Now it is our responsibilities to hand over the same resources that we enjoy today to our next generation. As a result of our greedy activities, I fear that the time will come for our younger generations when they will just hear the word snow and will not able to experience it. Therefore, Bhutan joins with other nations of the world in fighting the climate change and I would like to urge all individual in this world to at least do not contribute to climate when you can’t contribute to the fight against climate change.

LET’S SAVE THIS MOTHER EARTH.