Resolutions.....

Some Resolutions for the year ahead...It took me two full weeks to find out some meaningful resolutions for the year ahead..not that I was researching on it but was lazy...:)-Thought I would pen them down..( and also publish ..) so that I do not console myself with the excuse that only I knew of it..:)-
1. Read the complete bible once. There is online bible which has the chapters of Bible sorted out such that Bible can be read completely in 365 days
( http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/readingplans/index.php/today )
2. Learn and do Yoga: In fact, I went to join for the Yoga class here in office but it seems many had this in their New Year resolution and were faster than me to join. So they asked me to come and check in the beginning of next month... :(-
3. Read at least one book in a month and post the review of the same. Had this in my resolution of 2008 (though not the review part of it)..However could read (only) the below books.
· Jonathan Livingston Seagull- Richard Bach
· Dabbawallahs of Mumbai - K S Srinivas
· To Kill a Mocking bird - Harper Lee
. Tuesdays with Morrie -Mitch Albom
· The Namesake - Jhumpa Lahiri
· A thousand splendid suns - Khaled Hosseini
· 'Thalamurakal' - O V Vijayan
· 'Jeevithamenna Albhutham'
· Riot- Shashi Tharoor
· Anthem - Ayn Rand
· We the Living - Ayn Rand
( And I became a fan of Ayn Rand's ideas of Individual Freedom )
4. Learn a new language (Either German or Japanese)
5. Have a timetable in life.. Though it may be difficult to have one for the entire day , schedule at least the sleeping hours. And follow it on all days including Saturdays and Sundays...:)-
6. Join for a postgraduate course off-Campus or online . No idea of how I would implement it. Let’s see.
7. On the professional side: Pass the OCP exams in SQL,PL/SQL ,Advanced SQL and PL/SQL...
8. Learn to "Forget and Forgive" more...and keep smiling..:)-
and to greet at least 100 of my friends on their B'days..

Happy New Year 2009…!!!!

Do Not Worry
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? "
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Jesus in Matthew 6:25-34

Happy New Year 2009 . . . . !!!

Wedding....!!!!

....

When you be what you are…
Alone
Silent
Reading
Cooking
Walking
Crying…!!!

When you be what you want to be…
Alone
Silent
Reading
Cooking
Walking
Smiling…!!!

Mercy Killing

Couple of weeks back, the media reported on Chennai parents seeking ‘mercy killing’ for their five year old boy who is physically and mentally challenged. There was a deluge of offers from individuals and NGOs alike to support the poor parents for the child’s medication. The same week there was a report on a London based teenager refusing to continue her medication on Leukemia telling that she could not burden her parents more.
The two incidents brought the question of legalizing Mercy killing or Euthanasia to limelight once again in the Indian and global media. There were many who voted for and against it , in the opinion polls that followed.

Background:
Euthanasia, as Mercy Killing is formally known, has been a topic of discussion many a times .In fact Mercy killing is legalized in five countries namely , Belgium , Luxemburg, Thailand , Switzerland and the states of Oregon and Washington in US. Every time the issue arises there are propagators who claim it to be a relief from the burden of pain and others claiming it as murderous. Even this time it was no different.

For and Against:
There were doctors who were vehemently against the idea arguing that it is against medical ethics since a doctor is one who safeguards life and to legalize “Doctor assisted Suicide” would be against the very roots of the medical ethics. At the same time there were others who viewed the whole issue in a very different way, who argued that since a person who was successful in committing suicide could not be punished it would be ridiculous to punish who is not successful in the act .And since suicide could not be made an offensive act neither could Mercy Killing or “Doctor assisted Suicide”.
Here again the question arises whether Euthanasia matches more with Killing or with Suicide. In the case of the Chennai incident, it was not the boy himself who wanted to take his life but his parents who were unable to treat or look after him, whether it was because they were unable to bear the financial obligations imposed by the condition or if it was because of the social stigma associated with bringing up a disabled child or if it was the fear that there would be none to take care of the child after them is altogether a different question. When abortion is legal and done with the support of medical practitioners, it makes little sense when it is not legal for the parents to decide on behalf of the child, once the child is born and known to have some disability.
In the case of the London teenager who was suffering from Leukemia from age five and was under treatment for the past eight years, it was her decision to stop medication since she felt she had to relieve her parents of the burden of looking after her.
In the first instance it matched more with Killing and in the second it went along better with Suicide.

Far less than a Conclusion:
For an unbiased mind not personally involved with the situation, it is indeed difficult to take a stance on the issue .But all incidents from whether it be murder, suicide or abortion we find the desire of man to be in full control of everything in his life , the difficulty to oblige to the fact that at times he is helpless and there are things that are still beyond his reach and control.We see the desire of man to be the director of his life than being only an actor in a play directed by someone else..someone mightier than he himself is. Again, I feel a scarcity of love in all the cases.
And I realize somewhere deep within that it is more easily said than done.

Silence

" Whereof you cannot speak,
Thereof you must keep silence "

- Buddha

Congrats 'United States of America'

Barack Obama's Victory speech...!!!!
http://www.hindu.com/nic/obamas-victory.htm