Topic: RAWK's Bloggers' Musings, Wisdom & General Positivity for 2019 & beyond!

[24/7]

Morning all.

A few years ago, when I was working in Mumbai, I saw a desktop calendar in the hotel's bookstore that had for each day a different photo os somewhere in India and a different motivational quotation from various influential people (most of them Indian, but not all).

I had the idea a while back (during my little break from all things RAWKish) to start this thread today and to upload a pic of each day's quotation. I shall try to keep this going but if for any reason I need to catch up, I'll post a few in a row.

Hopefully you'll like it, maybe it will be the tipping point for some that day to make the change in their lives they've been waiting to make.

If the thread bombs, it bombs - but at least I will have tried

Happy New 2018, people - make it your year.

[24/7]

January 1st

An auspicious day.

"The future depends on what you do today." - Mahatma Gandhi

[Big Red Richie]

The Future depends........on what you do today.

Ooh.  That's deep!   





I look forward to your postings.   

[24/7]

Ooh.  That's deep!   

I look forward to your postings.   

Yup - the consequences of today's decisions will inevitably shape what happens next, so our choices are at times worthy of deep consideration prior to making them. Sometimes our choices are easy, sometimes hard - sometimes they feel impossible to make - but make them we must if we are to move forward.

Today I chose to face 2018, with all its impending trials, with a strong heart and with positive intention. I am determined to show nothing but compassion to anyone who transgresses me. What I do with that today may not bear fruit for a long time, however it has the potential to do so far more than if I do not.

(Some of the quotations you will see will not feel deep at all, some of them are quite heavily weighted with religious doctrine at times and that makes me uneasy on some days, being an avowed born-again fundamentalist atheist but I can see the intended wisdom behind each one and there is value to be taken from each one - if we choose to Discuss!)

[Xabi Gerrard]

Nice one 24/7. This'll be a good thread to pop into throughout the year 

[Yanwoo]

Good idea, I'll be checking in for my daily dose!

[Slightly Less Mediocre Baron Bennekov]

I’ll be reading along here, Jim!

[kesey]

You can do nothing about the direction of the wind . All you can do is adjust your sails.

[classycarra]

If the thread bombs, it bombs - but at least I will have tried

Happy New 2018, people - make it your year.

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky

Happy new year mate

[24/7]

(So this idea might have legs after all! Thanks for the support, guys )

January 2nd

"Peaceful coexistence is possible among nations no matter how deep the differences between them, how far apart they are in their political and economic systems, no matter how intense the issues that divide them." - Lal Bahadur Shastri

I had to look this one up.

Shastri was the 2nd PM of India and shared a birthday with Gandhi. The quotation above is the 2nd half a longer one issued on Sept 23rd (which begs the question why the calendar people didn't put this on Sept 23rd!) 1965, the day of the ceasefire in the Indo-Pakistan War which had already claimed thousands of deaths.

A couple of anecdotes of interest point to a very intelligent, moral and humble man (although Indians and Pakistanis on RAWK might well be aware of more things about him that I won't bring into here, least of all the suspicion surrounding the circumstances of his death!)

In 1963, on the day when he was dropped from the cabinet, he was sitting in his home in the dark, without a light. When asked about the reason, he said as he no longer is a minister, all expenses will have to be paid by himself and that as an MP and minister he didn't earn enough to save for time of need.

Although Shastri had been a cabinet minister for many years in the 1950s, he was poor when he died. All he owned at the end was an old car, which he had bought in instalments from the government and for which he still owed money. He was a member of Servants of India society (which included Gandhi, Lala Lajpat Rai, Gopal Krishna Gokhle) which asked all its members to shun accumulation of private property and remain in public life as servants of people.

So the three points that I wish to dwell on here are:


i) his belief that basically we can all get along if we choose to understand, appreciate and respect our differences

ii) accumulation of wealth and property is not necessarily the smartest way to live

iii) public duty does not entitle you to privilege and expense

Wouldn't it be great if a few more of our lot learned from that?!


PS - I remember the first time I went to the Gateway of India in Mumbai with a tall, blonde female work colleague, both of us wearing LFC shirts. We were bleedin mobbed!!!!!! In the end we joked that we would charge 100 rupees for selfies. One lad stuck his hand in his pocket as if to pay so we had to stop him. Madness, but a fun day nonetheless.

[24/7]

January 3rd

"Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to cary rain or usher storm, but to add colour to my sunset sky." - Rabindranath Tagore

You'll see quite a few from this guy over the coming months, a man of some deliciously wise words.

Today they are particularly apt, since one particular cloud that's been hanging over me for some time now is about to be dissolved away by the bright sunshine of progress and completion.

So when I turned the page today, I thought what a lovely thing to be feeling - resolution at a time when resolutions are usually made!

[BlackandWhitePaul]

January 3rd

"Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to cary rain or usher storm, but to add colour to my sunset sky." - Rabindranath Tagore

I love that quote.

[Geppvindh's]

Tagore is by far the greatest writer India has ever produced. Incredibly poignant writing fit for any time and place. This thread hits quite close to home so I'll be popping in here every day. Thanks, 24/7!

[liversaint]

Stand and Deliver

[24/7]

Stand and Deliver

?

[afc tukrish]

"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky

Happy new year mate

[deFacto please, you bastards]

Thank you for this thread mate

[24/7]

Thank you for this thread mate

You're welcome. You're all welcome. Feel free to share this thread, well, anywhere........

[24/7]

January 4th

"How far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world." William Shakespeare.

Today's words of wisdom come courtesy of The Bard. I have an uncomfortable relationship with him, bad memories of English Literature 'A' Level and the pressure to conform to the critics in order to get a good grade. The rebel in me said, "Fuck THAT! Most of his stuff is shite!" Trust me to get 'The Tempest' as one of the chosen texts that year, the one play that the critics tend to pan and I thought it was brilliant. The other was 'Antony & Cleopatra', not the best text to place in front of a Classics student either. It was dire.....and historically inaccurate.....Ah well.

Back to good deeds.

RAWK has a habit of coming together and achieving things, whether it be the Kevin Williams petition signing, or the Save LFC campaign or climbing the hill in our own way, so to speak. Most recently it was to help Carl van Riel's family and boy was that a good deed that shone! Huge congrats to all who made that deed work.

Try to do something good today. I myself have a PM from someone in a very dark place. My advice to them is to flush the pills and take every day as it comes, looking for at least one positive each and every day, something good and valuable about themselves. It's in all of us - we just have to look. Maybe a something as small yet as bright as a candle will shed light on that one thing today.

[Slightly Less Mediocre Baron Bennekov]

January 4th

"How far that little candle throws its beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world." William Shakespeare.

I'm falling more and more in love with this thread already.....

[Keita Success]

Cheers for the thread, mate 

[24/7]

Cheers for the thread, mate 

Good to see you smiling, fella. Hang on to that feeling. Or I'll twat yer!

[24/7]

I'm falling more and more in love with this thread already.....

It gets better. There's some absolute belters in that diary and the most incredible part of it is when that day's quotation fits perfectly the situation or problem or task or joy or whatever you happen to be feeling that day. It's great to start each day looking at the quotation and thinking, "In what way can this inspire or motivate me today?"

[Tesco tearaway]

Good to see you smiling, fella. Hang on to that feeling. Or I'll twat yer!

My favourite quote of the thread 



Only kidding mate... And that's to both of you 

[24/7]

January 5th

"No one ever attains very eminent success by simply doing what is required of him; it is the amount and excellence of what is over and above the required that determines greatness." Charles Kendall Adams

Another one I had to look up - an American academic and historian, he was the President of Cornell University and later of Wisconsin, so one presumes he knew a thing or two about being outstanding in his field (no jokes about scarecrows please, there's a different thread for that!)

He advocated the application of a Germanic method of teaching, which I presume is still pedagogical at its core yet philosophical in its approach too, especially given the high profile of Teutonic (German/Austrian/Scandinavian philosophers and psychologists and artistic types at the time. i.e. end of 19th century) so he can't be all that bad!

Additionally, he was forced to resign his position at Cornell over a clash of ideology around degree graduation, which to me suggests a character who challenged the status quo in favour of a system that is more progressive. Sounds like just about every Liverpool fan I've ever met

I guess the paraphrase version of the quotation might go, "Jobsworths achieve fuck-all more than the minimum they deserve. Want something more from what you put in? Then put in more - and make it count."

Personally, I never got anywhere in life by doing only the bare minimum. I do get plenty out of life by adopting the philosophy of putting my heart and soul into everything that I do - and generosity of spirit generates its own rewards many times over.

Enjoy your day, people, do something benevolent, exceed people's expectations of you - see if it pays off further down the line and remember this, the day you chose to do something better.....


PS - the building is the Charminar (built 1591) in Hyderabad. If I were a rich man (cue music) I'd buy it and rename it Sharmanar

[Geppvindh's]

Not entirely on topic but I saw that picture and went down memory lane. A roughly six block radius around the Charminar has got the most lip-smacking curries, biryanis, kebabs, Irani teas and biscuits you'll ever have. I spent an entire day walking around old Hyderabad stuffing myself till I couldn't take it anymore. I guess I did end up exceeding my own expectations of how much I could eat in a single day!

[24/7]

Not entirely on topic...

Doesn't matter, friend. Whatever the quotations/pictures move you to remember or create. Nice ending though to get it back ON topic! Sounds like you had a great day. How long were you on the khazi* for after, like?


(interesting side note - https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/khazi - Usage notes - Now most commonly used in Liverpool, away from its Cockney origin." Thieving Scousers? )

[Geppvindh's]

Doesn't matter, friend. Whatever the quotations/pictures move you to remember or create. Nice ending though to get it back ON topic! Sounds like you had a great day. How long were you on the khazi* for after, like?


(interesting side note - https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/khazi - Usage notes - Now most commonly used in Liverpool, away from its Cockney origin." Thieving Scousers? )

Haha! I am of Indian origin so I felt not a flutter and had the soundest of sleeps that night

[Slightly Less Mediocre Baron Bennekov]

Haha! I am of Indian origin so I felt not a flutter and had the soundest of sleeps that night

[24/7]

January 6th

"If we take care of the minutes, the years will take care of themselves." - Benjamin Franklin

One of our sources who needs no introduction.

This line feels apt, just days after my 48th birthday. Do I feel middle-aged? Do I fuck! There are of course what sometimes feel like "wasted years" in my life (for too many personal reasons to go into, some of you know of them though).....however, when I look back, it doesn't seem that it was the years that were wasted, rather the moments (or minutes) that I failed to take care of adequately, which created knock-on consequences, so yes, it all adds up.

So now I find that, having taken better care over the smaller things in recent years, my quality of life has dramatically improved! Is it perfect? Of course not - but I no longer suffer from depression and I no longer feel the negative aspects of my OCD. Instead, I have learned to integrate the traits of my OCD into my work and home lives, which has enriched them, rather than hindered them like they used to

You can too

Another way to look at it, "If you take care of the minutes in football matches, the results take care of themselves." Isn't that right, Virgil?

[Lady_brandybuck]

I like this one today. Quite poignant, Thanks Jim!

[Banquo's Ghost]

Great idea for a thread, thank you.

Today's quote (and in a progression, yesterday's to an extent) reminds me of the quote I've started using for the team I'm leading now. After all the change I've introduced in the last six months, I want us to concentrate on this idea, which resonates with the Franklin quote. I think it's also useful when I think about what Jürgen is trying to accomplish at LFC.

"The farmer does not make the wheat grow any faster by pulling on the shoots." (Anon. folk proverb).

You make all the preparations necessary, till the soil, make sure it's healthy and then sow the right seed. If you've put everything in place, and tend it well, no amount of impatience will make things happen faster than they can. Indeed, getting impatient will only end up ruining the crop.

[24/7]

Great idea for a thread, thank you.

You're welcome. Nice link to the footie too

[24/7]

January 7th

"Prayer is not asking. It is a longing of the soul. It is daily admission of one's weakness. It is better in prayer to have a heart without words than words without a heart." - Mahatma Gandhi

Okay, this is one of those religious-type ones I mentioned, that, as an atheist, doesn't sit entirely with me but I understand the sentiment and personally I relate to the second part more than the first. If you relate to any part of it though, that's all good - and fits the purpose of this thread

On a footballing and very personal front, I joined RAWK eleven years ago today, having seen something on the television in Sweden that did not appear to be explained very well by the commentator there. It was a visual representation of so much heart........and just two words...........

FA Cup 3rd round v Arsenal at Anfield.
A mosaic.
"THE TRUTH"

That stirred something in me, awoke an energy that I previously didn't have an outlet for.

Then, well, together with a whole bunch of other people with heart, we climbed the hill in our own way.

All based on two words and plenty of heart.

Which two words will inspire you today? How much heart can you unleash in positive deeds today?

[Andy @ Allerton!]

"Never smite an ant because it might turn into a giant ant with a machine gun one day"

- Rudyard Kipling

[24/7]

January 8th

"Treat everyone you meet as though they're the most important person you'll meet that day!" - Roger Dawson

Nice sentiment! Who's Roger Dawson though?

http://www.mindperk.com/roger-dawson-biography/ - oh, okay - a sales/negotiation skills trainer.

Whatever your personal feelings might be regarding capitalist ventures and sales negotiation tactics, the sentiment remains valid. Whenever I run 'sales' trainings, I approach it from the perspective of sales being merely an internal function of providing the best possible service to a customer - and customers prefer to feel like they are exercising their choice, rather than being sold to aggressively - I certainly don't subscribe to any "sell, sell, sell to your own agenda!" drum-beating - and there's nothing to suggest to me Dawson does the latter........

.........so there is a more altruistic aspect to today's line. Making someone's day by making them feel valued, even if there's no extrinsic benefit to you, as there might come an intrinsic reward instead....

Whose day will you make today?

[Slightly Less Mediocre Baron Bennekov]

Today’s quote really resonates with me. This is exactly how I approach each and every new person I meet on my way.

I’m digging this...

[24/7]

January 9th

"I find life an exciting business - and most exciting when it is lived for others." - Helen Keller

Ah, what a beautifully simple and selfless statement! If you don't know Helen Keller's story, I recommend a quick read up.

As tiring as a life of service to others might feel at times, it can be exceptionally rewarding. You don't need to adopt it all the live long day every live long day, however there's also the idea of practising random kindness of senseless acts of beauty, which was created in 1982 as a counterpoint to the phrase "random acts of violence and senseless acts of cruelty."

Try a random act of kindness today, for the interests of another.

[Branno]

"Don't worry about the price of petrol.....just stick 20 quid in every time. The price never changes"

Me Dad

[Peabee]

“I’m losing my electrons.”