Food for Thought: Paulo Coelho

"Life has many ways of testing a person's will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once." 

~Paul Coelho

Food for Thought: Joss Whedon

Today I am stealing my food for thought quote from my good friend Allie Safran and her wonderful blog Beauty and the Feast. I fell in love with the quote after reading it and just had to share it with you all.

"Passion, it lies in all of us, sleeping...waiting...and though unwanted...it will stir...open its jaws and howl. It speaks to us...guides us...passion rules us all, and we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments. The joy of love...the clarity of hatred...and the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can hear. If we could live without passion maybe we'd know some kind of peace...but we would be hollow...empty rooms shuttered and dark. Without passion we'd be truly dead." 

~Joss Whedon 

A Short Video On the Dalit Women of India

For those of who are interested in knowing more about the people I am trying to help, I found this short clip that shows the hard truth about the lives of Dalit Women in India. 

Navsarjan aims to empower the Dalit women in Gujarat, but they face extreme challenges and their work has only scratched the surface of the problem. 

Be Curious

"Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventures."

~Lovelle Drachman

My Last Home Cooked Meal With Sushma

I have been away from the blogging world, and all things internet for the past week almost. My broadband internet card really doesn't like the village I live in or the rain. (Though I am happy to report that India finally got the monsoon it was looking for, with over 100% rain fall in August the drought is not going to be nearly as bad as they had previously forecasted.)

My last couple of days at DSK flew by, and now I am in Goa at Navsarjan's strategic planning meeting. But before I left DSK Sushma said she had to cook for me one last time. So friday night before she went home for the weekend she cooked for me and we spent our last night talking together. 

 The food was delicious and spicy as usual. 

 After dinner we decided to go for a walk and stopped by the local store to talk. While we at the store we ran into these two guys who were grabbing a quick bite to eat. The one on the right is Sushma's friend's nephew and the one on the left is his best friend. I swear anywhere we would go we would always run into friends or past students of Sushma's. 

But it was a wonderful last evening with Sushma at DSK, and I can honestly say the thing I am going to miss most about that place is her. She took care of me showing me the ropes and making sure I was always fed. I really am going to miss our late night talks in the garden and her cooking. I learned so much from her these past couple of months, and I can honestly say I am a better person now for having known her. 

Thanks Sushma! I'll miss you!

My Morning in Photos

I had an incredibly productive and wonderful day today. I finished my concept note for the Environment Issues Campaign I am trying to launch here at Navsarjan, made really good headway with the Children's Book I am currently writing, and had my mind blown and my heart expanded by my mornings venture into the field. Yeah, overall I would say I am feeling pretty good right now. 

So today I wanted to share with you photos of the people I met and had tea with this morning. 

Every day is another opportunity to have a magical experience. 

Today these people made mine. I hope you enjoy the portraits, it was an honor and a pleasure to take them. 

Poetry: Don't Quit

A poem I found that is helping me get through all of my work:

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit-
Rest if you must, but don't quit.

Life is strange with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a fellow turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a fair and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out-
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit,-
It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.

~Author Unknown