Solitary Soul

ACCEPTANCE Mario D’Couto             It’s been a couple of weeks since I celebrated my 30 th birthday and it has always been at the back of my mind to share something of what I have been through. Of course, it is definitely not going to be about washing my dirty linen in public, but I guess we are all part of the same boat. Having said that, our lives is never one straight line. It is a line with highs and lows and yet that is what gives meaning to it. Just as a heart rate monitor in a hospital has lines up and down which means that the person is still alive, the ups and downs in our lives means we still have hope and that we can do something; we are still alive!             Worry is an emotion that we all face. In due moderation, it is fine as it keeps us alive and active and if used in the proper way, it can lead to a lot of ways of finding new and creative solu...

WHAT’S THE FUTURE GOING TO BE? HUMANS OR ROBOTS? Mario D’Couto             In recent times, there has been a huge debate going around about the future of many industries, whether will humans still be in the work force or would it be taken over by artificial intelligence and is as much as we may want to pride ourselves about the fact that technology has made our lives simpler, comfortable and easy, we may still need to think otherwise.             In his book, “MESSY”, Tim Harford rephrases  a famous quote, “To err is human but to really foul things up takes a computer.” Technology was made to help humankind, not to supplant its thinking process. Besides, it was the human person who created technology and not the other way around.             From the most complicated data systems to the most mundane t...

SMILE, JOY, HUMOUR, LAUGHTER Mario D’Couto             Enthusiasm makes everything different. You can’t control the length of each day but you can control its impact by adding fun and enthusiasm. When you have enthusiasm for life, life has enthusiasm for you.             William Ward said, “Enthusiasm and persistence can make an average person superior; indifference and lethargy can make a superior person average.” Don’t postpone joy. Learn to laugh at yourself. A person with a great sense of humour may bore others but he rarely has a dull moment himself as Chuck Swindoll once said, “ Of all things God created, I am often most grateful He created laughter.”             Humour is to life what shock absorbers are to automobiles. Enthusiasm, like humour, is an inside job as Albert Einstein once said, “In my e...

The B.I.B.L.E – Basic Instruction Before Leaving Earth Mario D’Couto             If I were to say that the Bible is the Word of God, it may sound like one of the old cliché statements of what the Bible is but the truth is that it is precisely what it is. The Bible, is a library in itself, a collection of books, written at different times, under different circumstances, by different people, for different reasons. Given this huge diversity, where do we turn to for an authentic understanding?             If we go to examine the Bible, we will find that it was written in different literary genres like poetry, historical narrations, songs, romance, didactic treatise, personal correspondence, memories, satire, biography, autobiography, law, prophecy, parable and allegory. Thus, given this wide range of variety, it is but obvious that the Bible addresses a wide range of t...

     WE SERVE EACHOTHER …… Mario D’Couto             Being outside the priestly and religious life has been a very different experience for me (in a positive way) although there are times where I feel driven up the wall. But I guess that is part of life be it in whatever field one may find himself or herself in.             From the time I started working (it’s been a little more than 2 years) till now, the pressures of civilian life have been an eye – opener for me. Generally, in any profession, the average time that a person spends at work would be 5 to 6 days. Being in the work force as a normal civilian, I always wait for the days when I would be off duty.  The arrival of such days is like the ‘rain in dry land’ and yet once it is over and the time for work beckons, it is but natural to find oneself lethargic and struggling to get back to ...

THE ART OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION Mario D’Couto             While there is a lot that has been said about communication, so many seminars, workshops and books written about this particular topic, I summarize good communication to just two things namely, content and articulation . Now, I am not an expert on communication nor have I done any workshops or given any seminars on communication although this is just a humble reflection on something that I have thought about over a period of time.             Speaking about the two pillars on which the art of effective communication is based, some people have content but are not able to articulate well while some do not have content but have the gift of the gab . Some have both, the content as well as the ability to articulate while some have neither of it. Sure enough, when we speak about effective communication, it...

IMPROVISATION Mario D’Couto             While sticking to order and details in performing a particular task, one does not lose in playing with what one has in hand. This in one word is called “Improvisation”.             Improvisation is a phenomenon that is quite common among musicians, most notably among jazz musicians. However, this can also be applied in other aspect of life. A person giving a speech suddenly goes off track, uses instances, anecdotes or just speaks extemporally (of course within the confines of the topic) is another classic example of improvisation. In a sense, improvisation can also be compared to surfing. Whenever a huge wave comes, it is up to the task and the skill of the surfer to overcome or surf along the wave.             There are positives to take from this phenomenon, 1. ...

YOU ARE MORE THAN WHAT YOU THINK YOU ARE Mario D’Couto             Awareness is the key factor to individual growth. Being aware of your strength and limitations is fodder for one’s wholistic development. While the above statement can be interpreted from both angles, namely, positive and negative, in this article I would like to give a positive interpretation.             Just to mention briefly, the statement “you are more than you think you are” in a negative way, can be interpreted as living ignorant of one’s limitations and acting like as though nothing is wrong. It would be worse to think that one was better than the rest when, in reality, it is just the opposite. Yet, as stated earlier, the purpose of this article is a source of upliftment or at least this is what I intend it to be.             Keep...

“ TAKE A BREAK” or “JUGGLE WITH DIFFERENT TOPICS” – A Path to Creativity Mario D’Couto             It is human nature to want to improve and this means that we tend to be instinctive hill – climbers. Whether we’re trying to master a hobby, learn a language, write an essay or build a business or anything for that matter, it is natural to want every change to be a change for the better. But it is also easy to get stuck if we insist on never going downhill.             Mistakes are part of the creative process and the more we make, the better we get at that particular skill. This, of course, would be possible if we have an open and a curious mind for as Einstein said that the true purpose of education is to train the mind to think and for that reason it is priceless. So, if you want to write a good song, write a bad song; if you want to write a good poem, write a bad ...

A disease called “DISCOURAGEMENT” Mario D’Couto             Evan Williams founded a company called Odeo, a podcasting platform. Shortly, Apple announced that I-Tunes would include a podcasting platform, making Odeo obsolete.  Evan was not ready to give up his pursuit. He, along with Noah Glass and Biz Stone went to build Twitter, one of the most leading online social networking and microblogging services today.             Robert South once said, “ Defeat should never be a source of discouragement but rather a fresh stimulus.” Discouragement is one of the mental conditions unique to human beings. It is easy to get discouraged when you reach a point at which nothing you do seems to help you reach your goal. However, the clutch of discouragement will not hold you down if you refuse to fall prey to it. If you happen to allow discouragement to set in then you will...

SHADES OF LIFE Mario D’Couto             It’s been quite a while since I have done pencil shading (which is something I enjoy) and the beauty of art is creating something out of nothing or doing something different than what one would expect to do, for instance, some people think of creativity as finding 10 new ways to use a pen stand or a sheet of paper and so on. It’s about thinking ‘out of the box’.             However, the purpose of this article is not a discourse on creativity but is to drive home an analogy of art (painting and sketching to be precise) and life. A piece of art, as in a painting has a lot of different shades and if it were all the same colour, it would be a disaster. A good artist is one who knows how to combine the different colours and shades of colours to produce the desired effect. Skill is therefore very important in this regard. ...