Positive Overtones

How many times have you made an om e lette ? If you haven’t yet tried it, here is a recipe for you to try it out. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/basic-omelette  In many places, omlettes are a fun, go-to meal that lets you add vegetables to your egg mixture. However, there is an interesting analogy in an omelette, or in particular in eggs that are beaten? Ordinarily, eggs consist of the yoke and the egg white. If you boil the egg, the two become distinctly separate. You can open up the boiled egg and eat either part first. When it comes to the raw egg, the two are distinct yet this distinction is a bit subtle. It is still possible though because we have to do this separation at times, especially when making pastries. However, when you beat a raw egg to make an omelette, the distinction is negligible. If you ask a person to manually separate the two he would find it difficult as the two would have blended into each other. This very blending depicts our oneness of body and soul...

Bamboo plants have long been multipurpose plants. Their stems are sturdy, hard, and at times thick (depending on the type of bamboo plant). I have noticed the wonder of bamboos for a long time. However, I have also drawn out some ethical lessons from these much used plants. 1.   Leadership and Humility are inter-twined: There is a popular Chinese quote that continues to do the rounds on social media. The quote says that the higher the bamboo grows, the greater the bend. That is a clear and definite analogy on how a leader ought to be. Leadership entails one to bend down to help others. Authority goes best with humility. However, we most often mix things up and equate authority to pride. If you ever notice a bamboo, you will see that it can grow some several meters high. Yet, it does not remain with its tip to the sky. It continues to tilt downwards. The tip of the bamboo points/faces down telling us also to look at the needs of others no matter how high we climb the success...

In our high school, we would often have practical classes in Chemistry. The wonderful thing about the practical classes were the chemical reactions. It would usually be mixing acids and bases together to get a new colour or a new scent. The most basic of all these tests would be the ‘litmus paper’ test. The litmus paper would change colour when dipped into a concoction thus revealing the ph of that substance. But, what interests me is always the chemical reactions involving our olfactory senses or testers. The fragrance or odour that emerged from the chemical reaction determined the salts that were used. This whole idea of chemical reactions was almost forgotten. I was reminded of it when I read a quote by the psychologist Carl Jung. I do not recall the quote word for word but I do remember its essence. Carl Jung compared people as chemicals. He said that when two people interact with each other, a reaction is created which transforms at least one of them. No matter how old we a...

I have always been fascinated by the simple and ordinary matchsticks. As a child I would always wonder how a simple and insignificant wooden stick could spark a fire. It is only as I grew that I studied about the chemical concoction prepared when making the matchsticks. This would create a chemical reaction when the matchstick was struck against the matchbox which resulted in the creation of a flame. Most often we use matchsticks to start a fire. The fire then can be used creatively or destructively. It is quite a common phenomenon to see fire unleash its destructive powers. There are the natural forest fires, the fire at oil-rigs, and the bombing of cities by soldiers or terrorists. The list can go on: from minor damages to devastating destruction. However, when we look at the creative power of fire, we notice many useful things that many of us are unaware of. The most basic of it is that fire is used for cooking. It is also used as a heating system during the cold winter seaso...

“It’s only words and words are all I have to take your heart away.” This is a line from a popular song by the BeeGees. It is a strong reminder for me on the power of words. The words we use are integral in the growth or the destruction of the other. The same structure can be used with different expressions producing different outcomes. In the movie ‘Stoning of Soraya’, the central character, Soraya, is accused of adultery by her husband. As the story progresses, the village elders slowly begin to manipulate their words to frame Soraya of the crime she is innocent of. Yet, their lies prove so convincing that she is condemned to be stoned. At times, we too could be like these village elders. We may manipulate our words to make our lies seem like the truth. At times, this could also lead to gossip. We lead others to their metaphorical death, destroy their dignity and tarnish their image. I have witnessed, both, the creative and the destructive power of words. The most prominen...

Have you ever been nervous when looking forward to accepting a request? Does it ever occur to you that at times requests may come with hooks attached? If not, you are still one of the good people who genuinely go out to help others. If I had a hat, I would have lowered it and bowed in respect to you. The genuine way of helping others is through selfless availability. There is immense joy that accompanies selfless acts of service. This is so because, one does not do things out of compulsion or force but our of general care and concern. I have heard that it has to own perks too. Of the many, the most notable would is the accumulation of talents and experience. As one helps the other selflessly, one acquires skill and understands things better. However, selfless acts of service also have its downsides. Many times people make use of those who genuinely go out to help others. This is because people who selflessly help, at times, find it difficult to say no. Ergo, we have the conund...

Chuck was just an ordinary kid. Wait! If that is so, then why am I narrating this story for you? I guess we will only know that in the end. But to reach the end we should have a beginning. Let's just keep the beginning the way it is. Chuck was an ordinary kid. He was medium in stature; had thick dark-brown hair coupled with a skin-tone that resembled the sands on the shores of Cape Town. He was ordinary in every aspect except for his untapped potential: he was a genius at languages. Whatever language he attempted to learn, he could learn it in 3 months straight. But, this is not a story about his success in life but of the origination of his talent. It is the story of how he discovered this hidden talent. Right from his initial schooldays, Chuck always liked his English class. Many thought that he did so vecause English was his native language which he already knew and needed no effort to study. Though that wasn't the reason for his particular liking, he eventually beg...