Positivity Weekly - Vol 5

Perceptions determine our thoughts, emotions, speech and actions. Let’s spend the next few minutes reading amazingly empowering stories and rediscovering the positivity all around us.

Positivity Weekly will appear on this blog around the weekend. I will bring the best of news from any and every source I can access. I will include my own personal experiences, if they fit. And if you have any apt stories, anecdotes or insights to share, I will put them here with pride. In the long run, your participation will determine the quality of this initiative. Do write in with your contributions and feedback to connect@eshwarsundaresan.com. And if you like this initiative, please share it widely.

Hello, hello! Here we are, ready to share smiles and cheer again. I hope you had a lovely Christmas. The year’s coming to an end. And what a glorious year it has been. I think such a year as 2013 deserves to be sent off in style. Hence this volume of Positivity Weekly is padded with extra scoops of positive energy. Grab them while they’re hot!

News from the public domain

Russian video that made the whole world cry

Did you just experience a fall? Are you stuck somewhere? Are you feeling cold, afraid, alone, helpless?

Don’t worry. Help is on the way. And it’s getting there as soon as it can. You don’t have to take my word for it. Just watch this video that comes to us all the way from snowy Russia.

Where there’s a will, there’s a dream

The boys of Panyee are like soccer-crazy boys from any other part of the world. They want to play soccer underneath open skies, just like their favourite stars on TV. Unfortunately, even this simple wish seemed beyond their dreams. You see, Panyee is a small fishing hamlet situated close to Phuket. It’s a miniscule island where every square inch of land has been used up.

What to do? What to do?

Watch this astounding video to discover the true story behind the formation of the highly successful Thai football club: Panyee FC.

Message on the Smokescreen

Smokers know the ill-effects of smoking better than non-smokers. Why then do they not quit smoking? Because… well, let’s see what smokers have to say about it in this path breaking anti-smoking ad made by the Thai Health Promotion Foundation.

What’s most heartening is the response received by this ad from around the world. Millions of views, free press coverage etc etc. The Quitline (Helpline for smokers) registered a 40% increase in its call volume. With the advent of such hard-hitting messages, one can hope that the scourge of smoking is eliminated forever. An entity that is the source of so much negative energy does not deserve to survive. Let there be light. Without smoke.

Cop on a mission

Bangaloreans often complain about the implicit nexus between corrupt cops and rapacious auto rickshaw drivers. However, traffic cop Shivaswamy seems to be on a mission to change that perception. And his solo missions are usually conducted in the wintry pre-dawns of silicon city. Here’s Bangalore Mirror’s report on his achievements. 

Soldiers come home

Sometimes, little children ask Santa to send Daddy home for Christmas. Sometimes, those Daddies happen to be soldiers performing courageously elsewhere.

Sometimes, Santa listens to little children who love their Daddies. Here’s a montage of such times.

As told to me

Emperor of cheer

My friend Jay is always on the lookout for the next good deed. He spends countless hours on social initiatives, and does so with a strong conviction that tomorrow is going to be better than today.

Having lost many people dear to him to cancer over the years, Jay is particularly keen on helping those afflicted by this emperor of maladies. So when he was told about a cancer patient who needed blood/platelet donors, he naturally decided to be a donor.

At the hospital, he came face-to-face with his beneficiary. 17-year-old Nilesh, who was recovering from a third round of chemotherapy. He knew that more rounds of chemotherapy might be required. Even the necessity for a Bone Marrow Transplant could not be ruled out. Despite the harsh prognosis, Nilesh’s spirit was still alive and well. When he heard that Jay ran a fitness centre, he immediately expressed a desire to lift weights!

Nilesh lost his father to a heart attack last year. His mother now works in a small mill in Dandeli (north Karnataka) to make ends meet and ensure that both her children pursue their education.

Nilesh wants to quickly graduate, find fulltime employment and then simultaneously study to be a Chartered Accountant. Taking care of his mother and sister tops his list of concerns. The path ahead seems to be strewn with challenges, but if anybody is capable of staying positive, it’s Nilesh. The young man seems capable of deriving positivity from any and every event. Not surprisingly, the opportunity to spend some time chatting with Jay, too, infused him with hope and positivity.

When Jay went to visit him again on Christmas day, he was thrilled and surprised.

“You’re spending so much time with me; it’s such a big gesture. Why do you do it?’ Nilesh asked.

Jay’s response came straight from the heart:

‘The way you are battling this disease inspires me. That’s one reason why I’m sharing your story with my friends. There’s another. I’d like to create awareness and bring support for you and many others like you.’

I think the finest human interactions are those in which one cannot be certain who the inspirer is and who the inspired!

In conclusion

This week, millions of Christmas miracles would have taken place all over the world. Thanks to the abundance of technology in our lives, we will soon get to see/hear about these miracles soon enough. That will provide more fodder for our happiness farm.

Until then, I hope you find many reasons to enjoy many moments with many loved ones. :).

To read the previous volume of Positivity Weekly, please click here.
To read the next volume of Positivity Weekly, please click here.