Can I ‘count’ my blessings’? Really?

I never realized how blessed I am until I actually started ‘counting’ my ‘blessings’. When I look around I see all the pathetic-ness and filth around [filth in mentality and human behaviour] but at the same time when I look within, I feel content, peaceful and happy. Although I may be frowning outside, I smile inside, considering seriously, at how unfortunate those people are and that, they have no idea, [personal and private] how blessed and lucky I am. In a fraction of a second, all my blessings and the love I have received flash swiftly across the screen of my mind and in the next instant, I give back love and gratitude to all those souls. No matter what is happening outside around me, I am peaceful inside.

                At the beginning of my year, when I shared this with my brother, he said to me, to not forget to ‘count’ all my blessings if possible, daily! And be grateful to God for attaching these blessings to me via some souls. It is God’s way of expressing love to me through the medium of these souls. I have been a receiver of love and blessings – consistently…. For whatever reason – for my actions, deeds, my words, my behavior, my thoughts, my expressions, my little acts of kindness, etc….

Did I consider writing a gratitude journal? 

Even if I am unable to write physically, I do write in my mental journal, everyday. 

At the core of the heart, is the basic need for love- to give, to share. This need to express love should not be suppressed, cause when we lose our loved ones, we will always harbor this regret deep down in our hearts, of not expressing, sharing our love and establishing clear communications with them.

Many times, we feel the need to express our feelings correctly and accurately, to be able to establish the best communication to those whom we want to reach out to. We need not be expert writers to achieve this. However, if a person who wants to express, has good writing or communication [read: listening] skills, it definitely is helpful in the need to express. I have always found this useful. Especially while communicating with close ones, dear and near ones, with loved ones. And I have thanked myself for consistently and consciously developing this ‘talent’ or ‘skill’ within me. I always have felt from deep within, that one needs to be very authentic. Original and authentic. Genuine.

Genuine not just in the feelings we harbour, but also in expressing them to the intended recipient. 

Recently, I had the opportunity and the chance to meet one of my very old teachers with whom, I have spent considerable time during early years of my college. She was taking VRS and I got this idea of writing a card for her. Among the several other hand-crafted items I gifted her, my card was the one that touched her the most. She wrote back to me expressing thanks and her happiness. I was surprised. That’s precisely when I realized, that I cannot undermine, the value of what we gift to others or the value of hand made things. They do really have the personal ‘touch’! Yes, I 'touched' it with my own hands with my eyes, with my heart, whatever I made or packed for her. Yes, the thoughts and the quality of thoughts that were running in my mind whilst packing her gifts, are actually transmitted to the person receiving these gifts. I can not under value that! Hmmmm 

Are our teaching and knowledge imparting methods accurate?

The very basic training and learning imparted to students at school level, in itself, is found to be with many faults and flaws. Let me explain: for eg in an English class, they expect the children to attempt exercises of grammar or composition, comprehension & essays etc. right in the first attempt on their own. How is it possible? Considering the widely different backgrounds that the students come from, someone may not even be well versed with English as a language and may get petrified even turn away from such an assignment.

Even for a mathematics session, the concept, has to be taught thoroughly to the class foremost, and only then can you assess their analytic or application skills by giving them problems or summations to solve. Then, in the first case, why the partiality toward English or Literature concepts? 

In the first case, a basic but thorough training must be imparted before even giving an assignment to the students and moreover, considerable time should be spent on imparting this training. That’s precisely what the schools are for! The particular teacher has to have this attitude of making the children learn and then practice, not the other way round. I don’t see a better way than, in which students can learn.

For finding answers to questions given, she needs to train and teach the students – very thoroughly, how to do that, rather than relying on readily available resources like guides, ready-answers, etc. To understand the lesson, the key concepts, the fundamentals, the information, the knowledge and then, attempt to test one’s knowledge or learning or to test one’s skills, to assess the child’s information absorbed so far, is the correct method in my view. One cannot gain any shortcut to teaching methods. No matter what props or tools one may use to teach, if the method is not followed in the correct sequence, the entire learning process will not be effective, the way we want it to be.

In my opinion, the most accurate way to impart education or to teach a child, is, to explain the intended concept very clearly, spend considerable time to do that, and when the teacher is convinced the child has understood what she wanted him to, then their knowledge can be tested. Or their understanding can be assessed. The child needs considerable time to reflect on what he has learnt, process it in his head, grasp it, and understand [a part of it] before he can reproduce the information or before he is ready to be assessed. 

Over the years, gradually, the child will and must learn, imbibe and be apply to use to his benefit, these skills of understanding, analyze and apply the knowledge imparted to him. The teacher, as a knowledge impart-er has a greater responsibility to adopt accurate teaching methods, skills to train, ensure that the child has learnt perfectly, satisfy herself about this before she closes a session. Even if this aim is not achieved in one session or class, it can be extended over to the next one, cause here, time is not the constraint, but the learning and the process of learning is significant; in that, even if fewer concepts are taught, rather that they be learnt thoroughly. If the teacher does not develop an attitude or a keenness to teach, the attitude and intention to learn cannot be developed in the learner - ever. The whole purpose of teaching is nullified then! 

In my case, ever since I have been observing and noticing these trends, i have been making mental notes of what could be the possible correct methods to teach kids at school levels. I do hope i get an opportunity in life to be able to practically use or implement these methods that i have mentally developed and be able to correct what has gone wrong. There can be no cookie-cutter solutions to teaching problems or gaps in the teaching methods, but a newer, different, perhaps better method can be implemented for experimentation at least.