What Trees teach us about life?

Image Source: Google

For me, trees have always been the most penetrating preachers. I revere them when they live in tribes and families, in forests and groves. And even more I revere them when they stand alone. They are like lonely persons. Not like hermits who have stolen away out of some weakness, but like great, solitary men, like Beethoven and Nietzsche. In their highest boughs the world rustles, their roots rest in infinity; but they do not lose themselves there, they struggle with all the force of their lives for one thing only: to fulfill themselves according to their own laws, to build up their own form, to represent themselves. Nothing is holier, nothing is more exemplary than a beautiful, strong tree. When a tree is cut down and reveals its naked death-wound to the sun, one can read its whole history in the luminous, inscribed disk of its trunk: in the rings of its years, its scars, all the struggle, all the suffering, all the sickness, all the happiness and prosperity stand truly written, the narrow years and the luxurious years, the attacks withstood, the storms endured. And every young farm boy knows that the hardest and noblest wood has the narrowest rings, that high on the mountains and in continuing danger the most indestructible, the strongest, the ideal trees grow.
Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.
A tree says: A kernel is hidden in me, a spark, a thought, I am life from eternal life. The attempt and the risk that the eternal mother took with me is unique, unique the form and veins of my skin, unique the smallest play of leaves in my branches and the smallest scar on my bark. I was made to form and reveal the eternal in my smallest special detail.
A tree says: My strength is trust. I know nothing about my fathers, I know nothing about the thousand children that every year spring out of me. I live out the secret of my seed to the very end, and I care for nothing else. I trust that God is in me. I trust that my labor is holy. Out of this trust I live.
When we are stricken and cannot bear our lives any longer, then a tree has something to say to us: Be still! Be still! Look at me! Life is not easy, life is not difficult. Those are childish thoughts. . . . Home is neither here nor there. Home is within you, or home is nowhere at all.
A longing to wander tears my heart when I hear trees rustling in the wind at evening. If one listens to them silently for a long time, this longing reveals its kernel, its meaning. It is not so much a matter of escaping from one’s suffering, though it may seem to be so. It is a longing for home, for a memory of the mother, for new metaphors for life. It leads home. Every path leads homeward, every step is birth, every step is death, every grave is mother.
So the tree rustles in the evening, when we stand uneasy before our own childish thoughts: Trees have long thoughts, long-breathing and restful, just as they have longer lives than ours. They are wiser than we are, as long as we do not listen to them. But when we have learned how to listen to trees, then the brevity and the quickness and the childlike hastiness of our thoughts achieve an incomparable joy. Whoever has learned how to listen to trees no longer wants to be a tree. He wants to be nothing except what he is. That is home. That is happiness.

Herman Hesse.

(Hermann Karl Hesse (2 July 1877 – 9 August 1962) was a German-born Swiss poet, novelist, and painter. His best-known works include Demian, Steppenwolf, Siddhartha, and The Glass Bead Game, each of which explores an individual's search for authenticity, self-knowledge and spirituality. In 1946, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature. Content Source: Wikipedia)

An Afternoon in the Park

A must read short story that will make you happy.

 

There one was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with popcorn and six-pack Pepsi and started hi journey. When he had gone about three blocks he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a sip from his Pepsi when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her some popcorn. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him.

Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a Pepsi. Once again, she smiled at him. The boy was delighted.

They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As it began to grow dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave. He turned around, ran back to the old woman and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.

When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face.

She asked him, “What did you do today that made you so happy”

He replied, “ I had lunch with God. You know what? She’s got the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen!”

Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home.

Her son was also stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, “Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?”

She replied, “I ate popcorn in the park with the God. You know, he is much younger than I expected.”

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime, Embrace all equally!

Thank you for reading :) 

Regards
Bhagwan Joshi

A FEW BASIC STUDY TECHNIQUES

A FEW BASIC STUDY TECHNIQUES

SCHOOL

It is a place where we learn variety of things ranging from your curricular to your co-curricular actives. 

We also learn good habits, moral values social etiquette to interact effectively with our friends, seniors, juniors and our teachers.

No wonder school is called the Temple of Learning.

A student cannot escape the learning process because whatever is learnt is assessed and quantified from time to time in the form of exams.

STUDY TECHNIQUES

1. IN THE CLASSROOM
2. AT HOME
3. WHILE STUDYING

IN THE CLASSROOM

Your attitude and application in the class determines your level of understanding and learning.

ACTIVE: You should be prepared for the days’ lesson.  So, in class, be Active i.e. actively involved in the days’ lesson.

ALERT: To listen closely and to absorb what the teacher is teaching

ENTHUSIASTIC: How ready you are to learn.

Keeping these things in mind you will be able to accomplish half your learning in class.

AT HOME

Assign a special place for studies.

Should not indulge in any leisurely activities like drawing, listening to music here

Place should be well lit, ventilated, quiet, neat, clean, tidy and comfortable

Should never study on the bed, since the mind relates bed with sleep, we will not be able to learn and study much here.

WHILE STUDYING

TAKE REST: Give your mind 10 minutes of rest after every hour of study, so take a small break.

WATER: Sipping water helps to build concentration

REVISION: Stores information systematically in the brain so that you can reproduce it when required (well that’s not important, lets delete it or here it is again, it must be important, it must be stored)

GOLDEN RULE: Spend at least 30 minutes revising the days’ work.  Weekends should be devoted to revise the weeks’ work.

IMPORTANT ASPECT IN THE LEARNING PROCESS

Discussion among friends and peers and teaching one another.

75% of learning takes place from discussing with others

95% of learning takes place whey you teach someone

Group work is an effective way of enhancing learning.

TO SUM UP

There is no substitute for hard work.

Learning is a lifelong process and what we learn stays with us throughout our lives.  The best time to learn is when you are young, since life becomes too busy later.

                                                                                                            In the process of learning

                                                                                                            Principal

Welcome All

Dear All

On behalf of our School Chairman, I welcome all to the Official Blog Site of Gen B C Joshi APS Pithoragarh.

This platform is being provided to share your views & experiences related to school and education system.  Teachers are requested to forward their best practices/ideas related to teaching for the benefit of others.  Students may forward their study techniques, achievements, participation in events.  Parents may also suggest their valuable inputs.

You may also forward your personal experiences related to traveling, picnic etc.

Request to forward your blog to school email id - genbcjoshiaps@gmail.com.  After verification it shall be uploaded.

Regards

Manish Panwar
Principal