Attachment - Rishona Chopra

If we continue to become attached to our specialities, personality, or role for most of our lives, then over time, we forget the authentic self, waiting to be recognized. Whenever I think I am one of the above, I become more and more disconnected from my authentic self, which will give me more self-esteem and, as a result, permanent happiness.

The personality skills, the sparkling education success and the way I dress up, these are all temporary. This is because don’t forget life is a roller coaster where success can quickly leave me within a short period. So, enjoy all of them because even if they are attainments and enjoying attainments is not being materialistic or non-spiritual. But don’t become dependent on them for your happiness. On the other hand, the source of all the specialities and personality – the real I is a sum total of the essential qualities of the soul – peace, love and joy. All that is good inside, which is eternal, and the relationship of the I or myself with a higher source - God, which is also imperishable (un-destroyable) is what I need to be dependent on because it will never leave me.

Don’t forget, in our earliest births, we were highly skilled, excellent and wealthy, so much so that everything good a human can have physically was with us. Yet we were wholly detached from all these attainments, enjoying them. That too at a time when these attainments were imperishable because that was the original world, a world of happiness. But, now, all these attainments in our life are no longer permanent and can very quickly go away from us in a split second because we live in an unpredictable world with many ups and downs. No skill or role has with it the assurance of being permanent.

On the other hand, it is the time when the imperishable I is the one who stands by us permanently. So, it is this I, the hand we need to hold tight consistently and connect the I with a permanent source – the Supreme Soul. As a result, enjoy every moment of life with complete security, surety and safety.

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

Reading Swami and Friends - Dress and Costumes

In Father's Presence

Father was standing in the small courtyard, wearing a dhoti and banian...

We thought we would talk about dresses and costumes unique to our home and place; Pestalozzi Children's Village students shared their reflections:

Kanika Dogra is from Himachal Pradesh in India, and she writes, I'm from Himachal Pradesh, where men wear kurta pyjamas and caps; and women wear churidar pyjamas or salwar with kameez and dupatta. Himachali caps represent cultural identity; people in our community consider the cap a symbol of pride. like turbans for siks in Pujab. In Himachal, we have many different types of national costumes.

Tenzin Lhadon shared the Tibetan National Dress.

Tenzin Paldon

Tenzin Yangzom

Tenzin Dhekyong

Prerna Thakur

Reflections from Pestalozzi Childrens' Village, India

All's Well Despite Being Not Well - Oshi Singh

Yesterday in the park, I overheard a daughter and a mother conversation. The little girl was aged about nine or ten. She asked her mother, "Why does Cinderella become Cinderella and not the evil sisters? Why did Harry Potter win and Voldemort lose? The mother replied impulsively, "Because all stories need a happy ending, dear.". This conversation between the mother and the daughter made me ponder that, after all, our lives are a story too. Even though we can choose our stories' endings, they aren't always joyful. Some make regretful decisions which make their stories seem so miserable that they believe they can't turn it around, but the climax is that you can turn it around! You can choose the end, good or bad. 

Well, my question is that people always assume that all stories need a happy ending? Why does it always need to be, "They lived happily ever after"? 

Romeo and Juliet had a tragic ending,  but the light of their love lightened the whole world. People are still talking about it, which is an example in itself. 

While writing stories, some try to find happiness in fantasy, while some write to share their stories with the world. Some believe fictional stories are misleading and can make it a challenge for the reader to fit into the real world. Others think real life-based stories are the same incidents the reader is facing and trying to get a break from his life. Thus these stories can ruin the purpose of reading. 

Fictional stories help us enhance the reader's imagination and bring more knowledge to the creative part of the mind. Non-fictional stories allow the reader to learn from other people's life incidents and make sure not to repeat them because there is always something to learn from everyone. 

All these different thought processes show the diversity and make you ponder whose side you are on? What do you think? Fictional or Non-fictional? Although many of you must have made your decision, why don't you take the best from both of them and just like a balance of everything in the world is important? We try to create a balance between both types of stories. So we don't get too much of anything and just the right amount of everything. 

Even though happiness is not guaranteed in life, we can always hope for it to turn into a fairy tale. Only if we don't stop doing one small thing every day that never stops hoping because maybe someday, with the power of hope and belief, your life might change. 

So keep calm and keep believing because 
All's well, even if it doesn't end well! 

Oshi Singh
VIII D
Gyanshree School