Reflection Sunday 23rd March 2025

Sunday School # 181

In Chapter 2 of The Door-To-Door Bookstore, Carl is sceptical about the bookstore's ability to change lives, while  Schascha believes in the power of books to connect people. Their contrasting views create tension and an opportunity for growth.

Reflection Questions-

1. How might Carl's and Schascha's perspectives on life influence their future actions in the story?

   - Carl and Schascha have different outlooks on life. How do these differences shape their journey as the story progresses?

 

2. How does Schascha's attitude differ from Carl's?

   - Reflect on Schascha's optimism and excitement. How does she see the bookstore's role differently from Carl?

 

3. What role do you think books play in Carl's life?

   - Carl seems disconnected from the bookstore. What do books mean to him, and why might he distribute them?

 

4. What do you think Carl learns from Schascha's perspective on books and life, and how might that impact his view of the world?

Schascha is full of energy and belief in the bookstore. How can a positive attitude like hers influence how we see challenges in life?

Can you think of a situation where staying positive helped you overcome something difficult? How did it make a difference?

In chapter 20 of The Inner Life of Animals by Peter Wohlleben, "Shame and Regret," the author delves into animals' emotional experiences, exploring how they might experience feelings of shame and regret. Wohlleben draws on scientific studies and observations to suggest that animals, much like humans, can feel embarrassed when they fail to meet certain expectations or make mistakes. This chapter challenges the common belief that animals only act based on instincts, showing that they can have complex emotions, too.

Reflection Questions:

 

1. Do you believe animals can feel shame or regret? Why or why not?

   - Think about your own experiences with emotions like shame or regret. Do you think animals could similarly experience these feelings?

 

2. How does the idea that animals can feel emotions like shame challenge your previous understanding of animals?

   - Have you ever considered that animals might experience emotions beyond basic instincts? How does this chapter change your view?

 

3. Why is it important to recognise that animals might experience emotions like shame and regret?

   - How could understanding animals' emotions change the way we treat them or view their behaviour?

 

4. Can you think of a time when you felt regret or shame and how it affected you?

   - Reflecting on your own experiences, how do these emotions influence your actions or decisions? Can you imagine animals having similar emotional experiences?

Key Takeaways:

• Book Discussion: We discussed The Door-to-Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn, focusing on the protagonist, Carl, and his passion for books and unique way of viewing the world. We explored themes of loneliness, routine, and meaning and discussed how literary references are woven into the narrative, mainly through Karl's interactions with 9-year-old Schascha.

• Reading vs. Watching TV: We highlighted the cognitive benefits of reading over watching TV. Reading encourages imagination, enhances attention span, and fosters critical thinking. In contrast, TV viewing often leads to multitasking and shorter attention spans.

• Animal Emotions and Cognition: We examined research that shows animals, including mice, pigs, and dogs, display complex emotions like empathy, fairness, and even regret. This challenges traditional assumptions about animal cognition and emotions. Mirror neurons in animals allow them to "feel" others' feelings, and early exposure to empathy strengthens these neural pathways.

• Fairness and Regret in Animals: Experiments revealed that dogs, ravens, and rats show a strong sense of fairness, while rats exhibit regret-like behaviours when making poor choices. These findings challenge previous views on animal emotions and cognition.

1. Next Week's Session: Lina Ashar will host her second YES Workshop on education for the future. Please check out the video recording of her last session on February 23rd, 2025: https://youtu.be/RsKdSpxSCek?si=Z0bTE5TrJnIci7eZ.

2. Reading Progress: Jugjiv Sir will complete the current book chapter by next week. 

Upcoming Retreat: We will read My Good School Where Passion Meets Education at the forthcoming Retreat and gift all participants one copy of the My Good School Record book. 

I am looking forward to our continued discussions. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or need clarification.

You can email your reflections to mk@learningforward.org.in or post them as comments below!

Recording of My Good School hosted on Sunday, the 23rd of March 2025.

Manisha Khanna
GSA Ambassador

My Golden Journey With My Good School and more from Sunbeam Hostel Lahartara

My Golden Journey With My Good School

At first, I wasn't interested in reading. I thought that it was only a waste of time. Still, at the age of 12, my grandfather recommended a book. He said that if you like to study political science and history, you should read "Why I Assassinated Mahatma Gandhi" by "Nathuram Godse." I gave it a try, and I loved it. After that, I read more and more books, but when I joined My Good School, I felt that this was the place for me. Like we say, 'Birds with the same feather flock together'. For readers, My Good School is a paradise from my perspective. A famous quote by Fran Lebowitz that I carry in my mind is, "Think before you speak and read before you think." Every Sunday, I learn a new perspective to go with. A huge thanks to My Good School for this because the school teaches me values to live by.

Shaurya Chaturvedi VIIIB

How Learning Can Happen

Learning happens when we start experiencing. The learning process begins when we start experiencing things in our surroundings. Whether through reading or listening. When we read it, it is the biggest weapon to win all the battles of life. Listening to TED talks and podcasts increases our learning, and we learn new words.

Learning always makes a change in oneself, so never stop reading, writing, and listening.

"Learning is never done without mistakes and passion".

Diyanshu Agarwal IX-D

 

No one has achieved success in the past or present and has not done any hard work. Also, they had yet to achieve success on their first attempt. Success comes to those who find out their mistakes and improve on them. They take the time and opportunities to come; they create the opportunities and manage the time to do so. This is the best and easiest way to achieve good things in their lives. 

Anmol Kashyap VIII-B

Reflections Sunbeam School & Hostel Lahartara

Sunday School 10th December 2023

"The purpose of life is to live it, to take the experience to the end."

Without a purpose, our lives feel meaningless. Finding our purpose takes time and requires a lot of wondering. Everything that might seem like mindless investing until you find your passion.

Ananya Singh IX D 

Sunbeam hostel lahartara

"Retirement," ending all work for a certain period, is a relatively new concept. We may retire from a career or a job, but we should never retire from meaningful contributions. Life means more when we respond to work that is meaningful to us and to others. The older we become, the more we have shaped the environment for our usage. Looking back, you will discover that many great men and women in history never cut back simply because of their age. Success would be a natural outcome when we pursue excellence and feel far more fulfilled in every endeavour.

 

-Anmol Kashyap VIII B 

"Professional learning is not a function of age; it's a function of attitude". 
My perspective from the Sunday School is that people who adopt the attitude that they can learn to show heightened levels of brain activity compared to those who believe their mental acuity is fixed. A room without a book is like a book without a soul.

Pranvi Chandra IX D

Passion & Longevity

The fire of the soul should always stay strong to maintain longevity. It is essential for us. A famous person once said, "Retirement is a curse for humankind." Retirement lowers your critical thinking skills if a person can do something he must. Every person has something special inside them. Even if the person is retired, he should start doing something different. For something, we just have to resurrect it. As Oscar Wild quotes, "Be yourself, everyone else. Is already taken.".          

Shaurya Chaturvedi  VIII B

To sustain longevity, we have to evolve into something constructive. We should enrich our souls with the music of life by reaching and touching people on a human level. Age is only a number; we can go on and on beyond 80 years.                                                          

Lalita Agarwal (VIII-B)

1. "To me, retirement is death! I have no idea why people retire." The beautiful meaning of this quote is that when people retire, they think that their work of this life is done. Still, they need to know that if they retire from a particular post or any job, they need to engage themselves in some new work; otherwise, if they stay at home, it may be hazardous for them and cause various diseases.

2. "If I had two loaves of bread, I would sell one and buy hyacinths to feed my soul to contribute to our well-being & happiness." This beautiful quote was written by our Former Indian Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. By this quote, she was trying to make us feel the value of hyacinths. She was trying to tell us that if she had two pieces of anything to eat, she would eat one, sell one, and buy hyacinths as she felt that its beautiful smell and incredible beauty would be enough to feed our souls.

3. Well-being can control being well. 

4. "Be true to yourself and make each day your masterpiece! Help others. Build a shatter against a rainy day. Pray for guidance, and thank you for being blessed every day.                                                                

Gratitude - Mridul Maheshwari

Gratitude has always helped everyone to keep a healthy perspective.

Today, we interacted with Mr Vineet KKN "Panchhi", who told us to do whatever our heart says and never leave our childhood.

Ratan Tata once said, " If you want to walk fast, then walk alone and if you're going to walk far, then walk together.

Mridul Maheshwari(IX-D)

Sunbeam hostel Lahartara

Two men looked out prison bars; one saw mud, one saw stars - Rishona Chopra

 Image Courtesy - Twitter

Perspective changes something completely. We can be happy even in the worst times with a positive view of the situation. Every cloud has a silver lining; we just have to find that lining. 

Suppose two men look out prison bars; one only sees the bars, and the other looks beyond it and sees the immense beauty of nature. It is our choice to choose what we want to see. It is our choice to be happy, and it is our choice to look at the good sides of a situation. 

In every situation, there is a choice. Either look at the positive and optimistic sides or find faults and be sad. We just have to see that choice. When something happens that is not to our satisfaction, we get negative feelings about it, but we don't realise that there is always a choice to be happy about it. To rejoice in the smallest of things. 

Two men looked out prison bars; one saw mud, and one saw stars. 

It is our choice to look at the positive things in life. After all, peoples' perspectives and thoughts define who they are. There is so much sadness in the world, and it is easy to find faults, but the real challenge is finding happiness in everything. 

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII Gyanshree School

Two men looked out the prison bars; one saw a mud, one saw stars - Pasang Sherpa

Life is strange, and so are the humans. We have very different perspectives and ways of doing things. Some people get up and continue their journey even after knowing their chosen path is difficult. But some people seem to be hopeless. Likewise, this quote emphasises the different perspectives of two people for one thing. As it is said, "Two men looked out the prison bars: one saw mud, one saw stars". The first person who saw mud was hopeless and thought whatever he was doing was futile, while the other had an optimistic feeling that one day, like stars, he would attain glory and freedom.

Name-Pasang Sherpa

Pestalozzi Children's Village Society

Image Courtesy- Flickr

Two men looked out the prison bars; one saw mud, one saw stars - Sakshi Singh

This age-old saying beautifully encapsulates the power of perspective. It reminds us that even in seemingly bleak situations, there exists an opportunity to find hope and positivity. It's a poignant reminder that our outlook on life dramatically influences our experiences, and sometimes, shifting our focus can reveal unexpected beauty and potential amidst adversity.

Sakshi Singh  

Grade 9 Gyanshree School

Image Source https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Children-reading-a-book-together-4017898

There are many dimensions to every person - Tenzin Jambey

Picture Courtesy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Dimension

"We people don't look at the things how they are but we look at them how we think". An object or a thing stays how they are! But people look at them from a different perspective. 

Once, a teacher asked two students while showing a picture of a mountain - "What do you see?" The first one said, "It's just a mountain." The other one said, "It's not only a mountain but also a home for the birds that sing and the animals that spend their time playing around." The teacher was surprised to hear about the two different thoughts. 

We humans have the same physical attributes. We all have two hands, two legs, one heart, etc. But the brain, being one, has a different way of functioning. And everyone on this earth has a different mentality. The good thing is that everyone has special knowledge, which will make the future a better place. 

If we look from a positive side, we will see that having diverse dimensions in every person has resulted in the working of our society. Neither every person wants to become a doctor, nor every person wants to become a pilot. 

Therefore, our dimensions have led to the development of our economy and society. Our different thoughts and views are different from each other but not separate. They are inter-connected with each other. 

Finally, it is always a great experience to listen to the other people. And it also helps us to understand the working system differently. We all get different knowledge from different fields of science, art, music, politics, etc.. Interacting with the new people with new thoughts is always a wonderful experience.

Tenzin Jambey

Pestalozzi Children's Village, India.

The Wheels Of Learning Never Stop Turning! - Rishona Chopra

Yes, it is rightly said that the wheels of learning never stop turning!

Participating in the My Guide Inside program has enriched my thinking and perspective on several things. 

"Mind + Consciousness + Thought = Reality" is the base of this book.

Universal Mind is the source of all intelligence, and Universal Consciousness, allows us to be aware of our existence. And Universal Thought, which guides us through the world.

There are several learnings I took with me from the MGI Pilot Program. I think we can all agree on how each session had its own beauty and importance.I am going to be sharing a few of the key points I think are quite vital to understand and know about.

I learnt how we all are just lost thinkers. Our imagination is limited to what we know. Our thoughts and actions are based on the knowledge we know. It is vital to break that boundary and think beyond it. To add perspective to every situation. In any case, we think only from our perspective and stick to what we know. If we consider ourselves lost thinkers, looking at each view and reflecting on the day correctly, we might find peace and happiness with everyone. 

We all have our own separate reality, our own thoughts and our own world. All of us face differences of opinion at some point or another other, but it is vital to understand another person's perspective. Just like, we think what we know is correct, the other person feels the same. Instead, if we believe, "My thoughts are just a perspective, they aren't the best, and perhaps I should listen to others' thoughts and then evaluate." Things would get a lot better. 

I personally loved the line "Life Is Like A Piano". When I started playing the piano, I wanted to learn to play my favourite song, but it is essential to be patient and take a few steps back, learn and then strive to play the music to its best. Similarly, in life, we have to be patient and learn from others and listen to their thoughts and wait instead of directly jumping on the result. In this way, we can do a task to its full potential. 

Learning is something that never stops at each point in life, we learn something new and exciting, and at My Guide Inside, I learnt quite a lot and will continue to discover more!

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII
Gyanshree School