The Sour Truth - Tenzin Jambey

We live in a world where the mistake of a man is punished, and a woman's mistake is forgiven. We live in a world where a girl is judged as a good person if she hits a man, and when a boy raises his hands on a girl, the whole society turns against him without even knowing the truth. 

Thinking about life, sometimes my eyes fill up with tears. Why can't society accept the people who have done one wrong? Why do we forget all the good things that he has done? Why does one action of a person have to be judged to know whether he is good or bad? How blind we people have become that we cannot see things beyond what they look.

 

Life has become so busy that people don't have time to breathe. Why is there so much competition among the human race? Terms like job, money, marksheet, and wealth have taken over humans. A person cannot live his life the way he wants to because everyone—the parents, teachers, and society—is trying to shape the child in the way they want. Why aren't we allowed to create our own future? Why is there so much of a burden regarding studies? Why do parents and teachers expect children to always do good and improve when they know that life doesn't go according to how we want?

 

Does forcing a child to study more and more make him more intelligent and more talented? Why do the parents and teachers compare the students? We want to be praised for our efforts and hard work, not compared. The school system should be adequately understood. The school is a sphere where we can learn languages and seek knowledge without getting burdened. The things we know from school are supposed to be connected with our surroundings. How can one say he is not intelligent if the child doesn't attend school? There is always a difference between education and literature. If we talk about learning, so many things fly around us that we must catch and analyse them. School teaches us how to answer satisfactorily to older and high-standard people. We work on our skills to fit among the rich and forget the place from which we started our journey. You never look back on the problems you faced, nor do you try to help the people suffering; it's just you and your company in a safe zone. In school, we are made to write essays and stories, not of our choice but of the choices of our teachers. We are given marks for how well we follow our teachers' instructions. We are made to make good points on topics on which we disagree. How will the child say good things about things if he feels they're not good?

 

In my heart, school is building us to be good workers and good employees who will work diligently without question. We, students, must raise our voices and look for teachers like Sandeep sir and Jugjiv sir who are working on and trying to help us become what we want to be. Even when the teachers in the school compare the students, I wonder why they don't praise us for our efforts and hard work; it's not like we are not working on ourselves.

Tenzin Jambey
Pestalozzi Children's Village, India

Every Breath - Poem by Shivpreet Singh

Shivpreet Singh · Every Breath (Poem)

Every breath. 

This word 

reminds me 

of your name 

every breath. 

I imagine you unseen

From the little that I see 

And inhale your wonder 

in every breath. 

O resident 

of every atom 

O enlivener 

of every motion

Every breath 

O pervader

Of every direction

O permeator

Of every conscience 

Every breath

I have felt

your power 

in every breath. 

Your hue 

in every color, 

Your essence  

In every perfume

Your whisper 

In every breath. 

Brings 

This word 

From numb chaos 

To a vibrant stillness 

This oneness 

Instills my breath 

In every other breath

Every breath

Saas saas. 

Incessant Remembrance of Oneness: Truth, Love, and Beauty

Refer to:

https://www.shivpreetsingh.com/2016/06/saas-saas-simro-gobind-translation.html

We have invited Shivpreet Singh to My Good School, do enjoy his compositions.

Fall to a new life - Aati Pema Tseagon

Picture Courtesy: https://in.pinterest.com/pin/AauyxzXZpvdywUpwLlxqKvXBDcUltP2AVoiEG2mXDCRrU0Fqif6MyM8/

As I sank, my consciousness was brought by the most suffocating sensation I had ever felt. In a sudden rush to breathe, I took a big gulp of water. My body racked with a cough, but I forced my mouth shut. When I noticed my hands and legs were tied, a surge of fear took over my body. I limped myself to stand upright. My whole body was in torturous pain. My lungs felt as if they were about to implode. 

At that time, a single thought came to me to jump. That was more of an instinct. I gathered all the strength I had and threw myself upwards.

For a moment, my head splashed out. And I noticed the light, but as soon as I was exposed, I lost control over my cough. And now I came raging, not letting me breathe. My many attempts only brought more panic and water. Both of which I did not want. 

I felt that I was sinking, unable to thrust my tied appendages. As a last-ditch effort, I held my breath and laid still. That was all I knew, which thankfully made me afloat and alive. My heart was racing. My lungs were exhausted from holding my breath. I carefully let out my breath and inhaled one in. And finally, I felt some relief. 

I saw that the light I had seen was coming from a wide-open crack which was only a few ways too far from where I was. My hands and legs tired and tied were of no use. But the little movements which I could do were enough to propel myself. The light helped me to see as it reflected against the cement walls of this place.

I noticed a few sticks floating around. Most of them were new and seemed sturdy. I saw one right next to my hand but was unable to grab it. I thought of an idea. And with a bit of insecurity in my plan, I rolled. Sinking my face in the water, I began fumbling with my hand to locate the stick. In a few attempts, I got the wooden stick. I pricked my palm when I did get a good grip, but it was good to feel that it had some edges. 

I began breaking the bonds, string by string. I made progress and finally cut enough to break through the rest. 

As my hands got free, I began breaking the ropes tied to my ankles at once while trying to stay afloat when I remembered that I was not alone. When I lost consciousness, I was with my cousin!...(to be continued...)

Aati Pema Tseagon

Pestalozzi Children's Village, India.

You Breathe - Reveda Bhatt

Photo from: https://www.curioustitans.com/blog/book-review-when-breath-becomes-air-by-paul-kalanithir

I wrote the following poem after reading 'When Breath Becomes Air'. The book hits me to my core. I hope you feel the same way I did, too...;)

[They gave their breath.

Nature took it as air. 

We made it our breathe.]

You breathe now what once was air,

Which earlier was the breath of the person who disappeared,

That's just how it is-few days of sorrow

While the others celebrate-

The other not being here.

Might feel like despair

But to make it clear

That's how it is-

You Die - Few Cry - While The Others Celebrate You Not Being Here.

And then, what you used to 'BREATHE' just, in a moment, became 'AIR'.

Reveda Bhatt
Grade 9 The Aryan School

How To Develop Self-Control - Tenzin Jambey

In life, we will encounter many situations that can make us lose self-control; we also become rough, nasty, and rude with others. When we lose self-control, we lose our identity and become an evil version of ourselves with bad attitudes and deviant minds. 

What leads us to lose our "self-control"? Firstly, self-control means the ability or the power to control yourself and your mind from performing any actions or work, we often come across some circumstances it situations that make us feel angry, hateful, and annoyed, and we also think like inflicting others, this all feelings and emotions are the effects of losing self-control. People say "calm down" and "cool down" when we get angry, but their words don't reflect upon us. It is always us who can cool the anger of our self but, but for this, we need to develop extreme self-control.

There are various ways through which we can develop and make our "self-control" strong. For me, the best practices are as follows:

1) MEDITATION

I was also once an insulting boy who often ignored others and hardly obeyed my teacher's instructions. It was all because of anger and the developed urges within me. One day one of my friends suggested I practice meditation, but I was surprised to find out how it worked. He told me I just have to relax and forget about all images and memories for a while. I found a change in myself after a few days, and now I am better at controlling my anger; whenever I feel angry, I simply try to forget the cause. Therefore, one should mediate to develop self-control.

2) DEEP BREATH FORMULA

This one is very effective when you are struggling to develop self-control. We feel diffident, nervous and frightened regarding social activities like public speaking and debates. We get these emotions as we are not used to them, as in the case of writing. When we are about to perform or participate in any social activities, we need to relax for a few minutes by closing our eyes, taking deep breaths, and always making ourselves comfortable before doing any new things,  curriculum,  activities, work, etc.

These two methods are instrumental, like the word "very" itself, if they are practised well, and these methods can make a person's life look even more beautiful.

- Tenzin Jambey

Pestalozzi Children's Village India

Reflections from the book we are reading