Two men looked out the prison bars; one saw mud, one saw stars - Nishan Karki

The image is for representation only.

The man who saw the mud was sad and angry. He never remained happy and was very aggressive. He never practised happiness; in fact, he did not know it. He could not control his emotions and actions. He often fought with the other prisoners. This made the other prisoners hate him. They never wanted to be with him except for the prisoners who resembled him in nature.

What about the man who saw stars?   Well, he was a man with a joyful and happy nature. He laughed a lot and made other prisoners laugh, too. The other prisoners always enjoyed his company. They preferred him rather than the first prisoner. Although he was a prisoner, he was soft-hearted.

Everyone has different perspectives, perceptions, ideas, views, opinions and experiences. They usually differ from each other. People's behaviour and actions define who they are. 

To be like the second prisoner, one must have a healthy (pure and soft) heart. He must know how to control his emotions and actions. He must know how to behave with others and enjoy their company. He must be happy. Remember, "the one who gets angry for a minute loses 60 seconds of happiness."

A positive attitude and mindset can also make a person happy and joyful, like the second man. To get happiness, one must have a burning desire for it, which must be mixed with faith to gain it.

"To change ourselves effectively, we first had to change our perceptions." – Stephen R. Covey. 

Nishan Karki

Class 10, Pestalozzi Children's Village India

Image Courtesy- iStock

Why Does My Voice Matter? - Shambhavi Nautiyal

Picture Courtesy: https://www.yourdictionary.com/articles/voice-descriptions

My voice matters because 'I matter'. 

I want my voice to matter to all. My voice is purely the interpretation of my thoughts. And it resonates with my soul's reflection on what my body and my mind are going through. It fabricates all of my emotions, opinions, beliefs and desires. It unfolds one by one like the onion peels layer by layer, taking physical form, and I turn my thoughts into reality. 

My voice raises my apprehensions. And sometimes, it unravels my reality. It often unleashes the truth of my core. It lets me stand tall with my head held high.

My voice has been raised on innumerable instances - whenever my existence was questioned; whenever my presence was neglected; whenever my efforts were made meaningless; whenever my credibility was shaken. 

It is not that I raise my voice only if I am overlooked. I am also vocal when it comes to my loved ones' well-being. I also voice it whenever it is a matter of my faith. When it comes to my nation, I never lose the opportunity to take a stand and vote my opinion. That is my karma.

So, it matters how I use my voice.

Do I use my voice to manipulate others?

Or Do I use it to spread negativity and cuss at them, or do I use my voice to show gratitude, express love and use words of kindness and comfort for others?

That is what matters. 

No matter what you say or how you use your voice, it does make a difference. 

If you choose to be flippant and hurtful, it shall harm the people around you for the time being, but ultimately it shall come back to you since then, no one shall want to be friends with you and will start eviting you. Thus, your voice will eventually lose all its meaning, and at last, it will not matter anymore.

However, if you use your voice otherwise, then it shall be reciprocated with pleasure, and you will receive more happiness since now you have learned how to appreciate the things that you have.
When you learn to love yourself, you will start feeling confident. And also deflect people with remorse in their voices. In return for all the good that we do, we receive good, too. 

We should learn to trust that our voices matter because then we can present ourselves and our ideas in the most captivatingly confident manner.

As citizens of this world, we should keep exploring ourselves and honing our skills. We avoid questioning each of our beliefs. We work and focus on embarking on and strengthening the flourishing ones and eliminating the detrimental and deteriorating ones. 

Voicing our thoughts in an upright manner brings a difference in our life. It sharpens the outlook of a wider diaspora commendably. That is how the changes brought in mundane tasks and procedures. That is how the laws are made. That is how the amendments are brought into reality, bringing brimming smiles to the downtrodden section of society. 

Each voice does matter as it facilitates the formation of a powerful road map and vital development of one's nation and ensures accomplishment. Let us have some faith in our worth and keep believing that we all are worthy by simply existing and being ourselves. 

In the end, I would conclude with a famous quote from Steve Jobs that says - 

Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice.

That is all which matters. As human beings, our voices deserve a hearing. Since we are always looking forward to improved facilities and lifestyles for humans living on this planet, and in this process, we can only achieve the best with communication and collaboration whilst having mutual respect.

Shambhavi Nautiyal
Class- 9 || Ahlcon Public School

Mindful living is important in present time - Tenzin Jambey

With time everything is changing; we see development and new infrastructure set up. The living standard of people is also changing, and with the way of living standards, people's minds and the method of executing actions are too changing. We must be very mindful about our activities and words in today's world. 

Our one action can cause heavy destruction; with one step, our identity can change. With one step, we lose our trust, friends, and loved ones. Before doing any work or even speaking to somebody, we should ask ourselves whether we are doing the right thing. We should consider the effects and consequences, but many people still do something wrong even after knowing it is wrong. 

Humans get many emotions like greed, selfishness, and desire to possess. That's why it becomes difficult sometimes to have control over our actions. How strange we human beings are. Aren't we just for the sake of fun and enjoyment? We put everything, even studies, aside? This all originates in the mind, and we should adopt good habits so that lousy thought can die at the place where it was created. 

Good thinking leads to the execution of good actions, and good actions would lead you to a happy life. Indeed, we don't have control over our emotions but can control our actions.

Teenzin Jambey
Pestalozzi Children's India Village

Brain VS Heart - Arfa Khan

Image source:  https://myviews-reflection.blogspot.com/2011/11/mind-vs-heart.html

We have all been in such a dilemma in which our brain says something, but our heart says something else at least once in our lifetime. It can happen in small decisions like whether I should do my homework now or later? Should I buy this or not? And also in big ones like career choices. Such situations are intimidating. And the big question is; who should we listen to, the brain or the heart? 

When you are in a situation where you must act upon one or the other, are you really thinking about balancing your emotions and logic, or are you just pretending? Usually, when faced with a decision, we do not suspend the two options but act upon one or the other. While making such decisions, we shouldn't be biased and always stick to one side.

The brain nor the heart is always correct. We need to pick the right side if there is one. Sometimes there are no right or wrong answers to questions. We should carefully think and ponder before choosing a side.

Our heart makes decisions while considering feelings, which are often reckless. Our brain has a logical and rational approach but tends to overthink much and doesn't want us to take any risks when sometimes, depending on the situation, it can be worth it. 

In conclusion, we should take our time, consider both sides' consequences, and be circumspect while making decisions. You do you because whatever you choose, it will happen for good 😊.

       -Arfa Khan

             8-A

Ahlcon Public School

My Reflection on Self-control - Nishan Karki

"Ultimately, the only power to which man should aspire is that he exercises over himself." -Elie Wiesel.

Self-control means controlling our feelings, emotions and actions when we are angry, irritated, upset, enraged, etc. Self-control helps us in several ways. It leads a path for us to be a good person, it leads to a good life, it leads to happiness and receives us from certain emotions such as sadness, anger, depression and evil actions such as fight, gambling, ganging, etc. There are many ways to develop self-control. I have mentioned some of them below:

1. We need to correct our way of thinking.
2. We need to have a goal in life and follow that goal to achieve success.
3. We should have the confidence and willpower to do things correctly.
4. We should focus on our work daily.
5. We should be self-motivated and inspired and also take motivation from good people.

6. We should learn to control our feelings, thoughts, emotions and actions.

- Nishan Karki
Pestalozzi Children's Village India 

We are reading.

How can you build self-control? - Shristi Khulal

When it comes to self-control, I think of controlling one's actions and behaviour between right and wrong about oneself. A person with self-control is a sagacious, disciplined and focused one. To accomplish our dreams and goals is one of the most important things. A successful person always has self-control in himself.

Self-control can be in anything like emotions, habits, and many others which are not suitable or appropriate. There may be different ways for different people to build up self-control. I have many things that I try to control, especially my emotions l get too excited, nervous, excited and angry very quickly. Sometimes, I try to prevent these things by telling myself or my heart about the consequence of doing that thing. Being calm and relaxed helps with self-control in most situations. 

- Shristi Khulal

Reflections from reading
The Art of Focus.

Empathy - Karanveer

KARANVEER

CLASS- 7TH

AHLCON PUBLIC SCHOOL

Coffee With The Coach : Emotions - Anvesha Rana

Today We Talk About Emotions

Don't cling to things because everything is impermanent. Learn to detach yourself from emotions. But detachment doesn't mean you don't let the experience penetrate you. On the contrary, you let it penetrate fully. That's how you can leave it. 

Take any emotion - Grief for a loved one or pain or fear from a task. If you hold back on these emotions and don't allow yourself to go through them, you can never get to being detached; you're too busy being afraid. You're afraid of the pain; you're afraid of the grief. You're afraid of the vulnerability that loving entails. 

But by throwing yourself into these emotions, by allowing yourself to dive in, all the way, over your head even, you experience them fully and completely. You know what pain is. You know what grief is. And only then you can say, 'All right, I have experienced that emotion. I recognize that emotion. Now I need to detach from that emotion for a moment.'

How we feel lonely, sometimes to the point of tears, but we don't let those tears come because we are not supposed to cry. Or how we feel sorry for what we have done, but we don't say anything because we're frozen with the fear of what those words might do to the relationship. 

Instead, our approach should be the exact opposite. Turn on the faucet. Wash with the emotion. It won't hurt you. It will only help. If you let the fear inside and pull it on like a familiar shirt, you can say to yourself, "All right, it's just fear; I don't have to let it control me. I see it for what it is."

Same for loneliness: you let go, let the tears flow, feel it completely - but eventually be able to say, "All right, that was my moment with loneliness. I am not afraid of feeling lonely, but now I will put that loneliness aside and know that there are other emotions in the world, and I will experience them as well."

Anvesha Rana, 

Grade 10-B, 

Gyanshree School.

The Report Card - Rishona Chopra

Viewing the Report Card is a typical day full of emotions. Some feel happy, while others feel anxious. 
For me, it is an exciting day! I actually don't care what I get as long as I try my best. Once my report card came, my mother wasn't at home, so I quickly opened the report card and read it. Even though my mother didn't like seeing the report card all by myself, I still did it as I was extremely excited.

After all those months of fun and learning, the report card shows what you dill all year round and a reward that showcases your effort. Often we say that if we did well, we get a bar of chocolate and other gifts, but we don't realize the report card is the most significant gift!

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

Someone to share - Shaurya Buchade

SOMEONE TO SHARE
I came to this world alone
I will go to my destiny alone
But in the long run of life, sure, I need someone to share.
Someone who may decorate my life

Someone who may console my emotions
Someone whom I can trust upon
Someone who will be just mine.
I wish of having a friend
Whose friendship may sparkle and shine
Who will be in thoughts all-day
And fill the dreams worthwhile.
Whose silent thought may bring great joy 

Whose cheerful smile may give deep pleasure
Whose every moment may make my life fragment and calm like the evening breeze.
I need someone to share

And not to make me despair 

A friend in need is a friend indeed.

Name: Shaurya Buchade

Grade: 2A

Billabong High International School, Thane

Friendship - Laxman Singh

Laxman Singh

Friendship is a divine relationship. We don’t have similarity in our blood, but still, that person cares for us. Irrespective of all differences, a friend chooses you, understands you, and support you. Whenever you are in self-doubt or lacking confidence, talk to a friend, and your worry will surely go away.

A true friend will always want your happiness. A life without a good friend is merely empty. Honesty is the key factor to maintain the friendship forever. For understanding each other’s emotions, you have to be completely honest with each other. Patience and acceptance are also other factors for friendship to last long. Understanding the differences as well as accepting them is what a maturity factor in a friendship. Friendship will fulfill you with sweet memories that you can cherish for the rest of your life.

The unbounded love, as well as care, is what makes the relationship between two friends strong.

Laxman Singh

Class IV

The Fabindia School