A cause that is dear to me - Rishona Chopra

I often wonder what the purpose of life is. Why are we alive in the first place? 

I do believe that we all are here to do good and that is our cause and reason to live but I think that there is something more to that. We all have our unique qualities and talents that perhaps have something to do with it. 

People who have the gift of writing and are masters at it perhaps were sent to write stories and tales and make the world a better place. People with singing as their passion were sent to write beautiful songs that touch hearts with their deep enriching meaning. 

For me, the cause to live that is dear to me is my family. They are the ones that keep me going. Career talents are important to make the world a better place but to make it better we need to be strong and get by with hope and happiness. 

My family is that cause that never lets me lose hope and it is very dear to me. 

As said, not attending a meeting, not going for a business trip, missing out a conference are things we won't regret but not spending time with our family is one thing we will definitely regret. 

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII
Gyanshree School

Coffee With The Coach : Our Happiness - Anvesha Rana

Today We Talk About Our Happiness

Many of us feel that we will only be happy when something big happens when we finally get promoted or get an expensive gift. Why are we so adamant about linking our happiness to worldly possessions? Why can’t we be happy for no reason? Our joy is always because of something, and as long as this lasts, we can never be pleased since someday, the best dress in your closet will look worn out. Eventually, the best game you got once will look very old and ultimately, the job that you had always dreamt of will turn out to be a nightmare.  

There should be no because when it comes to happiness, I am happy. After all, it is just not okay. I am happy, that’s it. I need no reason to be happy. Someday that reason will go, and then I will be sad. So I am happy, as simple as that. But even I agree it's tough to be happy without any reason, once you think about it, do we always have something to be sad about? Is the world always falling apart for us? Are we always struggling? Then why are we always so gloomy and upset? If we can always be sad, we can learn to be happy. 

Happiness is a choice, and it’s not a miracle that a wand will be waved and all the miseries of life will vanish, but it is a choice that we make each day. Despite everything that takes place in our lives, we should still have the strength to face the world and to sideline that sadness to accept the fact that whatever may happen shall happen but I chose to be happy.

Being happy is rather misused, we are not happy if we are troubled by the presence of others, we are not happy if we have restricted it to a definite zone and we are not happy simply by trying to act happy. Happiness comes from within and we can never thrust the responsibility of something as important as our happiness onto someone else’s shoulders because believe it or not, expectations are born to die, no one in this world should be the reason for your contentment. When you are the reason behind your own happiness, you find solace in yourself and there is nothing better than that. 

Something as commonly expressed as happiness which is still yet completely vague for all of us is a big problem. We don’t know what happiness is and well we don’t even have to know what it is. Happiness is like love, when you are happy you will know it and you will be happy without any reason at all. 

Anvesha Rana

Grade 11 

Gyanshree School 

The Lost Thinker - Rishona Chopra

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. 

Sometimes, in situations at home that we experience with family or friends, we try to do the same outside. If someone misbehaves with us, we act the same way with other people. This happens because of all the feelings accumulated in us. We want to let it all out, and doing the same with others worsens things. We all need someone who understands our importance in this world and truly knows us, but no one can understand us better than we do. We have to be that 'someone'. Only then can we find true happiness. 

You need to reflect and move on. You can't simply be ignorant and move on, and you can't keep remembering forever, either. Both steps are part of the journey. 

Life is like a contact sport. Let us take the example of football. There is winning and losing in the sport. But what matters is what attitude we play with. Do we play for the mere joy of playing or for winning? If we play for pleasure, we will be happy even in the hard times. If we take life to be a field with ups and downs, winning and losing and yet a place full of joy, we will never feel disheartened in the tough times and know there is always a ray of hope. 

Rishona Chopra
Grade VII
Gyanshree School

Happiness - Oshi Singh

Image courtesy https://www.pinterest.com/
used by Oshi Singh for representation only

'Be grateful for everyone you have, not everything you have.'

There's nothing more unpredictable than life itself. All situations we face in life are like dice. It's about our perspective towards it. The same applies to life too. We can spend this unreliable journey with a big smile on our faces or with a heavy heart. Many choose happiness over sadness. But you may find many who stop trying and sit back after facing an unavoidable path in life. But hey! This is a long journey. Instead of being all sad and hopeless, fasten your seatbelts to the journey of the 'unknown'. All you have to do is simply focus on the positive side of the world. A world where everything is better, and you finally get your 'happily ever afters'. You shall achieve all this just by waking up every morning and enjoying every single moment, and living it to the fullest instead of wishing for it to the fullest. 

Living in this materialistic world, many try to find happiness in worldly things like money, not realizing that it's temporary and all that will matter in the end is their happiness and whether they had a meaningful life. So find your meaning in life, find your source of happiness, and together, celebrate the value of happiness and live the rest of your lives with a big smile stuck on your faces? 

Oshi Singh
IX C 
Gyanshree School 
Reference: https://in.pinterest.com/pin/631981760203224980/

Friendship - Anvesha Rana

In this ever-evolving world, it is necessary to connect with people instantly, attain quick social skills and make friends at go. A person we may have met only once is also referred to as a friend; today, we all confuse friendship with acquaintanceship. An acquaintance is not mandatory to be a friend, but connections to reach higher posts and avail help at times of need are overrated than the subtle, sweet friendships which have vanished over time. 

Friendships come with conditions; they are no longer selfless relationships but a medium to take benefit of the other. We have turned our Friendships into obligations and formalities. How many of us are honest with our friends? We are too fake to show our real identity behind this mask of coolness. Friendships come with a lot of terms and conditions. We can no longer express ourselves freely, even with our “Besties”. 

There is an invisible ice between us, pleading to be broken, but our ego hinders us from shattering our prison. We can never be happy if we are not who we are. This era of jealousy and cutthroat competition is never ending and only increases as we grow up. 

True friends are only made when we are young when we do not pay heed to how someone looks, what clothes they wear, how they talk or whether they match our standards. As we grow, we look away from the beauty within and shift our focus to physical appearance or social stature. Looking at material things gets nowhere. 

We are not our true selves when we step out into the world; consequently, we feel the heat of the competition that this system has forced us under. We are not ready to leave this rat race and sit at the side bench to relax and rejoice in life. The illusion of success has blindfolded us in thick wraps to such an extent that terms and conditions apply in each relationship. The moment we see our friend doing better than us in any field, we are instantly jealous instead of happy for our pal. 

A famous story, ‘ The Frogs in the Well’, tells about a group of frogs living in a small well. None of the frogs ever get out of this well because as soon as one frog jumps up, all the others jump up on him and pull him down. Thus no frog can ever escape. So is the case with us. When we see a dear one doing good, we attempt all tricks, measures and strategies to somehow stop him. 

Friendship should be selfless and ever-flowing with Love and care. It should be about acceptance and forgiveness and not be built upon social norms but on the foundation of Love. 

Anvesha Rana 

Grade 11

Gyanshree School NB: I have used Love as a value, thus the capital letter.

Positive Attitude In Life - Sulochana Rana

Positive people can maintain a broader perspective and see the big picture, which helps them find solutions.  

We will get the following things if we have a positive attitude in our life:-

• Happiness
• Self-confidence
• Strong Immune System
• More focus

We can get a positive attitude by loving ourselves, giving time to ourselves, practising meditation, Listening to music and looking at the bright side after getting laid off.

Sulochana Rana

sr@learningforward.org.in

Spreading the joy of learning at My Good School.

Image source: https://possibilitiesunlimited.com/how-to-feel-more-positive-and-energized/

What success means to me - Tenzin Jambey

Reflecting on the Art Of Focus session on Sunday, the 5th of March 2023

The term success means achieving your dreams and your goal. To achieve success one must follow the path of happiness which means that we should do the things which makes us happy. One can only achieve success when you do work that makes you happy.

For me being successful at something means achieving happiness. I always try to do the things which make me feel happy and I enjoy doing what I have an interest in. Then we never get bored doing it therefore to gainthe success we must follow the path of happiness.

Tenzin Jambey

Pestalozzi India Children's Village 

The Importance Of Separate Realities - Rishona Chopra

We all have our own thoughts and ideas. It may be about something, but we all have different thought processes, which everyone must embrace. It will be difficult to perform anything in a group or create relationships as a colleague, friend, peer etc. Different opinions make us unique, just like in the picture above. Few people sit near the sunset, yet all think differently, making the photo special. 

We all try to find happiness in things. We think, " If I get a cycle, I will be happy. If I get a phone, I will be happy", and so on. But all this is temporary happiness and does not last long. Soon the phone will break, and we will want a new one. Our joy should be in our control, not someone's or something's control. It is OUR and in our possession, yet we let it depend on other objects that barely mean anything. Every situation has its pros and cons, and despite the opposing sides, we can be happy if we focus on the positive ends. We can be happy every day, every minute and every second! 

It is truly up to us. As said," The happiness we are looking for is inside you. It really is. That's where mental health lies".

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI 
Gyanshree School

Dear Life - Rishona Chopra

 
Dear Life,

Is your path too difficult to drive?

Does it hold happiness?

Or sadness?

Is it full of bundles of joy?

Is it fun, like a playing toy?

Does it hold success for me?

Or will it be full of glee?

I ask these questions to dear Life,

I hope it helps me decide.

It answers,

You could suffer from Cancer.

You could be successful,

You could be distressful.

You may find a lot of joy,

The path may be destroyed.

Neither do I, Neither do you,

Know if you might fall through.

It is in your hands, she says,

It depends on the way I sway.

Rishona Chopra

Grade VI

Gyanshree School

My greatest fear and how I overcame it - Tenzin Jambey

People have so many fears in life, but we can overcome them by facing them and trying out the challenges that create fear. Like everyone, I have so many fears.

I am afraid of darkness, blood, scary things etc. Out of all these, my greatest fear is my future. I feel terrified when I think of my future and what I will become later. As my friends put it, it's very amusing, and I believe the same. This fear dips me into depression when I think of how my future would look and how I would take care of my family.

Specific questions arise in my mind, like would I be able to fulfil my family's wants? I fear feeling ashamed if I fail to meet my family's demands and wishes, as they put in a lot of hard work to send me to school. But I also believe where there is dark, there is light, too; where there is sorrow, there is happiness too!

There are plenty of careers and jobs that I can choose from, and this thought gives me relaxation and relief. This positive thought keeps my fear away and helps me focus on the better side of life!

Tenzin Jambey
Pestalozzi Children's Village Society

Happiness From Within - Rishona Chopra

Happiness is one of the most critical and defining qualities of life. Everyone wants to be very happy all the time, and no one wants to lose their happiness at any moment. There is nothing more important than being happy in human life. 

It's the top priority of all humans. But at the same time, everyone feels that happiness is not permanent and comes and goes away very quickly. 

This is because the source of happiness for most people today is external and external sources in our present lives keep changing and going through ups and downs. Some people in the world also feel that this is how happiness has been eternal - unstable and temporary in nature, and there has never been any time in the world when happiness was permanent. All of us want happiness in our lives, but so many bad things are happening in the world; how can we be happy on earth? Here's the answer, we don't get happiness from things and situations. Even the worst thing in the world can have a positive side!! So if we look at each case positively, we can easily be happy. We do not get happiness from the environment but from within.

According to the world happiness index, the World Happiness Report is an indicator of global happiness. The rankings are based on reports of respondents' assessments of their own lives, and articles on national happiness are included. The report also compares other elements that influence (quality of) life. The rankings of national happiness are based on a Cantril ladder survey. Nationally representative samples of respondents are asked to think of a ladder, with the best possible life for them being a 10 and the worst possible life being a 0. They are then asked to rate their current lives on a 0 to 10 scale. There is a tale about Birbal in a similar context. Once a man came up to Birbal and said that his home did not have space, so Birbal advised him to bring goats to his house and take them out after a day. When the goats were there, the house was so whole and small, but when they went out, it felt so much bigger! So happiness is just a perspective of looking at things!

There is this quote by Lewis B. Smedes - To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you. This means that when we have a conflict with someone, they are also bound by negative feelings, and so are we. We both are sad and want to solve the fight, but our ego does not allow us to do that. So if we once set the prisoner as the person who we fought with, not only will he be free from the negative feelings, but so will we.

I feel happy today,
An aim to smile every day.
It's a unique ray of hope,
That gives me a new scope.
To do something good,
I misunderstood,
The word happiness.
I thought there was a reason for this smile.
But all this while.
I was wrong to think,
That happiness could shrink.
It was something even more unique,
That came from within and was sentimental.
I couldn't possibly want something more,
 But to be happier than before.

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

To smile every day - Rishona Chopra

I feel happy today,
An aim to smile every day.
It's a unique ray of hope,
That gives me a new scope.
To do something good,
I misunderstood,
The word happiness.
I thought there was a reason for this smile.
But all this while.
I was wrong to think,
That happiness could shrink.
It was something even more special,
That came from within and was sentimental.
I couldn't possibly want something more,
 But to be happier than before.


Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

The Art of Giving - Rishona Chopra

 

When God blesses you financially, don't raise your standard of living. Raise your standard of giving. - Mark Batterson 

It is true what Mark Batterson has said, we should give not only when we are rich in our everyday lives, we should raise our standard of giving, it may not be just giving money, even giving a toy to a person who needs it or a book is an act of giving too! 

A small act of giving could mean everything to a person. Giving not only makes the other person happy but also makes us happy. As said,' make others happy, and you will be satisfied in the same way give and give, and you will feel better.

Bill Gates, one of the wealthiest people in the world, still has a kind, generous heart. When we are super rich or famous, we tend to become more competitive, and while doing that, we sometimes forget about the value of giving. Giving did no harm to Bill Gates; he has succeeded as a better human being. This doesn't mean we only offer when we are super-rich; we can provide as we wish.

We can give hope, love and happiness, and that is, in fact, faithful giving. When we give, we shouldn't expect the same from a person. We should give from our hearts.

At Christmas, we receive gifts but have we ever thought that instead of receiving, we should give more and buy things, not for us but others in need. If we can not afford it, it makes no sense to buy things for us until we need them. There is a tremendous difference between want and need. When we want something, we don't really need them; when we need them, we want to use them properly. So on Christmas, we should give and not take, and we should give it in such a way that we do not mind if the other offers a return gift. 

Giving is a sense of happiness and pleasure. Making someone smile makes your day smile.

Rishona Chopra 
Grade VI 
Gyanshree School

Dear School Uniform - Yashraj Sharma

I remember my first day of primary classes when I wore you proudly and happily, but honestly, that was not my first reaction to you. Initially, I felt detached, because you replaced my favourite casual clothes, my t-shirts and trousers. But when I reached school, I saw my classmates and other children wearing the same uniform. I felt a sense of belonging. I felt like I was a part of something then.

I like you and always wear you with pride and happiness as a Shreeyan. Today, I want to confess that I know how I got you soiled in the playground and how you got stained with oily vegetable mom gave me in my tiffin, how you got wet because, at times, water spilt on you from my water bottle. Sometimes you feel lonely when I put my ID card (your companion) in my school bag during sports period. I am sorry for that. Now I am in grade 8.

After grade 12, you would not be there with me as my companion. I will miss you a lot then. And last but not least, thank you for being carriers of almonds, cashews and raisins in your pocket. I am sure my mom is also thankful to you for this. You will always have a special place in my heart, my dear school uniform.

Love you always!!

Your proud owner

Yashraj Sharma
Grade 8
Gyanshree School

A fight with my friend - Yashraj Sharma

 

Yashraj Sharma

Grade 8

Gyanshree School

The greatest gift - Rishona Chopra

The greatest gift we want to give to our loved ones every day, at every moment, is happiness. We spend time with them, buy them physical comforts, and support them, yet they are sometimes unhappy. Most likely, it is because we are unhappy. Happiness is energy, not matter. Just by being happy ourselves and being happy while discharging our responsibilities, our happy vibrations radiate and trigger the happiness frequency in our loved ones and uplift their state of mind to happiness.

Have you sensed that you need to make much more effort in sustaining your roles and responsibilities if your mind is unhappy? Despite your extra steps to care for and provide for them, are your family and friends unhappy with you? Does it leave you wondering what more you should have done? We often quantify our efforts and measure our loved ones’ happiness against it. The truth is, how much we do for people doesn’t matter. What matters is how happy we were while doing everything.

While caring for people or doing something for them, let us not create thoughts of stress, fear, anxiety, anger or pain. Otherwise, our negativity is sure to deplete people we do so much for, not allowing them to be happy with us. Without being happy, you cannot give happiness to others. Be happy and do everything that you need to do. It’s your energy which influences their happiness.

Remind yourself – “I am an embodiment of happiness. Being happy myself and taking care of people keeps my loved ones happy.” When you experience unconditional happiness, you have nothing but happiness to give everyone. You don’t even have to offer; it automatically radiates. From today, let bliss be your natural way of living. Let nothing and no one pull you down. In every scene, contribute towards creating a happy family, workplace and world by always being happy.

Rishona Chopra
Grade VI
Gyanshree School

Swami and Friends - Anvesha Rana

Friendship makes us foresee all difficulties, it enables the world to go blind and our friends to shine bright like a new ray. Swami, Rajam and  Mani had to meet each other at any cost; despite the heat that hit their heads, the tar that burnt their feet and the lone streets that gave shudders, the friends had to come together. 

This stubborn hope for meeting our friends, whether it rains or snows, hails or blows, windy or stormy, sunny or cloudy, is what makes friendship so great. The eagerness to meet our friends with the same smile, vigour and energy, as if meeting them for the first time and listening to their talks, as if they were the most essential thing in the world, is what makes a friend the best. 

Swami, the however kind he may be at heart, is a leisurely mind. His brain dwells on the tale behind the sum when he witnesses math sums rather than quickly solving them. It’s true sometimes it’s simply impossible to concentrate - we just want to have fun, but seeing the complex numbers dance in front of our eyes and not getting the correct answer even after solving the question a million times, can be frustrating - but education is an excellent teacher, it has taught us not to give up on that math sum, not to lose hope in a subject and to be genuinely confident in ourselves.

Do your best, 

And leave the rest

For the Almighty, he is looking at us, 

He is seeing if we are good or making a fuss

Live the way you want it to be, 

Just be happy and be free

Only Remember to enjoy the roadway,

And not devour the fruit halfway.  

Anvesha Rana, 

Grade 10-B, 

Gyanshree School

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

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 

Peace - What it means for us?

Thank you to all who joined us today; we are over 100, and you will see up to 75 names; there were many sharing devices, for which we are most grateful.

 [25/09/22]
We look forward to more quotes. Our value of the month is PEACE. Is it different from the piece?

Avni Kochhar

11:00
"Peace means everyone being treated equally. Peace means harmony."

Shambhavi Nautiyal

11:10

A piece can be a piece of mind, but peace is much more than that. It's trust between two individuals; it's having self-belief and perception of yourself. If you have made peace with yourself and your mind, you can have a whole new vision of the world, and simply nothing can go wrong.

Rishona Chopra,
12:03 PM

Peace is one virtue we must maintain in the smallest of things. Even sharing a piece of cake will have to be shared with peace as we tend to fight over the smallest of things, neglecting that this small piece of cake can ruin our relationships.

kanikadogra946
12:10
Peace, for me, is when you gain complete self-confidence without worry or fear. It is mental strength and brings happiness to me.
Kanika Dogra and Tenzin paldon

kanikadogra946
12:24
"Peace is mental freedom. Free yourself to achieve it."

Nidhi Chauhan
12:35
Peace allows us to overcome our problems. It will help us to live the best of all possible lives, and "Never let anyone destroy your inner peace".

Tenzin Lhadon
12:42
Peace begins with a smile.
When a person has patience and is happy and grateful for all the things

Best post as a Comment as mentioned at The Sunday School.