Living with more heart

The world needs people who live well in their places……..

I love this thought. It comes from college professor and author David Orr’s 1992 book Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World:

“The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane.”

Much more than just a parking slot

Parking space reserved for persons with disability in Dimapur Town. Photo courtesy: Dimapur Police

Excluded and ignored – that’s the lot of people with disabilities here in Nagaland. They are the invisible group of people shut out of buildings, homes, schools, businesses, sports and community life – in other words, they exist but have no life. How can you have a life when you’re completely immobilised and isolated…..when all areas, both public and private, are inaccessible and nobody seems to care? How can you have a life when most people don’t even seem to be aware of your existence?

That is why the reservation of a parking spot for persons with disability in Dimapur town by Dimapur Police (Traffic) is a huge step, a very important step forward.

A season or a lifetime…..

People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. An inspirational piece I read on this somewhere came to mind as I went through my collection of poems and thoughts scribbled down over the years.

Some in this collection are mine, some belong to others……..well known and not so well known. Some are joyful, some nostalgic and some others sad, but as I go through them I realise they tell stories of times in my life, experiences that have shaped me and people who have crossed my path. Some of these people were quickly gone, some stayed for a while……some of you came and stayed.

And you will stay on…….you are important to me – my life would be incomplete without you.

The people who stayed for a while and left, they may have come only for a season but I know now that they were there because it was time for me to share, to grow and to learn. They may have brought experiences of joy and laughter, of peace or even of sadness and heartbreak, but they left footprints that led me towards self discovery.

Intolerance on Social Media and thoughts on ongoing debate

Compromising photographs of some of our legislators leaked on social media is the hottest topic of discussion currently. There are debates going on and opinions being expressed in various groups and forums.

Firstly, let me be clear that I strongly believe that political leaders, public leaders must be held to a higher standard. If there are no moral standards a leader ought to honour, then what would prevent his being a liar, a perjurer, an adulterer, a thief and a deceiver? Therefore, leaders must be held accountable for their actions, as in the current case. This was what I told the reporter of a local newspaper, though it was left out when I was quoted in the report that appeared, due to space constraints I presume.

Waiting for real change

A new face has been emerging in the state political scene in the last few years. The trend began in Election 2008 with a number of fresh entrants and has since caught on as more and more young people have taken the plunge. The present state assembly is also made up of a substantial number of young legislators, most of whom are first timers.

This is, of course, a welcome development signalling a new era in state politics.

But sadly a ‘however’ is forcing itself in here.

While this shift is definitely a very good thing, it has been a little difficult to dispel the uneasy feeling that, except for getting a younger look, things may not change much even with the change of guard. Disappointingly, we have seen that the young lot breaking into the scene have simply settled themselves into the old mould instead of carving out new paths apparently quite satisfied to follow the pack rather than torching a new flame.

Awe and Wonder

An awe inspiring view of Dzükou Valley (Western Range) Photography: Kevi Talie

Remember the innocence of childhood when anything and everything was a mysterious wonder? A simple thing like a box of colourful crayons brought so much joy and wonderment and also so many possibilities of the things you could do with it. A plane passing overhead, a bunch of balloons twisted into animal shapes, a rainbow bursting out after the rain or your first ice cream cone – you viewed everything with a sense of wonder and awe.

The earth is good to us

A section of my sister’s beautiful garden. Photography: Vasino Yoho

My sister, the passionate gardener, has been super busy these past couple of weeks. She decided to go for a full scale reorganisation of her flower and vegetable gardens this year….rearranging certain sections, shifting and shuffling flower beds, general landscaping all around and so on. The soil is soft with these first rains and easy to work on, now is the right time, she had announced some days ago, and since then it’s been all available hands on deck for the major operation that best be finished before the real monsoon downpour begins. Thankfully, that kind of activity is beyond my scope now otherwise I might have been a little reluctantly roped in too.