Mondays – I wish I had…..#10

“listened more attentively”

Each morning I make a conscious effort to listen to one of the Sikh prayers, the Japji Sahib, which was composed by the founder of Sikhism, Sri Guru Nanak Dev Ji. Aside from the calm I feel after listening to it, I am on the journey to understand it so that I may benefit how it can improve my personal development in life. But recently I feel while I am listening to the words being spoken, I don’t think I am actually listening to what is being said. The ability to be a good listener is a skill not everyone possess but with careful craft and dedication, it can be mastered. If you can truly listen in the purest sense then it will help process and articulate the information, and then enrol what we have learnt into our lives to better develop ourselves. From a personal perspective, there is much room for improvement on my own listening skills. I need re-engage with my listening ability and maybe I can absorb what is being said.

Do share your listening tips.

Mondays – I wish I had…..#9

“taken the time to appreciate the night sky more”

Just before heading off to bed last night, I went to double lock the front door. It’s normal practice, but last night I opened the door and stood out on my steps. Looking up I caught sight of the night sky and gleaming stars. So I took a picture of it.

Night sky

I stared at the stars for a while, maybe a neighbour may have spotted by unusual behaviour. But I realised how little time I spent looking up, too busy looking down, just another headless chicken. The photo won’t do it justice but the sky was beautiful, the stars were joyful and at peace. I wouldn’t say the air quality is poor where I live, but it may be a nice improvement compared to 8 weeks ago.

Today a friend shared the following on a WhatsApp group, and so I wanted to share it with you. Have you noticed such changes where you are? If so, let me know.

Mondays – I wish I had…..#8

“not been so harsh on the evolving tech”

Here’s the irony! I work in the tech industry but have never embraced it fully. While I may appreciate the speed of development I refuse the notion it’s going to make our life easy. But maybe I was a little harsh.

Yesterday was Mothers Day and I know this can be a tough day for a lot of people. On fathers day while my kids and wife do spoil me, I feel an emptiness because I do miss my father. In the interest of safety my siblings and I decided we would not all meet up this time around. Though my mum is a fit and healthy 65 year old, we didn’t want to take the risk. Yesterday afternoon we all set up our laptops in our houses and used Microsoft Teams for a 3 way Happy Mothers Day chat and celebration session. It was strange to start with but mum loved it. I know she feels it but she was happy we still kept up the tradition of meeting, be it virtual.

So for the tech that lets you keep in touch, to talk, to share good things or moments of uncertainty, hail hail.

Mondays – I wish I had…..#7

“perked up and shared my thoughts on greed”

This one is related to my weekly Friday post published a few days ago. In my local supermarket we were no strangers to panic buying. In the lane next to me a lady had a shopping trolley filled with large bottles of water (I counted 5 packs of 6 2litre bottles), a crate of tins of beans, tomatoes and 6 packs of pasta. Maybe she was buying for neighbours, maybe not.. but I so wanted to tell her to consider others!

But I grit my teeth, scanned my 6 pint of milk, pack of eggs and a birthday card, and zoomed off. Oh which of the seven deadly sins does this represent?

Mondays – I wish I had…..#6

“warmed up before a coaching session”

Saturday morning we had switched football (soccer) training to a 4g surface pitch (artificial grass). The kids normally train on grass but rain was predicted and the club decided to cancel, so we were being proactive. I took a small group of kids to help them with their touch and passing.

All was going well until 15 minutes in when I felt a ting of pain on my right calf. Yes I’d pulled a muscle and come this morning I can still feel it. Walking down the stairs is an unpleasurable experience. Should I admit I am no longer a spring chicken?