This Week's Word & Thought: Human

What is it to be human?  What is it that makes us human?  Sometimes the best way to answer that is with example. 

My friend and co-worker, Saad, sent me a link to an article about Abdul Sattar Edhi.  Who was this gentleman?  He was a humanitarian of the greatest order who spent his life giving back to others in need. 

Some History:

Abdul Sattar Edhi (Urdu: عبدالستار ایدھی‎; c. Born early 1928, was a Pakistani philanthropist, ascetic, and humanitarian who founded the Edhi Foundation, which runs hospitals, homeless shelters, rehab centers, and orphanages across Pakistan.  Born in Gujarat, British India, Edhi moved to Karachi where he established a free dispensary for Karachi's low-income residents. Edhi's charitable activities expanded in 1957 when an Asian flu epidemic swept through Karachi. Donations allowed him to buy his first ambulance the same year. He later expanded his charity network with the help of his wife Bilquis Edhi.  Over his lifetime, the Edhi Foundation expanded backed entirely with private donations including establishing a network of 1,800 minivan ambulances. By the time of his death Edhi was registered as a parent or guardian of nearly 20,000 children. He is known as Angel of Mercy and is considered to be Pakistan's "most respected" and legendary figure.  In 2013, The Huffington Post claimed that he might be "the world's greatest living humanitarian", while on the 28th of February 2017, Google celebrated Edhi with a Google Doodle hailing his "super-efficient" ambulance service.  Edhi maintained a hands-off management style and was often critical of the clergy and politicians. Edhi was a strong proponent of religious tolerance in Pakistan and extended support to the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the 1985 famine in Ethiopia. Edhi was nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The following link is to the article my friend shared with me.  http://bit.ly/Abdul-Sattar-Edhi  It tells why Google honors the man today.  Go to www.google.com and see the image being used.

Last, but certainly not least, a quote from Mr. Edhi that I believe speaks volumes to the man’s humanness.  I hope to be a fraction of the humanitarian he was throughout his life.

Namaste,

PS:  you could learn something from this true gentleman, Mr. President.

This Week's Word & Thought: Dance!

Why dance?  

I was thinking about meaning of words for becoming so involved with what you are doing that it is total immersion.  Total involvement in your work as you are obsessed with its perfection.  How to express being consumed with what you love to do.  Whether art, business, teaching, science, etc., how to best express this state of being.

I started down this path by seeing a video of Sergei Polunin in a new Diesel advertising campaign.  It is incredible beauty, provocative and business oriented all at the same time.  It so moved me I had to watch it multiple times.  https://youtu.be/COXx3YTNW1s

Then, as with most events or subjects that grab my attention, I wanted to know more.  I researched and found the primary dancer’s name, Sergei Polunin, and then wanted to learn more about him. As it turns out, he is probably one of the greatest dancers of this century and achieved that status at the age of 20.  There is a documentary, “Dancer”, that is about Sergei and his rise to stardom and his walking away from different aspects to find his balance in total immersion of his art.  The end result of the documentary was a decision for him, with assistance from a friend and fellow dancer/choreographer, to create a much more contemporary and free form ballet solo piece.  It was originally intended to be his last. 

It is breathtaking and my all-time favorite dance piece.  You see him become one with the music and the movement of his body.  To be that immersed and connected to what you are doing is ethereal.  I hope you watch it.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-tW0CkvdDI

And finally, to point out that business, science, math, etc., equally love to create, to move, to be moved.  To this end, the quote for this week is from Albert Einstein (yes again, but damn he was smart!).

“We dance for laughter, we dance for tears, we dance for madness, we dance for fears, we dance for hopes, we dance for screams, we are the dancers, we create the dreams.”

Namaste,

Tom

This Week's Word & Thought: Mediocre

One of the greatest minds of our modern world was undoubtedly Albert Einstein.  I sometimes read pieces or quotes from him just to ponder their meaning.  He stated some of the most profound thoughts with the fewest of words I believe I have ever read.  I also believe he was as much philosopher as scientist. 

In the current times we live in, it is more important than ever to stand up and be accounted for even when it can cause you fear.  I saw a bumper sticker on a car during my weekday morning commute.  It simply stated “RESIST”.  Wow, powerful and what a brave person!

With that in mind, here is one of my favorite quotes from Albert Einstein.

“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.  The mediocre mind is incapable of understanding the man who refuses to bow blindly to conventional prejudices and chooses instead to express his opinions courageously and honestly.”

Don’t be mediocre people.  You get one go-around.  Make it count!

Albert Einstein; German; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist. He developed the general theory of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside quantum mechanics). Einstein's work is also known for its influence on the philosophy of science. Einstein is best known in popular culture for his mass–energy equivalence formula E = mc2 (which has been dubbed "the world's most famous equation"). He received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect", a pivotal step in the evolution of quantum theory.

Near the beginning of his career, Einstein thought that Newtonian mechanics was no longer enough to reconcile the laws of classical mechanics with the laws of the electromagnetic field. This led him to develop his special theory of relativity. He realized, however, that the principle of relativity could also be extended to gravitational fields, and with his subsequent theory of gravitation in 1916, he published a paper on general relativity. He continued to deal with problems of statistical mechanics and quantum theory, which led to his explanations of particle theory and the motion of molecules. He also investigated the thermal properties of light which laid the foundation of the photon theory of light. In 1917, Einstein applied the general theory of relativity to model the large-scale structure of the universe.

He was visiting the United States when Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933 and, being Jewish, did not go back to Germany, where he had been a professor at the Berlin Academy of Sciences. He settled in the United States, becoming an American citizen in 1940. On the eve of World War II, he endorsed a letter to President Franklin D. Roosevelt alerting him to the potential development of "extremely powerful bombs of a new type" and recommending that the U.S. begin similar research. This eventually led to what would become the Manhattan Project. Einstein supported defending the Allied forces, but generally denounced the idea of using the newly discovered nuclear fission as a weapon. Later, with the British philosopher Bertrand Russell, Einstein signed the Russell–Einstein Manifesto, which highlighted the danger of nuclear weapons. Einstein was affiliated with the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, until his death in 1955.

Einstein published more than 300 scientific papers along with over 150 non-scientific works. On 5 December 2014, universities and archives announced the release of Einstein's papers, comprising more than 30,000 unique documents. Einstein's intellectual achievements and originality have made the word "Einstein" synonymous with "genius".

Namaste,

Tom

This Week's Word & Thought: Example

I thought long and hard on this and came to the word example accidentally.  I had a different thought, but kept coming back to this word.  Why or how you might ask?  I wanted to do something inspiring with words from one of the most underappreciated composers who was incredibly influential in classical music.  That man was Johann Pachelbel.

Try as you may you cannot find one written word of his even though he wrote the single most popular classical piece of all times, “Canon in D”.  This also happens to be my most favorite piece of music and at times I will listen to it over and over.  To this day and after years of listening, if it is being performed well and as intended, it still brings me to tears.

His influence in classical music was extensive.  He trained the classical teacher who then trained Johann Sebastian Bach.  He also produced over 500 pieces of classical music and influenced great composers.  He taught for many years and was an organist and considered one of the best composer of baroque music.

I say all of this to point to the simple fact this man never really spoke of his talents.  He lived his talent and was an example to those around him without saying anything direct.  Sometimes the most important influence we can provide is through ourselves.  Others watch each of us whether we are aware or not.  How is your example?

Few interesting points:

BORN:  In Nuremberg, Germany, probably sometime in August 1653

DIED:  In Nuremberg, probably in early March 1706 (he was buried on the 9th March)

BURIED:  St Rochus Cemetery in Nuremberg

TYPE OF MUSIC:  Classical music from the baroque period

A FAMOUS PIECE:  Canon in D

THE SORT OF MUSIC HE WROTE:

Keyboard music (especially organ)

Choral (sung) music for the church

Chamber music (music for a small number of instruments)

SOME INTERESTING FACTS:

He was very popular when he was alive

Most of his music was written for the church

A lot of his music has been lost

Enjoy!

http://bit.ly/2k3RttZ

Namaste,

Tom