In addition to our news updates, which focus on one-off events, etc. we like to provide a blog of comings and goings around Healthy Planet, so enjoy.
Recently, the Founder of Healthy Planet was asked by more and
more people to increase the level of his online activity (i.e.
Facebook, blogging, etc) so our fans and followers can learn more
about who Healthy Planet is; our values and activities. I am
gradually winning him over and I am hoping this is the first of
regular messages - it's a little bit deep, but like most Healthy
Planet ideas, it's easy for anyone who wants to take the message on
board in their normal daily life. He emailed me the
following:
Reading this email (See below) that arrived 'spam' style, I
noticed it was different to the others and it struck a chord.
Until now I have never sent a 'forward' message on through Healthy
Planet as they tend to have some sort of 'send me emergency money'
or 'you must pass it on for good luck' mentioned in it, but there
is no such equivalent here. Plus it has a couple of 'hidden
gems'.
Firstly, it reminds me of my 2 mothers - the one that brought
me up; and the other one - the one that I trod on every day and who
takes all my rubbish, literally (In case you still aren't sure,
that's Mother Nature). Granted one nags more than the other,
but I try to show 'All Due Respect' to them both as best as I
can.
The second hidden gem is not one that is commonly known or
talked about - having peace of mind and an appreciation of
non-material things are key to good mental health. And good
mental health brings with it better physical health and a greater
respect for the planet, people, belongings and our other
'stuff'.
- Shaylesh Patel, Founder Healthy Planet
Messages straight from the Founder (or his Mum) may be few and far
between, but I will try and get them out to you Healthy Planeteers
as often and as clearly as I can.
Take care.
Click Below to See inspirational message that the Founder
forwarded on.
Appreciation
This is a powerful message for our modern society - some parts of
which may have lost its bearing & sense of direction, while
some are able to contribute more to the world through these
mod-cons, like seeing, adopting and connecting with plots of land
through Google's satellite images.
One young academically excellent person went to apply for a
managerial position in a big company.
He passed the first interview; the director did the last
interview.
The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic
achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school
until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not
score.
The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in
school?"
The youth answered "none".
The director asked, "Was it your father who paid for your school
fees?"
The youth answered, "My father passed away when I was one year
old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.
The director asked, "Where did your mother work?"
The youth answered, "My mother worked as laundry woman.
The director requested the youth to show his hands.
The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and
perfect.
The director asked, "Have you ever helped your mother wash the
clothes before?"
The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study
and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster
than me.
The director said, "I have a request. When you go back today, go
and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow
morning.
The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When
he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her
hands.
His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed
her hands to the young man.
The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. A tear fell as he did
that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were
so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some
bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were
cleaned with water.
This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair
of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the
school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that
the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and
his future.
After finishing the cleaning of his mothers hands, the youth
quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.
That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.
Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.
The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked: "Can
you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your
house?"
The youth answered, "I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished
cleaning all the remaining clothes'
The Director asked, "Please tell me your feelings."
The youth said:
1. I know now what appreciation is. Without my mother, there would
not have been the successful me today.
2. By working together and helping my mother, only I now realize
how difficult and tough it is to get something done.
3. I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family
relationships.
The director said, "This is what I am looking for to be my
manager.
I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others,
a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and
a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are
hired.
Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the
respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and
as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously.
A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he
wanted, would develop "entitlement mentality" and would always put
him self first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts. When
he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him,
and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings
of his employees and would always blame others. For this kind of a
person, who may be good academically, may be successful for a
while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement. He will
grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this
kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we
destroying the children instead?*
You can let your children live in a big house, eat a good meal,
learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass,
please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their
plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is
not because you do not have money to hire a maid, you want them to
understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their
hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The
most important thing is your children learn how to appreciate the
effort and experience the difficulty and learn how to work with
others to get things done.