Education - importance and relevance ..

How does an unlearned, unsophisticated youngster become mature, learned and informed ? The only way a youngster could attain knowledge, maturity and be informed of many aspects of this Universe and earth is through education.

What is Education ?

1. Understanding ourselves : Education as we understand, is not just memorising some numbers and facts, getting information, verifying certain truths, proposing certain facts, writing some exams and getting some grades or experimenting with nature, it is much more.  It helps to understand ourselves better.

2. Knowing oneself and one's inequities : It involves calibrating oneself with nature, understanding where an individual has erred, what can be done to get it working again and wishing good and positivity for all living and non-living things on earth.

3. Conducting research : Education is more than collecting and understanding facts and verifying truths by research, it reflects on how human beings interact with fellow humans on planet earth.  

4. Wisdom and understanding : education gives us the wisdom and understanding to rationalise the reason for our existence on Earth.  

5. Reverberating with the rhythm of the Universe : It gives us the insight to place humanity in the vastness of the Universe, to rationalise our existence here and how each one of us has a definite positive role to play in reverberating with the universal rhythm and flow of events.

6. Exposure to the infiniteness of the Universe : Education exposes us to the infiniteness of the Universe and at the same time synchronises with the subtle realities of our everyday life on planet earth and the exciting new challenges and problems it exposes. 

7. Reasoning life's existence : Education helps us to understand the reason for life's existence (all flora and fauna) on planet earth and synchronises with the eternal rhythm of the unknown and uncalibrated dimensions in space and time.

8. Understanding the reality : Education gives us better understanding and synchronises our knowledge of the present reality and past truths with future revelations.  

9. Quells fear of unknown and infinite : Education quells our fear of the unknown and infinite, it energises and empowers our voyage to identify the truth.  

10. Reverberate with vibes of Universe : Education gives the peace of mind to help reverberate our living soul with the eternal vibes of the Universe and its creator.

11. Linking with eternal truth of life : education helps us to identify the reason for our existence on earth, it helps us to continue our effort to relate ourselves with the eternal truth of life.

An investment one makes in education is no waste at any point of time, as education with the appropriate efforts from the individual put in, always pays back multiple times.  

george..

Celebrate your uniqueness with peace and understanding ..

Humans are unique from the rest of the flora and fauna on planet earth, remotely close only to dolphins and elephants, both of which have higher levels of intelligence in the animal world. (click here for the traits that make humans unique, from BBC and some other traits that make humans unique from livescience).

Leaving that aside, not vacillating on celebrating that uniqueness and superiority with other living beings on planet earth, we find even among the human fraternity, each of us is very unique and capable. The following passage is a clear illustration of our uniqueness and how we could use it to our advantage than to our detriment.

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President Jomo Kenyatta wrote this some years ago..

"I was jogging this morning and I noticed a person about half a kilometer ahead. I could tell he was running a little slower than me and I thought, good, I shall try to catch him. I had about a kilometer before I needed to turn off. So I started running faster and faster. 

Every block, I was gaining on him just a little bit. After just a few minutes I was only about 100 meters behind him, so I really picked up the pace and pushed myself. You would have thought I was running in the last leg of an Olympic competition. I was determined to catch up with him. 

Finally, I did it! I caught and passed him. On the inside, I felt so good. "I beat him." Of course, he didn't even know we were racing! 

After I passed him, I realized I had been so focused on competing against him that I had missed my turn! I had gone nearly six blocks past my turn and I had to turn and go back. 

Isn't that what happens in life when we focus on competing with co-workers, neighbors, friends, family, trying to outdo them or trying to prove that we are more successful or more important? 

We spend our time and energy running after them and we miss out on our own paths to our God-given destinies!

The problem with unhealthy competition is that it's a never ending cycle!

There will always be somebody ahead of you, someone with a better job, nicer car, more money in the bank, more education, a prettier wife, a more handsome husband, better behaved children, etc. 

But realize that "You can be the best that you can be, when you are not competing with anyone."

Some people are insecure because they pay too much attention to what others are, where others are going, wearing and driving.... 

Take what God has given you: your height, weight and personality.

Dress well and wear it proudly: you'll be blessed by it!

Stay focused and live a healthy life. There is no competition in Destiny. Run your own race and wish others well. 

(Anonymous from the Internet).

Each one of us is so unique, that's how we were made. Challenges, trials and hardships as they come in life are each so hand-picked. They are not meant to weaken us, on the other hand, it embellishes us and makes us stronger and confident with each passing day.. Take it in the stride ..

Let's respect and celebrate our uniqueness by positive thinking and daily positive kind actions. 🙏👍

george..

How to improve the Agri supply chain ..

Quote : According to the Guardian, approximately 45% of all fruits and vegetables, 35% of fish and seafood, 30% of cereals, and 20% of meat and dairy products are wasted by suppliers, retailers, and consumers every year. : Unquote

The food waste that happens in US ..

Will we earthlings have enough food by 2050 AD to support the 9.8 billion population on planet Earth from the present 7.6 billion ??

How can we ensure food security for the masses ? What proactive steps can be taken up to ensure we all have enough food to eat by 2050 AD ?

Organised retail it was thought would reduce food waste. But actually has it done anything to ameliorate this black scar on humanity. In the western world, organised retailing has picked up. In UK, 87% of sale of grocery happens through organised retail through seven retail chains. The developing world is struggling as not more than 10% grocery sale happens through organised retail as late as 2016.

What a waste ..

From $ 641 billion in 2016, Indian retail is supposed to grow by 10% CAGR to $1.6 trillion by 2026. As of 2016, there are almost 8500 supermarkets in India. Retail contributes 10% of Indian GDP and employs 8% of population. Online retail in India as of 2016, is a $60 billion market.

Report of Indian retail industry by India Brand Equity Foundation is here..

https://www.ibef.org/industry/retail-india.aspx

In India's growing phase of retail industry, here are a couple of points on how to improve the agricultural supply chain. 

Past practices tend to dominate Indian mindsets. We need to think out of the box and innovate. Here are some points.

1. Have better inventory control practices in the supply chain - use of GPS based transportation in trucks in the agri-supply chain can help practice of more accurate and sound inventory control practices with less of variability

2. Partner with farmer to reduce waste in supply chain - in US farmers waste on an average 7% of produce on the farm, with the numbers less for developing countries. Selective harvesting is an option for farmers to avoid food dumping in the markets and the resultant profit wipeouts

3. Modify or eliminate traditional store practices that increase waste - First Come First Serve (FCFS) practices should be widely used. 

4. Bring more solar energy based refrigerators - that can cool during daytime and maintain the temperatures during the night, can bring down the expenses of storing expensive food items.

5. Team up with consumers - understanding the pattern of customer demand can moderate the harvesting from the field to a selective basis and the subsequent storage and withdrawal from warehouses.

Click here for 14 ways to reduce food waste at home..

george ..

References : 

1. Yasemin Kor et al, How large food retailers can help solve the food waste crisis, HBR, Dec '17

2. IBEF, (2017), https://www.ibef.org/industry/retail-india.aspx

Live for others .. In the long run, we are all the same ..

Very often we lead our lives thinking of ourselves, what we will do, what we will wear, what will I get in return and what will happen to me and my family etc.. Have we ever thought how others would be affected with my living ?

Am I doing something to make others' lives any better ? 

I found this anonymous message from the Internet quite striking.. makes one think deeply .. In the long run, if we do good, those are the only good thoughts that will be with us. Because in the long run, we are all the same .. The message exposes the futility of running after wealth, health, education, money, position, power, affluence etc.. 

Quote :

● At age of 40 years, "highly educated" and  "less educated" are the same. (Less educated people may even earn more money)  

● At 50 years, "beauty" and "ugly" are the same. (No matter how pretty you are, at this age, wrinkles, dark spots, etc. can no more be hidden.) 

● At 60 years, "high position" and "low position" are the same. (After retirement, even a peon will avoid looking at his boss) 

● At 70 years, "big house" and "small house" are the same. (Joints degenerate, hard to move, only require a little space to sit) 

● At 80 years, "have money" and "no money" are the same. (Even when you want to spend money, you don't know where to spend) 

● At 90 years, "Sleeping" and "waking up" are the same. (After you wake up, you still don't know what to do) 

- Unquote.

This passage is not to mean that there is no value in education and good health, but it helps us to understand that in the long run, whatever we earn, legitimately or illegitimately, whatever we get to know from different sources, whatever we do for ourselves will be of no use to us. Whatever we have earned legitimately, our children will make good use of it and whatever we have earned illegitimately by cheating others, by concealing income and not paying the tax due to the state etc., will bring us more harm than good. It is the best way to see that our children get spoiled and their lives go waste. Money not hard-earned, is just waste.

Do a life of giving and service.

Take life easy, there are no mysteries to be solved.  

In the long run, we'll all be the same. 

ge..

16 Psyche, one of the largest and richest asteroids ..

What does this asteroid, 16 Psyche, 200 km diameter, 450 million miles away (3x distance between Earth and Sun) in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, one of the top largest asteroids, moving at speed of 25 kms per second, have in making it so very important and attractive to the world ?

Precious metals worth GBP 8000 quadrillion or $10,500 trillion ..

 https://globalnews.ca/news/3175097/nasa-plans-mission-to-a-metal-rich-asteroid-worth-quadrillions/

It would crash the world economy which had a GDP of about $75 trillion in 2016 ..

Psyche is composed of metal made up almost entirely of iron, nickel and (presumably) a number of other rare metals like gold, platinum, copper, cobalt, iridium and rhenium. There’s nothing else like it in our galactic backyard.

Can NASA in it's $450 million project Psyche, manage to bring even a portion of this asteroid to earth ?

Really exciting !!

George..

How to avoid Alzheimer's.

Alzheimer's Disease is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions.

Common Facts : (Source Apollo Hospitals, India)

Contrasting a healthy brain and an Alzheimer Diseased (AD) brain.

• More than 1 million cases per year (India)
• Treatment can help, but this condition can't be cured
• Requires a medical diagnosis
• Lab tests or imaging not required
• Chronic: can last for years or be lifelong
• Brain cell connections and the cells themselves degenerate and die, eventually destroying memory and other important mental functions.
• Memory loss and confusion are the main symptoms.
• No cure exists, but medication and management strategies may temporarily improve symptoms.

Ages affected

0-2	Never
3-5	Never
6-13	Never
14-18	Never
19-40	Very rare
41-60	Rare
60+	Very common

Consult a doctor for medical advice

How can one take precautions to prevent onset of AD..

-----------------------------------------

Alzheimer's disease is a great monster, but it is not hard to do the proposed exercises and prevent it.

Alzheimer's can be prevented, by new technique to improve concentration, develop creativity and intelligence, by performing these simple exercises of Neurobics.

"Neuroscience" reveals that the brain has an extraordinary ability to grow and change the pattern of its connections.

The authors of this discovery, Lawrence Katz and Manning Rubin (2000), reveal that Neurobics, or "aerobic neurons" is a new form of brain exercise, designed to keep the brain agile and healthy, creating new and different patterns of behavior, and of the activities of the neurons in your brain.

About 80% of our day to day tasks are done on AUTO MODE (i.e. we do them without exercising our brain.) which despite having the advantage of reducing intellectual effort, hide a perverse effect: they limit and atrophy the brain, not allowing the renewal and growth of their neurons.

To counteract this tendency, it is necessary to practice some "brain exercises", which make the person think only about what they are doing, concentrating on that task. It is doing everything contrary to the routine, forcing the brain to an additional job

.

Some of the exercises .

• Use the watch on the pulse opposite to the one that normally uses it.
• Brush the teeth with the opposite hand.
• Walk around the house, backward (in China, this routine is practiced in the parks).
• Dress with your eyes closed.
• Stimulate the palate with things of different flavors.
• See the photos, head down (or the photos, or you).
• Look at the time, in the mirror.
• Change the routine path to go and return home.

The idea is, to do some different things, so that you exercise the other side of your brain (the right one),

Well worth trying!

What if you start practicing right now, using your cell phone, with your left hand..... 

(From the Internet)

Do you really want to own a car ?

Buying a car v/s Uber: A superb analysis (Common sense, but really brilliant !!)

In these days when car companies like Ola and Uber are competing to offer the quickest, cheapest ride, with great  comfort and satisfaction to the customer, should the customer really need to keep a private car at home ? When the whole scientific world is crying of environmental pollution, carbon footprints, global warming and unsustainable lifestyles, educated patriotic citizens would want to keep their carbon emissions low and help the society, community and environment..

Unless be it for prestige and better status in society, it does not make any sense to get a new car technically in the financial sense, if you do not spend more than a fixed sum every month. Let us see how it is reasoned out...

Any car  in India costs at least	Rs. 600,000/-
Scrap value after six year	Rs. 100,000/-
Net amount which goes in effective life of six year	Rs. 500,000/-
Nos of days of six years	2200 days
a. Depreciation per day in six years	Rs. 230/day
b. Yearly insurance premium of Rs 15,000	Rs. 41/day
c. Daily petrol, minimum	Rs. 100/day
d. After every 3 yr tyre & Battery change charge, Rs 25,000  i.e.	Rs. 23/day
e. Yearly maintenance of car Rs 9000 i.e	Rs. 25/day
f. If driver is employed, because Uber comes with a driver	Rs. 300/day
g. Interest loss on Car buying amount @8% on Rs 6,00,000	Rs. 131/day
Total daily expense after buying new car	Rs. 850 / day

                                         

So friends until you pay Rs 850 daily to hire a cab, you are effectively in gain travelling in Uber or Ola.

If u agree, share for the benefits of all. This is called financial planning. 

( Thanks to the anonymous author of this very realistic document )