Guyana

We are all human

3 Comments / Where are the leaders / By / June 8, 2020

Today as we protest against racism in America, let us remember that we are against all racism. Let us remember that our stance is noble. Our stand is life giving and life confirming. In America today, all people of all races are standing together to give the message loud and clear that enough is enough. We reject arrogance. We reject racism. We reject discrimination irrespective of its basis, because we believe in the equality of all humankind. We believe in the right to dignity and respect that every human being is entitled to.

For he was a man

1 Comment / Where are the leaders / By / January 24, 2020

I learnt, very practically, that the best way to make progress was to develop a relationship based on sincerity as that would be the only thing that you could count on, especially in hard times. I remember how Nick Adams used to put it. He’d say, “A relationship is like a bank account. You only have in it, what you put in. And when you need to draw on it, you only have as much as you put in.” That is one of the lessons I learnt in my life and which has stayed with me all these years.

Lessons from the rain forest

Leave a Comment / See with your Heart / By / April 18, 2019

Lying in the hammock waiting for sleep to come, I would listen to the sounds of the forest and try to identify each one. The Amazonian rainforest is a rather silent place in the night, unlike Indian forests. The animals are less vocal and the forest itself muffles sound thanks to its density – you don’t hear much except insects. If you are near the river there are not many mosquitos but you do get vampire bats and so you need to cover up unless you wish to be bitten by one of them. That doesn’t turn you into a vampire or anything so romantic, but the wound can bleed for a long time as there is heparin in the bat’s saliva which prevents blood from clotting. In addition, I am sure vampire bites are not exactly what any doctor would order so it is better to stay off their menu.

Influencing without authority

3 Comments / Where are the leaders / By / April 17, 2019

Two lessons from this incident; the importance of building a good case and the importance of putting it in a way that makes sense to the listener from his perspective. ‘What’s in it for me?’ is a tune that everyone listens to. It’s about speaking the truth but doing it in a way that makes sense to the listener in ways that are important to him.

Guyana, cross cultural boot camp

5 Comments / See with your Heart / By / April 18, 2019

“So, Comrade Baig, you have been living here for two years. What are your impressions about our country?” The interviewer was from Guyana Chronicle, the main English newspaper. I was being interviewed because I was there. Comrade was a gender-neutral term used to address anyone because Guyana was a socialist (communist) country ruled by an …

Guyana, cross cultural boot camp Read More »

If it can’t make you cry, it can’t make you work

3 Comments / 55 Life Lessons of 55 years / By / October 23, 2017

I know only one way to live and that is to live passionately.  When you live passionately, you are alive, happy and have no stress. You can work hours that leave others exhausted. You don’t need holidays because your whole life is a holiday and you actually get paid to do what you would have …

If it can’t make you cry, it can’t make you work Read More »