CHANGE
I have experienced a lot of changes in my work
life and family life where I had to make the
form, nature, content and the future course of
something completely different from what it
was. I have seen people change their names or
change their opinion but there were many
people who changed the course of history
through their struggle and perseverance.
In fact change is one of the permanent
features of human way of life. In this essay I
want to show various facets and beliefs of
change.
For many of us change is something that
presses us to move out of our comfort zone.
Often it is harder done than thought. Change
in our disposition, conduct and behaviour
brings progress and prosperity. I agree with
George Bernard Shaw who said that progress
is impossible without change and those who
cannot change their minds cannot change
anything.
Change to me is destiny-filtered, heart grown
and faith built. Often it is said that change is
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inequitable; not a respecter of persons.
Change is for the better or for the worst,
depending on where we view it. Therefore
change can be said to have an adjustment
period which is different for different
individuals.
Motivated individuals are never afraid of
change and I have always supported this
because I believe that God will never take
anything away from us without the intention
of replacing it with something better.
Despite all this change is sometimes
uncomfortable because changing from one
state to the next upsets our control over
outcomes. This is why change has a ripping
effect on all those who would not let go.
Therefore I think flexibility is the key. I am
told that even a roller coaster ride can be fun
if you know when and how to lean and create
new balance within the change.
One of the best quotes I found on change is,
“Let go of things you cannot change, and focus
on things you can.” But one of the ways to
make sense out of change is to plunge into it,
move with it and join the song and dance of
change.
Change is definitely needed when all the props
and practices of the past no longer work. You
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cannot ‘just hang in there’ but you have to
learn to make it happen. No one grows or
progresses in retreat but through endurance
and perseverance. All my changes in my work
and family life were never fixed by crying,
worrying or mental tread-milling. My changes
were won by persistence so it was my choice to
become a victor and not the victim.
I found that every moment that changed my
life changed who I was. However, I was never
afraid to fall apart because it was my
opportunity to rebuild myself the way I wished
I had been all along.
Change was awkward for me at first. It was a
muscle that developed to abundantly enjoy the
dynamics of the life set before me. It pushed
me to my personal best and I had to call all
my strength and skills to manoeuvre it. I soon
found out that change was not for chickens
and it definitely has causalities for those
defeated individuals.
It is worth remembering that every positive
change in our life begins with a clear,
unequivocal decision that we are either going
to do something or stop doing something. So
making a big life change is pretty scary for
some of us but once we know that there is one
thing that ‘regret’ is even scarier than change
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then we begin to take proper action to bring
about the needed change.
I believe that any change will cause us to
churn or to learn. Change for me has always
changed the speed of time. Time as we know is
so slow for the reluctant and yet it is a
whirlwind for those of us who embrace it.
Therefore change is more fun to do than to be
done to. Change seeks a better place at the
end and is complete when we realize we are
different from everyone else.
My life has been the ultimate result of the
choices I made and the very moment I did not
like my life I knew that it was time for me to
change and start making better choices.
I knew that change was measured by its
impact on all who were connected to it.
Change is charged when we are dissatisfied
with where we are. Change does not look for a
resting-place but it wants the next launching
point. Hence, change is only a waste who do
not learn anything from it.
“Change will not come if we wait for some
other person or some other time. We are the
ones we have been waiting for. We are the
change that we seek.” Says Barrack Obama,
the President of United States.
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Therefore, I believe that our life does not get
better by chance but it does get better by
change. It is possible that changing the inner
attitude of our minds, we can change the
outer aspects of our lives. If we do not change
then we do not grow and if we do not grow I do
not think we are living well.
For over sixty years I have looked in the mirror
every morning and asked myself, “If today was
the last day of my life, would I want to do what
I am about to do today?” And whenever the
answer has been “No” for too many days in a
row, I came to know that I needed to change
something. Very often a change of set is
needed much more than the change of scene.
I have never doubted that ordinary but good
and thoughtful citizens cannot change the
world if they tried. It has always been this
group that brought about the needed change
in this world. If we cannot change the
direction of the wind while sailing we can
adjust our sail to always reach our
destination. But let us be reminded by Deepak
Chopra that all great changes are preceded by
chaos.
Change happens in the hearts and minds of
people first before it is proclaimed by our
actions and works. If we can change before we
have to change then there will be less pain. We
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all know that pain can change us but that
doesn’t mean it has to be a bad change. We
can take that pain and turn it into wisdom.
Life, as we are often reminded, is too short to
wake up in the morning with regrets. So wise
people love everyone who treat them right,
forgive the ones who do not and begin to
believe that everything happens for a reason. If
we get a chance then we must take it. If it
changes our life, then let it. I am not saying
that all this is easy but I can promise that it
would be worth it.
Change can flow or jerk, depending on our
acceptance or resistance to it. Change uses
the power invested in the unseen to reinvent
what we see. Change is like driving in a fog;
we can’t see very far but we can make the
whole trip that way if we persist.
If we want to change the world we must first of
all change ourselves. John F Kennedy believed
that change is the law of life and those who
look only to the past or the present are certain
to miss the future.
Let me conclude by saying that we should get
to make the choice to take the chance if we
want our life to change. Therefore, it is wise to
make a wish, take a chance and make a
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change. If it does not challenge you, it won’t
change you.
One of the happiest moments in my life has
been when I found the courage to let go of
what I couldn’t change. So isn’t it crazy how
we can look back in our life and realize how
much everything has changed?
The number of people that have left from our
life, the new ones that have entered and the
old ones that have stayed on are staggering
indeed. The memories are hard to forget and
the moments still in sight.
These are some of the powers of change.
Change is here to stay. If I do not change I will
find it hard to adjust myself to the way I want
to live my life.
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I know my whole life experiences have not
been extraordinary or impressive enough for
my readers but I wanted to express myself
anyway so that people could assess my life
experiences for themselves. I have not left
much for anyone and definitely not millions to
any charity. There would not be any buildings
emblazoned with my name on the outside
brick of the top floor. There would be no long
list of board positions included in my final
resume.
I have been evolving towards the end of my
life. In the past few years, I have not been
invested in serving others as I used to do, so I
set a goal and created a plan to change that
pattern in my life. I wanted to mind my own
business because I was striving to live a
healthier life alone. I did not want to be a
burden to others in my final years especially
to my family members. I have prepared for a
peaceful end-of-life journey, whenever it
comes. I plan on having a good death as part
of the legacy I have shaped for myself.
It was my conviction to renew my life by
forgetting the past and to live in the present
with greater intention. There was one change,
one improvement, an accomplished goal when
I got into relationship with my partner. She
became my unconditional and instinctual
friend, an unselfish carer with greater
dedication and interest. None other would
have fitted into my life this late but only her.
I do hope my epilogue describes me as a
person who loved others well and lived to give
glory to God.
If these shadows have offended anyone
Think of love and friendship to forgive
I have expressed my views for everyone
These are my views and are here to live
Gentle people please do not reprehend.
If you pardon me, we will surely mend.
As I am an honest Buck
I have not earned any luck
How can you give me a liar call.
I want to say good bye unto you all.
Give me your hands if we are friends,
And RL would be happy to restore amends.
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AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Of
Dr Ram Lakhan Prasad
My name at birth was Ram Lakhan and I was
born on the 27th of December 1939 in a small
remote village of Fiji called Botini that is part
of Sabeto in Nadi. My grandparents blessed
me with this name because they wanted me to
have the strengths of both Ram and
Lakhsman of the epic Ramayan. My father
registered my birth on 18th January 1940 so
that became my official birth date.
Botini is a fertile valley on the west bank of
Sabeto River that has its source in the
mountain range known as the Sleeping Giant.
Almost all the residents of this village lived a
self sufficient life growing their own basic food
requirements. Early housing structure was of
thatched nature but as soon as people entered
the sugarcane and pineapple growing industry
together with their own vegetable gardening
things improved considerably and housing as
well as other living conditions of people
accelerated.
My parents Bhagoati Prasad and Ram Kumari
lived on an extended family farm with my
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grand parents Sarju and Gangadei together
with other members. My grandparents who
were cunningly recruited from Northern India
(Basti) in 1909 as indentured labourers to
work on CSR’s sugarcane plantation, had
established themselves as successful farmers
but passed away during 1980s living for
around 90 years each and my parents died
early in 2000 hitting 70 years each.
My early childhood was a typical middle class
environment but as my parents moved on a
separate farm of their own things became
worse
for
a
while
before
improving
considerably. In the early stages of separation
we experienced hardship and poverty but as
my parents began managing their farm with
better techniques our financial status
improved.
Our family was one of the most enterprising in
those days because my parents had a very
cordial relationship with the native residents
of the village. They all lived in harmony and
assisted each other in the farm. Hard work,
honesty
and
community
service
and
involvement were the norm of the family. My
father eventually was elevated to the position
of village headman and later as the president
of the cultural group.
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My parents had nine children, two boys and
seven girls. I was the eldest and had to work
on the farm to help my parents while
attending the village primary and then urban
high school. My parents believed in educating
the children according to their capabilities. I
was fortunate to have entered schools with
quality teachers who helped me excel and do
well at school.
Very early in life I found out that there is
always light at the end of the proverbial
tunnel. I then became a strong person who
tended to be hopeful and confident about my
future and my success for everything. I did not
want to remain a persona non grata but be
someone who was important and worthwhile
for everyone.
Life during the entire period of my
indoctrination was smooth and exhilarating
where all my Gurus gave me the best
knowledge, skills and talents. However, my
work life was not that easy and plain sailing. I
had to struggle, meet the competition, fight for
promotions
and
get
recognized
for
scholarships. Consequently I became a
residue from the school of hard knocks. Thus I
was shaped, changed, controlled and fitted
into the system as I wanted. My greatest asset
was that I never gave up.
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I went forth to serve the rural community as
an educator and served well to be recognised
for elevation to higher level of service. At the
same time the people in authority sent me on
scholarship to equip me adequately to serve
even better. After my marriage and the birth of
four intelligent children I became a successful
education administrator, national examiner
and curriculum innovator.
National Industrial relations and international
involvement became an extramural interest for
me and I served the Union of teachers for two
decades both nationally and internationally. I
represented my country at various conferences
and seminars around the world and presented
research papers. Creativity has always been
my forte so I edited a variety of journals, books
and magazines and began writing and
publishing my own fictional and non-fictional
works.
As a result of ministerial interference, jealousy
and animosity I had to take my early
retirement from government service to take the
offer from a business organisation as their
Director of Human Resource where I had the
opportunity to contribute professionally and
enhance my own academic qualification. A
decade of active service in the commercial and
industrial sector enabled me to get the best
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human
resource
practices
and
the
management of people in the business world.
Through my international connection I was
offered to take on the position of Senior
Lecturer at Brisbane Youth Training Centre
and had to apply to migrate to Australia.
However, the health authorities in Canberra
declared that I was obese and needed to shed
at least ten kilogram of my weight. With the
help of my medical practitioner I was able to
overcome this hurdle and take up my new
position with Education Queensland. I worked
diligently with the institution for a decade
before taking my retirement.
Within this period in Australia I used my
financial wisdom to buy and sell real estate in
a speculative way thus using the profit from
one sale to invest in the other. After trading in
a few properties I managed to build my last
home free from all encumbrances. By this time
all my children were happily married and
living their own family life independently and
my wife and I lived in retirement.
My
wife
developed
heart
and
lungs
malfunction and I had to become her fulltime
carer. Despite so many medical manoeuvres
we could not keep her safe and she passed
away in 2013 leaving me and the family
distraught. It took me good four years to get
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over the shock and sadness of this loss. My
indulgence in scriptures, healthy interaction
with my family members and friends and
various overseas trips acted as my therapy.
Life was getting difficult to live alone because I
too had developed a variety of health problems
related to my thoracic domain such as SNIP,
COPD and OSA Sleep Apnoea. My GP referred
me to the Department of Community Services
and they approved Aged Care Package for me
to ease the problems and let me stay in my
home independently. It became evident that I
needed a fulltime carer myself and it was by a
stroke of luck and coincidence that I became
friends on social media with a lady with a
lamp known as Ganga who had lost her
spouse some nine years ago. We began
communicating and somewhere and somehow
we clicked and decided that we needed to get
together for the rest of our life for mutual
benefits.
I will close out this autobiography with the
most important thing in my life, my family. I
am now remarried to my best friend, Ganga.
We both are retired people of almost similar
age, attitude and disposition. Today I am
extremely happy that we are married and
living a fruitful and rewarding life together. As
time passes, this autobiography will also find
some more epilogues that will be added.
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RAM KI GANGA
AND
GANGA KA RAM
All good stories begin with the words “Once
Upon A Time” and our time began on 4th June
2016 when I was in USA at my only brother’s
home in Boise Idaho. My brother had invited
me for more bonding after both of us lost our
wives. I arrived in Idaho on Saturday 4th June
2016 and began spending
