Desiderata for my daughter

You have been granted
a mind of your own,
a maturity beyond your years
and beauty.
Don’t let these divine gifts cloud your vision.
Let not your beauty
be an end or an asset,
it is indeed a mere chance,
a chromosomal lottery and
the credit is not yours but that of a forgotten ancestor.
Let your mind be free, assimilate all the good that there is in this world.
What you achieve is immaterial,
what portion of your potential
you have realised is important.
Where do we start the A B C of life,
that we as parents can equip you with, to live a meaningful life?

A
Always be on time.
The watch on your wrist
is not an ornament,
but a tool to subjugate
the fleeting minutes
and achieve what you want most.
If you plan to be on time you will be late.
Plan to be early and you will surely be on time.

B
Be honest to yourself
and you are but human.
Books lead you to a larger world,
the breadth of human experience,
thought and action.
They can help you to learn,
to pass a tedious hour,
to prepare for tomorrow,
to forget a sad today.
Read as much as you can,
for knowledge is power.

C
Compromise not what you consider important,
what you cherish.
Consider your options
before you commit.
If you commit ,do it.
Try not to live on credit.
Use it only when you must.

D
Do what you must do
to achieve your life’s goals,
what is close to your heart.
Have a dream. Dream,
for dreams ask people to strive for something better.
If something disagreeable
has to be done, do it.
Waiting won’t take it away or
lessen the negative feeling.

E
Every day is a tally sheet.
Did you improve, learn, gather
something new today?
Else it is lost, just another milestone
gone by in a blur.
Exercise your body and mind.
After all, your head needs a strong neck and shoulders to support it.

F
First things must be done first.
What’s first, depends on
what you want out of life.
One must have a few friends
one can trust,
to share both tears and laughter.
Without friends life is quite barren.
Friendship means
learning to accept a person
as he or she is and
not what you want them to be.
So, choose your friends with care,
once chosen, care for them.

G
Goodness is always there,
even in the darkest hour.
Search for it.
God is manifest in all
goodness of the human spirit.
All religions say it,
you better believe in it.

H
Hope is as perennial as grass;
God ensures a sunrise
after the darkest of nights.
Have faith on yourself and your abilities
Hope sustains you in crisis.
Hope and work for a better tomorrow.


I
I, perpendicular pronoun
is important
but more important is ‘we’.
Look beyond yourself
at the whole wide world of people;
some have more but
many more have much , much less.
Be thankful for the smallest pleasure that life has to offer.
They don’t cost anything.
Important you are for your parents
indispensable you are not for this world.
Lessen your I to a point where it does not blind you
but never, never let it become ‘i’.

J
Jealousy is a corrosive acid, beware.
It can burn you and all around. Learn to appreciate
and let it spur you to greater achievements.
Joy is as natural
as pain, try to be happy.
One does not need anything to be happy,
you can choose to be happy.

K
Kindness lifts a human
and brings him nearer God.
Never lose it or you are a machine.

L
Love is a power more potent
than any other feeling or force.
Even animals sense it.
People will love you
when your aura is pure and
that will bring more love and affection.
Love cannot have pre-conditions.
We love you because you are YOU
and not because you are perfect,

M
Men are half of God’s creation.
You will need one to live life.
So choose carefully the man
you want to spend your whole life with.
Music is a divine gift bestowed upon you.
It can lift a person
from the depths of sorrow
to the peaks of joy.
Keep music alive in your heart.
Money is not everything, but it’s important.
It smoothens the path of life.
Spend only what you can afford,
but also save for a day when you may need it.

N
‘No’ is a word you have to use sometimes,
or people will use you.
Use ‘no’ to maintain your priorities, carefully.

O...
O...is a circle. It means,
everything must come around.
What you do will come back to you.
It is also a mouth open in wonder.
Never lose your sense of wonder.
There is so much in this world to wonder about,
to marvel at-a tiny flower, myriad of stars,
birdsong at night, a child’s pure laughter,
golden sunsets, the sea crashing on the beach,
sunrise on a misty morning, a rainbow.

P
Pay your dues to society, to people.
Pleasure is as natural as pain.
Do not shrink from pleasure;
pamper yourself once in a while.
You deserve it.
Politeness does not cost a paisa
- but it pays back.
Be polite to people, but do not overdo it.
Plan your work, it will make the work easier.

Q
Question the status quo, the present
and that will open new vistas.
Question yourself often, Is it right?
The answers are invariably there in your mind.

R
Respect yourself,
and the counsel of elders.
Remember names,
for names lead to people;
people lead to relationships.
Remember good times and
they will sustain you through bad.
Rest is as natural as work.

S
Sleep comes easily
when the mind is free.
Free your mind at the end of each day, meditate.
Slowly recount what you have done, search
for the good. Do not shrink
if you see something bad.
Save that memory
and the act will not be repeated .
Savour every moment, smile.

T
Trust yourself.
For others to trust you,
you must keep your word and promises every time .
Friendship and all relations are built on
trust.

U
yoU can change the world
in whatever way, small or big,
the power is in you.

V
Vivacious means full of life, vigour,
lively. You are, keep it that way

W
Why, what, when, who and how
are wonderful servants
for the mind to explore the world,
it’s truths, it’s expanse or minuteness,
everything in and around you

X,
eXpand the horizons of your mind,
eXperience life in its fullness,
eXamine yourself,
eXplore the possibilities
you are eXtraordinary.

Y
You are unique, nobody can create another.
Your actions therefore must reflect that.
Use your mind, it again is unique.

Z
Zed, has a tone of finality,
it means everything must come to an end.
Zeal makes for a good beginning.
If you must do something
do it with zeal.
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These are what we feel.
You can choose, what you like.