Wisdom from Rizana's mother

Rizana's mother - Ms.Rafeena Nafeek

I read a post from BBC titled "Sri Lanka's Rizana Nafeek: Mother forgives Saudi beheading".

And here I extract few quotes from Rizana's mother. We have many things to learn and think.

There's no point in blaming anyone - Rizana has gone 

We only got to know [about] her execution from the media. They [the Saudi authorities] should have at least told us about it.

Even our request to get her body to Sri Lanka was refused.
Mrs Nafeek urged other impoverished families not to send their daughters for domestic work in Saudi Arabia or anywhere else.

Instead she said that they should educate their children, a wish that Rizana had expressed for her own young siblings before her death.

Read the full post here 

Pic courtesy: BBC

Sarath, you'll be deeply missed.

I ve met SARATH only once. But feels like known him for ages. Never heard any negative comment bout him from his circles...lessons for life.
— isura(@isura) January 20, 2013

Today, I've made my final respect for Sarath, very early in the morning. I've talked to his wife (Roshini) and his mother's sister (aunty Devi). The reason for me to pay respect for this wonderful human being is explained above in my tweet.

I went to Coco in 2010, just to see what the heck this place was, because I never seen any restaurant been tweeted that much, almost venerated by the patrons. There I realized why people come to Coco. It's not just the food, it is the pool of energy swirled around Sarath, that people engaged in. 

When I listened to his wife and aunty today, I understood how peaceful this man was with such diversity around him. He was devoted to his enterprise, and staff just adore him. Blessed with a beautiful family, he made them all feel energetic. He may have left us at early age of 39, but I can see his legacy continuing and his energy flowing - through the people he had touched. 

I learned a lot today,  on how a life should be spent. Thanks Sarath for the wonderful life, you lived, which is the message you are leaving with us. Good Bye.

You may pay your respects from 20th January 2013 till 3pm on the 21st at 96 Barnes Place, Colombo 7. yfrog.com/h8uc7yokj
— Coco Veranda (@cocoveranda) January 20, 2013

Cremation will be held on 21 January 2013 at 4.30 PM at the General Cemetery, Borella, Hindu Section.
— Coco Veranda (@cocoveranda) January 20, 2013

Friends, in case you missed, there'll be a twitter-pause of 1hour beginning at 4.30pm (11.00 GMT) to honor our beloved friend @sarathsc #lka
— Gopiharan Perinpam (@gopiharan) January 21, 2013

Intellectual discussions Vs Direct Apprehension

It's very easy to attach and posses by intellectual discussions, to avoid direct apprehension of our lives.

If we get lost in these distractions, we would loose the chance of facing our emotions and passions in their rude raw reality.

If we do not go in to the root cause of our unpleasant and painful emotions and feelings, we will become lost in extreme pleasure and pain, mistaking their common appearance to be permanent.

Pic Credit: Peter Booth

Mobile for development

Info-graphic by World bank below shows the potential of Mobiles for development. The one thing I am passionate about. Here's the link to their site.

Tweeps Remember Tsunami

On hashtag #2004TsunamiMemories tweeps poured in with memories of one of the worst nightmares of Sri Lanka.

Here are some select tweets - that blends all the emotions (the good, the bad and the ugly), facts and impact on Sri Lankan society. I guessed this is way better than a detailed blog.

Its a disaster which thought us that beautiful things can be devastating at times too. #2004tsunamimemories
— Muhammed Sabith(@Sabithl) December 26, 2012

My #Tsunami experience srimahasen.blogspot.com/2011/05/2004.h… #Tsunami2004
— DJ Slash™ at Y FM (@yfmdjslash) December 26, 2012

A friend of mine became a victim. Luckily her father later found her among the dead bodies in a hospital, unconscious. #2004TsunamiMemories
— Janu K (@Janujedi) December 26, 2012

I witnessed so many decaying bodies were pulling out from the Peraliya train and it still gives me goosebumps...:/ #2004TsunamiMemories
— Hiyal Biyagamage (@hiyal89) December 26, 2012

#2004tsunamimemories Volunteering and diving in sea for dead/lost bodies after Tsunami is one of memories I will never forget.
— N ⚓ Thomas (@Yaaluwa) December 26, 2012

For the rest of the world it's Boxing Day. To us it's Tsunami day. Ravaged beaches and lost souls. Moment to Reflect and move on.#fb
— Mili (@milindat) December 26, 2012

Went to Galle for cleanups after 2 weeks of Tsunami - We cleared up a whole school in the town #2004TsunamiMemories
— Nadheera Udawatthe (@nnulk) December 26, 2012

Proud to have been part of a great job of sending clothes, meds & dry foods to affected areas by the SL Girl Guides. #2004TsunamiMemories
— Gayathri (@GSenev) December 26, 2012

@cioconatsl Went to Kalmunai to see the affected area's and was dumbstruck at the extent of the damage.. #2004TsunamiMemories
— Muhammad Nasir (@MoAwesomeSauce) December 26, 2012

My beautiful cousin and her hardworking single mom were at the Matara church when the waves hit. They didn't make it. #2004tsunamimemories
— Himal Kotelawala (@himalkk) December 26, 2012

#2004TsunamiMemories - I had engaged in relief work for 7 days. Such life transforming event -isura.biz/2012/06/happy-…
— isura(@isura) December 26, 2012

අත් ටැක්ටරයක කොස් පොල් පුරෝගෙන අපේ පාරෙ ගියා සුනාමි ආධාර දෙන්න..ඒ ඒ මිනිස්සුන්ගෙ උපරිමය වෙන් ඇති.#2004Tsunami #2004TsunamiMemories
— indika kumara (@indika27) December 26, 2012

සුනාමි අස්සෙ මැරුන මලමිනි සමග ලිංගිකව හැසිරිලා තිබුනා සමහර මිනිස්සු..දුම්රිය අනතුරෙත් හෙම වෙලා තිබුනා.. #2004Tsunami #2004TsunamiMemories
— indika kumara (@indika27) December 26, 2012

Simple test on been happy

2012 is almost done with. A time for reflection and celebrate success.
What I've found interesting during the year, I have blogged here.

And I was reflecting on the most important learning of the year. Let me share it with you.

If you want to make others happy, be happy with your self first, no matter what.
If you are not happy, forget others.
Dig deep in to the reasons why you are not happy and make a list. That's a start.

Let 2013 be your happiest !

Yours truly,
isura

pic credit: IBushuev

Celebrate small wins

First start at individual level - that is with you.

Nothing motivates and energizes you better than the simple realization of ' I am making progress each day.'

We take small wins for granted - a conversation that went well or a small progress in a project that was stuck. These small wins counts each day. They add up to Victories.

But mind is tricky, it forgets because we adore big endings. Hence keep a list - better keep a diary.

You have to do it Every day before you leave office.

Pic Credit: Image Source

Email is not your work

We are not paid for the number of emails we read, or assessed on how many replies we hit.

Email has become a place where we spend a lot of time.

But on real terms, email is an enabler for better decision making. Yet, it is not work.

We should focus on the output. If we finish, package and ship, that is out put. Then we should see how much of an impact that output makes. Do a simple test - if the impact you make is low. Go backward from impact to output to number of emails you respond. I did, and at one time, was hugely surprised.

Few things I did successfully.

1. Check emails once every 2 hours. Not having email opened in the browser all the time.
2. Prioritize and star emails by skim reading. Then make a day plan and see which work needs to be done during the day. And then have a list for sending and replying emails.

Pic credit: nicolas hansen

Anything.lk & Groupon making headlines

First it was Anything.lk been acquired by Dialog, on 10th Dec 2012 - Dialog buys 26% of anything.lk

Then few hours back, a rumor mills around Groupon, that it might be bought in by Google. And the CEO of Groupon refuses to comment.

This post from Nov 2011, provides context on why daily deals startups like Groupon starts nicely and then slows down - Groupon shares continue to free fall.

2 reasons put forward: Was it the ill timed IPO, or fundamental error in business model? For further insight, play 5 minute video below.

Wanna pitch Sri Lanka? Share this.

It is long been told about the power of user generated content, opposed to colossal budgeted promotional/branding work, where a team puts everything, except passion for what they promote.

Above is a perfect example. Product is a video. About Sri Lanka. Done by Max Kegfire (a tourist I guess).

Would there be any other perfect material than this for us to promote our country?

And the song in back ground is 'paradise' by Cold play. Paradise...hmmm...

UPDATE: 25th Jan 2013
Apparently youtube has blocked this video as the video uses 'paradise' track from Cold Play. So the video above will be having a different sound track. And if you really wanna see this with 'Paradise' you can still see it at Vimeo. Here goes.

We Go Sri Lanka 2012 from Max kegfire on Vimeo.