hidden image

Daring to be Great and Heroic

P. A. Joseph P. A. Joseph
21 Aug 2023

There is a unique kind of bird namely thorn bird. The botanical name is phacellodomus ruber. It is found in some parts of South America like Brazil, Bolivia, and Argentina. The bird builds a large and complex nest of twigs and thorns. When the bird grows into maturity, it goes in search for a thorny tree, pierces itself with thorns, sings the most beautiful song ever heard, and dies while singing. Some people say it is a mythical bird. Any way its last message of lovely song is beautiful.

Rambai, 106 years young sprinter, took up athletic two years ago, and set world record of 100 m, and 200 m and topped in shot-put at the 18th national open athletic championship  competition held  in Dehradun. After the event, her grand daughter, aged 41, offered to massage her leg but Rambai declined and asked her to serve someone older.

Kalpana Chawla, born on March 17, 1962, in Karnal, Haryana, had her school studies in the home state. When she was 20 she pursued her studies in the US, took American citizenship, had her higher studies there and took PhD in her favorite subject aeronautics engineering. She was the first Indo-US woman flying in the space. During her historic flight in the space- shuttle she had respectable and lovely chat with the then Prime Minister I. K. Gujral who invited her and team members to India. She spent 15 days 22 hours and 20 minutes in the space. While returning, she died, along with seven crew members, when the spacecraft disintegrated on February 1, 2003. 

These stories inspire us to have something to believe, something to visualize, to dream, to prioritize, and even to “prayerise”. I should wake up in the morning with a preoccupation to do something planned in the process of my daily schedule.

Nothing on earth is more powerful than the human mind, both mine and yours. I/we don’t lack any idea and the potential. There are tremendous ideas in the universe, only I need to accept them and make it my own. In the process of selecting ideas, I should have the courage to delete all the negative forces, and all dangerous viruses. I do not get glory in doing something wrong. I need to be right morally, ethically, and spiritually. For a right objective, I should not take a wrong procedure. If I sow positive seeds I will gather positive results, and on the contrary if I sow negative seeds I will reap only negative results. 

Recent Posts

How can greater knowledge be accompanied by greater wisdom, greater prosperity by greater solidarity, greater power by greater responsibility, and greater connectivity by genuine human fraternity?
apicture Br. Dr. Lawrence Soosai Nathan, OFM Cap.
28 Sep 2026
"Deus meus et omnia" ("My God and my All!") was St. Francis of Assisi's favourite prayer. According to early Franciscan accounts, most notably recorded by Brother Bernard of Quintavalle, Francis's fir
apicture Br. Cyriac George, OFM Cap.
28 Sep 2026
St Francis shows that peace begins by freeing ourselves from the urge to possess, control and dominate. His poverty, humility and fraternity offer another way of exercising power: not over others, but
apicture Br. Brian Raymond Bandya, OFM Cap.
28 Sep 2026
Assisi is more than a pilgrimage town; it is a challenge to the way we live. Eight centuries after St Francis, his poverty, simplicity and service still raise a difficult question: how much do we real
apicture A. J. Philip
28 Sep 2026
St. Francis of Assisi's life and message have much to say to a communally divided India. Dialogue across faiths, standing with the poor and marginalised, respecting diversity, and working together for
apicture Jacob Peenikaparambil
28 Sep 2026
Gandhi and St Francis remind us that renunciation and humility go hand in hand. While their understanding of celibacy and self-denial may invite disagreement, their lives of sacrifice, simplicity, ded
apicture Chhotebhai
28 Sep 2026
St Francis remains a beloved figure because his life joined simplicity, poverty, humility, compassion and love of creation with a deep devotion to God. His message of peace, brotherhood and reconcilia
apicture P. A. Joseph
28 Sep 2026
"Brother Sun has become an energy contract. Sister Water is imprisoned in plastic and sold. Mother Earth is mined, poisoned and stripped of her forests. When she responds with floods, fires and drough
apicture Robert Clements
28 Sep 2026
A diplomatic dinner is more than a meal; it is cultural diplomacy on a plate. India has every right to showcase its magnificent vegetarian cuisine, but excluding its equally rich non-vegetarian tradit
apicture A. J. Philip
21 Sep 2026
Ageing need not mean becoming a burden. With the right opportunities, senior citizens can remain productive, creative and socially engaged. Kerala's emerging Silver Economy offers the Church and civil
apicture Jacob Peenikaparambil
21 Sep 2026