Impossible's Possible

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There is a saying, "As a man thinketh, so is he". Transcendentally true. Politically correct.

It's true that we see the things we are and not the way they are. When we are so inferior in kicking off great things, we find many things impossible. In fact, we never realize and take a few seconds to think that many great things by the great people are done little by little. Impossible is possible for people who are unwaveringly determined.

To many of the great philosophers and think tanks, the word impossible is read on a different footing. Through their lens, Impossible means ''I'm possible''. Wow! Isn't it interesting to learn how to walk in their way of understanding?

Neopolean Benorpate has seriously warned that the word impossible is found only in the fool's dictionary.

When India was colonized by the British, Mahatma Gandhi, the physically weak but morally strong, boycotted the British rules and their commodities. Once when he was thrown out of the train by the British, he said, "Just now you throw me out of the train, I will throw you out of the country". Examine the power of this little man with huge courage. He has converted his anger into determination. He has discovered the impossible possible by milking his courage in making an independent India. That's Gandhian's, I'm possible.

Many of us have heard this story.

Robert Bruce, the king of Scots could not imagine and believe himself when he lost his kingdom. No matter how hard he mustered the forces, he lost to many innumerable battles.

In utmost despair, being burnt with the hopeless flame, he thought of a way to surrender.

In the process, he happened to have taken solace under a crumbling house. And to his surprise, noticed a spider making an attempt to reach the wall top. Each time a spider attempted, it dropped. But he observed that its attempt continues using the same method in its original path. Eventually, it was successful.

Watching the event, the king was transfixed. A new ray of hope surged within him. He realized that his failure was merely a manifestation and synonym of the spiders.

So next time, he gathered all the torn pages of his courage and he too portrayed miracles. What?

An amazing victory. The ideation of the spider's attempt dawn him into a realm of success. That's Brucean's I'm possible.

Franklin D Roosevelt was grief-stricken with Polio at the age of 39. He did not lose the appetite to grow further simply because of this medical calamity. He ran through politics and won the hearts and minds of the people. Today, history has it that he is the only US President who was elected for thrice. An iconic political figure indeed. That's Franklin's I'm possible.

Self-praise is no praise, an old Bhutanese axiom lives. But I am not hesitant to recount it.

When I was asked by my Physics lecturer Mrs Ugyen Pem to tell me the marks I obtained in class XII Physics, I pointed to another end of the row to begin. My conscience directed me the right thing because I stood the lowest with 47 among 33 of us enrolled for Bachelors Degree. That event was detrimental to my stand as a future physics teacher while on the other hand shot a message of working harder this time.

The paper that I am made to be proud of

Within those three years of intensive course, it happened to occur miracle in the history of my life. I was stunned to be the recipient of the most coveted F.L.Goropse Prize for Academy Proficiency in B.Ed Secondary Science, 2007 for securing the highest aggregate. It wrote title into my diary as Wangdian's I'm possible.

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

This is a typical Greek originated jargon used in a discipline called Health and Physical Education (HPE). It means, Sound Mind in Sound Body. 

By qualification, I am a trained HPE teacher. But, many of the times, I remained crippled to teach the subject in the school, because I suffered a deficiency of adequate enabling conditions.

Frankly speaking, this is the subject that garners a huge rainbow of interest in me to learn and teach. For known reasons, it remains as the core learning area in other countries. In Bhutan, while the proponent places a huge recognition, less merit is given especially by the middle-rank bureaucracy. As someone who has specialised in the field, I feel more than a mere waste.

The depth of the subject is fathomlessly rooted with a higher level of science. We cannot teach in schools whatever we have learned in college because almost 70% is theory-oriented. It is just otherwise in the schools that the course guidelines demand us be none better than a sports coach. Activities designed to seem to be simple but attending a refresher course on it would have been a blessing. I do not blame the Ministry failed to provide induction courses, but I blame them for the negligence.

Sometimes, I believe deploying a full trust sincerely to the dzongkhag is also a wrong idea. Human creativity can easily manufacture a lie and say one thing to the above and does another to the below. Like Bernard Baruch asserts, every deaf, blind and dumb knows running upstairs and running down people. They have a greater worry of the dangers of the ceiling above crushing them than the floor below their feet sinking.

I queried my friends and they all responded to me of having Trainer of Trainees (ToT) workshops on the current syllabus. My name was made to the nomination list but like the sweet words replacing the dull in the composition writing, it got replaced with my principal’s.

I do not envy him getting such a privilege. That’s good. Why? It was a professional development course. But, many reasons kept lingering in my heart when I was asked to take the subject in the school for all the classes besides others.

Nepotism is still prevalent. Where’s water, there’s rain. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. There is sheer waste here. Classes were not taken. SBIP [School based In-service Program] was not followed. Who exactly will understand the quality of education in Bhutan? The answer is nobody.

I will not talk bullshit about it now.

Globally, a huge number of people dies due to sedentary diseases, unhealthy lifestyles and dieting. Physical education is all that deals with this stuff. So, it cannot be taken for granted. It is an education with “Physical” in it. There’s an activity in such education to achieve better human development. 

Playing to Win. Volleyball Winner. 2011.

Plato warns that “lack of activity destroys the good conditions of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it. Thomas Wood further clarified the importance when he said, “The great thought in physical education is not the education of the physical nature, but the relation of physical training to complete education”.

It is classified as a branch of science that caters a holistic development in learners. It umbrellas the three domains of learning: the cognitive (knowledge), affective (Attitudes and values) and the psychomotor (Motor Skills). 

The three domains are explained further below:

The holistic view of Physical Education 

It is also noteworthy to leave a quote of an Indian Nobel Prize Laureate in Literature, Rudyard Kipling,

Nations have passed away and left no traces.

And history gives the naked cause of it –

One single, simple reason in all cases,

They fell because their people were not fit.

Nothing on earth-no arts, no gift, nor graces –

No fame, no wealth –outweighs the want of it.

This is the law which every law embraces –

Be fit-be fit- be fit! In mind and body be fit.

This is the lesson at all times and places –

One changeless Truth on all things changing writ

For boys and girls, men, women, nation and races

Be fit-be fit! And once again-be fit!

                                                        Rudyard Kipling

Butter without Churning?

‘Trok..trok’…somebody knocked on my door. I was already awake by 4:00AM morning to upload my article using the Data Card. Yet, I did not respond to the knock.

“Trok..Trok…Trok” again the sound echoed my tiny room. This time it was random, quick and unwelcoming. The frequency of the stroke signalled me somebody’s in an urgent and desperate need of my attention.

“Who’s this”, I spoke quite harshly.

“Lopen, so sorry to have disturbed at this early hours. I have to be direct that I am here to get the money for the water” my house owner said.

“Money for the water?” I giggled cynically though and quickly made a note on what basis do you ask this for.

The money they gather, as told by the house owner, is paid to someone who contributes their labour force in maintaining our water source.

“Is that person really doing a sincere job to commensurate the price?” I asked frantically. “Every time water stops flowing, you rush for the payment of that so-called experienced plumber”  

Hungry cans waiting in a hope that water might leak accidentally from any one of these three sources

Water in my place has been an expensive commodity these days. The service has been out for almost a month now. I can’t imagine how my friends have a family survive. For me, I pull my muscles and rush to the school to use the bathroom and a bucket of 30 litres capacity serves the purpose of cooking till the end of a week.  

Recently, I was out on a leave after having been kissed by typhoid. A friend of mine on my return informed me of this incident. I instantly disgraced this idea of collecting money for water. Sometimes, people try to take out the butter without having churned the milk well. They do not water the garden and expect their bowl to be full of grains. They do not sow but expects a good reap.

My friend who completed his studies from abroad told me how tenants are well respected. The fact that they furnished the room with all the necessities was interesting. In Bhutan, it would be quite a different story to tell but, it wouldn’t matter for a person like me if, at the least, basic essentials are placed at our disposal.

After all, whether the owner respects the tenant’s law of Bhutan, it does not mind for many of fellow Bhutanese like me providing rent, provided a basic but abundantly present resource in Bhutan like the water is sufficiently supplied.