Fear of Falling

Learning to skate is one of my 50 Goals for me. At the beginning of the year I included this as one of my goals for this year. I already had a pair of skates at my place and started practicing. I only put the skates on one leg and used the other leg to to push. I was afraid that I would fall down if I put on the skates on both the legs therefore I felt that it would be safer to put on the skate on only one leg. Another reason for practicing on one leg was I felt that it would give me the feel of skating without the risk and later I could move on to skating on both legs smoothly. How wrong was I.

However much ever I practiced on single leg, the feel is never the same as practicing with skates on both legs. Also it did not help me overcome the fear of falling down because I never fell down practicing on single leg. It happened for two weeks and then I lost interest. That was until last week.

Last week guests came over to our house to stay for couple of weeks. They also have small children and as is usual with most children they want to try out new things. They do not have the fear of failure or falling down as we elders have. Usually that fear is instilled by grown ups in the children. Some of the fears like teaching them to be safe from fire or electricity may be good for them but lot of others are not good for their growth.

Anyway to continue with the story, they started trying out the skates and on the second day I noticed that their nine year old daughter decided to try to skate on both legs. She took baby steps and was successful in covering a small distance without falling down. I was impressed with how quickly she was able to do that and main reason was she did not have the fear of falling. What I was reluctant to try even after two weeks, she decided to try on the second day itself. That is what innocence of a child can achieve.

This gave me hope and I immediately decided to give it a try. I put on the skates on both the legs and was able to cover a distance safely. I was thrilled. I tried again and decided to call my son to show this. My son came saw me trying to skate on both the legs. He was not impressed with the speed with which I was moving and gave me a good push on my back. I fell down on my back. Though it did not hurt much physically, my ego was hurt and got angry on him.

After I calmed down I realized that falling down was not that painful as I had assumed it to be. In fact it was good that I was pushed and I fell down. That incident removed my fear of falling. Now I am practicing skating and hope to gain sufficient skills in near future.

My Lessons
1. Likelihood of falling or failing is lesser that we assume.
2. Falling down is not as painful or disgraceful as we imagine it to be. Falling removes the fear and it is good for us in the learning process.

Go ahead and pursue your dreams. Falling down is part of the process to succeed after all stepping stone to success are the failures. Falling or failing helps us to lose our fears which stop us from growing.

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How to make Yogurt or Curd like Indian Sweet Shops

Unlike US or other European countries, Yogurt is not packaged and sold in India and many other Asian countries. You can get it fresh for the manufacturers, who are usually your neighborhood sweet shop owners.

Day before yesterday, I went to buy curd (yogurt) at a shop near my house. Somehow the yogurt at the shops is very well made and thickly set while when we make the curd at our home it is sour and more contains more fluid.

I asked the shopkeeper the secret to making great yogurt, and he gladly revealed the secret to me. I tried it at home and I was successful in making superb yogurt as you can see in the picture. It was firm and had creamy layer on the top. It tasted great and I made it again and again with the same process.

It is also lot cheaper than what you pay for while buying from the stores.

 Here is the recipe.

1. Use a glass containers. Earthen containers are also excellent option however they are difficult to find everywhere.
2. Use a flat bottom container instead of deep bottomed container. Baking tray is a good option.
3. Pour the milk in the container. In the summers use lukewarm milk and in the winters use hot milk.
4. Add four to five drops of curd from existing collection Yogurt at home, in the milk. Usually we make the mistake of adding too much of curd which make it too sour.
5. Keep the container aside and do not disturb for 10 hours or so. If you disturb the container too much yogurt will not be solid in nature.

Usually start the process in the night and keep it in refrigerator in the morning till you consume this home made yogurt.

 Try it and enjoy the fresh home made yogurt.

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