Make small changes: Start small, whatever that means. This applies regardless of whether we’re making better choices like increasing physical activities, choosing healthier foods, or reducing stress by making time to listen to soothing music and so on.
Build regularly: Practise regularity. With constant regularity comes progress.
Act with sincerity: Be sincere. With sincerity, we make our resolve stick.
Change is happening all the time, whether we know it or not. The right actions and the right kind of thinking change things in a direction that will have a positive impact on our life.
The year 2013 was tough for me. I had too many things on my plate: a move back to NYC, renovations at two properties, children in London, LA and Rhode Island, difficult divorce proceedings and a Foundation that was active in many countries and several live projects at once. I had a fragrance line that was now being packaged and I did not know how to deal with everything all at once. Feeling rather overwhelmed, I stopped to pause one day and decided that I would change my thinking and do one thing at a time. I would not allow thoughts of other projects and things to cloud that moment. It worked!
Soon I was doing one thing at a time; and with clarity of purpose and renewed focus, I made great strides in all areas! When I think of positive and dynamic change, my thoughts bring back memories of my mother, Ellen Mary. Mom is a force of nature! We moved to Pune, India, in 1969; and found a residence within the Institute of Armament Technology campus, which was right across the National Defence Academy (NDA). It’s important for me to name these two establishments as my story involves both places.
My mother is a devout Catholic. She always took all three of her children to church every Sunday. My father is a Hindu, but he has always supported Mom’s decision to raise us Catholic and said to us, ‘Good values are essential, it does not matter which religious base they are taught from!’
There was no church on the campus, and the cathedral in Pune was nearly two hours away. Someone told my mother that there was a Catholic mass that was held every Sunday at 5 p.m., in a small church across the Khadakwasla Lake near NDA. My mother rode a Vespa scooter in those days; a very stylish Italian scarf fluttered around her head and shoulders. ‘We will have to get to mass, so let’s try,’ she told the three of us. ‘We will have to get there on my Vespa scooter.’
Mom held Sunita, who was three years old back then and was standing in the front. My brother and I sat in the back, holding on tightly. Crossing the lake over a narrow bridge was bad enough, but when we got to the village across the river, to our great dismay, the church sat on top of a steep hill. ‘Hold on!’ Mom said. ‘Let’s say a Hail Mary and get to the top!’
She geared up and, sure enough, got us to the top of the hill. She did this for three years and in all kinds of weather. Not once did we doubt that Mom would not be able to get us there, and then back, in one piece. She was driven by the conviction of her faith and knew that it was the right thing to do. I would get to mass and listen to the Lord’s word each Sunday and we are so much stronger for that.
In these ways, we learnt that any situation can be overcome. There was always a solution and there was nothing to be afraid of. Doing things to make positive changes in our lives is essential, and Mom gave the earliest example of this when I was just seven years old. This memory brings a huge smile to my face even now; my brother and sister just love talking about this adventure which we enjoyed together every single Sunday!
