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This is a follow up with the school subjects blog post..

I wish agriculture is taught early as a school subject along with the basics of growing fruits and flowers which can be sold at carnivals. This can teach children many things and make them aware of the challenges of agriculture. This is not only a learning experience but also teaches them respect for agriculture and its practitioners. This will also teach children about water management and natural resources. I feel strongly that children should have a better understanding about agriculture and this helps form more empathy for the farmer and the challenges faced by them . Perhaps children can practice farming even at home and grow flowers, vegetables and fruits for a better experience and learning. limited space and resources can help the learning process by increasing the challenges and better learn the challenges faced by farmers. Selling the produce at home an or at carnivals helps learn about accounting and marketing too.

Ask anyone about wealth and they will mostly talk about a nice house, gold ,money, shares and other such things. They can all be different forms of wealth but the first according to me would be health. Without health you can have all the money but cannot enjoy it. You can aspire to drive a Lamborghini but cannot enjoy it.bI would add learning as a form of wealth. Most people think of education as degrees but I see the knowledge behind it and experience is the highest form of Learning. This is why learning is something I see as more complete than education. Therefore for me, health and learning are the first and best forms of wealth . Learning is something you never lose and can grow more as you share more.

One cannot learn everything from their own experience since nobody gets the complete experience. While experience is the best teacher, it is also wise to learn from others’ experience and it can come from reading, listening to knowledgeable people  that includes experienced people , Teachers or Mentors That is why an experienced person scores over fresh graduates.  The value of studying in a good institution is also because of this as the Teachers will tend to have greater knowledge/experience, relate anecdotes and inspire learning.  A lot of learning can come from reading as one gets to know from others experience, knowledge and perspectives. My view is reading helps ones imagination too

I had written an article about subjects that need to be taught in schools. These are in addition to traditional subjects like Maths, English, Physics, Commerce, Biology and others . I now think if these additional subjects need to ba taught in college too or even learnt by adults who have long passed college as these subjects are foundational and transformational. For example , Empathy is something that needs to be learnt by people of all ages and career paths

Empathy – enhanced

Empathy is mentioned as an important point in my earlier blog post about school subjects. 

Empathy is related to respect and is often driven by it. My view is that respect and empathy must be taught together. Compassion is very similar to empathy and is just a bit different from it. 

Empathy is the ability to understand, share, and respond to the feelings, emotions, and perspectives of others, allowing people to emotionally connect and imagine themselves in another person’s situation.​ I feel that empathy is lacking in many and creates misunderstanding and affects both personal and professional life.

Definitions and Origins

Empathy comes from the Greek word “empatheia,” meaning “physical affection or passion,” and was introduced into English in the early 20th century. It is broadly defined as recognizing, being aware of, and vicariously experiencing another’s feelings, thoughts, or experiences. At its core, empathy is “putting yourself in another’s shoes” and bridging the gap between someone’s experiences and your understanding of them.​

Types of Empathy

Empathy can be categorized into several types:

• Affective (Emotional) Empathy: Feeling what others are feeling, often by emotionally mirroring or sharing their emotions.​
• Cognitive Empathy: Understanding another person’s mental state or perspective, recognizing their thoughts and intentions.​
• Somatic Empathy: Experiencing a physical reaction in response to someone else’s emotions, such as blushing or feeling tense when another person is embarrassed.​
  Some researchers also mention “spiritual empathy” for deeper, existential connections.​

Empathy vs. Related Concepts

Empathy differs from sympathy, compassion, and pity:

• Compassion motivates helping others, while empathy focuses on understanding and sharing emotions.​
• Sympathy is caring and wishing well but involves less deep understanding compared to empathy.​
• Pity simply means feeling sorry for someone, without necessarily understanding their emotional state.​

Impact and Benefits

Empathy is crucial for healthy relationships, effective communication, and building social connections. It helps foster trust, decreases conflict, and supports both psychological and physical well-being. Empathy can be taught and improved, and it plays a vital role in compassionate action, such as helping those in need.​

Scientific and Social Perspectives

Empathy has roots in our brains and evolutionary history, involving specific neural pathways and even mirror neurons. It exists on a spectrum — individuals may be more or less empathetic, and interventions can strengthen empathy. Studies show some differences in emotional empathy across gender, while cognitive empathy remains similar.​

Empathy is essential for “walking a mile in someone else’s shoes,” making it a key factor in understanding and relating to other people and improving interpersonal bonds.

Plastic has the challenge of being difficult to get rid of and being toxic for living beings if imbibed.

While we may be unable to avoid the usage of plastic, we can certainly reduce its usage by adopting alternatives.

Some common ideas are.

Use glass or metal bottles to carry water If plastic bottles cannot be avoided, use reusable bottles that are food safe and avoid bottled water. 

Shaving is a frequent activity by many men. Instead of using disposable razors, it is better to use old fashioned safety blades (which are all metal and no plastic)  or modern disposable blades that use reduced plastic or better still use an electric razor . Many modern electric razors or shavers are not only rechargeable but also can be used wet or dry. There are plenty of affordable shavers that are reliable and last for many years. I personally have used shavers from Philips / Norelco, Panasonic and Braun. 

One thing that has me worried and wishing for something better is plastic tubes for toothpaste. Earlier, there were toothpastes sold in aluminium tubes, these were biodegradable and recyclable but somehow plastic tubes have taken over the market and the old fashioned aluminium tubes have not returned. Just think how much plastic gets dumped every month particularly in a big country like India.Mind boggling !.

Images used as an example

This is further to my earlier post about school topics and specifically about respect. 

I used to have a different mindset when I was in middle school and it worsened by the time I was in 8th. Had a big transformation when I was in 12th in another school a boys only one.. A speech by my then English teacher Mr KV Thomas about being respectful towards one’s body changed everything. He was worried about boys being unclean and smoking. He spoke about his struggle to quit smoking. I realised that respect to one’s parents , culture and country transforms oneself  and it did to me. I think every child should be raised to be respectful and its mindset and attitude will change

Change a habit by adopting another one

I once observed a person just holding a cigarette and not smoking it. I Asked him about it and he explained that he used to be a smoker and wanted to quit and he came up with this habit to cut down on the habit of smoking. Basically he came up with a new habit to stop an existing one. He was apparently successful when I came to know he ultimately stopped smoking.

Want to cut down on coffee drinking, replace a cup with green tea. you still get the caffeine.

Today’s trend is to simply buy a new item if the older one gets faulty or just outdated. In some cases technological improvement makes it necessary to buy a new product but in most cases it is not so but just a way of keeping up with the Joneses due to peer pressure. As opposed to this, we have the fixit mentality where if something doesn’t work, we fix it and don’t simply replace it. The counter to this is the buy new or replace mentality which is more common amongst youngsters looking to keep up with their peers. 

In the not so distant past, it was the norm to fix something if faulty or even get it refreshed like repainting in the case of a larger asset like a car or house. Sometimes it can include remodelling apart from just repainting. There was no stigma against buying preowned items and people happily did it to save money. Many of the text books I had during school were preowned ones given by seniors. 

I used to own a bicycle which I disassembled and put together regularly . This not only helped save on repairs but also increased the life of the bicycle and increased my confidence and knowledge. It was common to see shops that sold parts and did repairs like fixing punctures. These puncture shops were very common and any cyclist could easily find one to fix a puncture or fill air. Those were the times when bicycles were common transport (until the early 90s) and not just for recreation unlike now. . 

It was common to see repair shops at most localities and they usually specialised in electrical / electronic items, bicycles or bigger items. People even took a flashlight to them to get it fixed and did not throw anything away but gave or sold them. Products were made to last and planned obsolescence was not an oft heard of thing. Even desktop computers were easy to fix or upgrade and all one had to do was to swap out the part to be upgraded or fixed for a new one and this could be done by knowledgeable users or engaging a local shop. Laptops brought in convenience but were harder to fix or upgrade and in most cases had to be replaced by a newer one. I once had to discard a laptop after the graphics card failed and a fix was rather expensive. Only thing that worked for me (for free!) was when I did a dual install of Ubuntu Linux on an ageing Compaq laptop after it slowed down. I had retained the Windows 95 o/s to play Midtown Madness and run some small apps that were still running. After a while I disposed of the laptop and got a new one. 

The fixit mentality also results in sending lesser stuff to the landfill and therefore is more “eco friendly” and better for the environment. 

This is something that was perhaps not talked about much up to the 80s. Though it was part of life and and agriculture used it to collect water for irrigation

Today’s challenges include erratic seasons and pollution of water sources. Population moving to places with inadequate water supply is a newer challenge due to people seeking cheaper housing and increased population and consequent increase in usage and possible health impact of lower consumption of water or quality.

This means that saving water becomes of paramount importance and Rainwater Harvesting becomes a viable and necessary solution.

Rainwater harvesting is the process of collecting and storing rainwater that falls on surfaces such as rooftops or open land, rather than letting it run off, to use it later for purposes like irrigation, domestic needs, or groundwater recharge. During earlier times it was common for houses to be built as individual ones and the ground around them was typically open or paved with runoffs that led to wells or open grounds or even to irrigation channels for vegetation. In my old house. The path led to coconut and mango trees. In more modern construction it is common to use paver blocks laid over a layer of sand of the original soil is clay. 

Rainwater harvesting involves the accumulation and storage of rainwater for reuse, often from roofs or specially designed surfaces, directed into storage tanks, cisterns, or used for recharging underground water sources. It is a practice with ancient roots, used to combat water scarcity and manage resources in residential, agricultural, and community settings

Common Methods

• Rooftop Harvesting: Collecting rainwater from roofs and channeling it into tanks, barrels, or underground storage for later use. This is standard practice mandated in Jamaica due to lack of freshwater resources. 
• Surface Runoff Collection: Diverting rainwater running off ground surfaces into storage pits or reservoirs for irrigation and other uses.
• Recharge to Groundwater: Using structures to allow rainwater to infiltrate the ground and replenish groundwater aquifers. As already explained , this includes usage of paver blocks for percolation to aid seepage and help groundwater replenishment.
• Both storage and groundwater replenishment have become commonplace in commercial multihousehold projects in Chennai and were notified as a salient point for house buyers as witnessed in 2018 when I was looking to buy property. The government made it mandatory for builders of housing complexes to incorporate rainwater harvesting during the later 1990s itself. I was a witness to it when an old family property was converted to a multi household complex during 1997/1998. The rainwater harvesting was effective and benefits were lasting and seen during summer months of the 2000s per the feedback of residents

Key Benefits

• Reduces dependency on municipal water and helps lower utility bills.
• Provides water for gardens, livestock, toilet flushing, cleaning, and fire protection.
• Helps mitigate floods and soil erosion by directing runoff into controlled storage or recharge systems.

Uses of Harvested Rainwater

• Supplement drinking water and other uses around the home 
• Gardening and landscaping
• Cleaning (laundry, car washing, etc.)
• Toilet flushing
• Irrigation
• Groundwater recharge and environmental management.

Rainwater harvesting is a practical, eco-friendly answer to water challenges, suitable for both individual homes and large communities, especially in areas facing water shortages or irregular supply This can supplement normal utility water supply and in a house I have lived in the past was the only supply and fulfilled drinking water supply with usage of a water purifier. 

Ancient systems have been showing effectiveness over the ages and still work across the world even during modern times.