The first day of autumn found me grid locked in Manhattan; where the wise leaders of the countries that compromise the United Nations, had gathered to discuss and debate the weighty issues that confront humanity today. It was a beautiful sunny day ideal for walking around in the city and the ladies spent the time shopping for shoes and outfits for the new season of course. The city was full of security and the cops were doing a valiant effort to keep the traffic moving; as the largest egos on the planet had arrived in droves, to make their mark in this modern age. A day later Obama addressed the statesmen and women gathered; on American principles and concerns, and his plan for the last days of his presidency, on the priorities that his administration would concentrate on. There was however no historic handshake; between the modern day Satan and his righteous decrieres.
As I waited for the avid shoppers to try out their new found treasures, I came across the Grand Central Terminal and realized it was its 100th anniversary. It was the largest terminal ever built at that time by Cornelius Vanderbilt who had made his fortune on oil and railroads, in the gilded age, of a century gone by. It marked the death of the steam engines; and the arrival of the electric trains, that would henceforth ferry millions in the modern city. It was also the pioneer in “air rights”; as Park Avenue was covered up and the soot and smoke that had engulfed the granite facades of the buildings, was gone forever. Instead they sold the land above the open rail lines to developers, and a new concept was born. People, who walk along Park Avenue or live or work in the expensive real estate, do not realize that beneath them are the arteries of a modern railroad system that stretch across the continent. Over 700 trains move below them daily, and have done so for over a hundred years. The Beau Art building is beautiful to behold; and was saved by Jackie Kennedy and a host of others, after the disastrous destruction of the old Penn Station, that had been another beautiful creation, of the railroad baron era.
A block away stands the Chrysler tower; another monument to the building of the skyscrapers, that came decades later. It was a race between it and the Empire State building being built at the same time, to become the tallest in the world. In the era of the depression to even conceive of such massive projects, boggles the mind; and it is a testimony to American engineering, and a legacy of those legendary risk takers, that such projects even came to be conceived, much less executed at the speed that they were done. Grand Central took almost 10 years (the trains were still kept running) to complete, while the Empire State was done in less than 18 months. The vertical city connected to the world had arrived; and humanity was free to imagine and build gigantic projects, without which today’s world would not be possible. Now the challenges are different in how to make these more energy efficient and how to use fewer resources to satisfy the needs of more people. Innovation and risk taking continue; as we see in the rise of the Freedom tower, and the even bolder project envisioned, for the build out of the last large rail road yards in the Midwest section of NYC. When complete it will be the largest project ever built in the city; and the visionaries live on, as the city continues to evolve.
So as I am between seasons and assignments the days pass in a leisurely manner and back in NJ the colors of the trees change and the last of the summer flowers bloom. The lake is peaceful and a pelican chased away a stork to find a place to fish as I took my morning smoke. There were twenty two geese gaggling on the water and I appropriately thought of two sitting ducks moniker[ from the games of chance played in bingo halls, across the retired countryside. The greatest generation has passed away and now the baby boomers are retiring, in tens of thousands per day. Obama care will start next week and will the promise of Social Security, Medicare keep them safe in the times to come, will depend on the innovation and growth from the next generation. The Republicans and Democrats will continue to squabble and the exalted leaders; will make long drawn out speeches, that represent nothing. Historic come backs like the America cup victory will enthrall us, and motivate us to ever more exacting standards. The race is never lost till you give up hope; instead go back and rejigger that boat and find the leader who will provide the bold strategy, which will help you sail with the power of the wind and currents to victory. Long as hope lives; we will not be found wanting to surmount the challenges that face us, no matter how impossible the task, or how monumental our labor.

Came across this very interesting article in the NY Times by Jennifer Kahn of Berkeley “Can emotional intelligence be taught?” and it got me thinking. Could it be true that teaching our children how to have a better SEI or social and emotional intelligence may lead to more fulfilled lives? It seems that academic achievements (IQ) are not the only measures that show how successful a child will be when he\she grows up. Their ability to handle stressful situations and the ability to empathize with others may be strong points leading to a better rounded and more fulfilling life. I look at the four quadrants of blue (malaise, indifferent), yellow (excited), red (angry), green (peaceful) to simplify the theory and wonder how we react to social situation, and why it affects our lives in certain ways. If we can teach our children to understand their own emotions and then to further be aware of their reactions to external stimuli; it would help remove a lot of angst, emotional pain and suffering.
We live in a land of the walking wounded; where many of us are socially and emotionally spent, from what life has served up to us. Even Charles Darwin recognized that emotional intelligence is important for groups to survive and evolve. From the deprived inner city single family kid to the special privileged child living in the world of plenty, we are slowly being drained of social and emotional skills. TV and computers may be great to pass our lives but human interaction is strangely lacking, for a lot of these children. No longer are the long dinners followed by storytelling on an almost daily or weekly basis; or the large family gatherings where the elders weave magical tales, which define the clan’s identities and social backgrounds, practiced as rituals or rites of passage. Both the working parents (if the kid is lucky to have them) are often too busy coping with their own lives; and their teachers too busy coping with the standardized tests, that the job of teaching social and emotional skills ends up on the TV in sesame street like programs, or at worse daytime soaps. War games on game consoles are more popular with boys and young men than the social interaction with peers and adults and girls. We are always connected with phone messaging, Facebook, Twitter and the internet but do we connect physically or emotionally with each other?
It is no wonder that our loved ones are walking around with grievances, perceived insults and hurts from a long period ago; that just will not go away. We do not question why we feel this way; or wonder why the other person did or said, what we thought they did. It is better in our narcissist behavior (I am special) and neurotic feelings (nobody understands me) to remain cocooned in our righteousness (his duty to take care of me) and hang on to our obsessions, for the rest of our lives. How can I walk without my crutch that I have built my life around, and if I give it up why would anyone look up to me, once they realize that all this was only an act to get their attention. As nobody can understand me; then why do I need to empathize and understand them, why does the burden always lie on me, while all these hateful persons just walk away Scot free, after all the hurts they have given me? So on it goes and often life is spent; and you are about to pass on to your maker and then you want to reach out and say something, and realize it is too late and it does not matter as that person has already moved on.
I look at the red square and understand its attraction as if we are showing anger then we are showing that our life is important, if you do not do things my way then I will shout and hit and do whatever it takes to make you do what I want (right or wrong). The blue square is also very tempting as I can pass the poor and the needy; in ignorance of my responsibility, and leave them to their fate. This is a misguided philosophy as if do become emotionally and socially involved, all of us will benefit. The yellow square is exciting and all of us should try to feel its power within us. It is the first rumblings of life and even the creator must have seen this; as we equate yellow with light and life, and all it bestows. The green is the final stage when life has come its full circle, when we look up at the green of the mighty trees or the endless expanse of the grasses swaying in the spring breeze and peace is within and without us. We raise our self-esteem and are comfortable with who we are, and are better able to emotionally connect with those around us. This is when we are at first peace with ourselves and then share empathy, love, compassion and peace with all around us.
It seems that the SEI people may be on to something after all and emotional intelligence may indeed be a factor in how we live life. We all have our crutches and our pet grievances or low self-esteem, which we carry around like the rock of Sisyphus up and down the hill of life. All our life we push it up hill and then the next day we start again; as somehow it always ends up back downhill, and we love the labor, as if we were born to do just this. We will not give up our neurotic behavior and it defines our personality and our spouses, children and dear and near ones step around them on tip toe avoiding the eruptions that will ensue; if the volcano simmering inside is stirred. When will we learn to throw away the crutch and remove our shoulder from this emotional boulder that we have attached ourselves to. To stand upright and realize that the other person was fair in his treatment of us, and we were the ones who did not understand what they did. When will we let bygones be bygones and get on with our lives; to make a better today, and love those we need to love and cherish? Spring again into the yellow square and feel that excitement; that you have let your emotions remove, and get ready to work to move into the green of universal peace. It reminds me of our clan’s havans and the Hindu prayers always ending with the mantra that goes Om shanti, shanti, shanti Om. Oh God bring us to the stage where even peace itself may be at peace.

There is a slight wrinkle in the time space continuum it seems; as Google is going to build its new Moto X phone, right here in the US. Flextronics the colossus in worldwide logistics and manufacturing; will be using Motorola’s 500,000 square feet manufacturing facility in Fort Worth TX, and 2,000 workers will be assembling custom designed phones for the US market. This will allow better collaboration between the innovative designers in the US; and the factory to incorporate the latest designs and allow customers to enjoy the flexibility, of making their own phone. This is in contrast to Apple’s policy of making its phones abroad, and bringing them in standard configurations. The latest cheap iPhone announced at $ 99 is not so cheap it appears; as Apple knock offs in China are available for $ 40, and will the brand help them to bridge that gap, is still up in the air. The Moto X will have 70% of its components made here, and only the processors will come from Taiwan and the displays from South Korea. This may change in the future as U S manufacturers will be able to work with designers and come up with alternatives; just as Taiwan and Korea have been working with the designers, for the past decades.
In a sign of the times even Apple is going to produce its high tech Macs here in the US. Those who have given up on the US as a manufacturer; should not give up hope, as the times they are a changing. Whirlpool just announced appliances that will have iPhone like exteriors; and the stainless steel kitchens appliances in upscale homes, are about to change. These will be built in the US, and the use of latest materials and designs and it may be a broader new trend about to happen. The auto industry is making a comeback and while it is not roaring; it is still growing, and Obama’s bailout has left them standing, and they will soon be running. As more processors end up in the latest cars and high end music systems like Bose and others made in the US are added, the innovations will continue. Everything is going to become smarter and use less energy and for that the latest materials and designs have to be incorporated. The new muscle cars will be made not of metal alloys but of synthetic composites to lighten weight and increase strength. The greatest fear for people buying electric cars is that they will run out of juice and get stranded. This will change as they become more energy efficient; and run longer on a single charge, with improved storage. These cars will not break down and last much longer; than the inefficient internal combustible engines, which also pollute a lot more and add to greenhouse gasses.
With the revival in housing markets the new homes will use more items manufactured right here; as high end consumers, will seek the latest designs. These will then trickle down to the masses; in mass production methods adopted from the USA or its NAFTA partners. Energy production is going to grow right here in the US with abundant gas, oil, solar, bio mass, wind, nuclear and it will feed the cities of tomorrow. The building boom for the next millennium has not even started as the millennials, still have to decide where they will live and work. Having grown up in suburbs and small towns they will increasingly opt for city living; as that is where the action, will be. You cannot import a city; and modern life will change how and where we live, and how we communicate and spend our leisure. Hot spots of high speed communications and public transportation will be concentrated into mega clusters, as they are easy to maintain and support. The national parks are not going away any time soon and nature will be better husbanded; without encroachment, from human sprawl. Giant sports arenas, concert halls, exhibition grounds, theme parks and convention centers will incorporate the latest technologies and the wonders will continue endlessly in these mega structures, where the future generations will play and entertain themselves.

So as I said it seems a wrinkle is appearing in the space time continuum of human existence. It will change the path of development and allow better coordination between design and high end products and new technologies. The developed world will continue to pull ahead and the developing will be hard pressed to follow. There will still be the ones who want to adopt a Thoreau or Gandhian philosophy or the religious right; of living closer to nature, and minimizing our needs and imprint on this earth and avoidance of big government and societal ills, born of ever increasing desires and consumption. The struggle for the modern soul will continue, as we evolve and seek out new frontiers and the extremists will do anything to stop our progress. Will the rising spiral of innovation’s bounties; satisfy our physical and social needs, or will society breakdown into clusters of the have and havenots, is still to be seen. We cannot turn back the clock as these messiahs of hate and bigotry would have us believe, and change will come; and we just have to be better prepared to ensure we ride the next Tsunami of desires from the teeming billions, with resources that can satisfy them. The design of a new world order is taking shape right here and now, and we better jump onto this band wagon for a better tomorrow, before it leaves us in the dust. From the ashes of hate will rise the phoenix of a better world; as the human spirit is magnanimous, loving and compassionate, at its very core.