Life Lesson... Don't we All?

I parked in front of a mall, wiping my car, when a tramp approached me.

From the looks of him, he had no car, no home,  no clean clothes, and no money. 

There are times when you feel generous but sometimes you just don't want to be bothered.

This was one of those "don't want to be bothered times".

I hope he doesn't ask me for money, I thought.

He didn't.

He sat down on the curb and after a few minutes he spoke.

"That's a very pretty car," he said.

He was ragged but he had an air of dignity around him. His scraggly beard keep more than his face warm.

I said, "Thanks," and continued wiping my car.

He sat quietly. The expected plea for money never came.

As the silence between us widened something inside me said, "Ask him if he needs any help." 

I was sure he would say "Yes" but I held true to the inner voice.

"Do you need any help?" I asked.

He answered in three simple but profound words that I shall never forget.

We often look for wisdom in great men and women. We expect it from those of higher learning and accomplishments.

I expected nothing but an outstretched grimy hand. But he spoke the three words that shook me.

"Don't we all?" he said.

I was feeling high and mighty, successful and important, above a tramp in the street, until those three words hit me.

*Don't we all?*

I needed help.

Maybe not for a meal or a place to sleep, but I needed help.

I reached in my wallet and gave him enough to get a warm meal.

Those three little words still ring true.

No matter how much you have, no matter how much you have accomplished, you need help too.

No matter how little you have, no matter how loaded you are with problems, even without money or a place to sleep, you can give help.

Even if it's just a compliment, you can give that.

You never know when you may see someone that appears to have it all. But they may be waiting for you to give them what they don't have!

* A different perspective on life

* A glimpse at something beautiful

* A respite from daily chaos, that only you with a different view can see.

Maybe the man was just a homeless stranger wandering the streets.

Maybe he was more than that. Maybe he was sent by a power that is great and wise, to minister to people too comfortable in themselves.

Maybe God looked down, called an Angel, dressed him like a tramp, then said, "Go minister to that man cleaning the car, that man needs help."

DON'T WE ALL?

🙏😊🙏😊🙏😊🙏

Believe in yourself, and you will be unstoppable.

There was a business executive who was deep in debt and could see no way out.

Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.

Suddenly an old man appeared before him. “I can see that something is troubling you,” he said.

After listening to the executive’s woes, the old man said, “I believe I can help you.”

He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying, “Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time.”

Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come.

The business executive saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world!

“I can erase my money worries in an instant!” he realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the uncashed check in his safe. Just knowing it was there might give him the strength to work out a way to save his business, he thought.

With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals and extended terms of payment. He closed several big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again.

Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the uncashed check. At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. But just as the executive was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man.

“I’m so glad I caught him!” she cried. “I hope he hasn’t been bothering you. He’s always escaping from the rest home and telling people he’s John D. Rockefeller.”

And she led the old man away by the arm.

The astonished executive just stood there, stunned. All year long he’d been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him.

Suddenly, he realized that it wasn’t the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.

Believe in yourself, and you will be unstoppable; you are stronger than you think.

"Sometimes you don't realize your own strength until you come face to face with your greatest weakness."
- Susan Gale

Magic Footsteps - Gratitude.

❤👣✨ Magic Footsteps ✨👣❤

“ A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving .”
        Albert Einstein

🔱With those words, Einstein gave us a gift equal to his scientific discoveries. He gave us one of the magical secrets to his success.

🔱 GRATITUDE – every day!
Einstein is the inspiration behind today’s magical practice, and you are going to follow in his footsteps👣 to bring success to your life.

🔱Today, like Einstein, you will say thank you *one hundred times* , and you’re going to do it by taking one hundred Magic Footsteps👣

“ God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say ‘thank you ’?”
      William A. Ward

🔱To take Magic Footsteps👣, you take one step and in your mind say the magic words, Thank You ,as your foot touches the ground, and then again say thank you as your other foot touches the ground.
One foot,thank you,
next foot,thank you,
and continue saying the magic words with every footstep👣.

🔱You can take Magic Footsteps👣 on your way to anything that is important to you, like exams, a date, a job interview, an audition, to meet a client, to the bank, ATM, dentist, doctor, hairdresser, to see your team play in a sports game, down corridors, through airport terminals, in parks, or from one block to another.

🔱I take Magic Footsteps👣around my home, from my bed to my bathroom, kitchen to my bedroom, and outside to my car and the mailbox. Whenever I walk down a street, or walk anywhere, I choose a point as my destination, and I put gratitude in my footsteps👣 all the way.

🔱If you take notice of how you’re feeling before you begin, then you will notice a big difference in how you feel after you’ve taken Magic Footsteps.👣

🔱Footsteps 👣will make you feel better, and even if you’re feeling great, Magic Footsteps👣 will lift your spirits even higher!

🔱This practice is not about taking one hundred steps👣 exactly, but taking at least that number of steps, because it will probably take that number of footsteps👣 to make a difference to the way you feel. take Magic Footsteps for about ninety seconds ; this is how long it will take the average person to take one hundred steps
Once you’re clear on the approximate distance
you can take your one hundred steps👣 of gratitude any time during the day. Don’t count the footsteps👣when you’re doing the practice, because you’ll be counting instead of saying Thank You, the magic words, with each step.👣

🔱When you have completed today’s magical practice you will have said the magic words, Thank You ,one hundred times! How many days of your life have you said thank you one hundred times? Einstein did it every day!

👣✨✨❤✨👣✨❤✨✨👣

The Empty Boat - Story on Anger

The Empty Boat - Story on Anger

​A monk decides to meditate alone, away from his monastery. He takes his boat out to the middle of the lake, moors it there, closes his eyes and begins his meditation. After a few hours of undisturbed silence, he suddenly feels the bump of another boat colliding with his own.

With his eyes still closed, he senses his anger rising, and by the time he opens his eyes, he is ready to scream at the boatman who dared disturb his meditation. But when he opens his eyes, he sees it is an empty boat that had probably got untethered and floated to the middle of the lake.

At that moment, the monk achieves self-realization, and understands that the anger is within him; it merely needs the bump of an external object to provoke it out of him.

From then on, whenever he came across someone who irritated him or provoked him to anger, he reminded himself : ''The other person is merely an empty boat. The anger is within me......"

In reality, we all have the anger within us, all the time, All it needs is someone, like the empty boat, to provoke it. 😊

Ekla Chalo Re...

Sometimes, young people should learn to walk alone. Then you will be more centered and you will know how to be by yourself and not be bogged down by peer pressure. Take a long five kilometer walk all by yourself, or run by yourself. That will solidify your personality.
If you are surrounded by friends all the time, you will feel you cannot exist without friends. But if you are trained to take longs walks and runs, then you know that you can walk by yourself.

The poet Rabindranath Tagore has written a song called ‘Ekla Chalo Re’ (walk alone) and that song inspired so many people during the freedom struggle. Even if nobody comes, you walk by yourself, be a leader. If you get bogged down by peer pressure you can only be a follower, not a leader.
Why do you want company of your friends? It is because you want attention from them, and attention gives energy. And if you are not a leader, nobody is going to pay you attention especially in schools and colleges. So to overcome peer pressure what do you do? Stand up and walk alone.

- 🌹 Sri Sri Ravi Shankar🌹

Four behaviors that derail conversations.

THE MANAGEMENT TIP OF THE DAY: Harvard Business Review

November 08, 2017

Avoid These 4 Behaviors That Derail Conversations

When difficult conversations at work go wrong, they can rapidly devolve into unproductive arguments. Keep your discussion on track by minding the A-BCDs: Avoid Blame, Contempt, Defensiveness, and Stonewalling.

Blame: Try not to make assumptions about what your colleague is thinking, and don’t make groundless accusations. Keep the conversation focused on facts.

Contempt: Acknowledge when you’ve lashed out in exasperation, and do your best to avoid making judgments.

Defensiveness: Take responsibility for your part in the conversation. Are you open to input, or do you interpret new ideas as criticism?

Stonewalling: Commit to listening and contributing with an open mind, instead of avoiding an unpleasant topic or refusing to participate fully in the conversation.
Any of these behaviors can derail a discussion, so make a commitment to yourself — and your teammates — to avoid them.
Adapted from “8 Ways to Get a Difficult Conversation Back on Track,” by Monique Valcour

A word to parents and would be parents.

A word to parents and would be parents:

A 1963 Harvard graduate said this:

"My one big mistake in life has been providing a trust fund for my five' children. I'm very comfortable paying for an education for as long as they want to study in a reputable university. However, providing additional funds so they could have a lifestyle beyond what they have achieved on their own was a mistake."

A leadership teacher, John Maxwell says and I quote:

"If you do everything for your children, what will they do for themselves?"

By the time they finish university education, we have slaved and built houses for them, put car keys in their hands and bankrolled their wedding.

What will they do for themselves?

In the course of doing these for them, some people develop hypertension and all sorts of illnesses. Some slump and die. Some even steal to achieve these for their children.

I submit to you all that inheritance goes beyond material things. Give your children the right values, strong character and a revelatory knowledge of the power they carry as a creature of God!

Then they will create water to sell in the dessert and sell sand to the Arabs to build mansions for themselves.

Do something for your children to make them have a softer take off.

The keyword is "take off".

Do not take over their lives because you yourself have your life to live.

Think about these things critically and adjust your approach religiously. Above all teach them the word of God!!!

© 2017. A word to parents and would be parents

Happy Dhanteras. Happy Diwali. 😊👍 What is Puja?

What is puja?

Sri Sri Ravi Shankar: 

The word 'Pu' means fullness, and 'Ja' means that which is born out of fullness. So puja means that which is born out of fullness. And what you get out of doing puja is also fullness, and contentment. Doing puja creates a subtle vibration in the atmosphere which brings positivity.

Diwali is festival of lights. Lord Buddha said,"Appo deepo bhava", you become a light unto yourself. And the Vedas and Upanishads say'You are all lights, some of you are lit and some of you are unlit, but the potential to glow is in everyone'. 
So Diwali is the day to remove darkness. And to remove darkness, one light is not enough, the entire society will have to light up. It's not enough if just one person is happy in a family, every member has got to be happy. Even if one member is unhappy, the others cannot be happy. So said every home should light up.

The second thing we need to bring into our lives is sweetness. Distribute not just sweets but also sweetness to everybody. The festival of Diwali is to remind you that if you have any bitterness, any pressure, or any stress in your heart, like fire crackers burst it all out and start a fresh new life, and make it a celebration.

Diwali is celebrated on a new moon day, and on this day we invoke the Goddess Lakshmi. Goddess Lakshmi represents the divinity manifesting as the giver of prosperity. In India, God is not only 'He', God is also 'She'. So sometimes God is addressed as 'He' and sometimes as 'She'. Like how white light has seven colours in it, similarly the one divinity has many different flavours. So today is the day we will invoke Lakshmi with all the ancient chanting from the Rig Veda and feel the positive vibrations and the abundance.

The day before Diwali is called Dhanteras. In the ancient days, people would bring all the wealth on this day to the house and place it in front of the Divine. Usually people keep their wealth in the bank, or keep it in the lockers and hide it. But earlier, on Dhanteras day, they would put all their wealth in front, see it and feel abundant. Wealth is not only gold and silver, wealth is also wisdom. So it was celebrated like that. You also must cherish your wisdom and feel abundant.
Dhanteras is also the day of Ayurveda, as herbs are also a wealth. Herbs and plants are wealth. It is said that it was on the day ofDiwali the nectar was given to mankind.

So today, move ahead in life feeling that you are blessed, and feel contented. Whenever we feel blessed, more comes. There is this saying in Bible, "Those who have will be given more and those who do not, whatever little will also be taken back".
From the ancient time, the thought is -- you must feel the abundance. Abundance starts from within and then manifests on the outside. So you have plenty of blessings. Go with this feeling.

Happiness is NOW Don't wait.

Happiness is NOW, don't wait…

We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are.

After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.

We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are we able to go on a nice vacation, or when we retire.

The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges.

It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.

Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with... and remember that time waits for no one.

So, stop waiting…

--until you get a new car or home

--until your kids leave the house

--until you lose 10 lbs.

--until you get married

--until you get a divorce

--until you have kids

--until you retire

--until you die

There is no better time than right now to be happy.

Happiness is a journey, not a destination. So -- work like you don't need money, Love like you've never been hurt, And dance like no one's watching.

- Crystal Lloyd

Work Life Balance! Tread Softly. Go Gently.. Your family needs you.

Work Life Balance! Tread Softly. Go Gently.. Your family needs you.

A Doctor graduated to be the best and finest surgeon in the world. At  age 30, he got married. 

The joy of marrying a surgeon attracted his wife to him.

Few weeks after marriage leave he got back to work, thereafter he hardly spent some quality time with his wife.

Their relationship began to go sour.

Not that he's flirting around with other ladies. Not that he now had a bad company. But, at his work place, he was seen as TOO IMPORTANT.

Every patient wanted him. The nurses loved him to handle all the surgeries at hand.

One day, he got home very early from work. The wife was glad that he was at least early today. Just as he was dropping his briefcase, his phone rang and the following conversation went on.

Nurse: Sir, we need you now at the hospital. We have an emergency.

He said : I'm on my way.

The wife was angry with him. As usual, he told her, "Sorry".

This went on for so long.

But one unfortunate day, he had an accident. And....

He died!

The other doctors and surgeons mourned him. They gave his wife cash to take care of herself.

But, can money replace love?

Can some one ' replace a whole man?

You know the answer...

Not too long after, the wife went to that same hospital for some check up.

She was shocked to see someone in her husband's former post. Not only that, she heard someone calling the new surgeon as the best in that town.

She wept bitterly...

Do you know you are replaceable?

Do you know you are NOT too important?

Do you know someone else can do better than what you are doing or what you can do?

Do you know you are cherished now just because you can still perform your right?

Do you know you are celebrated because you are available and useful?

No one's saying you should not help out. No one's saying you should not be a celebrity. No one's saying you should not help others. No one's saying you should be not punctual

BUT,

Take time to rest. Take time to relax. Spend time with yourself.

As bitter as those truths, many of you fail to accept that...

Tread softly... Go gently...

Your family Values YOU

Only they miss the presence of you not the rest of the world.