A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were a loving couple and the boy was the apple of their eyes. One morning, when the boy was around two years old, the husband saw a medicine bottle open. He was late for work so he asked the wife to cap the bottle and put it in the cupboard. The mother, preoccupied in the kitchen, totally forgot the matter. The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to it and, fascinated with its color, drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous medicine meant for adults in small dosages.

When the child collapsed, the mother hurried him to the hospital, where he died. The mother was stunned; she was terrified. How would she face her husband? When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just four words.

What do you think those four words were?

The husband just said, “I Love You Darling”.

The husband’s totally unexpected reaction is proactive behavior. The child is dead. He can never be brought back to life. There is no point in finding fault with the mother. Besides, if only he would have taken time to put the bottle away, this would not have happened. No point in attaching blame. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her.

Sometimes we spend time asking who is responsible or who’s to blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know and miss out on the warmth in human relationships we could receive by giving each other support. After all, shouldn’t forgiving someone we love be the easiest thing in the world to do? Treasure what you have. Don’t multiply pain, anguish and suffering by holding onto forgiveness.

If everyone could look at life with this kind of perspective, there would be fewer problems in the world.

Let go of all your envies, jealousies, unwillingness to forgive, selfishness, and fears and you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think.

unknown

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Once upon a time, there was a poor farmer in China who used an old horse to plow his field. One afternoon, the horse dropped dead, and everyone in the village said, “Oh, what a horrible thing to happen.” The farmer said simply, “We’ll see.” He was so at peace and so calm, that everyone in the village got together and, admiring his attitude, bought him a new horse as a gift.

Everyone’s reaction now was, “What a lucky man.” And the farmer said, “We’ll see.”

A couple days later, the new horse jumped a fence and ran away. Everyone in the village shook their heads and said, “What a poor fellow!” The farmer smiled and said, “We’ll see.”

Eventually, the horse found his way home, and everyone again said, “What a fortunate man.”
The farmer said, “We’ll see.”

Later in the year, the farmer’s young boy went out riding on the horse and fell and broke his leg. Everyone in the village said, “What a shame for the poor boy.” The farmer said, “We’ll see.”

Two days later, the army came into the village to draft new recruits. When they saw that the farmer’s son had a broken leg, they decided not to recruit him. Everyone said, “What a fortunate young man.” The farmer smiled again – and said, “We’ll see.”

We are not in control of the world. Often what looks like a setback or a difficulty is actually a helping hand from the Divine. And often, only with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight can we see that everything happened to help us along the path for the mission determining why we are here in this world. So the next time, something supposedly bad happens to you, say, “This, also, is for good,” and expect that one day you will understand why.

(Author Unknown)

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To live a meaningful life – day by day, minute by minute – may seem daunting. How can one possibly focus amidst all the distractions, problems, and emotions? Even when you are satisfied with your past accomplishments, how can you continue to grow? How can you break out of old patterns and begin to look at life anew?

By isolating your problems and addressing them one at a time. As the sages say, “When you grasp for everything, you end up grasping nothing”. Since each day is a lifetime, you must focus on the day before you, not on yesterday or tomorrow, and utilize its opportunities to the fullest. Make each day’s “routine” to start by concentrating on the purpose of your life. It may be tempting to change your life all at once, but slow, steady progress is always more effective than a “crash course.” Remember, even the longest journey can only be completed one step at a time.

Many of us have learned to view each day as an “inconsequential sidestep” that is disconnected from any larger journey. But the secret to any journey is to fix your eyes on the destination and to keep traveling steadily towards it. Veering off the path, even for a short time, is at best a loss of time and at worst a source of confusion which makes it even more difficult to get back on track.

This is Rex Barker C.S. (Completing Steps) remembering that in the journey of life, your body is the vehicle, but your soul is the compass! By following its voice you remain focused on your destination…and each step… day by day…brings you closer…How you live today determines how you will live tomorrow…the very next thing you do…no matter how small…will determine the rest of your day…and ultimately the rest of your life.

Rex Barker

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“If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?”
- Ethics of the Fathers

We all reach a point in our lives when we realize that if we don’t take responsibility for ourselves, no one will. We also learn to be responsible to our families and friends, and to those in society who are less fortunate. How far should these responsibilities go and how should we prioritize them? Why do we feel the need to be responsible in the first place?

The answers lie in the fact that we were created for a divine reason – to actively pursue a virtuous life and perfect this imperfect world. Responsibility is a basic human need, just like food or oxygen; we cannot fulfill or justify our existence without it.

Responsibility is not something that we should accept reluctantly out of guilt or duty; it is a necessary and healthy component in our lives.

Our first responsibility is to ourselves, for we can hardly hope to civilize the world at large if our own life is out of sync. We are all responsible for our own conduct and cannot blame anyone else for our decisions or actions. We cannot blame our teachers or our parents, our employers or our leaders. Nor can we blame God for making life so difficult…He wouldn’t have placed it in our path without also providing us with the abilities to overcome any obstacle. “If He brings you to it…He’ll get you through it!”

This independence is the greatest manifestation of human dignity. You, and you alone, are responsible for what you make out of your life. Of course, certain people will always need to be cared for – children, obviously, and adults who are unhealthy or incapacitated. We must also recognize that every single person, from a special needs child to a handicapped adult, has deep inner resources that must be cultivated to the fullest. So we are responsible for the welfare of others and for society as a whole.

This is Rex Barker C.S. (Choosing to Serve) reminded that we have all been given a choice – to see life as it truly is, with each human being connected to the next, all linked in one large cosmic destiny, or to be consumed with self-interest. It is not the result that counts; it is our effort, and the sincerity behind the effort, that fulfills our innate need to be responsible. And ultimately… every effort does bear fruit.  Rex Barker

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There was a king who was a great admirer of art. He encouraged artists from all over his country and gave them valuable gifts. One day an artist came and said to the king, “Oh King! Give me a blank wall in your palace and let me paint a picture on it. It will be more beautiful than anything you have ever seen before. I promise you shall not be disappointed.”

Now, the king happened to be constructing a big hall at the rear end of the palace. So he said, “All right you may work on one of the walls in the new hall.” So the artist was given the job and he was very pleased indeed.

Just then, another young man said, “Oh King! Please allow me to work on the opposite wall. I too am an artist.”

The king said, “What would you like to make?”

The man said, “My Lord, I shall make exactly what that man will make on the opposite wall. Moreover, I shall do so, without looking at his work. I would even request you to have a thick curtain put up between the two walls so that either of us cannot see the other.” Now, that was a tall statement. Everyone in the king’s court, including the king and the first artist were intrigued. But the king loved surprises and he decided to give the young fellow a chance.

The following day a thick curtain was put into place and both the artists got to work. The first artist brought in a regular supply of paint, oil, water etc. The second one would come with a cloth and a bucket of water every day. After a month the first artist told the king that his work was complete and he would like to show it to the king. The king sent for the second artist and asked him, “Young man, when would your work be ready? I am coming to see the first wall this evening.”

The man said, “My Lord, my wall is ready too!”

The king went to see the first artist’s wall. He was very, very impressed with the painting and gave a hefty sum as a reward to the artist. He then asked for the curtain to be opened up. Lo and behold! The same painting was to be seen on the opposite wall too! Amazing! But true! Each line, each minor detail was exactly as it was on the first wall. But this man had not been seeing what was going on, on the other side of the curtain. So how had he done it? The king wanted to know the secret.

He gave a double reward to the fellow. Then he said, “Young man, I am indeed very happy with your work. But you must tell me; how did you do it?”

The lad said simply, “It’s very easy! I just polished the wall every day!”

It was a wall made of white marble! The fellow polished it till it shone like a mirror. The reflection of the painting across the room, showed up in it! That is what it means to polish yourself. For when we polish our hearts and souls, we see God’s reflection within. It is said that the world is a reflection of you. Whatever you are, the world will seem to be that too. If you are sad, jealous, dejected, angry, restless … that is what the world will seem to be! If you are happy, the world will seem to be paradise.

You decide how you want your world to look…

So the question is what are you reflecting?

(N.O.)

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There once was a wise sage who wandered the countryside. One day, as he passed near a village, he was approached by a woman who told him of a sick child nearby. She beseeched him to help this child.

So the sage came to the village, and a crowd gathered around him, for such a man was a rare sight. One woman brought the sick child to him, and he said a prayer over her.

“Do you really think your prayer will help her, when medicine has failed?” yelled a man from the crowd.

“You know nothing of such things! You are a stupid fool!” said the sage to the man.

The man became very angry with these words and his face grew hot and red. He was about to say something, or perhaps strike out, when the sage walked over to him and said: “If one word has such power as to make you so angry and hot, may not another have the power to heal?”

And thus, the sage healed two people that day.
(author unknown)

“Language does have the power to change reality. Therefore, treat your words as the mighty instruments they are – to heal, to bring into being, to nurture, to cherish, to bless, to forgive.” – Daphne Rose Kingma

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