It was in your Eyes

It was a bitter, cold evening in northern Virginia many years ago. The old man's beard was glazed by winter's frost while he waited for a ride across the river. The wait seemed endless. His body became numb and stiff from the frigid north wind.

He heard the faint, steady rhythm of approaching hooves galloping along the frozen path. Anxiously, he watched as several horsemen rounded the bend. He let the first one pass by without an effort to get his attention. Then another passed by, and another. Finally, the last rider neared the spot where the old man sat like a snow statue. As this one drew near, the old man caught the rider's eye and said, "Sir, would you mind giving an old man a ride to the other side? There doesn't appear to be a passageway by foot."

Reining his horse, the rider replied, "Sure thing. Hop aboard." Seeing the old man was unable to lift his half-frozen body from the ground, the horseman dismounted and helped the old man onto the horse. The horseman took the old man not just across the river, but to his destination, which was just a few miles away.

As they neared the tiny but cozy cottage, the horseman's curiosity caused him to inquire, "Sir, I notice that you let several other riders pass by without making an effort to secure a ride. Then I came up and you immediately asked me for a ride. I'm curious why, on such a bitter winter night, you would wait and ask the last rider. What if I had refused and left you there?"

The old man lowered himself slowly down from the horse, looked the rider straight in the eyes, and replied, "I've been around these here parts for some time. I reckon I know people pretty good." The old-timer continued, "I looked into the eyes of the other riders and immediately saw there was no concern for my situation. It would have been useless even to ask them for a ride. But when I looked into your eyes, kindness and compassion were evident. I knew, then and there, that your gentle spirit would welcome the opportunity to give me assistance in my time of need."

Those heartwarming comments touched the horseman deeply.

"I'm most grateful for what you have said," he told the old man. "May I never get too busy in my own affairs that I fail to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion."

With that, Thomas turned his horse around and made his way back to his House. - Author Unknown.

Reject Rejection

How often do you feel rejected?  Think about it.  The person you asked on a date said "No", a prospect said "No" to buying the product you sell, and your boss didn't like your 'great' idea. The list goes on and on doesn't it?  We all hear the word "No" several times a day, and we have since we were little children.
Yet still, to this day, each time you are rejected, a tiny piece of your self-esteem is stripped away from an increasingly suffering self-image.  Why is that?

There are two key reasons why you may be feeling rejected.  

The first reason is because you are accepting what others are saying to you.  You do not have to accept everything everyone says!  For example, when someone offers you a gift and you choose not to accept it, who then does the gift belong to?  It still belongs to the 'giver' of course.  So the next time someone offers you a gift, such  as a direct insult, choose not to accept their gift, and it will still belong to them!  Just because another person thinks you are a *&%!#@!!, it does not mean you have to think it.  Don't let other people choose how you will feel.

The second reason you may feel rejected is because you believe that when a person says "No" to you, or rejects you in some way, they are actually rejecting you.  But they are not.  What they are rejecting is your idea or simply the way you presented your idea.  Have you ever asked the same person on a date several times and each time they said "No" and then all of a sudden, one day, you ask that same person out and he or she says "Yes"!  Why is that?  After all, you are the same person you were yesterday and the day before when you heard the answer "No".

The answer is simple really, yet few people see it.  The fact of the matter is that you haven't changed in anyway.  What has changed is your approach.  That is, the way in which you presented yourself and the idea you were trying to sell.  You see, rarely do people reject people.  Even when another person thinks they are rejecting you, what they are really rejecting is one idea that you presented to them.  And even then, it often isn't the idea, but the presentation.  This is where the power of persistence comes in!  In order to be successful in any endeavor, you must be persistent.  "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again!"  Eventually you will reach your goal and acceptance from those who you are presenting to.  The key is to notice what isn't working and change your approach.  Keep changing your approach until you find the one that works.

Pick any person who you believe to be extremely successful in any area and chances are that same person has also had more failures and rejections in that area than most other people.  Often the only difference is that the successful person was persistent and understood that each failure and rejection brought him closer to success.  Most people give up after just one try.  Don't be most people!  Be persistent in striving for whatever it is you want and don't accept every gift that is offered to you!  I guarantee that if you want something bad enough, you will eventually get it. – Soul and Peace

Everything Happens For a Reason

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, they serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson or help figure out who you are or who you want to become.
You never know who these people may be; your roommate, your neighbor, professor, long lost friend, lover or even a complete stranger who, when you lock eyes with them, you know that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way.
And sometimes things happen to you and at the time they seem horrible, painful and unfair, but in reflection you realize that without overcoming those obstacles you would never have realized your potential, strength, will power of heart.
Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of good or bad luck. Illness, injury, love, lost moments or true greatness and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of the soul.
Without these small tests, if they be events, illnesses or relationships, life would be like a smooth paved, straight, flat road to nowhere. Safe and comfortable but dull and utterly pointless.
The people you meet who affect your life and successes and downfalls you experience, they are the ones who create who you are. Even the bad experience can be learned from... Those lessons are the hardest and probably the most important ones.
If someone hurts you, betrays you, or breaks your heart... forgive them, for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart.
If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but because they are teaching you to love and opening your heart and eyes to things you would have never seen or felt without them.
Make every day count. Appreciate every moment and take from it everything that you possibly can, for you may never be able to experience it again. Talk to people you have never talked to before, and actually listen, let yourself fall in love, break free and set your sights high. You can make of your life anything you wish. Create your own life and then go out and live it.
I wish you all the best in your endeavors as well as struggles in life. Have a fighting spirit and never hesitate to get back in the struggle! - Author Unknown 

The Rose Within

A certain man planted a rose and watered it faithfully and before it blossomed, he examined it.

He saw the bud that would soon blossom, but noticed thorns upon the stem and he thought, "How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns? Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and just before it was ready to bloom... it died.

So it is with many people. Within every soul there is a rose. The God-like qualities planted in us at birth, grow amid the thorns of our faults. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects.

We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential.

Some people do not see the rose within themselves; someone else must show it to them. One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns of another, and find the rose within them.

This is one of the characteristic of love... to look at a person, know their true faults and accepting that person into your life... all the while recognizing the nobility in their soul. Help others to realize they can overcome their faults. If we show them the "rose" within themselves, they will conquer their thorns. Only then will they blossom many times over. - Inspiring Stories.

Have a great day ahead.

Siva

Butterfly

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon.

The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.

Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.

We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!

The Brick

About ten years ago, a young and very successful executive named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his sleek, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old.
He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child darted out, but a brick sailed out and - WHUMP! - it smashed Into the Jag's shiny black side door! SCREECH..!!!! Brakes slammed! Gears ground into reverse, and tires madly spun the Jaguar back to the spot from where the brick had been thrown. Josh jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?!" Building up a head of steam, he went on. "That's my new Jag, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?"
"Please, mister, please. . . I'm sorry! I didn't know what else to do!" Pleaded the youngster. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop!" Tears were dripping down the boy's chin as he pointed around the parked car. "It's my brother, mister," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Sobbing, the boy asked the executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."
Moved beyond words, the young executive tried desperately to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapes and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long walk back to the sleek, black, shining, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE -a long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. . . Some bricks are softer than others. Feel for the bricks of life coming at to you. For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves, God has positive answers. 


( Read from Inspiring Short Stories)

Geneticists say Chinese and Tibetans were once one

Geneticists say Chinese and Tibetans were once one.

http://www.economist.com/node/16595117?story_id=16595117&fsrc=scn/tw/te/rss/pe

Colors

Once upon a time the colors of the world started to quarrel: all claimed that they were the best, the most important, the most useful, the favorite.

GREEN said: “Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I was chosen for grass, leaves, trees – without me, all animals would die.”

BLUE interrupted: “You only think about the Earth, but consider the sky and sea. It is the water that is the basis of life and drawn up by the clouds from the deep sea.”

 chuckled: “You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety, and warmth to the world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower, the whole world starts to smile. Without me, there would be no fun.”

ORANGE started next to blow her temper: “I am the color of health and strength. I may be scarce but I am precious for I serve the needs of human life. I carry the most important vitamins. Think of carrots, pumpkins, oranges, mangos, and pawpaws.”

RED could stand it no longer: He shouted out: “I am the ruler of all of you! I am blood! Life’s blood! I am the color of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I bring fire to the blood! I am the color of passion and of love, the red rose, the poppy and the poinsettia.”

PURPLE rose up to his full height. He was very tall and spoke with great pomp: “I am the color of royalty and power. Kings, chiefs, and bishops have always chosen me for I am a sign of authority and wisdom.” Finally,

INDIGO spoke, much more quietly than all the others, but with just as much determination: “Think of me. I am the color of silence. You hardly notice me, but without me you all become superficial. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep water. You need me for balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace.”

RAIN began to speak: “You foolish colors, fighting amongst yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest. Don’t you know you were each made for a special purpose, unique and different? Join hands with one another and come to me.” Doing as they were told, the colors united and joined hands. The rain continued: “From now on, when it rains, each of you will stretch across the sky in a great bow of colors as a reminder that you can all leave in peace. The rainbow is a sign of hope for tomorrow”. And so, whenever a good rain washes the world, and a rainbow appears in the sky, let us remember to appreciate one another.-  Native American Stories.

Parable of the Pencil

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the
box. "There are 5 things you need to know," he told the pencil, "Before I
send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and
you will become the best pencil you can be."
"One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be
held in someone’s hand."
"Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it
to become a better pencil."
"Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make."
"Four: The most important part of you will always be what's inside."
"And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter
what the condition, you must continue to write."
The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with
purpose in its heart.
Now replacing the place of the pencil with you. Always remember them and never
forget, and you will become the best person you can be.
One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be
held in God's hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts
you possess.
Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through
various problems, but you'll need it to become a stronger person.
Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.
Four: The most important part of you will always be what's on the inside.
And Five: On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter
what the situation, you must continue to do your duties.
By understanding and remembering, let us proceed with our life on this earth
having a meaningful purpose in our heart. • • •

Author Unknown

Rain Run

A six year old girl had been shopping with her mother in a departmental store. It was raining heavily outside, so they waited silently at the door along with other shoppers, for the rain to stop. Suddenly the girl said to her mother “Mom, let’s run through the rain” What?!” the mother exclaimed. “Let’s run through the rain!” the child repeated. “No honey. We’ll wait until it slows down a bit”, the mother replied. A minute later the child said once again: “Mom, let’s run through the rain.” “We’ll get soaked if we do”, said the worried mother.

“No, we won’t, Mom. That’s not what you said this morning,” the little girl said as she tugged at her mother’s arm. “This morning? What did I say this morning?” asked the perplexed mother. “Don’t you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his losing his job, you said, ‘If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything’.” The crowd fell silent. The only sound that could be heard was that of the rain. The lady thought for a moment and said: “Honey, You’re right. Let’s run through the rain. If God lets us get wet, well, maybe we just needed washing” So off they ran. The shoppers stood there, watching and laughing as they darted past cars and through puddles. Many of them too ran out, got soaked and giggled all the way to their cars.  – Anonymous. Read from The Speaking Tree.

The Art of Listening

We can learn a lot from every event in life. Just as the honeybee has the special instrument (proboscis) to extract the very essence in the flowers, human beings have a special faculty (power of discrimination) to maintain the quality of life by learning the art of true listening.

Listening is the channel most often used for “learning.” It is a vital communication function; it improves our ability of understanding, self-awareness and self-application.

Effective listening is not mere “hearing.” In fact, we all know from our personal experiences that mere hearing – or poor listening – can very well result in:

Frustration
Indifference
Misunderstandings
Misleading judgments
Embarrassment
Poor human relations
Many other psychological blocks and maladjustments

Yes, listening has become almost a forgotten skill. Very often we are led to believe that speaking represents action and power, while listening connotes weakness and apathy. We find that resistance to listening tends to be the cultural norm!

Sometimes, we pay attention to what interests us, and block out larger areas of reality. Another block to listening occurs when we form an opinion about the level of what is being said. We label the information ahead of time as unimportant, too boring, too complex, or as being nothing new. Due to such internal distractions, we become biased listeners, and our minds are tuned out rather than tuned in!

Some people fake attention – just to please the speaker! Some have the habit of interrupting when others are talking. Personal problems sometimes manage to creep into our minds – diverting our attention – while someone else is talking. Fatigue is another limiting factor in listening, as listening takes concentration and effort. It is easier to daydream and let our minds become preoccupied when our energy level is low.

A semantic barrier is very common in most of us. No two persons have exactly the same meaning for the same word or expression. We evaluate an individual’s competence and motivation through our semantic filters. We make judgments about people, based on our varied beliefs, knowledge, education, upbringing, what we understand, and what we see and perceive.

In short, the blind spots are within us. The angularities or the changing moods of the mind are barriers to effective listening. The barriers are caused by:

Faulty memories
Shades of ego
Tendencies and attitudes
Beliefs
Images of past experiences
Prejudices of the past
Likes and dislikes
Expectations and anxieties for the future

Only when we become aware of our blind spots will we be able to understand and reshape our beliefs, values, and attitudes. Therefore, it is necessary to train the mind to widen its perspective and see things in an objective way.

Let us have a “listening mind” – a mind that is open, unprejudiced, objective, alert, attentive, and relaxed.

Let us have a “balanced outlook” – enjoying spiritual strength, inner stability, mental beauty, and physical perfection - Swami Chinmayananda

Have a great day.

Siva

The Wisdom of Surrender

Relying on Others
Most of us pride ourselves on our self-sufficiency. We like to be responsible for taking care of ourselves and pulling our own weight in the world. This is why it can be so challenging when we find ourselves in a situation in which we have to rely on someone else. This can happen as the result of an illness or an injury, or even in the case of a positive change, such as the arrival of a newborn. At times like these, it is essential that we let go of our feeling that we should be able to do it all by ourselves and accept the help of others.

The first step is accepting the situation fully as it is. Too often we make things worse either by trying to do more than we should or by lapsing into feelings of uselessness. In both cases we run the risk of actually prolonging our dependency. In addition, we miss a valuable opportunity to practice acceptance and humility. The ego resists what is, so when we move into acceptance we move into the deeper realm of the soul. In needing others and allowing them to help us, we experience the full realization that we are not on our own in the world. While this may bring up feelings of vulnerability, a deep feeling of gratitude may also emerge as we open to the experience of being helped. This realization can enable us to be wiser in our service of others when we are called upon to help.

It takes wisdom and strength to surrender to our own helplessness and to accept that we, just like every other human being, have limitations. The gifts of surrender are numerous. We discover humility, gratitude, and a deepening understanding of the human experience that enables us to be that much more compassionate and surrendered in the world. - Daily OM

Have a good day and great weekend.

Siva

Not Always Easy

Some of our goals and dreams come to fruition so easily that it is as if an unseen hand has done much of the work for us. When this happens, we say it must have been meant to be. On the other hand, when dreams and goals require a tremendous amount of effort, we may interpret this to mean that our dream is not meant to be. However, difficulty is not necessarily a sign that our hopes and plans are ill-fated. On the contrary, difficulties and challenges along the path can be important parts of the project’s overall meaning.

When everything goes smoothly, we feel blessed by the universe, as if a fleet of angels is guiding and supporting our every move. When things are rough or ambiguous, we sometimes feel that we have been abandoned. And yet, the truth is that we are blessed in both cases. Our angels and guides are always present. They may choose at times to back off and let us figure something out for ourselves, and this is when things seem difficult. But when things are difficult, we learn and grow in specific ways. There is a unique satisfaction that comes to us when we succeed at something that has been a challenge. Our sense of self-reliance expands, and our ability to endure and keep the faith is stronger for having been tested. We learn that we are capable of confronting and overcoming the obstacles in our path, and this empowers us to dream still bigger dreams, knowing that we will not be daunted by the challenges inherent in birthing them.

When we find ourselves facing difficulties with a particular plan or project, the chances are we know already whether we are meant to continue on or let it go. We simply need to look within ourselves for the answer. When an idea is meant to be, it comes back to us time and time again. Then we know we can go forward, no matter what challenges arise, knowing that it is meant to be. - Daily OM