Happiness is in the path, not in destnation.

Two brothers once decided to dig a deep hole behind their house. As
they were working, a couple of other boys stopped by to watch.

“What are you doing?” asked one of the visitors. “We’re going to dig a
hole all the way through the earth!” one of the brothers volunteered
excitedly.

The other boys began to laugh, telling the brothers that digging a
hole all the way through the earth was impossible. After a long
silence, one of the diggers picked up a jar full of spiders and worms
and insects and interesting stones. He removed the lid and showed the
wonderful contents to the scoffing visitors. Then he said confidently,
“Even if we don’t dig all the way through the earth, look what we
found along the way!”

Their goal was far too ambitious, but it did cause them to dig. And
that is what a goal is for  - to cause us to move in the direction we
have chosen, in other words, to set us to digging!

But not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will end
successfully. Not every relationship will endure. Not every hope will
come to pass. Not every love will last. Not every endeavour will be
completed. Not every dream will be realized. But when  you fall short
of your aim, perhaps you can say, “Yes, but look at what I found along
the way! Look at the wonderful things which have come into my life
because I tried to do something!”

It is in the digging that life is lived. And it is the joy in the
journey, in the end, that truly matters!

Nothing is insignificant

Along with his brother Lakshmana, Rama went in search of his wife, and
enlisted the help of the Vanara king, Sugreeva. Learning that Sita was
kept at Lanka, the kingdom of Ravana, which lay across the ocean,
Rama, along with the Vanara army, arrived at the seashore.

To reach Lanka, they had to cross the vast ocean, and after much
discussion, it was decided that a bridge would be built across the
ocean. The multitudes of monkeys and bears which formed the Vanara
army were asked to bring stones and boulders to the seashore, so that
a bridge could be built.

Shouting with excitement, and happy at the prospect of helping Rama,
the monkeys and bears ran around, looking for the biggest stones they
could find. The Vanaras were a strong race, and they carried huge
boulders, and even hills, on their shoulders easily, and dropped them
in the ocean to help build the bridge.

The other animals at the seashore too wished to help Rama, and each of
them helped him in his own way – the fishes and the other sea
creatures did their bit by helping the boulders rest at the right
place, while the birds flying overhead brought small stones to fill
the gaps.

A small squirrel was seeing this huge effort, and he too wished to
help. He thought for a moment, and then started collecting small
pebbles lying on the shore, and dropped them in the ocean. After a
while, he was too tired to even carry those pebbles, but still wanted
to participate. He ran to the edge of the water, and, after rolling in
the sand, ran to the water and washed himself. He ran back to the
shore and rolled again, and more sand got stuck to him, since he was
now wet. Again he ran to the water to wash himself. The small grains
of sand which stuck to his body were all he could contribute to the
massive task of building a bridge across the ocean!!

However, the small squirrel rushing to and fro on the shore was now
getting in the way of the monkeys who were carrying huge boulders, and
they started shouting at him, asking him to get out of the way.

“Brothers, I too want to help you. These small grains of sand are all
I can throw into the ocean as my contribution to the bridge. Please do
not shout at me”, said the little squirrel.

The monkeys laughed out aloud, and shouted, “Of what use are these
tiny grains of sand, which can scarcely be seen among the huge
boulders and hills we are bringing. Get out of the way and let us do
our work!”

The squirrel was unperturbed, and continued its work calmly. Finally
one of the monkeys, in his anger, picked up the squirrel and flung him
far away from the shore.

Rama, who was watching this, caught the squirrel before it fell, and
set it down carefully. He then addressed the Vanara army, “O Vanaras,
you are brave and strong, and are doing a wonderful job bringing all
these huge boulders and stones from far and dropping them in the
ocean. But did you notice that it is the tiny pebbles and stones
brought by this small squirrel and some of the other smaller creatures
which are filling the small gaps left between the huge stones?
Further, do you not realize that the tiny grains of sand brought by
this squirrel are the ones which bind the whole structure and make it
strong? Yet you scold this small creature and fling him away in
anger!”

Hearing this, the Vanaras were ashamed, and bowed down their heads.
Rama continued, “Always remember, however small, every task is equally
important. A project can never be completed by the main people alone.
They need the support of all, and however small, an effort should
always be appreciated!”

Rama then turned to the squirrel and said softly, “My dear squirrel, I
am sorry for the hurt caused to you by my army, and thank you for the
help you have rendered to me. Please go and continue your work
happily.” Saying this, he gently stroked the back of the squirrel with
his fingers, and three lines appeared where the Lord’s fingers had
touched it.

Thus did the squirrels get the 3 stripes on their backs, as a blessing
from Lord Rama, to remind us that no task, however small, is
unimportant! Every task should be looked upon as service to the lord,
and his blessings will always be with us.

Has complaining become your habit?

Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, the great philosopher and former President of India, made his first visit to the United States when John F. Kennedy was the President. The weather was dark and stormy in Washington and when Dr. Radhakrishnan alighted from the plane, it began to pour cats and dogs, as the expression goes.

The young American President greeted his Indian counterpart with a warm hand¬shake and a smile. "I'm so sorry we have such bad weather during your visit," he remarked courteously. The philosopher-statesman smiled. "We can't change bad things, Mr. President," he observed. "But we can change our attitude to them.

"A few years ago I was in Delhi, I was invited by Doordarshan to visit their studios. There I met a wonderful man. He had lost both his arms in an accident. But he had a positive attitude. He trained his feet so that he could take up the job of composing in a press. With a smile on his face and a feeling of joy, he said, 'I earn Rs.500 a month. I am not a burden on anyone.'

"There was another man whom I met in Pune. He was sitting by the wayside, and he had no legs, only stumps beneath his hips.

'What happened to you?' I asked him.

'Nothing!' he replied. 'I was born this way.'

'May I ask, who takes care of you, my friend?' I enquired.

'My mother - and above all, God.'

'Do you find it difficult, inconvenient to move about?'

'Do you find it difficult and inconvenient that you don't have wings?' he asked me. 'Don't you think it would be far better if you could fly on your own, rather than wait to catch a plane?'

'Life is a matter of habit,' he added. 'If you start complaining, there is so much to complain about. It is the attitude that counts.'

Expansion is life! Contraction is death.

Once upon a young man came to a revered teacher, who was seated under a tree near a beautiful lake, and asked for the solution of his unhappiness. After some minutes of conversation, the old master kindly instructed the visitor to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then to drink a few mouthfuls.

“How does it taste?” the teacher asked. “Awful”, said the apprentice after he had spat out the revolting liquid a few paces away. The teacher chuckled and then asked the young man to take another handful of salt and put it in the lake. The two walked in silence to the nearby lake and when the youngster swirled his handful of salt into the lake, the old man told him, “Now drink from the lake.”

As the water dripped down the young man’s chin, the master asked him again, “How does it taste?” “Good!” he replied. “Do you taste the salt?” asked the Master. “No,” said the young man. The Master sat beside the troubled youth, took his hands, and said, “the pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains the same, exactly the same. But the level of ‘pain we taste’ depends on the container we put it into.

So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things. Stop being a glass. Become a lake. And you can become a lake where you broaden your outlook; when you stop looking only at yourself and your own miseries. Look at life as a whole and the many things without which you would not be what you are today – your friends, family, hobbies, nature around you.

When you are confronted with a problem, you see only the problem and ruminate over it endlessly which only makes the situation more tragic. Think of previous instances when things were better. Look at all the blessings that God has filled your life with about which you never give a thought.

Never compare yourself negatively with others. You are a unique person and if you have the faith, God will provide what you need. When you have a pain in your life, put it in front of GOD-then it will surely lessen. Do not put it in front of yourself – as you cannot see beyond it.

God is Infinite. Tap this source, with confidence.

You are your hindrance

One day all the employees reached the office and they saw a big advice on the door on which it was written:

'Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym'.

In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know who was that man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and the company itself.

The more people reached the coffin, the more excitement heated up. Everyone thought: 'Who is this guy who was hindering my progress? Well, at least he died!'.

One by one thrilled employees got closer to the coffin, and when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood nearby the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul.

There was a mirror inside the coffin: Everyone who looked inside it could see himself. There was also a sign next to the mirror that said:

'There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth: It is you.

You are the only person who can revolutionize your life. You are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your success. You are the only person who can help yourself.

Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your company changes. Your life changes when you change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs, when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your life. The most important relationship you can have is the one you have with yourself

Examine yourself, watch yourself. Don't be afraid of difficulties, impossibilities and losses: be a winner, build yourself and your reality. It's the way you face Life that makes the difference.

Old Age

The other day a young person asked me how I felt about being old. I was taken aback, for I do not think of myself as old. Upon seeing my reaction, she was immediately embarrassed, but I explained that it was an interesting question, and I would ponder over it, and let her know.

Old Age, I decided, is a gift.

I am now, probably for the first time in my life, the person I have always wanted to be. Oh, not my body! I sometime despair over my body, the wrinkles, the baggy eyes, and the sagging butt. And often I am taken aback by that old person that lives in my mirror (who looks like my mother!), but I don't agonize over those things for long.

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly. As I've aged, I've become more kind to myself, and less critical of myself. I've become my own friend. I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie, or for not making my bed, or for buying that silly cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde on my patio. I am entitled to a treat, to be messy, to be extravagant.

I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon; before they understood the great freedom that comes with aging. Whose business is it if I choose to read or play on the computer until 4 AM and sleep until noon?

I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes of the 60 &70's, and if I, at the same time, wish to weep over a lost love I will. I will walk the beach in a swim suit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to.

They, too, will get old. I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten. And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken. How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or even when somebody's beloved pet gets hit by a car? But broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion. A heart never broken is pristine and sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning gray, and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face. So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

As you get older, it is easier to be positive. You care less about what other people think. I don't question myself anymore. I've even earned the right to be wrong.

So, to answer your question, I like being old. It has set me free I like the person I have become. I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here, I will not waste time lamenting what could have been, or worrying about what will be. And I shall eat dessert every single day, if I feel like it!

All that glitters is not gold!

Catherine's mother one day sent her to the woods to look for mushrooms, because her father liked them very much and her mother wanted to give him a surprise.

"Mother," cried the girl when she returned home, "Today I found some truly beautiful mushrooms! Look at them," she said, opening her basket, "they are all shining red and purple color as if embroidered with lovely pearls. There were also some plain mushrooms like the ones you brought home last time, but they seemed so ugly that I left them there."

"My sweet little girl! Don't you realize how silly you are?" exclaimed her mother. "The beautiful mushrooms that you brought home today, even if they do seem so brightly colored and enchanting, are poisonous. The brown ones, instead, which you despised, because of their plain look, are edible and are the best kind. Such is also the case with the things of this world, my dear. There are virtues that have little splendor, and blinding errors which people admire. The deceitful appearance more than often leads us into sin."

So don't be misled by appearance. Be the admirer and follower of true virtues.