I Wanted To Change The World

When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world.

I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation.

When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.

Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world."

A Butterfly

A man found a cocoon for 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 the little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and could go no farther. Then the man decided to help the butterfly.

He took a pair of scissors and snipped the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. Something was strange. The butterfly had a swollen body and shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected 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 deformed wings. It was never 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 small opening of the cocoon are 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 life. If God allowed us to go through all our life without any obstacles, that would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. Not only that, we could never fly.

THE DONKEY

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. 

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down. 

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. 

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off! 

MORAL : 

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up. 

Remember the five simple rules to be happy: 

1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive. 

2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happens. 

3. Live simply and appreciate what you have. 

4. Give more. 

5. Expect less from people but more from God.

Perspective on Life

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, 'How was the trip?'

'It was great, Dad.'

'Did you see how poor people live?' the father asked.

'Oh yeah,' said the son.

'So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?' asked the father

The son answered: 

'I saw that we have one dog and they had four.

We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. 

We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. 

Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. 

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. 

We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. 

We buy our food, but they grow theirs. 

We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.' 

The boy's father was speechless. 

Then his son added, 'Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.'

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? 

Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have. Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends!

LIFE Is A Gift, Be Happy, Be Positive

“Money is the most envied, but the least enjoyed. Health is the most enjoyed, but the least envied.” - Charles Caleb Colton. “He, who has health, has hope; and he who has hope has everything.”

“Being happy doesn’t mean everything’s perfect, it means you’ve decided to see beyond the imperfections.”

Some good words on life..enjoy reading.

The Gift of Life

On the very first day, God created the cow. He said to the cow, “Today I have created you! As a cow, you must go to the field with the farmer all day long. You will work all day under the sun! I will give you a life span of 50 years.” The cow objected, “What? This kind of a tough life you want me to live for 50 years? Let me have 20 years, and the 30 years I’ll give back to you.” So God agreed.

On the second day, God created the dog. God said to the dog, “You are supposed to do is to sit all day by the door of your house. Any people that come in, you will have to bark at them! I’ll give a life span of 20 years.” The dog objected, “What? All day long to sit by the door? No way! I give you back my other 10 years of life!” So God agreed.

On the third day, God created the monkey. He said to the monkey, “Monkeys have to entertain people. You’ve got to make them laugh and do monkey tricks. I’ll give you 20 years life span.”
The monkey objected. “What? Make them laugh? Do monkey faces and tricks? Ten years will do, and the other 10 years I’ll give you back.” So God agreed.

On the fourth day, God created man and said to him, “Your job is to sleep, eat, and play. You will enjoy very much in your life. All you need to do is to enjoy and do nothing. This kind of life, I’ll give you a 20 year life span.” The man objected. “What? Such a good life! Eat, play, sleep, do nothing? Enjoy the best and you expect me to live only for 20 years? No way, man!….Why don’t we make a deal? Since the cow gave you back 30 years, and the dog gave you back 10 years and the monkey gave you back 10 years, I will take them from you! That makes my life span 70 years, right?” So God agreed.

AND THAT’S WHY…. In our first 20 years, we eat, sleep, play, enjoy the best and do nothing much. For the next 30 years, we work all day long, suffer and get to support the family. For the next 10 years, we entertain our grandchildren by making monkey faces and monkey tricks. And for the last 10 years, we stay at home, sit by the front door and bark at people!

Life Lessons

• You cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.
• No matter how much you care, some people just don’t care back.
• Just because someone doesn’t love you the way you want them to, it doesn’t mean they don’t love you with all they have.
• It takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.
• It’s not what you have in your life, but whom you have in your life that counts.
• Our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
• We are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
• Either you control your attitude or it controls you.
• Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.
• No matter how good a friend is, they’re going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
• It isn’t always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
• Just because two people argue, it doesn’t mean they don’t love each other. And, just because they don’t argue, it doesn’t mean they do.
• No matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn’t stop for your grief.
Some Good Habits/Facts
• Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti depressant.
• Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
• Always pray and make time to exercise.
• Spend more time with people over the age of 70, and under the age of six.
• Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants And eat less foods that are manufactured in Plants.
• Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat broccoli, almonds , walnuts…
• Try to make at least three people smile each day.
• Clear your clutter from your house, car, desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
• Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control.
• Instead, Invest your energy in the positive present moment.
• Realize that life is a school and you are here To learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class …….but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
• Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a layman And dinner like a begger .
• Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
• Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
• Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
• You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
• Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
• Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no Idea what their journey is all about.
• Stop waiting for a special occasion. Every day is special.
• No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
• Frame every so-called disaster with these Words: ‘In five years, will this matter?’
• What other people think of you is none of your business.
• Time heals almost everything. Give time, time!
• However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
• Your job won’t take care of you when you are Sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch with them.
• Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
• Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. God provides, remember?!
• The best is yet to come.
• No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
• Do the right thing!
• Call your family often.
• Each night before you go to bed complete the Following statements:
‘I am thankful for __________.’
Today I accomplished _________.
• Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
• Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is not Disney World and you certainly don’t want a Fast Pass. You only have one ride through life, so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH. LIFE’S A gift. that’s why it’s called PRESENT … UNWRAP IT!

Happiness is here and now

Happiness is here and now

PARAMAHAMSA SRI NITHYANANDA


WE WANT to be happy all the time. We worry all the time about being happy. Our obsession with happiness prevents us from being happy.

A New York investment banker needed a vacation badly. His psychiatrist recommended that he take a break or he will break down. The banker went to a fishing spot in a remote mountain location. He bought himself the best of designer fishing clothes and gear including designer bait. He went to a spot recommended by his resort concierge.

As he relaxed with his fishing rod in his hand and a pipe in his mouth, he saw a local old man settling down some distance away. The banker struggled to catch a fish. But, the old man was reeling them in at regular intervals and releasing them back into the river.

The old man saw the perplexed look of the banker. He cheerily invited him over to where he sat and showed him where the fish were. The banker was very impressed and asked the old man what he did for a living. The old man replied that he did nothing. He just fished and relaxed. The banker was incredulous. He told the old man all the things he was missing in life by not being a professional, like him, in the great city.

The old man asked the banker: what are your plans for future? The banker said: I will make lots of money, marry, and have children. What comes after that? asked the old man. Oh, I shall relax and spend all my time fishing, the banker said. Can't you see that's what I'm doing now, the old man responded, why do I need to struggle like you.

We all have a long laundry list of worries. We have them all our lives. Can we predict what will bring us joy and when? It is very difficult for us to predict when we are likely to be happy. On the other hand, it is very easy for us to say when we shall be worried, which is almost all the time.

We worry when we have no money. We also worry when we have money. We worry if we have no children; we also worry when we have children. Our wealth and children are quite often the cause of many of our problems. Our worries multiply when our children emulate us.

Worry follows desires just as night follows day. Just as desires have no end, worries too are endless. Do these worries have a purpose? No. We forget to enjoy our life now. We never get to enjoy life later. Either we enjoy it here and now, or never. Find happiness being in the present. Be conscious, completely aware of what is happening at the moment. Be happy with whatever you do. Happiness will be yours to keep.