This Too Will Pass

Once there was a carpenter who worked out of his home. He took joy in building furniture or tools to sell to others. He would often sing Once a king called upon all of his wise men and asked them, "Is there a mantra or suggestion which works in every situation, in every circumstance, in every place and in every time. Something which can help me when none of you is available to advise me. Tell me is there any mantra?"

All wise men got puzzled by King's question. One answer for all questions? Something that works everywhere, in every situation? In every joy, every sorrow, every defeat and every victory? They thought and thought. After a lengthy discussion, an old man suggested something which appealed to all of them. They went to the king and gave him something written on paper. But the condition was that king was not to see it out of curiosity. Only in extreme danger, when the King finds himself alone and there seems to be no way, only then he'll have to see it. The King put the papers under his Diamond ring.

After a few days, the neighbors attacked the Kingdom. It was a collective surprise attack of the King's enemies. King and his army fought bravely but lost the battle. King had to flee on his horse. The enemies were following him. His horse took him far away in the Jungle. He could hear many troops of horses following him and the noise was coming closer and closer. Suddenly the King found himself standing at the end of the road - that road was not going anywhere. Underneath there was a rocky valley thousand feet deep. If he jumped into it, he would be finished…and he could not return because it was a small road… The sound of enemy's horses was approaching fast. King became restless. There seemed to be no way.

Then suddenly he saw the Diamond in his ring shining in the sun, and he remembered the message hidden in the ring. He opened the diamond and read the message. The message was very small but very great. The message was -"This too will pass."

The King read it. Again read it. Suddenly something struck him- Yes! It too will pass. Only a few days ago, I was enjoying my kingdom. I was the mightiest of all the Kings. Yet today, the Kingdom and all his pleasure have gone. I am here trying to escape from enemies. However when those days of luxuries have gone, this day of danger too will pass. A calm come on his face. He kept standing there. The place where he was standing was full of natural beauty. He had never known that such a beautiful place was also a part of his Kingdom. The revelation of the message had a great effect on him. He relaxed and forgot about those following him. After a few minutes he realized that the noise of the horses and the enemy coming was receding. They moved into some other part of the mountains and were not on that path.

The King was very brave. He reorganized his army and fought again. He defeated the enemy and regained his lost empire. When he returned to his empire after victory, he was received with much fanfare at the door. The whole capital was rejoicing in the victory. Everyone was in a festive mood. Flowers were being thrown on the King from every house, from every corner. People were dancing and singing. For a moment King said to himself," I am one of the bravest and greatest Kings. It is not easy to defeat Me.: With all the reception and celebration he saw an ego emerging in him.

Suddenly the Diamond of his ring flashed in the sunlight and reminded him of the message. He opens it and read it again: "This too will pass". He became silent. His face went through a total change -from the egoist he moved to a state of utter humbleness.

If this too is going to pass, it is not yours. The defeat was not yours, the victory is not yours. You are just a watcher. Everything passes by. We are witness of all this. We are the perceiver. Life comes and goes. Happiness comes and goes. Sorrow comes and goes. Now as you have read this story, just sit silently and evaluate your own life.. Think of the moments of joy and victory in your life. Think of the moment of Sorrow and defeat. Are they permanent? They all come and pass away. Life just passes away. There were friends in the past. They have gone. There are friends today. They too will go. There will be new friends tomorrow. They too will go. There were enemies in the past. They have gone. There may be enemies in the present. They too will go. There will be new enemies tomorrow and......they too will go.

There is nothing permanent in this world. Everything changes except the law of change. Think over it from your own perspective. You have seen all the changes. You have survived all setbacks, all defeats and all sorrows. All have passed away. If there are problems in the present, they too will pass away. Because nothing remains forever. Joy and sorrow are the two faces of the same coin. They both will pass away. Who are you in reality? Know your real face. Your face is not your true face. It will change with the time. However, there is something in you, which will not change. It will remain unchanged. What is that unchangeable? It is nothing but your true self. You are just a witness of change. Experience it, understand it...

Story of Two Seeds!

Two seeds lay side by side in the fertile soil.

The first seed said, "I want to grow! I want to send my roots deep into the soil beneath me, and thrust my sprouts through the earth's crust above me ... I want to unfurl my tender buds like banners to announce the arrival of spring ... I want to feel the warmth of the sun on my face and the blessing of the morning dew on my petals!"

And so she grew...

The second seed said, "I am afraid. If I send my roots into the ground below, I don't know what I will encounter in the dark. If I push my way through the hard soil above me I may damage my delicate sprouts ... what if I let my buds open and a snail tries to eat them? And if I were to open my blossoms, a small child may pull me from the ground. No, it is much better for me to wait until it is safe."

And so she waited...

A yard hen came rushing scratching around in the early spring in search for food – found the waiting seed and promptly ate it.

Moral of the Story:

Those of us who refuse to risk and grow – get swallowed up by life.

Piece to Peace

A farmer always wished his small and noisy house to be larger and quieter without spending much. One day, in order to get his problem solved, he went straight to his friend and explained his need.

The friend said," I can solve your problem. Just do as I say". Without any fuss, the man agreed.
chicks, some sheep, a horse, a pig and a cow, bring all of them into your house to live with you".

The farmer thought that it would be a silly thing to do. But he did it anyway. His house was already small, and with all those noisy animals in it, there was no room at all. The tightfisted man returned to his friend and cried, "I need more space, more room and peace! The animals have crowded my house and are so noisy that I can’t think at all!"

"Don’t panic! Now take all those animals out of your house and put them back in the barn", the friend replied.

When the farmer had put all the animals comfortably back in the barn, he went into his house. To his utter astonishment, the house suddenly looked remarkably bigger! Without the animals inside, his house was now quiet too!! And his problem was solved without spending anything.

Events remain the same, only the perception and opinions change. Our opinions depend upon our lives and habits. He who never changes his opinions or corrects his mistake will never be wiser. So opinions should be judged and directed wisely with an open mind.

Moral:

Every problem has a ‘context’. If you change the ‘context’, the problem may cease to exist.

"Story of Friendship & Values…… "

A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand:

"TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE". They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath.

The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone:
"TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE". The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him,

"After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?" The other friend replied "When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it".

LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them,
a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them.

- MORAL -

Do not value the THINGS you have in your life..

But value WHO you have in your life!

"No Pain, No Gain"

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!

“Change is Imperative”

The old eagle perched on a tree branch thoughtfully. It was time to make a tough decision. It was feeling hungry. Aged 40 in “eagle years”, its once sharp beak was now bent. Its strong flexible talons which helped it hold on to its prey were now blunt and dull. Its heavy wings and thick feathers were weighing it down. Flying, hunting, surviving was becoming increasingly difficult.

What could the eagle do? It had two choices.

It could die. Or it could go through a painful process of change that took almost 150 days. This choice is a crucial point in every eagle’s life, and our old friend decided that it would make that change.

The eagle soared high up to the mountaintop and sat on its nest. Then it whittled away its beak, using a rock. It waited for a little while till a new beak grew in its place. The next step was to remove its old talons and wait for new ones to grow.

Finally, the eagle trimmed its old feathers, and pared down all that extra weight. Five months later, the whole process of revival and regeneration was complete and our brave eagle friend lived for another 30 fruitful and happy “eagle years”!

Why is change important? Many times, in order to survive we may need to really shake things up because only once we’re freed from past burdens, we can take advantage of the present. Remember, nature favors those who are willing to undergo painful change, so chin up and soar high on strong new wings.

You are a Masterpiece

*A plum once said, "Just because a banana lover came by, I converted myself into a banana. Unfortunately, his taste changed after a few months and so I became an orange. When he said I was bitter I became an apple, but he went in search of grapes. Yielding to the opinions of so many people, I have changed so many times that I no more know who I am. How I wish I had remained a plum and waited for a plum lover."
Just because a group of people do not accept you as you are, there is no necessity for you to strip yourself of your originality. You need to think good of yourself, for the world takes you at your own estimate. Never stoop down in order to gain recognition. Never let go of your true self to win a relationship. In the long run, you will regret that you traded your greatest glory – your uniqueness, for momentary validation. Even Gandhi was not accepted by many people. The group that does not accept you as you is not your world.
There is a world for each one of you, where you shall reign as king /queen by just being yourself. Find that world… in fact, that world will find you.
What water can do, gasoline cannot and what copper can, gold cannot. The fragility of the ant enables it to move and the rigidity of the tree enables it to stay rooted. Everything and everybody has been designed with a proportion of uniqueness to serve a purpose that we can fulfill only by being our unique self. You as you alone can serve your purpose and I as I alone can serve my purpose. You are here to be you… just you.
There was a time in this world when a Christ was required and he was sent;a time when a Mahatma was required and he was sent; a time when a J.R.D.Tata was required and he was sent. There came a time when you were required on this planet and hence you were sent. Let us be the best we can be. Don’t miss yourself and let the world not miss you.
In the history of the universe, there has been nobody like you and to the infinite of time to come, there will be no one like you. Existence should have loved you so much that it broke the mold after making you, so that another of your kind will never get repeated. You are original. You are rare. You are unique. You are a wonder. You are a masterpiece… your Master’s piece. Celebrate your Uniqueness.

A Different Perspective

A baby boy was born to a couple after several years of their marriage. They were a loving couple and the boy was the apple of their eyes. When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open. He was late for office so he asked his wife to cap the bottle and keep it in the cupboard. His wife, preoccupied in the kitchen totally forgot the matter.

The little one saw the bottle and playfully went to grab it fascinated by its color and drank it all. It happened to be a medicine meant for aged people and to be taken 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 to face her husband.

When the distressed father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just these words. “I am with you …". The husband's totally unexpected reaction is a 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 had taken time to keep the bottle away, this would not have happened. No one is to be blamed. 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.

If everyone starts looking at life from a different perspective, there would be fewer problems in the world. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Take off all the jealousy, selfishness and fears one by one. And you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think.

Sometimes we spend time in asking who is responsible for, thinking whom to blame – whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people around us. By this time, we miss out to notice LIFE with a different perspective altogether.

"Important Things in Life"

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in diameter.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "Yes."

"Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, and your children – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter – like your job, your house, your car.

The sand is everything else. The small stuff."

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued "there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.

Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

“What do you want your life to mean?”

I think the meaning of life is whatever meaning we give it—and we can literally give it any meaning that “feels right” to us. There’s a blank canvas in front of you. You are the artist of your life, and you are free to paint any picture that pleases you—and change it at any time for that matter.

What “feels right” to you? What do you want your life to mean? What do you want your life to be about?

Life is short… Life is precious.

What are you dreaming about? Go do it. Go make it happen. Go do it despite fear and doubt and the opinions of others. Go do it, because it makes you happy. Go do it, because it makes you come alive.

Who are you holding a grudge against? Decide to forgive them, today, right now. Decide that you will heal, and decide to tell a different story. Give yourself permission to be free, because you are. Where do you want to visit? Start planning for it, even if you don’t yet have the money. Keep moving in that direction, and I promise you that you will find a way.

Who do you love? When you’re with them, give them your full attention. Create the time and space to connect with them. Put love at the top of your list.

In the end, love is all that matters. Love for ourselves, for other people, for our work, for all the unique experiences of life.

Life is simple, but we insist on making it complicated. Let’s make it simple again, by focusing on what matters.

“Obstacles in our Path”

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s’ wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition. So never get into the victim’s role and blame others. Consider every obstacle as opportunity and take responsibility to move the boulder.