Unleashing Happiness

Taking a stroll in a posh Delhi market, waiting for some friends for a fancy dinner. While talking about the luxury cars and homes; planning to work out ideas to get those glossy, expensive breezers on the porch of our future luxury home, me and my husband came across a street kid on the pavement, sitting next to a kiosk hugging a stray dog so tightly with so much love and tears in his eyes that the emotions could be seen spilling all over. He kept on asking the dog again and again that where had he (dog) been for two long hours? To my surprise, I went near the boy and asked him the reason of his tears and what was he talking to the dog? The boy said, “I am alone and I live on this pavement with my dog and work in this kiosk. My dog sleeps next to me and whenever I am sacred of the traffic honks at night I hug him tightly and then sleep again. He takes care of my bag and other stuff all the time.” I saw an almost torn bag lying on the pavement with a blanket next to it. I asked what all stuff he had in the bag. He said, “I have two t-shirts, a pair of jeans and some other stuff apart from the shirt and shorts I am wearing right now. And one of the t-shirts in the bag is new, given by the shop owner I work for. It’s really beautiful and I am going to wear it when I go for an outing with my dog to the nearby park which has a lot of swings for children.”  I asked him how many friends he had. He replied, “This dog is my only friend and that’s why I was so worried when I could not find him for two hours. I yelled and cried a lot but was unable to find him. I don’t eat without him, I don’t sleep without him. I was so worried. And now I am very happy that he is with me.” The dog and the boy were cuddling each other throughout this conversation, and the happiness was inexpressible. My last question to him was what were his wishes and expectations from life. And the answer was illuminating!

I have everything to live, a job, a companion, a place to eat and sleep, clothes in my bag including new gifted shirt. The only thing I don’t want to happen to me is people treating me badly when I don’t behave bad with them, and also, I never want my dog going out of my sight. God is really kind to me. I am happy.”

I could really sense his happiness and contentment in life through his laughs, hugs and talks with his companion. An example of unconditional love and happiness agitated my sleeping sense of contentment and gratitude towards life.

We all have a lot to be thankful for that we take for granted.

Blessings to the boy and the dog!

Why do Good People Face Bad Things?

First of all, it’s a myth. God is Just and He never makes mistakes while dealing with His children and treats all equally. But yes, this do happens that good people feel that they face a lot of bad things and struggle in their lives as compared to not so good people, who enjoy the mercy of good Lord. Let’s try to analyze why we feel that God is unjust sometimes and good people suffer more?

Here are few points to ponder upon and take a hint on God’s way of dealing with His children:

1.     As a class representative (CR/class monitor), you are chosen by your teacher because you possess better qualities and higher level of motivation than others. But, this does not mean that you don’t have to work hard to achieve more, and for that your teacher gives your more responsibilities & tasks to enhance your abilities and produce better results. As a CR you are given tasks that involve lots of efforts, brainstorming, management, effective decision-making skills, tact and techniques to work with others and for others, keeping in mind the best for all. So, ultimately you are tested on your skills, talents and decisions. This helps you to grow and experience things that none of your classmates would get a chance to, in the current class.

This is how God selects good people and challenges them to bring out their best and that’s why they stand apart glorifying God, radiating patience, love and kindness through God, even in their most difficult times. God selects good people not only because they can take care of themselves but also because they can take care of others and their instincts can help people rely on them.

2.     After God has selected you as His representative, He will make sure that you be an example of God’s work to the world. He will even challenge you with situations that could be devastating, with the reason of making you stronger than ever and letting the world know that good people can overcome any challenge in their lives with the help, love and guidance of God.

3.     During the struggle good people turn to God and God gives them refuge and reveals to them His will. Many a times these people grow weary & weak and they collapse, but every time this happens God picks them up, refuels them, and helps them to reach the ultimate goal. But still a lot of times good people could not take it forward and they break, but that does not mean that God will abandon them. He counts and considers each and every single effort of people who try and walk on the right path. So, he picks them up and takes them through himself. The only thing God desires from His children is faith, dedication and love for Him.

4.     God wants His children always by His side and when God analyses our persistence towards His love and His will; He feels happy and grants us the desires of our heart. But the only thing He expects from us is to never forget the learning and guidance from Him during the challenging times, and follow them throughout life, even when the time seems easy and more favorable.

Tom and Jerry, the Life Coaches

Tom and Jerry, the Life Coaches

The thing I learn from cartoons, esp. Tom & Jerry, and that inspires me the most is that no matter what you go through, a thrash, a bang, a turmoil, a blast in your life, a crash, or even if you are crushed by adversities, somehow you always get back to normal (shape or mind), and then you again chase what you want!!!!

  1. Follow Your Dreams

The cat chases the mouse and the mouse is always aiming at his favorite cheese and milk. No matter what they have to go through, they plan, execute and ultimately put all their efforts to reach to what they desire. They are persistent and never lose hope, and keep running the race of life.

  1. Relax Often , or Whenever Possible

When Tom’s master is out, he relaxes in the house; When Tom is out in the garden he swings on the hammock with a glass of juice. Jerry, whenever possible lies down on his matchbox or tin bed to enjoy the time he got for himself. They take out time for themselves even after hectic days of running behind each other.

  1. To have Fun

To have fun doesn’t only mean that you enjoy alone, but to make people around you happy and feel good. You presence can be enjoyable or tormenting to people you be with, so it’s your choice to make it worthwhile. Like everyone loves to watch Tom & Jerry and enjoy, similarly our nature and behavior can makes us fun to be around or a wet blanket.

  1. Forgive and Forget (To be Friends with the Enemy)

It’s ok to forgive, rather very liberating, to get out of the clutches of hatred. And, it’s even better to forget and move on. Also, you might come across similar situations or people many times in life, but eventually you will learn the art of forgiving and forgetting. Even if you don’t forget the wrongs done to you, they won’t bother you anymore, because to choose to move on. Peace is important!

  1. To Concentrate and Balance Well

Concentrating on things to focus to avoid loss is a skill, and Tom and Jerry are pro at it. Even if somebody is pestering you to the core, like Jerry does to Tom by throwing all the stuff from the kitchen shelves, Tom only concentrates on collecting that stuff in piles and balancing a hard as he can to avoid the loss. At times Tom fails to balance and things crash on the floor, but it’s OK, he is honing the skills at least. Similarly we must concentrate on working on ourselves and learn to balance well, by prioritizing our responsibilities.

  1. Never give up! Take a break, but get back up!

No matter how many times they fail, Tom and Jerry always get back up; explore new ways; make new discoveries to reach their goal. At times they don’t really get what they want, but they get what is meant for them. And then, without cribbing about anything they move to the next target. THEY JUST DON’T STOP!!

10 Step Journey to Buddhahood

Faith and Practice

Buddhism says: Your Karmas determine your life, and you can transform your negative karmas to positives for better and conscious life ahead.

Step 1: Reality Check – Difficult to Accept

You don’t believe that you might have done something wrong in the past; you question your karmas and think, ‘why is it happening to me when I haven’t wronged anyone?’ The Buddhist teachings (or the first step of the teachings) make you learn to hold yourself responsible for all that’s happening in your life.  Your karmic cycle is what makes you happy or makes you suffer. All those whom you hold responsible for your sufferings have no role to play in deciding the consequences of your bad karmas or good karmas.

This is the most difficult step to take and understand, to move ahead towards Buddhahood.

Step 2: Decision to Kick-start or Back-off

Now, you either accept (by analyzing or not analyzing, initially), or remain onto your own judgment and skip or keep questioning faith.

If you accept and move on, in the long run you might get answers of all you questions and doubts you had in the beginning. And if, you skip or remain only own your own judgment, you would not find any escape out of your sufferings.

So, decide!

Step 3: Acceptance

How to accept?

The steps to acceptance are:

  • Consider yourself very normal as a human being, and very natural to make mistakes, but also willing to bring changes for betterment.
  • Don’t analyze (at this point) what wrong you have done; rather think that there might be many things which you might have done that might have hurt others in some way or the other.
  • Be firm on your decision of changing all your negative karmas (thoughts, words, decisions, and actions) into positive karmas, and to clean up your karmic cycle.
  • Accept your bad aspects and practice faith, determination, good words, positive thoughts and actions to incorporate the changes you are aiming for.

 Step 4: Practicing

Start practicing faith without judgment and without looking for instant results.

(But if you think deeply and analyze, you have already started receiving the instant results of your decision of keeping on with the faith, in the form of peace that you found after accepting yourself and continuing with the faith)

Step 5: Feeling Positive

Gradually you start realizing that acceptance is the first step towards peace and positivity. You also start analyzing things now, which you left in the initial few steps. A lot of things will cross your mind and you would be able to understand the difference between right and wrong. You also might get some events or incidents of the past in your head which you might relate to your present condition. Here, you get the real picture of analyzing what is positive and what is negative.

Step 6: Answers to Your Questions

Now, you will not question the circumstances, situations, or God, but you’ll look for answers, to come out of these low life conditions, and every time you will get the same answer, ‘Keep faith, do positive, think positive, be patient! Everything will come to you in due season, but you must not get impatient. You have already held God’s hand by accepting and moving forward towards change, and He will never forsake you. Keep practicing; limit your dependency on people, situations, or things. Dig in yourself and connect to faith every time you feel good or bad.’

Step 7: Vigorous Practice

You will start practicing more in desire to achieve peace and happiness. You will look for better ways of dealing with things. You will let go of a lot of things and also receive a lot of things while practicing faith. Your Karmas will start to transform and you will start appreciating even the smallest positive change in your life. And here begins the Contentment.

Step 8: Contentment

Now you don’t hold others responsible for your happiness or suffering. You practice to improve yourself. You also help others to understand the value of happiness within them. Here your life starts escalating from low life condition to high life condition within no time.

Step 9: Results

Now you have achieved peace, love, and contentment within yourself, and have only Faith to rely on. And then you don’t practice to have something all the time, but you practice to be happy with all that you have. You become a pro in dealing with things by yourself and practicing Faith.

Step 10: Happiness

You always keep on being happy and inspiring others, and seek opportunities to grow your Faith in hard times.

Photo Source: http://www.diamondway-buddhism.org/

God’s Best is Yet to Come

We go through countless challenging situations in life where we stumble, we fall, and we try to get back up, or sometimes lose to the situations or the inevitable. But actually we never lose anything, we surrender, and when we decide to surrender, we leave all to God which is not our defeat but a victory, because God never makes His children to lose. Surrendering to God after endless efforts and trials is a victory to be cherished and get excited about the result that God Himself is going to fetch for us, and that is what I always say to myself ‘God’s Best, yet to come’.

We try and try but we fail, why? Because God wants us to practice a lot of things that He wants us to learn and be prepared for, and when we still fail to reach, God wants to intervene to reach our reaching. Because He wants us to land safely to our goal, God will never abandon us during our journey of faith with Him. All we have to do is keep repeating and believing in our minds and hearts that God’s best is yet to come. We need to continue pushing ourselves every day to God’s best, and never get satisfied with this feeling. When we get something good we must plan to get better and ultimately God’s ways will take us to the best.

A long struggle of mind and body can make us grow weary and insufficient, but our ultimate goal of experiencing God’s best can spark a new life in our endeavors.

Trying these steps to achieve God’s best in your lives really helps:

  • Be confident about God’s presence in your life.
  • Know He is there with you.
  • Express your gratitude toward Him all the time, I mean ALL THE TIME!
  • Always believe in your actions, because they are also through the Lord Himself.
  • Believe and tell God that you have done all what you could do and surrender to Him.
  • Don’t seek revenge for your hurt, let God take the call. Believe, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord (Deuteronomy 32:35).
  • Pray and Pray and Pray for everything you are grateful for, and the things your are asking for.
  • Talk to Him often, pour out your heart to Him and seek His guidance in silence.

Keep your focus only on God’s Best!

Falling in Love with Yourself

Falling in Love with yourself! It’s the most difficult thing to get your hands on, because we always connect our happiness to others, may be to people, material things or favorable times. But, I believe, when we reach this level of spirituality where we fall in love with ourselves and our Lord, we lose all fears, all apprehensions, all hurt, and all resentments in our minds and hearts. Amazing feeling it is!! You don’t renounce the worldly things, but you enjoy what God has provided you with. Your life transforms, and you start doing things for yourself that you used think you couldn’t do alone; or things you were doing only for others. This stage will not make you self-centered, thinking only about yourself, because the process of reaching this state would have already taught you to be balanced in your thoughts and actions. So, you won’t quit thinking and working for others, but the addition to your life would be ‘Loving Yourself’, which you actually missed earlier.

It’s beautiful…beautiful…. beautiful to fall in love with yourself. You sing beautiful songs for yourself; you feel confident about your existence in this world; you inspire others; you get motivated to do more good, because you feel good; you dress-up well to feel good; you make yourself a hot cup of coffee and treat your sweet tooth with some delightful desserts; you crave for your favorite food and make efforts to satisfy the desire, which you never paid attention to earlier because your were busy satisfying others all the time. Frequent attacks of smiling while sitting alone, or while watching people and nature around; like kids playing in the park; puppies running after each other and their mother; beautiful families walking around, busy street vendors; fleet of birds flying in a pattern; mom and kids cuddling and kissing; and what not! Can’t even express!! But it’s magnificent!
And now, to you, your happiness matters and you have discovered the source too; it is your own individuality, your own decision to stay happy and trust God.