Dahi handi - Important Lessons !

My friend who watched Dahi-Handi yesterday, shared the following key take away : 

1. Everyone cannot be on "TOP" 

2. As you "RISE" so does the risk rise too. 

3. Ground Level bears the MAXIMUM load. 

4.. PEOPLE MANAGEMENT & TRUST is very IMPORTANT to go UP the ladder. '

5. You may FALL, but no sooner you fall, gather YOURSELF & RISE again. 

6. Do NOT bother too much about the NOISE from OUTSIDE, FOCUS on your INSIDE . 

7. It gets quieter as you go upwards, there MAXIMUM NOISE down below. 

8. People who DO the LEAST MAKE the MAXIMUM noise.

Must read - Story on Sack of potatoes !

A high school teacher told her students to bring to school a clear plastic bag and a sack of potatoes. The students are asked to think of all the people who have wronged them, every person that they have judged, every person they could not accept. The names of these people were to be each written on a potato and put in the bag.

Most students had bags that were full and overflowing. They were instructed to carry the bag everywhere with them for one week – including taking into their bed at night. They were never to let the bag out of their sight.

By the end of the week, the students were sick to death of their bag of potatoes. It was annoying having to lug it everywhere. The potatoes started to fester and go mouldy and stinky. The bags were heavy and awkward, weighed the students down and made them miserable.  The teacher told the students the significance of carrying the potatoes. It was a way to understand the price we pay for holding onto our resentments.

 Fortunately, since the week was over, they were able to put the down their bag of potatoes and get rid of it. The lightness, relief and freedom at doing so was only a taste of what they could feel of letting go of the resentments that each potato represented.

The teacher asked: " I hope you all enjoyed the game. How did you feel while carrying the potatoes with you for one week?"  The children immediately let out their frustrations and started complaining bitterly of the trouble that they went through carrying the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever they went. Then the teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game they played.

He said: "This is exactly the situation when you carry your hatred for somebody inside your heart. The stench of hatred will contaminate your heart and you will carry it with you wherever you go. If you cannot tolerate the smell of rotten potatoes for just one week, especially those of you who had plenty of potatoes to carry, can you imagine what is it like to have the stench of hatred in your heart for your lifetime?"

 The hassle of lugging the bag around with them made it clear what a weight they were carrying around spiritually and how  they had to pay attention to it all the time.  Naturally, the condition of the potatoes deteriorated to a nasty smelly slime.  This was a great metaphor for the price we pay for keeping our pain and heavy negativity!  Too often we think of forgiveness as a gift to the other person and clearly is for ourselves !   Forgiving someone can be one of the most exhilarating experiences of your life!

Take the example of the people in  a drug and alcohol treatment center.  One thing  found common in addicts and alcoholics, as with most of us, is that they carried with them the excess baggage of forgiveness.  It makes us sick to harbor anger and forgiveness for someone.  But, you say, they don’t deserve to be forgiven.  You aren’t forgiving them because they deserve it; you are forgiving them because you deserve it.  Forgiveness lets them live rent free in your head and heart, causing you great emotional harm and a huge load of bitterness.  Acknowledge the pain and the hurt they may have caused you, then let it all go.   All you have to be is willing to forgive; God does the rest.  They are no words to describe the joy that will come into your heart, but it is waiting right around the corner for you.

What do you think? Do you have some potatoes you could let go of? Are they festering? Getting stinky? Weighing you down? Making you miserable?

 Make this your day to forgive!

 Have a happy journey!

Change Your Thinking

```It will take just 37 seconds to read this and change your thinking..

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.

One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs.

His bed was next to the room's only window.

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.
The men talked for hours on end.

They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation..

Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and colour of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.

Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every colour and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite details, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine this picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by.

Although the other man could not hear the band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days, weeks and months passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep.

She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside.
He strained to slowly turn to look out the window besides the bed.

It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.
She said, 'Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.'

Epilogue:

There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.

Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.

If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.

'Today is a gift, that is why it is called The Present .' 

I urge you to always share such info with people who need them!

No one can destroy IRON; but its own rust can.

No one can destroy IRON; but its own rust can. Likewise no one can destroy us; but our own mindset can. Our THOUGHTS can change our Life.

Importance of mindset
Why is it that some people seem to shine in any sphere in which they choose to exert themselves, and others cannot manage even a glimmer despite obvious talent?

Research shows that it is the way that they think about their ability that really counts.

Most of those who have achieved greatness, to use Shakespeare’s phrase, have worked extremely hard to get there. Many were told that they would never amount to anything. But they believed that they could achieve, and worked hard to do so.

Fixed or Growth Mindset?

There are two ways to view intelligence or ability:

Ability it is fixed or ingrained – in other words, we are born with a certain level of ability and we cannot change that. This is called a fixed mindset.

We can develop our ability through hard work and effort. This is called a growth mindset.

These two different beliefs lead to different behaviour, and also to different results. For example, students with a growth mindset were shown to increase their grades over time. Those who believed that their intelligence was ingrained did not; in fact, their grades got worse.

Having a growth mindset (the belief that you are in control of your own ability, and can learn and improve) is the key to success.

Yes, hard work, effort, and persistence are all important, but not as important as having that underlying belief that you are in control of your own destiny.

This is why you should never praise children (or people)  by talking about their ability, but instead describe the effort that they put in, and how much they have learned and developed their ability through the activity.
Don’t say: “Well done. You’re really good at maths (achieving sales targets).”

Do say: “That’s great. You tried really hard, and look how well you’ve done.”It is important to praise the process, not the talent or ability.

Mindset in Practice

People with these two mindsets actually think differently and also react to information differently.

In particular, they respond differently to information about performance.

In people with a fixed mindset, the brain is most active when they are being given information about how well they have done, for example, test results or grades.

In people with a growth mindset, the brain is most active when they are being told what they could do to improve.

It’s a very different approach: from ‘How did I do?’ to ‘What can I do better next time?’

One is about how they are perceived, and one is about how they can learn. You can see which one is likely to lead to better results in future.

Mindsets in action: The Tortoise and the Hare
Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare?
The hare was so certain that he would win that he sat down and went to sleep during the race. The tortoise just plodded on and kept going, always thinking that he had a chance of winning. When the hare woke, he started running as fast as he could, but he was just too late: the tortoise had won.




The hare had a fixed mindset. He believed that his innate ability would always mean that he would win whatever he did. The tortoise had a growth mindset. He believed that he needed to work hard and keep going if he was to win. He was also not afraid of failure or he would never have agreed to race the hare.

Dealing with Setbacks

These mindsets also cause people to deal with setbacks differently.

People with a fixed mindset are very discouraged by setbacks, because a setback dents their belief in their ability. They tend to become uninterested and give up.

People with a growth mindset view a setback as an opportunity to learn. They tend to try harder in an effort to overcome the problem.

“The moment that we believe that success is determined by an ingrained level of ability, we will be brittle in the face of adversity”

Josh Waitzkin - Chess Grandmaster and Martial Artist

HAVE FAITH IN GOD - WHATSOEVER IS GOING TO HAPPEN IS GOING TO BE GOOD

A man just got married and was returning home with his wife.

They were crossing a lake in a boat, when suddenly a great storm arose. The man was a warrior, but the woman became very much afraid because it seemed almost hopeless:

The boat was small and the storm was really huge, and any moment they were going to be drowned.
But the man sat silently, calm and quiet, as if nothing was happening.

The woman was trembling and she said, “Are you not afraid ?”. This may be our last moment of life! It doesn’t seem that we will be able to reach the other shore. Only some miracle can save us; otherwise death is certain.
Are you not afraid? Are you mad or something? Are you a stone or something?

The man laughed and took the sword out of its sheath. The woman was even more puzzled: What he was doing?

Then he brought the naked sword close to the woman’s neck, so close that just a small gap was there, it was almost touching her neck. He said,” Are you afraid ?”

She started to laugh and said,” Why should I be afraid ?,If the sword is in your hands, why I should be afraid? I know you love me.

” He put the sword back and said, This is my answer”. I know God Loves me, and the storm is in His hands

*SO WHATSOEVER IS GOING TO HAPPEN IS GOING TO BE GOOD.* If we survive, good; if we don’t survive, good ,because everything is in His hands and He cannot do anything wrong.

Moral: Develop Trust. This is the trust which one needs to imbibe. and which is capable of transforming your whole life. Any less won’t do!

"Believe that God is working in ur life even when u don't feel like that....sometimes He will use ur entire life time to prepare u for eternity...

When God wants to make a mushroom, He does it overnight... but to make a giant oak He takes100 years...
*Be patient with the process, because He knows ur worth....*

Remember how far u have COME, not just how far u have to GO.... God isn't finished with you yet, so keep moving forward. Even the snail reached Noah's ark by perseverance!"

Great leaders are trained in pits n prisons Not in playground or palaces!

GOD BLESS 🙌🏻*😊

Judge each day by, not by the harvest, but by the seeds you plant!

Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. – Robert Louis Stevenson

What does that mean?

Here, the emphasis isn’t on enjoying collecting of the results at the end, but in the joy of getting things started. The form is agricultural, and notes that it takes time to reap. I would think this quote applies equally to children and to a business or charity startup as well.

I believe that the quote says that if you focus on planting, you will have a plentiful harvest. But if you focus on harvest, you might lose sight of how the harvest came about. The quote also infers that it will take time to reap your harvest. By focusing on the planting, you help to insure the harvest, even if you aren’t there to see it.

Why is patience important?  

If you’ve ever worked with kids or plants, you know that patience is a vital part of getting anything done. You can’t hurry plant growth, you can only nurture the plants, provide them with what they need, and wait. Kids aren’t that much different. You can explain a concept to them dozens of times, but until their brain is ready, it just won’t click.

With patience, you keep nurturing the plant until it is time for harvest. With kids, your ‘harvest’ is when they are ready to move on. For teachers, it might be when they leave the class, prepared for the next class in sequence. For parents, it might be when they move out, it might be when they start a family, but each stage of their life is a ‘harvest’ of sorts, and can take years (or more) of patience to realize.

Where can I apply this in my life?

Patience is a virtue. But like any virtue, you can have too much or too little of it. Too little is rash, too much is sloth. Here, with both plants and kids (as well as business, charity or a group/organization), patience is a long-term wait (months to years), but rarely is sloth involved. There are always things to do. There is always pruning, teaching, a thousand minor adjustments going on, as you work towards harvest.

We focused on planting seeds with our kids. Getting them interested in how things work, igniting the desire to find out more about the world they live in. Getting them started in reading and math was part of it. We found for them fun shows like Mythbusters and a number of Discovery & Science Channel shows to feed their brains.

Now, they are ahead of their peers, and the seeds we planted a decade ago are coming to harvest. However, like a farmer, a parent’s work is never done. While each year may bring a harvest, it also brings new season of planting.

For me, agriculture was never a strong suit. I’ve managed to kill several cacti and consider myself to have a “black thumb” (the anthesis of a “green thumb”). However, with my kids, I’ve done a bit better. With them, I started with a goal in mind.

For me, the goal was to get them to a point where they are thinking, functioning, and contributing members of society. I kept with a broad definition of success, so as to allow them as much latitude in finding their own way as possible.

So how do you stay patient? I do it by imagining where the seeds I plant will take them. Whether it’s nurturing a child, or sending a colleague to a seminar, think of what that seed will do for them. Enjoy the planting, and keep your patience by using your imagination.

To me, patience is a game within a game. How do you get patience? You have to practice patience. If you don’t have any, you will have to start somewhere. Choose something you can delay, even slightly.

Move your desert from immediately after dinner to a point later in the evening. Perhaps you can delay your desert until after you have spent some time doing something else. Read a chapter in a book, call a friend, play a game with the kids, watch a TV show, work on a project.

Another way is to find someone who is irritating and develop your patience by putting up with them for a while. Start with just saying “Hi!” and move on to going to lunch with them. While this does work on your patience, it also works on tolerance and compassion. Off topic, but still useful skills.

Understand that things won’t always go according to plan, so have patience. Also remember your patience when others fail. Understand no one is perfect and use their imperfections to help build your patience. Don’t fret, instead, wait patiently (don’t be antsy, be calm). Slow down, don’t rush. What other things can you think of to do that works in your life?

I’m sure with this as a starting point, you can build your patience as far as you are willing to push. Like any other behavior, patience is a skill of repetition. It won’t always be easy, but it should be fun.

Patience in waiting for the harvest is useful, but don’t forget to enjoy the planting of the seeds. That is where it all begins, isn’t it?

The challenge is to silence the mind…

Once there was a farmer who discovered that he had lost his watch in the farm. It was not an ordinary watch because it had sentimental value for him.

After searching the hay for a long while, he gave up and call the help of a group of children playing outside the barn.
He promised them that, the person who found it, would be rewarded.

Hearing this, the children hurried inside the barn, went through and around the hay but still could not find the watch. Just when the farmer was about to give up
looking for his watch, a little boy went up to him and asked to be given another chance.The farmer looked at him and thought, “Why not.? After all, this kid looks
sincere enough.”
So the farmer sent the little boy back in the barn. After a while the little boy came out with the watch in his hand.

The farmer was happy and surprised and so he asked the boy how he succeeded where the rest had failed. The boy replied, “I did nothing but sit on the ground and listen. In the silence, I heard the ticking of the watch and just looked for it in that direction.”

MESSAGE : A Peaceful mind can think better than a Worked up mind. *Allow a few minutes of Silence to your mind every day,* and see, how sharply it helps u to set your life the way you expect it to be.

MORAL : The soul always knows what to do to heal itself...

*The challenge is to silence the mind…during chanting and give it the service to focus on the listening to the Holy Name* - putting all other thoughts to silence. Full attention to the Almighty on hearing His names.