Inner happiness

 True inner happiness does not come from the material things of this world

Don't educate your children to be rich. Educate them to be happy

Eat your food as medicines. Otherwise you have to eat medicines as your food 

The ones who love you will never leave you for another because even if there are 100 reasons to give up he will find one reason to hold on

There is a big difference between being a human being and being human. Only a few really understand it

You are loved when you are born. You will be loved when you die. In between you have to manage

If you want to walk fast walk alone. But if you want to walk far walk together

10 things that require zero talent

 

*The Missing Goat, "Goat no 3"...*

It all started one lazy Sunday afternoon in a small town near Toronto in Canada.

Two school-going friends had a crazy idea.

They rounded up three goats from the neighborhood and painted the numbers  1, 2 and 4 on their sides.

That night they let the goats loose inside their school building. 

The next morning, when the authorities entered the school, they could smell something was wrong.

They soon saw goat droppings on the stairs and near the entrance and realized that some goats had entered the building.

A search was immediately launched and very soon, the three goats were found.

But the authorities were worried, where was goat No. 3?

They spent the rest of the day looking for goat No.3.

The school declared classes off for the students for the rest of the day.

The teachers, helpers, guards, canteen staffs, boys were all busy looking for the goat No. 3, which, of course, was never found.

Simply because it did not exist.

Those among us who inspite of having a good life are always feeling a *"lack of fulfilment"* are actually looking for the elusive, missing, non-existent Goat No.3.

Whatever the area of complaint or dissatisfaction, relationship, job-satisfaction, finance, achievements, ...... 

An absence of something is always larger than the presence of many other things.

Let's Stop worrying about goat No.3 

And enjoy the life...

Life would be so much Happier without the worries...

And don't let the non existent imaginary goat number 3 waste your time and happiness.

*Enjoy life with what you have.*

Greatest Gift...

 The greatest gift you can give someone is your time,

because 

when you give your time, you are giving a portion of your life that you will never get back.

Take wise decisions

 A giant ship engine failed.

The ship's owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine.

Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a young.

He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work.

He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.

Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do.

After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer.

He gently tapped something.

Instantly, the engine lurched into life.

He carefully put his hammer away.

The engine was fixed! 

A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for $10,000

"What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!"

So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill."

The man sent a bill that read:

Tapping with a hammer.. . $ 1/-

Knowing where to tap... $ 9,999/-

Moral of the story:

Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort in your life, makes all the difference.

"Life doesn't change in ONE MINUTE, but taking decision after thinking for ONE MINUTE can change life."

Leave a good heritage...

 A beautiful message...

At the point of death, a man, Tom Smith, called his children and he advised them to follow his footsteps so that they can have peace of mind in all that they do..

His daughter, Sara, said,

"Daddy, its unfortunate you are dying without a penny in your bank..

Other fathers' that you tag as being corrupt, thieves of public funds left houses and properties for their children; even this house we live in is a rented apartment..

Sorry, I can't emulate you, just go, let's chart our own course..

Few moments later, their father gave up the spirit..

Three years later, Sara went for an interview in a multinational company..

At interview the Chairman of the committee asked,

"Which Smith are you..??"

Sara replied,

"I am Sara Smith. My Dad Tom Smith is now late.."

Chairman cuts in,

"O my God, you are Tom Smith's daughter..?"

He turned to the  other members and said, "This Smith man was the one that signed my membership form into the Institute of Administrators and his recommendation earned me where I am today. He did all these free. I didn't even know his address, he never knew me. He just did it for me.."

He turned to Sara,

"I have no questions for you, consider yourself as having gotten this job, come tomorrow, your letter will be waiting for you.."

Sara Smith became the Corporate Affairs Manager of the company with two Cars with Drivers, A duplex attached to the office, and a salary of £1,00,000 per month excluding allowances and other costs..

After two years of working in the company, the MD of the company came from America to announce his intention to resign and needed a replacement. A personality with high integrity was sought after, again the company's Consultant nominated Sara Smith..

In an interview, she was asked the secret of her success,,

With tears, she replied, "My Daddy paved these ways for me. It was after he died that I knew that he was financially poor but stinkingly rich in integrity, discipline and honesty".

She was asked again, why she is weeping since she is no longer a kid as to miss her dad still after a long time..

She replied, "At the point of death, I insulted my dad for being an honest man of integrity. I hope he will forgive me in his grave now. I didn't work for all these, he did it for me to just walk in".

So, finally she was asked, "Will you follow your father's foot steps as he requested ?"

And her simple answer was, "l now adore the man, I have a big picture of him in my living room and at the entrance of my house. He deserves whatever I have after God".

Are you like Tom Smith..?

It pays to build a name, the reward doesn't come quickly but it will come however long it may take and it lasts longer..

Integrity, discipline, self control and fear of God makes a man wealthy, not the fat bank account..

Leave a good heritage for your children...

Humanity

 

Carry Heaven with you...A beautiful Sufi parable.

"The Sun and the Cave"

"One day the Sun and a Cave struck up a conversation. The Sun had trouble understanding what “dark” meant and the Cave didn’t quite get the hang of “light and clear” so they decided to change places. 

The Cave went up to the Sun and said, “Ah, I see, this is beyond wonderful. Now come down and see where I have been living.” 

The Sun went down to the cave and said, “Gee, I don’t see any difference.”

When the sun went down, it took its light along and even the darkest corners were illuminated. That's why the Sun couldn't see any difference. 

There is a quote from an old book that says "The enlightened ones can never be sent to hell or pushed into darkness. They carry their heaven on their shoulders all the time".

We thought that heaven is a place where we are supposed to go, perhaps it was a state of mind we were supposed to achieve. 

If you are full of darkness within, full of negativity, fear, and doubt, you become a Cave unknowingly. It's hell within and no matter how much you accumulate, you still remain hollow. 

If you are illuminated like the Sun, then the darkness of the cave wouldn't matter. You could be in the worse of circumstances, you'll still be able to find a blessing somewhere.

You'll be carrying your Heaven with you."

My review of book "Through Hell and Highwater" by Victoria Liiv

 

If these random images have stirred your interests, it’s more likely that Victoria Liiv's “Through Hell and Highwater” will stimulate your curiosity to read her book!

 

Victoria in her maiden attempt at a new urban fantasy, with adventure and a strong dose of magical realism, has beautifully depicted the heroic action sequences by a venturesome group of students of Volo Noscere University in Rome. The story targeting readers of mentioned genres, revolves around an unpredictable fictional alternate world hidden from the human eye. It operates with its own magical community and separate media channels, thus unmindful of the dangerous happenings in the real world. Some in their community believe it is a magical attack, whereas others perceive that it could be human-made.

 

Now to save the world from destruction, a group of students of a magical school from the University must unite and overcome some life-threatening challenges, despite all the calamities surrounding them, while untangling a mystery. They learn adversity is a great schoolmaster.

 

Magical Elf Evyline, Shapeshifter Lisanna, Wizard Tylon, Vampire Finley, Orc RocTar, Werewolf Dylan are some of the compelling characters who strengthen the storyline and keep the book vibrant.

 

Victoria towards laying a strong foundation devotes considerable time to vividly develop the characters and their various personality traits -- Evyline: “I was not meant to be hurting anyone or anything, even if they were trying to hurt me."; Tylon: “Evyline is my mentee. I would hate to see something happen to her.”; RocTar, who likes the sound of not talking: ”he knew he could trust his friends when he was in trouble.” The story is filled with happenings when everyone has a friend who laughs funnier than he jokes.

 

I liked Victoria’s fondness to develop the motivation of all the important characters.

Victoria has delved into deep friendship formations and genuine emotions. I enjoyed how the characters had split into their own groups as it typically happens in a school environment. Some characters are loquacious, whereas some are laconic. I found the most believable character in Evyline – ‘down-to-earth’ personality! It is good to study Evyline’s characterisation carefully, to see how the young elf manages the complicated situations and saves her friends as a drowning person will clutch at a straw. I could feel pity for Evyline sometimes. However, the character development process also left an impression on me, that the story is gaining momentum quite slowly.

 

I enjoyed Victoria’s unique and effective style in advancing the story smartly with interesting paradoxes as well: "What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him”; "Are you coming or what? … Lisanna hissed at them, and it echoed back 'coming or what', 'or what', 'what' off the walls, bringing goosebumps on her skin.”

The world-building is splendid, with well-depicted scenes, characterisations, and places: -- Nice lines: “anger is not a weapon, it is a weakness and will always be a disadvantage in a fight.” -- Portrayals of typical day-to-day happenings: "For a moment she had felt like they could relate to each other in a way two people did after learning they have a lot in common." -- Good imaginations sprinkled throughout the storyline: “… the older Fairy should have retired long ago”; “the vampire was wearing pyjamas.”

Victoria’s picturesque narratives, elaborating on various magical spells are excellent. Her simplicity of dialogues only made the book better. The smooth story-flow enabled page-turning. Humorous interactions among students are indeed a treat for readers. Furthermore, Victoria’s love for nature is easily decipherable from her fluent descriptions about plants, which also glues the readers into the story.

Well, I felt, an interesting plot could have been more carefully crafted to make it earth-shattering! I was disappointed with: cliché episodes; unprofessional editing; some portrayals remain underdeveloped thereby not enough to strengthen the storyline; sometimes too much ‘talk’ than ‘show’; unclear big picture - missed the forest for the trees.

 

However, the book is an enjoyable read as many adorable features mask the flaws. Initially, I reckoned it as any mundane school story - only instead of humans, filled with magical beings. However, it surely made a difference. As the story progressed, I could gauge Victoria’s potential and I understood that she has laid a strong foundation for the sequel of her 1^st book. For a maiden effort, I must say, it is great.

 

I look forward to seeing how Victoria would resolve the untied ends, and I am especially excited to see how the team of students is going to achieve that.

 

In essence, I am satisfied with the book's good entertainment value. Victoria has set the stage for something bigger, for the next book, to resolve certain inherent puzzles in this book. Certainly!

Life is about giving not just about getting

 Here is an interesting story on two seas with  some interesting lessons.

I had heard of Dead Sea in school. No one ever told me this side of the story. You may find it interesting..

A tale of Two Seas!! As you probably recall, the Dead Sea is really a Lake, not a sea.It’s so high in salt content that the human body can float easily. You can almost lie down and read a book! The salt in the Dead Sea is as high as 35% - almost 10 times the normal ocean water. And all that saltiness has meant that there is no life at all in the Dead Sea. No fish. No vegetation. No sea animals.  Nothing lives in the Dead Sea. And hence the name: Dead Sea.

The other Sea is the Sea of Galilee. Turns out that the Sea of Galilee is just north of the Dead Sea. Both the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea receive their water from river Jordan. And yet, they are very, very different.

 

Unlike the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee is pretty, resplendent with rich, colorful marine life. There are lots of plants. And lots of fish too. In fact, the Sea of Galilee is home to over twenty different types of fishes.

Same region, same source of water, and yet while one sea is full of life, the other is dead. How come?

 

Here’s apparently why. The River Jordan flows into the Sea of Galilee and then flows out. The water simply passes through the Sea of Galilee in and then out - and that keeps the sea healthy and vibrant, teeming with marine life.

 

But the Dead Sea is so far below the mean sea level, that it has no outlet. The water flows in from the river Jordan, but does not flow out. There are no outlet streams. It is estimated that over 7 million tons of water evaporate from the Dead Sea every day. Leaving it salty. Too full of minerals. And unfit for any marine life.

 

The Dead Sea takes water from the River Jordan, and holds it. It does not give.

 

Result? No life at all.

 

Think about it.

 

Life is not just about getting. Its about giving. We all need to be a bit like the Sea of Galilee.

We are fortunate to get wealth, knowledge, love and respect. But if we don't learn to give, we could all end up like the Dead Sea.

 The love and the respect, the wealth and the knowledge could all evaporate. Like the water in the Dead Sea.

 

If we get the Dead Sea mentality of merely taking in more water, more money, more everything the results can be disastrous.

Good idea to make sure that in the sea of your own life, you have outlets. Many outlets. For love and wealth - and everything else that you get in your life. Make sure you don't just get, you give too.

 

Open the taps. And you'll open the floodgates to happiness. Make that a habit 

Experience the magic!

*WHO SHOOK THE JAR??*

I loved the concept ....

If you collect 100 black ants and 100 red ants and put them in a glass jar, nothing will happen. But if you take the jar and shake it violently and leave it on the table, the ants will start killing each other.

Red ants believe that black is the enemy, while black ants believe that red is the enemy .... when the real enemy is the person who shook the jar.

The same is true in society

Men v/s Women,

Left v/s Right,

Faith v/s Science,

Gossip, Rumors, Religion etc ....

So the most important question before we fight is

*WHO SHOOK THE JAR??*

Our emotions have great shaking powers, let's pause and once again ask ourselves *WHO SHOOK THE JAR?*

Can you read this? Not everyone can!

 

Beautiful words by Ukraine's President

 

Meditation effectiveness

 

Life management

 Be honest when in trouble

and simple when in wealth.

Be polite when in authority

and be silent when in anger.

This is called

The life management