How do you want to be remembered?

More than a decade ago, a man was reading his morning newspaper. To his surprise and horror, he read his name in the obituary column. The news papers had mistakenly reported the death of the wrong person for sure. He was shocked to read news headline  about his death. When he regained his composure, He read it to find out what people had said about him.

The obituary included sentences like, “Dynamite King Dies.” and “He was the merchant of death.”. The man was the inventor of dynamite and when he read the words “merchant of death,” he asked himself a question,

“Is this how I am going to be remembered?” he asked himself. He decided that this was not the way he wanted to be remembered and he decided to change.

From that day on, he started working toward world peace. His name was Alfred Nobel and he is remembered today by the great Nobel Prize, the greatest of all the prizes.

The Nobel Prize has been honoring men and women from all corners of the globe for outstanding achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and for work in peace since 1901. The foundations for the prize were laid in 1895 when Alfred Nobel wrote his last will, leaving much of his wealth to the establishment of the Nobel Prize.

It is never late to start over!

Intimacy with the Almighty

I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that we have a chance to connect at such a deep level with the almighty, to get intimate with an infinite force! God gave us free will to choose Him, an invitation, respecting our choices, without wanting to control us. Want intimacy with Him? Then make the first move towards Him. From Genesis to Revelation we read of a God who loves His people and desires to have fellowship with them. Since this is such an important matter to God, it also needs to be high on our list of priorities. As we commit ourselves to grow in intimacy with God through prayer, it is important that we examine biblical accounts of those who had this intimate walk with God. It will help us better grasp how special a close relationship can be.

David provides one of the best examples of intimacy with God in prayer. In spite of his sins and problems, David longed for intimacy with the Lord. Feel David’s passion in this Psalm:

O God, my God! How I search for you!
How I thirst for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.
How I long to find you! 
How I wish I could go into your sanctuary to see your strength and glory, 
For your love and kindness are better to me than life itself.

How I praise you! I will bless you as long as I live, lifting up my hands to you in prayer. At last I shall be fully satisfied; I will praise you with great joy.

I lie awake at night thinking of you— of how much you have helped me—
and how I rejoice through the night beneath the protecting shadow of your wings. 
I follow close behind you, protected by your strong right arm

Psalm 63:1-8

David cries out for God, expressing his desire for intimacy with Him. Could it be that we are not intimate with God because we don’t want to be? Have we never gotten thirsty enough to desire Him and Him alone? Are our lives so saturated with things and activities that we have never really missed being alone with God?

Three simple steps to grow in this area of intimacy and develop such a passion for God

  1. Spend more time with God
  2. Spend more time with people who are in love with God
  3. Spend more time getting to know God through His word

Nothing is more practical than
finding God, than
falling in Love
in a quite absolute, final way.
What you are in love with,
what seizes your imagination, will affect everything.
It will decide
what will get you out of bed in the morning,
what you do with your evenings,
how you spend your weekends,
what you read, whom you know,
what breaks your heart,
and what amazes you with joy and gratitude.
Fall in Love, stay in love,
and it will decide everything.
~ Pedro Arrupe SJ

Wranglers and Stranglers

Many years ago there were a group of brilliant young men at the University of Wisconsin.  The group of men seemed to have an amazing creative literary talent and were extraordinary in their ability to put their literary skills to its best use. These promising young men met regularly to read and critique each other’s literary works.

These men were merciless while they criticized one another. They dissected the most minute of the expressions and offered tough and even mean criticism to each others work. Their  meeting sessions became arenas of literary criticism and the members of this exclusive club called themselves the “Stranglers.”

Not to be excluded to the opportunity to level up their literary skills, the women of literary interest in the university started a club of their own, one comparable to Stranglers. The members called themselves the “ Wranglers.” The member of the club too presented their literary pieces in front of each another. But the feedback from the members were much more softer, more positive and more encouraging. Every effort from a member, even the most feeble one, was encouraged by all.

After twenty years, a university alumnus was doing a study of his classmates’ career when he noticed a huge difference  in the literary accomplishments of the Stranglers and the Wranglers.

Among all the brilliant young men in the stranglers, none had made any significant literary achievement. But the Wranglers had several successful writers and some renowned national literary talents.

The talent and the education between the two groups were almost the same. There were not much difference. The Stranglers strangled each other while the Wranglers gave each other a lift. The stranglers created atmosphere of contention and self doubt while the Wranglers brought out the best in each other.

The Frozen Bird

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him. As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy. A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, promptly dug him out and ate him.

Moral of the story:
(1) Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.
(2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.
(3) And when you’re in deep shit, it’s smart to keep your mouth shut!

Learning to Love Obstacles

Ryan Holiday in his book The Obstacle is the Way explores the idea that obstacles are actually our best friends, our wisest teachers, our greatest allies. Using examples from Marcus Aurelius to Amelia Earhart, Ulysses S. Grant to Barack Obama, he shows that the greatest feats in humanity weren’t accomplished in the absence of obstacles — they were accomplished because of them. Obstacles are just blessings in disguise. And so instead of cowering before the monstrous obstacles in our life, we should learn to embrace them.

Here are reasons why we should love obstacles with quotes from Ryan’s book.

1. Obstacles Show Us Who We Really Are

Certain things in life will cut you open like a knife. When that happens — at that exposing moment — the world gets a glimpse of what’s truly inside you. So what will be revealed when you’re sliced open by tension and pressure? Iron? Or air? Or bullshit?

2. Obstacles Instruct Us on What We Need to Do Next

In every situation, that which blocks our path actually presents a new path with a new part of us. If someone you love hurts you, there is a chance to practice forgiveness.

3. Obstacles Make Us Tougher

Nobody is born with a steel backbone. We have to forge it ourselves.

4. Obstacles Help Us Focus on What’s Important

We want to have goals, yes, so everything we do can be in service to something purposeful. When we know what we’re really setting out to do, the obstacles that arise tend to seem smaller, more manageable.

5. Obstacles Make Us More Creative

Only in struggling with the impediments that made others quit can we find ourselves on untrodden territory—only by persisting and resisting can we learn what others were too impatient to be taught.

6. Obstacles Help Us Find (or Define) Meaning in Our Lives

There is no good or bad without us, there is only perception. There is the event itself and the story we tell ourselves about what it means.

7. Obstacles Remind Us That the Deepest Meaning is Found Outside of Ourselves

You won’t have time to think of your own suffering, because there are other people suffering and you’re too focused on them.

8. Obstacles Can Give Us Inner Peace

If what’s up to us is the playing field, then what is not up to us are the rules and conditions of the game.

The biggest, baddest obstacles in life — think natural disasters, economic depressions, and untimely death — remind us something that’s easy to forget: how little control we actually have over most things in life. Yet in the same breath, we’re reminded of the single thing we do have control over: our reaction.

These obstacles remind us of the importance of detaching what happens to us from how we react. As we internalize this, we’re able to achieve a higher level of inner peace. And this inner peace allows us to love our obstacles even more.

The Impeccable One

Tiana Alicia Rodrigues

You were ahead of your time,
In your humble way,
You accepted God’s will,
Over your own fears.

Did you think of society?
Were you worried what if?
Did it hurt to let go?
Your journey has me in awe.

A woman of substance,
A lady with a heart of courage,
A mother with unconditional love,
A model to every generation.

In you, I see hope for every girl,
The ones who fight silent battles,
Those unborn and struggling to feel loved,
The fun loving, vivacious entrepreneurs,
The beautiful homemakers,
Those working hard to make ends meet,
Those who like you build lives through their own.
Those judged for their lives and choices
but not by their scars,
Those who pick themselves daily
even when the world tears them apart.

An epitome of strength to each one,
Our fortress of protection,
An inspiration to every girl,
Make us more like you,
While we strive to thrive.
Happy birthday! Happy Feast!

The Warrior’s Destiny

A great Japanese warrior named Nobunaga was going to war with a fierce enemy with only one-tenth the number of men the opposition commanded. He knew that he could win the fight with a well planned strategy, but his soldiers were in doubt.

On the way the leader stopped at a Shinto shrine and told his men: “After my visit to the shrine I will toss a coin. If the head comes, we will win; if tails, we will lose. Destiny holds us in her hand.”

Nobunaga entered the shrine and offered his prayers. Then he came forth and tossed a coin in front of his men. Heads appeared. The soldiers were filled with confident and were eager to win the battle.

“No one can change the hand of destiny,” one of his attendants told him after the battle.

“Indeed not,” said Nobunaga and showed the coin which was doubled with heads on the both side.

Silence

There are some days when we just would love to sit in silence and enjoy some peace and quiet. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. We don’t need to be always talking. And this is the same even if you are married or you are single. There are situations where we have no words and times when silence is the most appropriate thing to say.

Silence is as much a part of communication as rests are a part of music. Without the rests, without the silence, there is no pause, there is no reflection. Just noise.

There are times when word won’t say what you feel, and silence is the appropriate alternative. There are times when words are simply taking up space and not providing anything useful, and silence is simply the best possible alternative.

There are times when simply being is sufficient, and words would be inappropriate, and silence is appropriate. There are times when words would take away from the focus or effort at hand, and silence is the appropriate alternative. There are plenty of other times when silence is useful or appropriate.

Yet there are people who seem oblivious to the need or appropriateness of silence, and keep on talking. Some may not know any better, others may be in love with the sound of their own voice, and a few are actually afraid of the silence. Without the basic knowledge of silence, how can they truly understand what you say?

Words and silence go hand in hand. Thus we have such terms as ‘Dramatic Pause’ and a ‘Pregnant Silence’ and so many more. Timing in comedy is all about manipulating silence and integrating it into the routine. The space between paragraphs is another form of silence.

Silence is as much a part of life and conversation as are the words. Spend as much time contemplating the value of silence as you do contemplating the value of what is said. For sometimes what is not said is just as important.

I Speak Silence ~ Sarah Ismail

There is so much I want to say
But I can not, there is no way
I speak silence.

I want to tell him to take the bus
I want to tell her to spend more time with us
But I speak silence.

I want to tell her not to feel bad
I want to tell him he is the best dad
But I speak silence.

I want to ask him to play his drums
I want to tell him to do his sums
But I speak silence.

I want to ask her when it ends
I want to tell them they are my friends
But I speak silence.

I want to tell her to make it blue
I want to tell him I love him true
But I speak silence.

I want to tell him it is just a waste of time
I want to tell her to fix this crime
But I speak silence.

I want to play the game
I want to know her name
But I speak silence.

I want to know how winning feels
How I would love to move without these wheels
But I speak silence… no one understands.

There is so much I have to say
But I can not, there is no way
I speak silence.

Your Inner Voice

Whether we’re willing to admit it or not, everyone has an inner voice that guides them in their day to day lives. Most of us can easily recall a situation in which an inner voice, perhaps considered a conscience or merely a fleeting thought, gave us sound advice that we knew was the right option. Time and time again, gridlocked decision-making processes have only been concluded after someone listened to their gut. Isn’t it time we start listening to our inner voice more?

We’re all similar in one way; no matter how tough we act or what wrongs we commit, we all always have a nagging inner voice at the back of our head that appears whenever we’re facing a moral dilemma. From early childhood to the end of our lives, we encounter situations of moral turpitude where we’re forced to make a decision for the good or bad of ourselves or someone else. During times like these, it can be easy to try and tune out your inner voice and make what you believe to be a purely rational decision arrived at through thinking, but as a matter of fact listening to your inner voice is imperative to making the right choice in your daily life.

Amidst all clamour 
stay calm, stay quiet. 
Only then will you hear 
your inner voice. 

Let your heart lead 
and your mind follow 
the dictates of 
your inner voice. 

Your inner voice – 
the captain of your ship 
and your guiding light 
that shields you from all evil thoughts. 

Whenever in a dilemma, 
seek advice and heed to suggestions. 
But never ever ignore 
your own inner voice. 

Your inner voice – 
your greatest strength 
Even when the whole world turns against you 
It remains your best friend. 

Gita Ashok

The Teacher’s Hand

Thanksgiving Day was near. The first grade teacher gave her class a fun assignment — to draw a picture of something for which they were thankful.

Most of the class might be considered economically disadvantaged, but still many would celebrate the holiday with turkey and other traditional goodies of the season. These, the teacher thought, would be the subjects of most of her student’s art. And they were.

But Douglas made a different kind of picture. Douglas was a different kind of boy. He was the teacher’s true child of misery, frail and unhappy. As other children played at recess, Douglas was likely to stand close by her side. One could only guess at the pain Douglas felt behind those sad eyes.

Yes, his picture was different. When asked to draw a picture of something for which he was thankful, he drew a hand. Nothing else. Just an empty hand.

His abstract image captured the imagination of his peers. Whose hand could it be One child guessed it was the hand of a farmer, because farmers raise turkeys. Another suggested a police officer, because the police protect and care for people. Still others guessed it was the hand of God, for God feeds us. And so the discussion went — until the teacher almost forgot the young artist himself.

When the children had gone on to other assignments, she paused at Douglas’ desk, bent down, and asked him whose hand it was.

The little boy looked away and muttered, It’s yours, teacher.

She recalled the times she had taken his hand and walked with him here or there, as she had the other students. How often had she said, Take my hand, Douglas, we’ll go outside. Or, Let me show you how to hold your pencil. Or, Let’s do this together. Douglas was most thankful for his teacher’s hand.

Brushing aside a tear, she went on with her work.

This story speaks of more than thankfulness. It says something about teachers teaching and parents parenting and friends showing friendship, and how much it means to the Douglases of the world. They might not always say thanks. But they’ll remember the hand that reaches out.