துன்பத்திலும் சோகத்திலும் கை விடாதவர் இறைவன் !

தன் மகனை அழைத்துக்கொண்டு ஒரு காட்டிற்குச் சென்ற தந்தை, மகனுக்கு ஒரு சவாலை முன்வைத்தார்.

''மகனே, இப்போது உனக்கு முன் ஒரு பெரிய சவால் உள்ளது. அதில் வெற்றி பெற்றால், நீ பெரிய வீரனாகி விடுவாய். இன்று இரவு முழுவதும் நீ தனியாக இந்தக் காட்டிலேயே இருக்கவேண்டும். உன் கண்கள் கட்டப்படும். ஆனாலும் நீ பயப்படக்கூடாது; வீட்டிற்கு ஓடிவந்துவிடவும் கூடாது'' என்றார். சிறுவன் ஆர்வத்துடன் சவாலை சந்திக்கத் தயாரானான்.

அவனது கண்களைத் தந்தை துணியால் இறுகக்கட்டினார். பிறகு, தந்தை திரும்பிச் செல்லும் காலடி ஓசை, மெல்ல மெல்ல மறைந்தது. அதுவரை தந்தை அருகில் இருக்கிறார் என்ற தைரியத்தில் இருந்த அவனுக்கு, தூரத்தில் ஆந்தை கத்துவதும் நரி ஊளையிடுவதும் நடுக்கத்தைக் கொடுத்தது. காட்டு விலங்குகள் வந்து தாக்கிவிடுமோ என்ற அச்சத்தில் அவனது இதயத்துடிப்பு வழக்கத்தைத் தாண்டி எகிறியது. மரங்கள் பேயாட்டம் ஆடுவதாகத் தெரிந்த்து, அவனுக்கு.

‘அய்யோ! இப்படி நிர்க்கதியாய்த் தவிக்க விட்டு தந்தை போய்விட்டாரே! யாராவது வந்து என்னைக் காப்பாற்றுங்களேன்’என்று பலமுறை கத்திப் பார்த்தான், பயனில்லை.

திடீரென்று அவனுக்குள் ஒரு துணிச்சல். என்னதான் நடக்கும், பார்ப்போமே என்று சுற்றுப்புறத்தில் கேட்கும் ஓசைகளை ஆர்வத்துடன் கவனிக்கத் தொடங்கினான். இப்படியே இரவு கடந்தது. விடியற்காலையில் லேசாகக் கண்ணயர்ந்தான். சூரியன் உடம்பைச் சுட்டபோதுதான், கண்கட்டைத் திறந்துப் பார்த்தான்.

கண்ணைக் கசக்கிக்கொண்டு எதிரே பார்த்தபோது, அவனுக்கு ஆச்சரியம்! ஆனந்தம்! அழுகையே வந்துவிட்டது.’அப்பா’என்று கூவி அருகில் அமர்ந்திருந்த தன் தந்தையைப் பாய்ந்து தழுவிக் கொண்டான்.

“அப்பா, நீங்க எப்போ வந்தீங்க?’’ என்று ஆவலாகக் கேட்டான். சோர்வும் மகிழ்ச்சியும் கொண்டிருந்த அந்தத் தந்தை, ''நான் எப்போது மகனே உன்னை விட்டுப் போனேன்?” என்றார்.

“இரவு இங்குதான் இருந்தீங்களா? பிறகு ஏன் நான் பயந்து அலறியப் போதெல்லாம் என்னைக் காப்பாற்றவில்லை?ஏன் என்னிடம் எதுவும் பேசவில்லை?” என்று கேட்டான்.

“உன்னிடம் மன உறுதி வளரவேண்டும். நீ எதற்கும் அஞ்சாத வீரனாக வேண்டும் என்பதற்காக மெளனம் காத்தேன். ஏனென்றால், அச்சத்தின் உச்சத்தை எட்டும்போது, துணிச்சல் தானே வரும்’என்றார் தந்தை. மகனுக்கு,தந்தையின் நோக்கம் புரிந்தது.

கடவுளும் அந்தத் தந்தையைப் போலத்தான், நம்மோடு இருக்கிறார். துன்பத்திலும் சோகத்திலும் தவிக்கும்போது துவண்டுவிடாமல், நாம் உறுதிபெற வேண்டும் என்பதற்காகவே, பல நேரங்களில் மெளனம் காத்து வெறும் பார்வையாளரைப் போல் இருக்கிறார்.

EXCELLENCE IS A CHOICE!

          Once a gentleman was visiting a temple. He saw one sculptor making an idol. He saw another idol like the same one kept idle on one side. He asked the sculptor, “So you are going to install two idols?” Sculptor replied, “No sir.  Only one”. Then, already one idol is there, why are you making another one?” this man asked. Sculptor replied “Sir, that one was slightly damaged. Hence, i am making a new one”. Gentleman asked again, “Damaged? Where is the damage? i am not able to see anything there. It is perfect”.” No sir, it has a scratch at the nose. That happened while we were trying to install it” Sculptor replied. Conversation continued between them.”No. i am not able to see anything. By the by, where are going to keep this idol?”

          “At 20 feet height”.

“Then the scratch will not be visible to anybody. Nobody is going to notice that”

          Sculptor replied” But I know it. It is not a perfect one. If at all, I am making an idol, it should be perfect. I cannot accept anything lass than 100%”. Sculptor’s choice is excellence, whatever he does.

          I have come across about one information. A monthly magazine of a company had gone for printing. When the first copy was checked up one official, he has found out that one of the captions for a photograph had a name spelt (slightly) wrong. Immediately, the boss corrected the spelling and reprinted all the 1000+copies and trashed the ones with that error. Just a small, tiny error that probably only the person whose name it was, would have noticed. But to the owner, that was not enough. Every single piece of work that left his premises had to be perfect. Always. Each and every time. That was his choice: Excellence.

How to excel in your job?

1.     Perform your job well. Don’t just do your job. Do your job well with pride.

2.     Make an extra effort. It will help you shine in your job.

3.     Be ready for hard work. Who is feared about the hard work? Let there be any volume. You can plan and design accordingly, which is work is to be done first and what can be done at the last. Keep personal calls, emails, texts and the like to the bare minimum.

4.     Act professionally. Act professionally in all situations. Professionals follow the rules and are courteous, friendly and tactful. Acting professionally also means dressing appropriately for your job.

5.     Express positive attitude. People should like to work with you and help you. If you work with a positive attitude, people are ready to help you also.

6.     Take initiative. Push the limits of your work. Consider better ways you could do your job better ways your department could work and make suggestions to your boss? Just do not confuse taking initiative with knowing it all.

7.     Be a good team player. Review how well you work in teams, examining key issues such as communications, working relationships, team successes (and failures).

8.     Know your boss. The better you understand how your boss thinks, acts and manages the better you perform your job to his/ her expectations and demands.

9.     Understand your employer. Tale time to understand the organization’s mission, goals, strategies and product/ services. It will help you better understand your role within it and the value of the job you provide.

10.                        Take (constructive) criticism gracefully. One of the hardest things for all of us to learn is how to handle constructive criticism-and how to use these critiques to improve our performance on the job. Most bosses are simply providing feedback so you can perform your job better, so you can excel at your work.

11.                        Build up rapport. Maintaining a good relationship with your colleagues is a positive element in job satisfaction which should result in greater motivation to perform your job to the best of your abilities. Just be sure you make friends with positive people who, like you, are focussed on excelling at their work.

12.                        Learn new skills, jobs. The longer we work at one job, the more likely we will get bored with it-perhaps just going through the motions-until we are no longer excelling in our jobs. One way around this problem is taking opportunities for additional educational and training when your employer offers them.

13.                        Be part of the solution. Problem-solvers are a valuable commodity in every workplace.

14.                        Avoid gossip. It should go without saying. It will downgrade your standing with your boss and employer.

15.                        Volunteer for new projects. Volunteering to take on additional work and responsibilities can lead to greater job satisfaction, better work performance, and perhaps even a new direction for your career.

          For most of us, it’s important to strive to be the best worker we can be, to excel at our jobs. It’s not necessarily about impressing the bosses and obtaining a promotion (through you may desire that down the road) –it’s more about having a sense of accomplishment for a job well done.

          Finally, remember that when you are the person that’s new to the job – or leading a new task-it’s always better to ask questions (even repeating the same ones until you fully understand the answer) than to proceed blindly and stumble so badly that you have no chance of recovering. When you are committed to something, you accept no excuse, only results. Every job is a serial portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with Excellence.

          Excellence is something beyond perfection. If you continuously chase perfection, you will elevate your work to excellence.

          The desire to excel should be exclusive of the fact whether someone appreciates it or not. Excellence is a drive from inside, not outside. Excel at a task today – not necessarily for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction.  Let’s make Excellence a Habit.

All the Best!

How to Build a Positive Attitude!

A positive attitude is important for ensuring that you have a fulfilling and enjoyable life. Building a positive attitude will make it easier for you to recognize and reflect on positive emotions as you experience them. You will also start reframing negative emotions in the moment that they begin to occur. Taking time for yourself and cultivating relationships are important components of building a positive attitude.

1

Understand that a positive attitude will reduce negative emotions. Having a positive attitude will help you experience plenty of positive emotions. These are moments when you’re not bogged down by negative emotions. A positive attitude can help you find more fulfillment and enjoyment in life. It can also help you recover from negative experiences more quickly.

2

Recognize the link between positive emotions and physical health. Research suggests that stress and other negative emotions can contribute to health issues such as coronary heart disease. Replacing negative emotions with positive ones can improve your overall well-being.

• Positive emotions can also slow progression toward disease. This happens because positive emotions shorten the duration of negative emotional arousal.

3

Link positivity, creativity and attention. In addition to physical benefits, a positive attitude produces a “broad, flexible cognitive organization and ability to integrate diverse material.”  These effects are linked to increases in neural dopamine levels,which improve your attention, creativity, and ability to learn. Positive emotions also improve a person’s ability to cope with difficult situations.

4

Recover from negative life events more quickly. Building and maintaining a positive attitude can help you be more resilient to negative life events such as trauma and loss.

• People who experience positive emotions during bereavement tend to develop healthy long-term plans. Having goals and plans may result in an overall better sense of well-being about a year after bereavement.
• In an experiment on emotional resilience and stress responses, participants were given a stressful task to complete. The results showed that all participants were anxious about the task, regardless of how naturally resilient they were. But the more resilient participants returned to a calmer state more quickly than the participants who were not as resilient.

How to Free Your Mind and Think!

When we say 'mind' we think of: consciousness, awareness, cognitive thinking, reasoning, perception; but also of: intuition, subconscious gibberish, or unconscious strata that influences our lives and the way of behavior. The nature of mind or the matrix of various patterns that forms around a soul is closely related to the Buddhist concept of karma. Free your mind and start thinking!

1

Awake. Become aware of how your environment influences your brain. A healthy brain has some 200 billion neurons. Conscious mind controls our brain only 5% of the day, the subconscious mind has control of our thoughts 95% of the time. 'Man lives his life in sleep, and in sleep he dies' were words of Gurdjieff who was encouraging his spiritual students to awake and transcend to a higher state of consciousness.

2

Become mindful. Mindfulness works with continuous awareness of body, thoughts, emotions, intentions, actions. Through bare attention, we learn to see things as they really are, without judgments and preconceptions. Mindfulness brings awareness of the moment of 'Now'. We become aware of all that surrounds the process or act we perform. Buddhists use mindfulness as one of the main spiritual development tools. The following exercises practice mindfulness:

• Eat mindfully. Be aware of every bit you take, of smells, of texture of the food, of hunger within your body. Chew slowly, observing yourself eating.
• Walk mindfully. Feel your body moving through the air, your feet touching the ground, your hands moving, listen to your breathing. Observe yourself walking. Stay 'awake' during the process
• Talk mindfully. Be conscious of your words and the way you utter them. Be conscious of emotions that are linked to certain words. Consciously take a different 'side' in an argument that you usually have with your friends. This change of roles, will give you an insight about words and their power.
• Wash dishes mindfully. Chose an activity that you do every day, such as 'washing dishes', and do it the best you can, taking care of every single detail, doing it perfect. Your search for perfection will exercise mindfulness within this 'every-day's act.

3

Meditate. Still your mind. A human brain has 70,000 thoughts per day. Train to be silent, in that way you will attempt to train this amazing machine called brain. You will direct its force into concentration, inspiration, innovation instead of wasting your time and energy in useless chatter. Meditation is a major inspirational tool of many philosophies.

4

Understand and take care of your body. Proper nutrition, proper exercises, walks in nature, fresh air, they all contribute to stress-less life style that is necessary to keep the hormones and the chemistry within our body in balance. Within Hinduism, to 'free' one's mind it is recommended to have a sentient diet, the diet that does not in any way disturb the body or the mind. This would mean avoiding meat consumption, avoiding alcohol and drugs, avoiding too spicy food, etc.

5

Understand and transform your feelings. The power of changing oneself lies in the body and in the feelings. Understanding and transforming the feelings from negative to positive, gives us strength and inspiration to live a happier and more fulfilled life.

• Distinguish feelings and thoughts that are not yours but the product of mass marketing and socially established norms.
• Ask yourself, what makes me happy? This answer usually carry the glimpse into your Soul, your true needs and feelings.
• Spend more time exercising compassion, peace, friendliness. These qualities will free your mind.

6

Challenge your Core Beliefs. Core beliefs are at the very essence of how we perceive ourselves, and the world around us. Core beliefs are rigid, hard and inflexible. Core beliefs are sentences and words that are repeated so many times that they became our truth. Our core beliefs are at the root of our happiness or unhappiness, our high or low self-esteem, our destiny. If we change our beliefs, we can hope to change our reality. Often we try our best to be ‘liked’ complying with the current ‘norm’. This could lead to a major flow of dishonesty about ones true feelings and thoughts. Chose any of the following exercises to ‘break’ the chains of media and society that are tightly woven around your neck:

• Go walking backwards
• Stop next to the street music player and start dancing and singing with him
• Go to a nudist beach
• Stop to talk with strangers
• If in a crowded street, just stop and observe the crowd moving next to you

7

Read Inspiring and Spiritual Books. Read inspiring and self-development books. Read poetry. Read philosophy. Read books from people you admire. Read books from various gurus and mystics of the past.

8

Think creatively, think freely. Learning the skill of creativity is about learning to challenge the existing, and learning to trust one’s idea. Creativity is an essential ingredient of one's self development.

9

Ask Questions. Ask yourself questions about meaning of life and purpose of your life, about environment and the way we live on the Planet Earth with other living beings. Ask, what can be done better and were is your role within this amazing matrix.

How to Know Your Qualities!

This is an article to make you feel good about yourself and the qualities that you have. Are you a positive person? Are you good at Maths? Are you open and understanding to other people? It is important to know what you are good at!

1

Think about your life. What good things do you do for yourself and the people around you? Do you volunteer for your neighborhood? Then you would be known as a helpful person. Do you listen and help people about their problems? Then you are an understanding person.

2

List your Qualities. Write down onto paper the good things about yourself. Some ideas are "I am creative" or "I can lead" or "I am organised". This way you can look at all those fantastic things about yourself and be proud of them. When you know what you are good at, you can improve yourself from there.

3

Think and list your Weaknesses. Do you have low self-confidence? Are you bad at trying new things because you are scared? Now that you know what your weaknesses are, you can improve yourself from there. If you have low self-confidence, present in front of an audience about something you are good at and ask them to tell you what you need to do better, for example eye contact with the audience, interact with people more.

4

Enjoy becoming a better person. If you have any spare time, take on a sport or hobby that you are bad at and make yourself better at it. If you can't swim, go to swimming classes or just watch videos and learn. Remember, Practice Makes Perfect!

5

Remember that you are one & only. Don't copy other people and be fake. Do what you think is best because you are the best at being YOU.

How to Become Great!

Everyone has the potential to become great, but actually acting on that potential is no easy task. Raw talent isn't enough, whether you do or don't have it. You'll need to plan out each step and put in plenty of hard work if you want to get really great at anything in life.

1

Do what you love. Becoming great at anything will require a considerable amount of hard work, and if you aren't pursuing something you can get passionate about, your motivation for continuing will likely fade away before you can achieve the greatness you seek.

• No matter what skill you seek to improve, you will experience hardships, and you will probably feel discouraged when those hardships pop up. If your love for your goal doesn't exceed your level of discouragement at that time, there's a good chance you won't muster the motivation to work past that point.

2

Set realistic goals. It's easy to get discouraged when things go wrong. Mistakes and setbacks are inevitable, but you can avoid unnecessary troubles by setting goals that are achievable and otherwise logistically possible.

• Expecting something to be easy is the worst expectation you can ever hold. When things are more difficult than you were planning on, you're more likely to find yourself frustrated and tempted to quit. To minimize the frustration you'll feel along the way, hope for the best but expect the worst.

3

Stay focused. Focus your time and energy on one major goal at a time and avoid getting pulled away by potential distractions. Devoting yourself to multiple actions will probably decrease the quality of each one.

• Some distractions are obvious. For example, spending time online, watching television, or playing video games is fine in moderation since it can help you relax and recharge, but doing too much of it too often can cause you to waste time you should be spending on the pursuit of your goals.
• Less obvious distractions include other goals. You can become great at multiple things, but you should only focus on one thing at a time. Trying to pursue too much at once will limit the amount of time and practice you can devote to any one thing, thereby making it more difficult to grow in any one skill.

4

Build a support system. While it is possible to achieve greatness without a steady system of support, you'll find the journey much easier to continue if you have mentors and cheerleaders helping you out along the way.

• A large support group isn't necessarily better than a small support group made of dedicated, loyal individuals.
• Mentors and coaches can guide you along the right path. Cheerleaders can support you as you struggle to reach your goals. Even rivals can help motivate you to push through your struggles, but friendly rivals who can value you as a competitor are usually better than hostile ones.

5

Release the reins. There will inevitably be some point at which you will need to accept that someone else knows better or has more control over the way things get done. Instead of fighting that individual, it would be better for you to learn from how that person approaches the task.^[3]

• Observing the way someone else does things can allow you to remove yourself from the process and take a more objective look at things. Don't be afraid to confront beliefs you currently have or consider new ideas. Your way might still be better when all is said and done, but even if that ends up being the case, you will at least be able to reinforce and strengthen your previous ideas.

6

Accept change. Most people are actually okay with the changes they decide to make for themselves, yet struggle with change that is forced upon them regardless of their own will. To get great at anything in life, you'll need to stop getting upset by unexpected change and start learning how to adapt to change as it comes.

• Learning how to adapt is, in itself, a skill worth becoming great at. Life rarely goes according to plan, and even if you become great at the perfect cookie-cutter way of doing something, you may eventually need to expand beyond that mold when it no longer serves your purposes.

7

Be honest. You don't know everything; that much is a given. Instead of wasting energy trying to hide that very obvious and undeniable fact, you should be honest about the things you do and don't know. Only by admitting to your weaknesses can you find the resources to overcome them and become great.

• Being honest with others about your own shortcomings and imperfections can be a very vulnerable sensation, so many people choose to avoid it on instinct. Honesty and vulnerability are essential components of open-mindedness, however, and it takes an open mind to see the full range of possibilities and pursue the best option.

How to Cultivate Growth in Everything from Roses to Relationships!

From Roses to Relationships: Essentials needed to cultivate growth

All living things ranging from your roses to your relationships need basic essentials to root, sprout, grow and thrive. There is no such thing as a healthy garden or relationship that didn’t require any work.

Here are 5 essentials needed to grow anything:

1. Build a foundation. 

Before we can spread grass seed in the yard there is a need to till the land and to make sure that the seeds would not go onto hard or weedy ground. This is the “foundation.” The same is true for your children. Your family is their foundation. It is your responsibility to continue to help your children to grow by making sure that rooted in good soil and a sturdy foundation. This includes family morals and beliefs, cultures and traditions, as well as security and unity. The grass seeds and our children need to know that they belong where they are planted and feel comfortable enough to flourish.

2. Be willing to work hard. 

The initial decision to grow grass may be easy, but you will have no grass without spending weeks tilling the land. You may have backaches from the constant work, but you must keep going. Usually, the grass will start to grow just at the point that you feel like giving up. The same applies to children—they may not understand or listen to everything you teach them right away, but if you keep teaching, your hard work will pay off.

3. Feed and water consistently. Consistency is the real key to breakthrough. By watering the yard two times a day and providing it with the nutrients and fertilizer that it needs, not only will my grass grow, but it will grow lushly and quickly. Your children need food and water the same, and not just in the form of groceries. You consistently give your kids the nutrients they need to grow when you build them up, and positively encourage them throughout their lives. Just as you would spend those extra moments watering your garden two times a day, find a time to give your children on-purpose encouragement two times daily. You will see the difference it will make.

4. Keep a watchful eye. 

Your grass will not grow if birds and other intruders are picking at the seeds. Intruders come in all shapes, sizes, and forms. With a close watch, you will be able to identify the intruders in your child’s life no matter how subtle they are. These may not always be people per se; intrusions are simply things that distract or stop growth.

5. Have faith. 

Even if other people do not initially see your grass, know that it will come because you planted the seeds. Have faith that the seeds that you sow in your children’s lives will flourish and grow as well. You do not plant in vain. Even when you can’t see the harvest, wait for it. It will come.