Martina Navratilova the greatest tennis player of her times was once asked by a journalist, “How do you maintain your focus, physique and sharp game even at the age of 43?”
She gave a humble reply, “The ball does not know how old I am.” You need to stop yourself from stopping yourself. Every game in life is actually played on a 6-inch ground, the space between your two ears. We don’t live in bungalows, duplexes or flats. We live in our mind which is an unlimited area. We keep on talking and thinking thoughts that are negative that affects our entire lives. Just like a bee that keeps on buzzing the whole day, we too keep on buzzing unwanted thoughts in our heads 24×7. Life is great when things are sorted out and uncluttered there.
Keeping the mind messy with hatred growing on the table, regrets piling up in corner, expectations boiling in kitchen, secrets stuffed under the carpet and worries littered everywhere, ruins this real home. The key factor to performing well in life and in every arena, is the ability to control the quality and quantity of your “internal dialogue”. We have to learn with perseverance and patience how to control our internal dialogue. Performance is potential minus internal interference.
Start your day with a clean slate. Everyday is full of infinite possibilities.Choose to believe in Love.Find reasons to smile and rejoice every precious moment of your life. Begin each day with a light heart.
One morning Kevin’s day got spoilt as it started with a burnt toast that his beloved Mother served him at breakfast. He asked, “Mom I have always boasted about your culinary skills to all my friends, then tell me dear Mom, why today, this burnt toast.” She did not say anything but went about her work. But since he was getting late to go to work, Kevin picked up the burnt toast and most unwillingly took it along with him.
Looking at the burnt toast he did not feel like eating and threw it out of his car. At once, one poor lady came, looked at the burnt toast, cleaned it, brushed the dirt stuck on the toast and lovingly fed a small child who was in tattered and dirty clothes, playing with her ragdoll. Seeing this Kevin was actually ashamed of himself and his bad behavior.
He immediately parked his car at the side, bought some milk, toast and bread and gave it lovingly to the small child and her mother who willingly accepted giving him a broad smile. She further said, “Thank you son, you are a God send. We have not eaten anything from two days.” Kevin, had tears in his eyes and also felt so pleased that he could help these poor souls. He decided there and then to never hurt his loving mother and to be grateful and respect her for whatever food she serves whether it is palatable or not.
He further said to himself that he would never ever waste food, however rich he was, as this was not a good habit at all. There are so many needy people in the World who do not even have a morsel to eat and here he was given everything and was wasting and throwing the food that was not made nicely by his mom.
Henceforth he decided that he would teach everyone this important aspect of being compassionate towards the needy and he will never forget that little child he saw happily eating a burnt toast. Water, food, air, clothes are so important and valuable to the poor and why must we who have been given luxuries in life throw away because of a simple toast that got burned.
Humanity is greater than wealth. Let us learn to be humble and kind to others. Sometimes what looks like an obstacle in your path is actually a gift meant to move you in a different direction.
–Grapes must be crushed at all times to make wine.
–Diamonds form under pressure.
–Olives are pressed to release oil.
–Seeds grow in darkness and germinate in soft soil.
–Hatred breeds out of anger.
–A child is born after nine months.
–Copper and Iron are melted at very high temperature.
–Smiles and laughter kills every negativity.
Whenever you feel crushed, anger, under pressure, pressed, negative or in darkness you are in a powerful place of transformation. Always learn to trust the process. Everything that has come will soon pass. Learn to have immense patience and act with love and kindness with one another. We all need each other.
Sometimes we must express our gratitude for the small and simple things that are given to us. There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude, a quiet joy felt in our hearts.
God has a reason for allowing things to happen. He knows what He is doing. We may never understand His wisdom, but we simply have to TRUST HIS WILL.……….
Recently Joan overheard a father and daughter speaking to each other in their last moments together at the airport as they had announced the departure. Standing near the security gate, they hugged each other and the father said, “I love you, and I wish you enough.” The daughter replied, “Dad, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Dad.” They kissed and the daughter left.
The Father walked over to the window where Joan was seated. Standing there she could see he wanted and needed to cry seeing his daughter depart. Joan tried to intrude on his privacy, and he welcomed her by asking, “Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?” “Yes, she had,” with tears in her eyes but she brushed them off. She then replied. “Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?” “I am very old, and my daughter lives so far away from us. I have challenges ahead and the reality is, the next trip back will be for my funeral”, he said.
“When you were saying good-bye, Joan said, “I heard you say, I wish you enough,” May I ask what that means?” He began to smile gently and said, “That’s a wish that has been handed down from many generations. My parents used to say it to everyone they met.”
He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and he smiled even more and said to Joan, “When we say, I wish you enough, we are always wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.” Then turning towards me he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.
–“I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how grey the day may appear.
–I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.
–I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.
–I wish you enough money so that you may learn how to use it with sparingly and not just throw them away.
–I wish you enough loss so that you appreciate all that you possess in life.
–I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.
He then began to cry and walked away as there was a final announcement to board the flight. They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them; but then an entire life to forget them.
Take time out to live your life to the fullest. Life is very beautiful and fleeting. Let us all learn to love each other and be thankful for all the little mercies and grace that is showered on us each and every day.
Its Love, when a little girl puts all her energy to give dad a head massage when he comes home all tired from a hard day’s work. He feels so happy to be having a caring daughter.
Its Love, when a wife makes a warm cup of tea for her husband and takes a sip before him. She wants to make doubly sure that the tea is the way he likes, showing so much love for his needs.
Its Love, when a mother gives her son the best piece of cake. She would go out of her way to see that he gets the best, as her only concern is to see happiness on his face no matter what. Her heart is overflowing with love for her child.
Its Love, when the destitute are taken care of by a kind hearted person and to see tears of joy rolling down their eyes. They know that there are good souls who have come to take care of them and show their compassion.
Its Love, when your heart is skipping a beat for the one you love and he reciprocates the same so lovingly saying sweet nothings in ears that are meant only for the two of you. Heartbeats that sing songs of love the whole day through.
Its Love, when your big brother messages you and asks did you reach home on time. He wants to show his concern for his little sister’s safety.
Its Love, when your friend holds your hand tightly on a slippery road and he would not allow you to fall at all. He is wanting to be protective towards her. Their love grows stronger.
Its Love All the Way when you see others with Love and Tenderness. Let us all Love Each Other and find happiness and joy in Giving and being Selflesstowards One and All.
One day Susan went to the ATM at her bank to withdraw some cash. When she put her card in the machine, she realized that someone had left a large amount of cash in the machine. It was $500! She immediately took the money inside and handed it to the Manager. The Manager then asked her, “Ma’am what do you expect me to do with it?” She told him to find out who was at the ATM before her so he could return it to that person’s account. She then left the bank, satisfied that she had done all that she could.
The next day she received a phone call from the Bank Manager. He had found the owner of the money, and he had a surprise for her. It was 92-year-old Edith who had taken out the money to pay her rent. But after she took her receipt, she forgot to take the cash out of the ATM. Her rent came to $480 and so as a thank you she wanted her to have the rest. It turned out though, that $20 was all she had for the rest of the month to live on. Listening to the conversation, Susan refused to take the money that the lady had offered her.
Susan could not stop thinking about Edith and her vulnerability, though. She thought to herself, “How poor she must be, but how generous at the same time!” Finally, she decided to call the Bank Manager back. She told him to transfer $200 from her account into Edith’s account. Another bank employee overheard her request and decided to chip in another $100. A little while later, she received another phone call from the bank. The staff of the bank had pulled together and come up with another $300 for Edith.
Susan could not believe what had transpired. How wonderful. She was feeling so happy. Her one act of honesty inspired an incredible act of generosity for one little old lady and that generosity snowballed into more and more generous donations in return. It does not matter how much we have to give; however big or small, true generosity always returns positivity in our lives. Give with your whole-self, Love with your whole-heart, and your life will be full of happiness.
One small step, one small act of kindness will create a ripple. You may not always see its effect from the middle of the pond, but it is always there. Drop some Laughter, some Love or some Compassion into the water and see what happens.
