Every human brain is both a broadcasting and receiving station for the vibration of thoughts, both negative and positive. Unfortunately, we allow “negative feelings” like anxiety, despair, envy, stress and regret to overpower us and influence our way of thinking to such an extent that we sometimes do not want to rise the ladder towards success. We must believe in ourselves, with patience and determination we can achieve what we have set out to be in our life.
Once Beethoven’s teacher said to his mother, “As a composer he is hopeless. He will never be a great composer in his life.” A newspaper editor once fired Walt Disney because he was thought to have “no good ideas. You do not have new concepts.” When sculptor Auguste Rodin was young, he had difficulty in learning to read and write. His father said, “I have an idiot for a son. I don’t know what to do with him.”
There are many other people who have achieved great names for themselves and have done well in life. What if all these people had listened to the negativity all around them and become discouraged in life? Where would our World be without the Music of Beethoven, or the entertainment without Walt Disney? As Oscar Levant has accurately said, “It’s not what you are, it’s what you don’t become that hurts.”
Become a person who believes in Himself or Herself and spreads Positivity and encourages people in every walk of life to live with courage, hope and confidence. Let us all grow in this feeling of positivity every single day, face every problem with a smile and an optimistic attitude. It may not change your problem overnight, but it can for sure change the way you go through life………..
–Every time you SMILE at someone, it’s a GIFT to that person. They too smile back at twofold. SMILES are very catching.
–Some enter your life as BLESSINGS, others as LESSONS. We must learn from them.
–If we want to LOVE, we must learn how to FORGIVE ourselves first.
–God did not call us to be SUCCESSFUL. He called us to be FAITHFUL.
–If you cannot feed a HUNDRED people, then at least feed ONE and see happiness on his or her face.
–If you JUDGE people at all times, you have no time to LOVE them.Be kind and compassionate. You have nothing to lose.
–If you want to CHANGE the WORLD, first learn to change yourself.
–LOVE your family and your fellow beings and spread LOVE everywhere you go.
–PEACE begins with a beautiful and joyous SMILE.
Life has taught us not to complain about others. It does not bring joy even if we want to. Change yourself, if you want peace of mind because it is easier to protect your feet with slippers than to Carpet the whole world.
Life is nothing of importance when we get everything on a platter. But life is everything when we miss out on something. It is in suffering that one will know the pleasures of Life. The Value of people is realized in their absence only. Happiness often sneaks in through a door you did not know you had left open. Sometimes we are tested not to expose our weakness, but to discover our strengths.
A young couple had neighbours who were senior citizens, the husband was around 80 years old, and the wife about 5 years younger to him. The young couple were very fond of them and made it a point to visit them and have coffee with them every Sundayand have a little chat with them.
They observed that the old lady would bring the coffee bottle to her husband to be opened, every time she went to make coffee. The thoughtful young man gifted the lady a gadget, without her husband’s knowledge, to easily open the bottle, and showed her how to use it.
On their next visit, the old lady once again brought the bottle for her husband to open. The young couple were amazed. Had she forgotten about the gadget? They both looked at each other a little surprised. When the opportunity arose to be alone with the old lady, they quizzed her about this. Her reply made both of them speechless.
She said, “Oh, dearies, I can surely open the bottle myself, even without your gadget that you have so kindly gifted me. But I get my husband to open it so he feels he is still stronger than I am and thus he feels he is the man of our home, that he remains useful to me as always, that I still depend on him, that togetherness is the main ingredient of any marriage. You see we do not have many more years of life in us, and togetherness is of utmost importance for both of us. We value our companionship a lot and feel nice and happy to be sharing things together.”
This clearly showed the young couple to never underestimate the wisdom of the elderly. Our parents/grandparents may not be bringing in money any longer, but their guidance alone is priceless. They have taught us what it is to be humane, loving and kind to one and all. You may have a fruitless tree in your garden, but at least it gives you shade, you will not cut it off, now, will you? Looking after the elderly and infirm should be looked upon as a blessing.
Hope this poem makes all of feel thankful and grateful in life. There are so many people who are less fortunate than us. Let us show them the gift of love and kindness. It never comes empty. May God bless us with all His joy and happiness to each and everyone of his children.
A BEAUTIFUL STORY WRITTEN BY JONATHAN PETIT, A GREAT NOVELIST ON THE POWER OF APPRECIATION:
‘I was about ten. My mom had just finished creating one of her amazing meals and I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was simply Delicious. Later, as I was washing the dishes, my mom came up to me, ‘Sorry, dinner was so awful again.’ She said. I was shocked, ‘What? No, it was great. I loved it. You are the best cook in the whole world.’ ‘Really?’ she said, with mock surprise. ‘You always eat so quietly, never saying anything. You’ve never told me you liked my cooking, so I thought you hated it.’
Jonathan again said in a loving tone,‘No, my darling Mom, you’re the best cook I know and I love you for being so kind and generous.’ ‘Then you should tell me that,’ she said. ‘Whenever someone does something nice for you, you should thank that person. If you don’t, then they might think they are not appreciated and loved and would stop doing those nice things.’
Something clicked in me right then. From that day onwards, I made it my sincere practice to thank everyone for literally everything. If anyone did something that even vaguely helped me, I thanked that person profusely. It became a habit, something I didn’t even think about, and that’s when the magic started happening.People liked me more. They talked to me more, shared with me, were more friendly.
In my first year of high school, during the final week, I came home and found a giant freezie (a kind of sweet of frozen snack) waiting for me. ‘Thanks, mom!’ I said instinctively.’ ‘This isn’t from me, she said. ‘This is from your bus driver.’ He had been driving that bus for years, and my siblings and I were the first people to ever thank him as we got dropped off to school. Those two simple words made a huge difference, so much so that he went out of his way to tell our mom and give us a present.’
That is the power of appreciation. When you have it, all is right and beautiful in the world, but when it is missing life is empty and dull. My mom taught me many things, but taking two seconds to say ‘thank you’ every time in any situation, was the best.The other person felt so appreciated and there would be a beaming smile of joy on their faces.
Debriefing of this Story: You would have met people who call themselves as good critics but have you ever met a person who says I am good at appreciating others? Isn’t that a sad part of our society? Let’s start appreciating people more frequently especially people who are close to us. Be kind to one and all we meet in our lives. ‘The sweetest of all sounds is praise. Let’s start it today.’
