One Sufi mystic who had remained happy his whole life - no

one had ever seen him unhappy - he was always laughing. He

was laughter, his whole being was a perfume of celebration.

In his old age, when he was dying - on his deathbed, and

still enjoying death, laughing hilariously - a disciple

asked, "You puzzle us. Now you are dying. Why are you

laughing? What is there funny about it? ... How are you

managing it?"

And the old man said. "It is a simple clue. I had asked my

master. I had gone to my master as a young man; I was only

seventeen, and already miserable. And my master was old,

seventy, and he was sitting under a tree, laughing for no

reason at all ... And I asked him, 'what is the matter with

you? Are you mad or something?'

He said, 'One day I was also as sad as you are. Then it

dawned on me that it is my choice, it is my life.'

Since that day, every morning when I get up, the first thing

I decide is, before I open my eyes, I say to myself,

'Abdullah' - that was his name - 'what do you want? Misery?

Happiness? What are you going to choose today?' And it

happens that I always choose happiness."

It is a choice. Try it. The first moment in the morning when

you become aware that sleep has left, ask yourself,

"Abdullah, another day! What is your idea? Do you choose

misery or happiness?"

You never really lose your Value!

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In

the room of 200, he asked, "What is this piece of paper & is it worth any

thing ?"

"It is a $20 bill, encashable in international & national markets for it's

quoted value ?" replied one of the many participants who raised their

hands.

He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up using both his hands till it

became a bundle of wrinkled paper.

He then unfolded it again and making an unsuccessful attempt to keep it

straight he asked, "Would you still be able to negotiate it for it's

quoted value?"

" Yes !!" was the echoing reply from the participants.

"Well," he said, "Looks like I haven't done enough ! What if I do this?"

And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor

with his shoe. He picked it up, which was now all crumpled, dirty, defaced

& not easy to recognise from a distance.

"Now will some one like to trade it for its quoted value?" Many hands went

in the air.
"I think this piece of currency is still holding its quoted value" replied

a participant in a slightly unsure voice.

"This bill can still fetch goods worth 20 Dollars"

said the other participants. Every one agreed.

"My friends, there is a very valuable lesson in this exercise that we are

just through with. It may have appeared to some of you, that I was able to

deshape, deface, mutilate & alter the $20 bill during the process as the

effects were quite visible".

"However, No matter what I did to this piece of paper, you still upheld

its negotiability because you were sure in your mind that my actions did

not actually decrease its value. It was still a currency note worth $20".

"Many times in our lives, we feel like as if we are dropped, crumpled, and

ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and/or the circumstances

that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. It may also appear

to onlookers as if it has really happened to certain extent. But no matter

what has happened or what will happen, please remember you never lose your

"Value"."

Values that you cherish are indeed devoid of worldly disturbance & always

are your saviour.

–Author Unknown

######

Change your attitude towards pain...worth reading and remembering

An aging Hindu master grew tired of his apprentice complaining, and so, one morning, sent him
for some salt.

When the apprentice returned, the master instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful
of salt in a glass of water and then to drink it.

"How does it taste?" the master asked.

"Bitter," spit the apprentice.

The master chuckled and then asked the young man to take the same handful of salt and put it
in the lake.

The two walked in silence to the nearby lake, and once the apprentice swirled his handful of salt
in the water, the old man said, "Now drink from the lake."

As the water dripped down the young man's chin, the master asked, "How does it taste?"

"Fresh," remarked the apprentice.

"Do you taste the salt?" asked the master.

"No," said the young man.

At this, the master sat beside this serious young man who so reminded him of himself and took
his hands, offering, "The pain of life is pure salt, no more, no less.

The amount of pain in life remains the same, exactly the same. But the
amount of bitterness we taste depends on the container we put the pain
in.

So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things .... Stop
being a glass. Become a lake."
Never act like an elephant!

Strange statement, isn't it?

But listen carefully because it can make a world of difference of success and failure in your working
and private life.

You might know that in India elephants are used for manual labor. But what to do with them when
they are not working? How to restrain them?

Their handlers came up with the idea to "program" them while they are still very young - by setting
self-imposed limits into their thinking.

How does it work?

When the elephants are still small, weighing around 150 pounds, they get tied up with a very heavy
rope. All day long, the elephants try to get rid of it, whine, tug at it and some of them even try to
chew it. But they can't break free.

Finally, the elephants give up and the fight is over. And now it's getting interesting...

From this moment on, they strongly believe that there is absolutely no chance to get rid of the rope.
They accept the "fact" that the rope limits them.

And with this imprinted belief in place, their handlers are able to tie them with extremely small
ropes!

And even as adults, weighing 8,000 pounds and more, they never attempt to break free because
they "know" they have no chance at all!
As you can see, the elephants limits are not real, but exist only in their mind.

And also we are programmed with built-in-boundaries. They are also not real but exist only in our
minds.

But with these imprinted belief systems, with these inner boundaries, we are unable...

* to live our lives to the fullest

* to set and reach higher goals

*to contribute more to society

* to get the promotion and pay increase we always dreamed of

* to fulfill our true dreams and desires

* to ask for the love and warmth we need

* to be successful as we could be

* etc etc

But it hasn't to stay this way. Our negative belief systems don't have to limit us for good.

If you truly want to become successful and are not kidding yourself, you can change your inner belief
system, your attitude, and your inner boundaries.

You always have the inner strength; the personal power to change everything in your life for the
better. Just try!

So, never give up! Never act like an elephant!

##

develop ANANDA-RASA...
Don't attempt to define Happiness in your way of happiness...see it everywhere and rejoice. For that
one has to be Pragmatic not Philosophic! Here's a story to illustrate this:

There were three friends...no criticism of any religion/sect... a Krishna-bhakt , a Ram-bhakt and a
Hanuman-bhakt ...all 3 were great friends and had gone trekking in the mountains. They returned
late in the evening, tired and extremely hungry...between the 3, they had only Rs.10...they bought a
small packet of halwa with the money...as they retired to their dorm, they wondered how to eat
it...if 3 parts were made, all of them would go hungry since the parts would be small...so they had an
agreement--all would sleep and on waking up, would tell the others about their dream...the one
with the best dream would get to eat the halwa...

having thus decided, they slept.

In the morning, they woke up even more desperately hungry and started narrating their
dreams...The Hanuman-bhakt friend said, "my dream was the best and so i should have the halwa. I
dreamt that my Lord Hanuman appeared before me, and upon my request, taught me some
wrestling moves. What fantastic moves I learnt. Then, being happy with me, my lord gave me
laddoos as prasada" The Ram-bhakt friend said, " Wait till you hear my dream...it is even better...I
dreamt that my Lord Rama appeared before me and took me on a world tour in the Pushpak
Vimana. What fantastic views I enjoyed…I even briefed the Lord on some historical sites! Then, being
happy with me, my lord gave me laddoos AND fruits as prasada"

Now the two friends looked at the Krishna-bhakt friend. "tell us your dream"... The Krishna-bhakt
friend said, " I had only 1 small dream. Lord Krishna came in my dream and said---Idiot, get up… your
Hanuman-bhakt friend is busy wrestling, your Ram-bhakt friend is busy on a world tour...they are
seeking the prasada of their Lords and you are lying around….get up and eat my prasada.…. being
the Lord's obedient servant, I got up and ate the halwa......

So it is with life...rather than philosophise, be practical & eat the halwa that comes your way!

##

A carrot, an egg, or a cup of coffee -What are you?

(You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.)

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard
for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up She was tired
of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high
fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs,
and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a
word.
In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed
them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked,
"Tell me what you see."

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they
were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off
the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. Its
rich aroma brought a smile to her face.

The daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water.

Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after
being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile.
Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water,
its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were
in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you
respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do
I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid
spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become
hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with
a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance
that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are
like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around
you.

Which one are you? When problems come (and they will) how will we respond? Will they make us
weak, hard hearted or will they cause us to change into something worthwhile?

When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another
level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
Motivational Quote: May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to
make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

In life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is what
happens within us.

Motivational Quote: "Happiness is not something you find, it's something you create."

Inspirational Quote: "Smile in pleasure, smile in pain; Smile when trouble pours like rain.”

May we all be COFFEE