TEN THINGS GOD WON’T ASK ON THAT DAY
1. …God won’t ask what kind of car you drove. He’ll ask how many people you drove who didn’t have transportation.
2. …God won’t ask the square footage of your house; He’ll ask how many people you welcomed into your home.
3. …God won’t ask about the clothes you had in your closet; He’ll ask how many you helped to clothe.
4. …God won’t ask what your highest salary was, He’ll ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.
5. …God won’t ask what your job title was, He’ll ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability.
6. …God won’t ask how many friends you had. He’ll ask how many people to whom you were a friend.
7. …God won’t ask in what neighborhood you lived, He’ll ask how you treated your neighbors.
8. …God won’t ask about the color of your skin, He’ll ask about the content of your character.
9. …God won’t ask why it took you so long to seek salvation. He’ll lovingly take you to your mansion in heaven, and not to the gates of hell.
10. …God won’t have to ask how many people you forwarded this to, He already knows your decisions.
I received this from someone who thinks I am a ‘keeper’, so I’ve sent it to the people I thing of in the same way… Now it’s your turn to send this to those people that are “keepers” in your life.
Good friends are like stars….you don’t always see them, but you know they are always here.
Keep them close!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
RULES OF CIVILITY
RULES OF CIVILITY
Here are but a few examples drawn from Washington’s rules of civility:
• When you speak, be short and comprehensive.
• Do not argue with your superior; submit your ideas to him modestly.
• When subordinate does his best, even if he does not succeed, do not blame him.
• When you must give advice or criticism, consider whether it should be given in public or private; whether is should be given now or at some other time; and in what manner it should be given. If you must criticize someone, do so carefully.
• If you are admonished by your superior, do not argue at the time; rather, if you are not at fault, tell your superior the facts later.
• Do not make fun of anything important to others.
• If you criticize others for some fault, make sure you eliminate it from yourself first. A good example speaks much louder than words.
• Do not be in haste to believe bad reports about others.
• Associate yourself with other good people; it is better to be alone than in bad company. Do not speak about others with malice or envy.
• Always allow reason to govern your actions.
• A man should not overly value his own accomplishments.
• Do not detract from others, nor be overbearing when giving commands.
• Do not speak badly of those who are not present.
• Do not go where you are not wanted.
• Do not give unasked-for advice,
• Make no comparisons among people.
• Do not be quick to talk about something if you do not know it is true.
• Some matters are better kept a secret. Do not be curious about the affairs of others.
• Do not start what you cannot finish.
• Keep your promises.
-George Washington
Here are but a few examples drawn from Washington’s rules of civility:
• When you speak, be short and comprehensive.
• Do not argue with your superior; submit your ideas to him modestly.
• When subordinate does his best, even if he does not succeed, do not blame him.
• When you must give advice or criticism, consider whether it should be given in public or private; whether is should be given now or at some other time; and in what manner it should be given. If you must criticize someone, do so carefully.
• If you are admonished by your superior, do not argue at the time; rather, if you are not at fault, tell your superior the facts later.
• Do not make fun of anything important to others.
• If you criticize others for some fault, make sure you eliminate it from yourself first. A good example speaks much louder than words.
• Do not be in haste to believe bad reports about others.
• Associate yourself with other good people; it is better to be alone than in bad company. Do not speak about others with malice or envy.
• Always allow reason to govern your actions.
• A man should not overly value his own accomplishments.
• Do not detract from others, nor be overbearing when giving commands.
• Do not speak badly of those who are not present.
• Do not go where you are not wanted.
• Do not give unasked-for advice,
• Make no comparisons among people.
• Do not be quick to talk about something if you do not know it is true.
• Some matters are better kept a secret. Do not be curious about the affairs of others.
• Do not start what you cannot finish.
• Keep your promises.
-George Washington
THE TRUTH OF SUFFERING-POINTS TO PONDER
By: Chandru Gidwani
• The person who has never felt the hand of sorrow has never really lived, for sorrow is the master-key to the gateway of one’s soul – the port of entrance to Infinite Intelligence. – N. Hill
• Nothing can be gained in the absence of suffering. Is there a mother who delivers a child without pains? She obtains a precious gift only when she bears suffering. Saints and prophets have risen through suffering. Why should we avoid suffering?
• “Suffering is the primeval stuff; it is the guide on the spiritual path and is like the visa for the journey to the Lord. Suffering is synonymous with love; it is another name for love. It must be assumed that the Lord is made of suffering and we can realize him only when we accept suffering.
Suffering is peerless and beyond praise. Take the example of the rose. The Lord has granted it a high status among flowers, but only after its acceptance of the company of thorns. Rose garlands are offered to saints. Likewise, if a seeker accepts suffering, the Lord grants him a high status.”
It is true that where there is love there is suffering also. Love is mixed in suffering as cream in milk. Love and God are one. Therefore suffering is where God is. As Shah Abdul Latif has said:
“It is never heard,
God is realized without suffering.”
Look at the accounts of various saints, lovers, fakirs and you will find that none has realized God without suffering. God can be realized only if one accepts suffering. Suffering is excellent and highly beneficial. –Dr Rochaldas
• The world is full of suffering. Birth is suffering; so is ild age; sickness and death is suffering, too. To meet a man whom one hates is suffering, to be separated from a beloved one is suffering, to be vainly struggling to satisfy one’s needs is suffering. In fact, life that is not free from desire and passion is always involved with distress. This is called the truth of suffering. – Book on Budhism
• Suffering is the guide to spiritualism and to God-realization. It is wrong to underrate the importance of suffering, and to say that suffering is not desirable. As with any birth, the birth of a Jiva is the result of labour pains; he is the product of suffering. He cannot avoid suffering. It is always with him from birth to death. He has to sustain that. It is only when a Jiva cheerfully accepts suffering that he can realize God. –Dr Rochaldas
• It is natural in this world of suffering for people to think and act selfishly and egoistically and, because of it, it is equally natural for suffering and unhappiness to follow.
• People favour themselves and neglect others. People let their own desires run into greed and lust and all manner of evil. Because of these they must suffer endlessly.
• Actually, problems are a sign of life! In fact the more problems, the more you are a part of life. The only place I’ve ever been where people have no problems is a cemetery and there they are all dead. Be glad that God trusts you with some problems. Thank him for the compliment. He believes you have what it takes to handle them.- Norman Vincent Peale
• Suffering, longing, yearning, ardour, uneasiness and restlessness for meeting the Lord constitute anguish. The thirsting desire, choking eagerness to meet the beloved is called anguish. A ‘jiva’ can gain nothing so long as he does not develop anguish for meeting the beloved. Anguish must arise first. It helps in progress towards the Lord. Anguish is very much liked by the Lord.- Dr Rochaldas
• The emotion of sorrow refines the souls of those who experience it, and gives them courage and faith to meet the trials and tribulations of struggle in a world of confusion and chaos, provided always that sorrow is accepted as a benefit and not as a curse. Resentment of sorrow causes the development of stomach ulcers, high blood pressure and general unfriendliness from other people.- N. Hill
• Sorrow has revealed to the world geniuses who never would have been recognized except for its deep, soul-searching effects.
• The person who has never felt the hand of sorrow has never really lived, for sorrow is the master-key to the gateway of one’s soul – the port of entrance to Infinite Intelligence. – N. Hill
• Nothing can be gained in the absence of suffering. Is there a mother who delivers a child without pains? She obtains a precious gift only when she bears suffering. Saints and prophets have risen through suffering. Why should we avoid suffering?
• “Suffering is the primeval stuff; it is the guide on the spiritual path and is like the visa for the journey to the Lord. Suffering is synonymous with love; it is another name for love. It must be assumed that the Lord is made of suffering and we can realize him only when we accept suffering.
Suffering is peerless and beyond praise. Take the example of the rose. The Lord has granted it a high status among flowers, but only after its acceptance of the company of thorns. Rose garlands are offered to saints. Likewise, if a seeker accepts suffering, the Lord grants him a high status.”
It is true that where there is love there is suffering also. Love is mixed in suffering as cream in milk. Love and God are one. Therefore suffering is where God is. As Shah Abdul Latif has said:
“It is never heard,
God is realized without suffering.”
Look at the accounts of various saints, lovers, fakirs and you will find that none has realized God without suffering. God can be realized only if one accepts suffering. Suffering is excellent and highly beneficial. –Dr Rochaldas
• The world is full of suffering. Birth is suffering; so is ild age; sickness and death is suffering, too. To meet a man whom one hates is suffering, to be separated from a beloved one is suffering, to be vainly struggling to satisfy one’s needs is suffering. In fact, life that is not free from desire and passion is always involved with distress. This is called the truth of suffering. – Book on Budhism
• Suffering is the guide to spiritualism and to God-realization. It is wrong to underrate the importance of suffering, and to say that suffering is not desirable. As with any birth, the birth of a Jiva is the result of labour pains; he is the product of suffering. He cannot avoid suffering. It is always with him from birth to death. He has to sustain that. It is only when a Jiva cheerfully accepts suffering that he can realize God. –Dr Rochaldas
• It is natural in this world of suffering for people to think and act selfishly and egoistically and, because of it, it is equally natural for suffering and unhappiness to follow.
• People favour themselves and neglect others. People let their own desires run into greed and lust and all manner of evil. Because of these they must suffer endlessly.
• Actually, problems are a sign of life! In fact the more problems, the more you are a part of life. The only place I’ve ever been where people have no problems is a cemetery and there they are all dead. Be glad that God trusts you with some problems. Thank him for the compliment. He believes you have what it takes to handle them.- Norman Vincent Peale
• Suffering, longing, yearning, ardour, uneasiness and restlessness for meeting the Lord constitute anguish. The thirsting desire, choking eagerness to meet the beloved is called anguish. A ‘jiva’ can gain nothing so long as he does not develop anguish for meeting the beloved. Anguish must arise first. It helps in progress towards the Lord. Anguish is very much liked by the Lord.- Dr Rochaldas
• The emotion of sorrow refines the souls of those who experience it, and gives them courage and faith to meet the trials and tribulations of struggle in a world of confusion and chaos, provided always that sorrow is accepted as a benefit and not as a curse. Resentment of sorrow causes the development of stomach ulcers, high blood pressure and general unfriendliness from other people.- N. Hill
• Sorrow has revealed to the world geniuses who never would have been recognized except for its deep, soul-searching effects.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Bible Passages : Please reflect!
LIVE IN HARMONY WITH ONE ANOTHER
Romans 15:1-6
We who are strong in the faith ought to help the weak to carry their burdens. We should not please ourselves. Instead, we should all please our brothers for their own good, in order to build them up in the faith. For Christ did not please himself. Instead, as the scripture says, “The insults which are hurled at you have fallen on me.” Everything written in the Scriptures was written to teach us, in order that we might have hope through the patience and encouragement which the Scriptures give us. And may God, the source of patience and encouragement, enable you to have the same point of view among yourselves by following the example of Christ Jesus, so that all of you together may praise with one voice the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
FOLLOW CHRIST WITH ALL OUR STRENGTH
Philippians 3:12-16
I do not claim that I have already succeeded or have already become perfect. I keep striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won me to himself. Of course, my brothers, I really do not think that I have already won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead. So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God’s call through Christ Jesus to the life above.
All of us who are spiritually mature should have this same attitude. But if some of you have a different attitude, God will make this clear to you. However that may be, let us go forward according to the same rules we have followed until now.
PERFECTION THROUGH LOVE
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
I may be able to speak the languages of men and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell. I may have the gift of inspired preaching; I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets; I may have all the faith needed to move mountains – but if I have no love, I am nothing. I may give away everything I have, and even give up my body to be burned – but if I have no love, this does me no good.
Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail.
Love is eternal. There are inspired messages, but they are temporary; there are gifts of speaking in strange tongues, but they will cease; there is knowledge, but it will pass. For our gifts of knowledge and of inspired messages are only partial; but when what is perfect comes, then what is partial will disappear.
When I was a child, my speech, feelings, and thinking were all those of a child; now that I am a man, I have no more use for childish ways. What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face-to-face. What I know now is only partial; then it will be complete – as complete as God’s knowledge of me.
Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope, and love; and the greatest of these is love.
BE ONE IN SOUL AND MIND
Philippians 2:1-4
Your life in Christ makes you strong, and his love comforts you. You have fellowship with the Spirit, and you have kindness and compassion for one another. I urge you, then, to make me completely happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and being one in soul and mind. Don’t do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble toward one another, always considering others better than yourselves. And look our for one another’s interests, not just for your own.
A CALL TO HOLY LIVING
1 Peter 1:13-25
Therefore prepare your minds for actions; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. Through him you have come to trust in God, who raise him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.
Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. For “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
That word is the good news that was announced to you.
JUDGMENT AND THE FUTURE BELONG TO GOD
Ecclesiastes 3:16-22-4:1-8
Moreover I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there as well. I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time for every matter, and for every work. I said in my heart with regard to human beings that God is testing them to show that they are but animals. For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over the animals; for all is vanity. All go to one place; all are from dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knows whether the human spirit goes downward to the earth? So I saw that there is nothing better than that all should enjoy their work, for that is their lot; who can bring them to see what will be after them?
Again I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed – with no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power- with no one to comfort them. And I thought the dead, who have already died, more fortunate than the living, who are still alive; but better than both is the one who has not yet been, and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.
Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from one person’s envy of another. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.
Fools fold their hands and consume their own flesh.
Better is a handful with quiet than two handfuls with toil, and a chasing after wind.
Again, I saw vanity under the sun: the case of solitary individuals, without sons or brothers; yet there is no end to all their toil, and their eyes are never satisfied with riches. “For whom am I toiling,” they ask, “and depriving myself of pleasure?” this also is vanity and an unhappy business.
PREACH AT ALL TIMES
2 Timothy 4:1-5
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and because he is coming to rule as King, I solemnly urge you to preach the message, to insist upon proclaiming it (whether the time is right or not), to convince, reproach, and encourage, as you teach with all patience.
The time will come when people will not listen to sound doctrine, but will follow their own desires and will collect for themselves more and more teachers who will tell them what they are itching to hear. They will turn away from listening to the truth and give their attention to legends. But you must keep control of yourself in all circumstances; endure suffering, do the work of a preacher of the Good News, and perform your whole duty as servant of God.
EVERYTHING HAS ITS TIME
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time for war, and a time for peace.
THE FRUSTRATION OF DESIRES
Ecclesiastes 6:1-12
There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy upon humankind: those to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that they lack nothing of all that they desire, yet God does not enable them to enjoy these things, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous ill. A man may beget a hundred children, and live many years; if he does not enjoy life’s good things, or has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. For it comes into vanity and goes into darkness, and in darkness its name is covered; moreover it has not seen the sun or known anything; yet it finds rest rather than he.Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good – do not all go to one place?
All human toil is for the mouth, yet the appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage have the wise over fools? And what do the poor have who know how to conduct themselves before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire; this also is vanity and a chasing after wind.
Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what human beings are, and that they are not able to dispute with those who are stronger. The more words, the more vanity so how is one the better? For who knows what is good for mortals while they live the few days of their vain life, which they pass like a shadow? For who can tell them what will be after them under the sun.
FORGIVENESS FOR ALL PEOPLES IF THEY BELIEVE
Romans 10:9-13
If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved. For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved. The scripture says, “Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed.” This includes everyone, because there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles; God is the same Lord of all and richly blesses all who call to him. As the scripture says, “Everyone who calls out to the Lord for help will be saved.”
CONFIDENT THAT GOD WILL HELP US
Psalm 54
Save me by your power, O God;
Set me free by your might!
Hear my prayer, O God; listen to my words!
Proud men are coming to attack me;
Cruel men are trying to kill me –
Men who do not care about God.
But God is my helper. The Lord is my defender.
May God use their own evil to punish my enemies.
He will destroy them because he is faithful.
I will gladly offer you a sacrifice, O Lord;
I will give you thanks because you are good.
You have rescued me from all my troubles,
And I have seen my enemies defeated.
GOD FORGIVES ALL SINS
Acts 13:38-39
All of you, my fellow Israelites, are to know for sure that it is through Jesus that the message about forgiveness of sins is preached to you; you are to know that everyone who believes in him is set free from all the sins from which the Law of Moses could not set you free.
RETURN TO GOD AND PURIFY YOUR HEARTS
James 4:1-10
Where do all the fights and quarrels among you come from? They come from your desires for pleasure, which are constantly fighting within you. You want things, but you cannot have them, so you are ready to kill; you strongly desire things, but you cannot get them, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have what you want because you do not ask God for it. And when you ask, you do not receive it, because your motives are bad; you ask for things to use for your own pleasures. Unfaithful people! Don’t you know that to be the world’s friend means to be God’s enemy? Whoever wants to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy. Don’t think that there is no truth in the scripture that says, “The spirit that God placed in us is filled with fierce desires.” But the grace that God gives is even stronger. As the scripture says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
So then, submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you. Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners! Purify your hearts, you hypocrites! Be sorrowful, cry, and weep; change your laughter into crying, your joy into gloom! Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
VARIOUS SINS
Sirach 21:1-10
Have you sinned, my child? Do so no more, but ask forgiveness for your past sins.
Flee from sin as from a snake; for if you approach sin, it will bite you.
Its teeth are lion’s teeth, and can destroy human lives.
All lawlessness is like a two-edged sword; there is no healing for the wound it inflicts.
Panic and insolence will waste away riches; thus the house of the proud will be laid waste.
The prayer of the poor goes from their lips to the ears of God, and his judgment comes speedily.
Those who hate reproof walk in the sinner’s steps, but those who fear the Lord repent in their heart.
The mighty in speech are widely known; when they slip, the sensible person knows it.
Whoever builds his house with other people’s money is like one who gathers stones for his burial mound.
An assembly of the wicked is like a bundle of tow, and their end is a blazing fire.
The way of sinners is paved with smooth stones, but at its end is the pit of Hades.
YOUTH AND OLD AGE
Ecclesiastes 11:7-10 to 12:1-8
Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.
Even those who live many years should rejoice in them all; yet let them remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity.
Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart cheer the inclination of your heart and the desire of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
Banish anxiety from your mind, and put away pain from your body; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.
Remember your creator in the days of trouble come, and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return with the rain; in the day when the guards of the house tremble, and women who grind cease working because they are few, and those who look through the windows see dimly; when the doors on the street are shut, and the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, brought low; when one is afraid of heights, and terrors are in the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along and desire fails; because all must go to their eternal home, and the mourners will go about the streets; before the silver cord is snapped, and the golden bowl is broken, and the pitcher is broken at the fountain, and the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher; all is vanity.
CONFIDENT THAT GOD WILL HELP US
Psalm 54
Save me by your power, O God;
Set me free by your might!
Hear my prayer, O God; listen to my words!
Proud men are coming to attack me;
Cruel men are trying to kill me –
Men who do not care about God.
But God is my helper. The Lord is my defender.
May God use their own evil to punish my enemies.
He will destroy them because he is faithful.
I will gladly offer you a sacrifice, O Lord;
I will give you thanks because you are good.
You have rescued me from all my troubles,
And I have seen my enemies defeated.
GODLESSNESS IN THE LAST DAYS
2 Timothy 3:1-9
You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come. For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them! For among them are those who make their way into households and captivate silly women, overwhelmed by their sins and swayed by all kinds of desires, who are always being instructed and can never arrive at a knowledge of the truth. As Jan’nes and Jam’bres opposed Moses, so these people, of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith, also oppose the truth. But they will not make much progress, because, as in the case of those two men, their folly will become plain to everyone.
God Is Love
1John 4:7-21
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
Buy this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world, God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is , so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say , “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
FAITHFUL TO THE END
Matthew 24:1-14
Jesus left and was going away from the Temple when his disciples came to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Yes”, he said, “you may well look at all these. I tell you this: not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one of them will be thrown down.”
As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him in private. “Tell us when all this will be,” they asked, “and what will happen to show that it is the time for your coming and the end of the age.”
Jesus answered, “Watch out, and do not let anyone fool you. Many men, claiming to speak for me, will come and say, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will fool many people you are going to hear the noise of battles close by and the news of battles far away; but do not be trouble. Such things must happen, but they do not mean that the end has come. Countries will fight each other; kingdoms will attach one another. There will be famines and earthquakes everywhere. All these things are like the first pains of childbirth.
“Then you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and be put to death. All mankind will hate you because of me. Many will give up their faith at that time; they will betray one another and hate one another. Then many false prophets will appear and fool many people. Such will be the spread of evil that many people’s love will grow cold. But whoever holds out to the end will be saved. And this Good News about the Kingdom will be preached through all the world for a witness to all mankind; and then the end will come.
Romans 15:1-6
We who are strong in the faith ought to help the weak to carry their burdens. We should not please ourselves. Instead, we should all please our brothers for their own good, in order to build them up in the faith. For Christ did not please himself. Instead, as the scripture says, “The insults which are hurled at you have fallen on me.” Everything written in the Scriptures was written to teach us, in order that we might have hope through the patience and encouragement which the Scriptures give us. And may God, the source of patience and encouragement, enable you to have the same point of view among yourselves by following the example of Christ Jesus, so that all of you together may praise with one voice the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
FOLLOW CHRIST WITH ALL OUR STRENGTH
Philippians 3:12-16
I do not claim that I have already succeeded or have already become perfect. I keep striving to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has already won me to himself. Of course, my brothers, I really do not think that I have already won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead. So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God’s call through Christ Jesus to the life above.
All of us who are spiritually mature should have this same attitude. But if some of you have a different attitude, God will make this clear to you. However that may be, let us go forward according to the same rules we have followed until now.
PERFECTION THROUGH LOVE
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
I may be able to speak the languages of men and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell. I may have the gift of inspired preaching; I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets; I may have all the faith needed to move mountains – but if I have no love, I am nothing. I may give away everything I have, and even give up my body to be burned – but if I have no love, this does me no good.
Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail.
Love is eternal. There are inspired messages, but they are temporary; there are gifts of speaking in strange tongues, but they will cease; there is knowledge, but it will pass. For our gifts of knowledge and of inspired messages are only partial; but when what is perfect comes, then what is partial will disappear.
When I was a child, my speech, feelings, and thinking were all those of a child; now that I am a man, I have no more use for childish ways. What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face-to-face. What I know now is only partial; then it will be complete – as complete as God’s knowledge of me.
Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope, and love; and the greatest of these is love.
BE ONE IN SOUL AND MIND
Philippians 2:1-4
Your life in Christ makes you strong, and his love comforts you. You have fellowship with the Spirit, and you have kindness and compassion for one another. I urge you, then, to make me completely happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and being one in soul and mind. Don’t do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble toward one another, always considering others better than yourselves. And look our for one another’s interests, not just for your own.
A CALL TO HOLY LIVING
1 Peter 1:13-25
Therefore prepare your minds for actions; discipline yourselves; set all your hope on the grace that Jesus Christ will bring you when he is revealed. Like obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you formerly had in ignorance. Instead, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct; for it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
If you invoke as Father the one who judges all people impartially according to their deeds, live in reverent fear during the time of your exile. You know that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish. He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake. Through him you have come to trust in God, who raise him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are set on God.
Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart. You have been born anew, not of perishable but of imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. For “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever.”
That word is the good news that was announced to you.
JUDGMENT AND THE FUTURE BELONG TO GOD
Ecclesiastes 3:16-22-4:1-8
Moreover I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, wickedness was there, and in the place of righteousness, wickedness was there as well. I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for he has appointed a time for every matter, and for every work. I said in my heart with regard to human beings that God is testing them to show that they are but animals. For the fate of humans and the fate of animals is the same; as one dies, so dies the other. They all have the same breath, and humans have no advantage over the animals; for all is vanity. All go to one place; all are from dust, and all turn to dust again. Who knows whether the human spirit goes downward to the earth? So I saw that there is nothing better than that all should enjoy their work, for that is their lot; who can bring them to see what will be after them?
Again I saw all the oppressions that are practiced under the sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed – with no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power- with no one to comfort them. And I thought the dead, who have already died, more fortunate than the living, who are still alive; but better than both is the one who has not yet been, and has not seen the evil deeds that are done under the sun.
Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from one person’s envy of another. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind.
Fools fold their hands and consume their own flesh.
Better is a handful with quiet than two handfuls with toil, and a chasing after wind.
Again, I saw vanity under the sun: the case of solitary individuals, without sons or brothers; yet there is no end to all their toil, and their eyes are never satisfied with riches. “For whom am I toiling,” they ask, “and depriving myself of pleasure?” this also is vanity and an unhappy business.
PREACH AT ALL TIMES
2 Timothy 4:1-5
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and because he is coming to rule as King, I solemnly urge you to preach the message, to insist upon proclaiming it (whether the time is right or not), to convince, reproach, and encourage, as you teach with all patience.
The time will come when people will not listen to sound doctrine, but will follow their own desires and will collect for themselves more and more teachers who will tell them what they are itching to hear. They will turn away from listening to the truth and give their attention to legends. But you must keep control of yourself in all circumstances; endure suffering, do the work of a preacher of the Good News, and perform your whole duty as servant of God.
EVERYTHING HAS ITS TIME
Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to throw away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time for war, and a time for peace.
THE FRUSTRATION OF DESIRES
Ecclesiastes 6:1-12
There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy upon humankind: those to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honor, so that they lack nothing of all that they desire, yet God does not enable them to enjoy these things, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous ill. A man may beget a hundred children, and live many years; if he does not enjoy life’s good things, or has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. For it comes into vanity and goes into darkness, and in darkness its name is covered; moreover it has not seen the sun or known anything; yet it finds rest rather than he.Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good – do not all go to one place?
All human toil is for the mouth, yet the appetite is not satisfied. For what advantage have the wise over fools? And what do the poor have who know how to conduct themselves before the living? Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire; this also is vanity and a chasing after wind.
Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what human beings are, and that they are not able to dispute with those who are stronger. The more words, the more vanity so how is one the better? For who knows what is good for mortals while they live the few days of their vain life, which they pass like a shadow? For who can tell them what will be after them under the sun.
FORGIVENESS FOR ALL PEOPLES IF THEY BELIEVE
Romans 10:9-13
If you confess that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised him from death, you will be saved. For it is by our faith that we are put right with God; it is by our confession that we are saved. The scripture says, “Whoever believes in him will not be disappointed.” This includes everyone, because there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles; God is the same Lord of all and richly blesses all who call to him. As the scripture says, “Everyone who calls out to the Lord for help will be saved.”
CONFIDENT THAT GOD WILL HELP US
Psalm 54
Save me by your power, O God;
Set me free by your might!
Hear my prayer, O God; listen to my words!
Proud men are coming to attack me;
Cruel men are trying to kill me –
Men who do not care about God.
But God is my helper. The Lord is my defender.
May God use their own evil to punish my enemies.
He will destroy them because he is faithful.
I will gladly offer you a sacrifice, O Lord;
I will give you thanks because you are good.
You have rescued me from all my troubles,
And I have seen my enemies defeated.
GOD FORGIVES ALL SINS
Acts 13:38-39
All of you, my fellow Israelites, are to know for sure that it is through Jesus that the message about forgiveness of sins is preached to you; you are to know that everyone who believes in him is set free from all the sins from which the Law of Moses could not set you free.
RETURN TO GOD AND PURIFY YOUR HEARTS
James 4:1-10
Where do all the fights and quarrels among you come from? They come from your desires for pleasure, which are constantly fighting within you. You want things, but you cannot have them, so you are ready to kill; you strongly desire things, but you cannot get them, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have what you want because you do not ask God for it. And when you ask, you do not receive it, because your motives are bad; you ask for things to use for your own pleasures. Unfaithful people! Don’t you know that to be the world’s friend means to be God’s enemy? Whoever wants to be the world’s friend makes himself God’s enemy. Don’t think that there is no truth in the scripture that says, “The spirit that God placed in us is filled with fierce desires.” But the grace that God gives is even stronger. As the scripture says, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
So then, submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you. Come near to God, and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners! Purify your hearts, you hypocrites! Be sorrowful, cry, and weep; change your laughter into crying, your joy into gloom! Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.
VARIOUS SINS
Sirach 21:1-10
Have you sinned, my child? Do so no more, but ask forgiveness for your past sins.
Flee from sin as from a snake; for if you approach sin, it will bite you.
Its teeth are lion’s teeth, and can destroy human lives.
All lawlessness is like a two-edged sword; there is no healing for the wound it inflicts.
Panic and insolence will waste away riches; thus the house of the proud will be laid waste.
The prayer of the poor goes from their lips to the ears of God, and his judgment comes speedily.
Those who hate reproof walk in the sinner’s steps, but those who fear the Lord repent in their heart.
The mighty in speech are widely known; when they slip, the sensible person knows it.
Whoever builds his house with other people’s money is like one who gathers stones for his burial mound.
An assembly of the wicked is like a bundle of tow, and their end is a blazing fire.
The way of sinners is paved with smooth stones, but at its end is the pit of Hades.
YOUTH AND OLD AGE
Ecclesiastes 11:7-10 to 12:1-8
Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun.
Even those who live many years should rejoice in them all; yet let them remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity.
Rejoice, young man, while you are young, and let your heart cheer the inclination of your heart and the desire of your eyes, but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.
Banish anxiety from your mind, and put away pain from your body; for youth and the dawn of life are vanity.
Remember your creator in the days of trouble come, and the years draw near when you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return with the rain; in the day when the guards of the house tremble, and women who grind cease working because they are few, and those who look through the windows see dimly; when the doors on the street are shut, and the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, brought low; when one is afraid of heights, and terrors are in the road; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along and desire fails; because all must go to their eternal home, and the mourners will go about the streets; before the silver cord is snapped, and the golden bowl is broken, and the pitcher is broken at the fountain, and the wheel broken at the cistern, and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the breath returns to God who gave it. Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher; all is vanity.
CONFIDENT THAT GOD WILL HELP US
Psalm 54
Save me by your power, O God;
Set me free by your might!
Hear my prayer, O God; listen to my words!
Proud men are coming to attack me;
Cruel men are trying to kill me –
Men who do not care about God.
But God is my helper. The Lord is my defender.
May God use their own evil to punish my enemies.
He will destroy them because he is faithful.
I will gladly offer you a sacrifice, O Lord;
I will give you thanks because you are good.
You have rescued me from all my troubles,
And I have seen my enemies defeated.
GODLESSNESS IN THE LAST DAYS
2 Timothy 3:1-9
You must understand this, that in the last days distressing times will come. For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, brutes, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power. Avoid them! For among them are those who make their way into households and captivate silly women, overwhelmed by their sins and swayed by all kinds of desires, who are always being instructed and can never arrive at a knowledge of the truth. As Jan’nes and Jam’bres opposed Moses, so these people, of corrupt mind and counterfeit faith, also oppose the truth. But they will not make much progress, because, as in the case of those two men, their folly will become plain to everyone.
God Is Love
1John 4:7-21
Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.
Buy this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father has sent his Son as the Savior of the world, God abides in those who confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and they abide in God. So we have known and believe the love that God has for us.
God is love, and those who abide in them. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness on the day of judgment, because as he is , so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We love because he first loved us. Those who say , “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also.
FAITHFUL TO THE END
Matthew 24:1-14
Jesus left and was going away from the Temple when his disciples came to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Yes”, he said, “you may well look at all these. I tell you this: not a single stone here will be left in its place; every one of them will be thrown down.”
As Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him in private. “Tell us when all this will be,” they asked, “and what will happen to show that it is the time for your coming and the end of the age.”
Jesus answered, “Watch out, and do not let anyone fool you. Many men, claiming to speak for me, will come and say, ‘I am the Messiah!’ and they will fool many people you are going to hear the noise of battles close by and the news of battles far away; but do not be trouble. Such things must happen, but they do not mean that the end has come. Countries will fight each other; kingdoms will attach one another. There will be famines and earthquakes everywhere. All these things are like the first pains of childbirth.
“Then you will be arrested and handed over to be punished and be put to death. All mankind will hate you because of me. Many will give up their faith at that time; they will betray one another and hate one another. Then many false prophets will appear and fool many people. Such will be the spread of evil that many people’s love will grow cold. But whoever holds out to the end will be saved. And this Good News about the Kingdom will be preached through all the world for a witness to all mankind; and then the end will come.
COOPERATE WITH LIFE
By: J. Maurus
Cooperation is a way of life in the case of the sane and the healthy. It helps to live effortlessly and to make the best and the most of it.
There is no satisfactory health or happiness that a person can obtain that neglects the source of life itself and the only all-embracing power there is.
We are cooperating with life when we remove the inner conflicts that cause resistance. Intelligent living consists in our ability to establish a healthy compromise between the pleasure-seeking elements of our nature and the disciplinary elements of our conscience.
A healthy mind produces a healthy body.
The way of wise cooperation is the achievement of a harmonious balance of our basic needs, such as security, acceptance, love and the Lord. Often, however, with our needs reduced, we are increasingly likely to function more positively, almost in direct proportion to how much we feel valued.
We are able to achieve results when we:
1. LIVE EACH DAY FULLY. Believe in today and in the work you are doing. Yesterday is a cancelled cheque; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is ready cash – spend it wisely.
TODAY
Be present – to yourself and to others.
Be interested – don’t try to be interesting.
Be pleasing – don’t expect to be pleased.
Be entertaining – don’t wait to be entertained.
Be lovable – don’t wait to be loved.
Be helpful – don’t ask to be helped.
An elderly man was working around the front yard of the house, whistling non-stop. The sound of the whistling was loud and clear, but its seemed rather aimless and purposeless, with no recognizable tune in evidence.
A visitor walked up to the man and said, “I see you’re fond of whistling.”
“Oh” he said, “it’s second nature to me now.”
Then pointing to the woman on the porch, he explained that she was his wife, and that they had been happily married for thirty-eight years when she became blind. Coming as it did so late in life, the blindness had been a deep-seated insecurity.
“I figured,” he went on, “if I just keep whistling while I’m outside the house, she’ll have the security of knowing I’m still with her.”
2.TAKE TIME TO REST. It is necessary to the body as is food. Good rest, a good night’s sleep is health. Rest is the best eraser of fatigue, the means to let off steam, to overcome interior conflicts. Sleep is nature’s way of building up energy. The ability to rest is the secret of wiser and more efficient work. It helps enjoy the normal pleasures of life.
Robert Louis Stevenson prayed: ”The day returns and brings us the petty round of irritating concerns and duties. Help us to play the man, help us to perform them with laughter and kind faces: let cheerfulness abound with industry. Give us to go blithely on our business all this day, bring us to our resting beds weary and content and honoured, and grant us in the end the gift of sleep.”
Use these specific techniques to spend the day in a restful and relaxed way:
a.) An optimistic philosophy of life will aid you in controlling your negative emotions. Unhappiness causes you to be chronically restless and constitutes one of the major causes of insomnia.
b.) Keep in mind that recreation is mental medicine. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
c.) Take things in their natural stride.
d.) Enjoy your work. Man is a worker. Work is love and joy made visible.
Thank God when you wake up every morning, that you have something to do, that you have a job. Many people are jobless and the future will offer still less work.
Do your work with due responsibility and intelligence. Your attitude toward work determines how successful it will be.
A worker has the right to just and favourable remuneration insuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity.
Work keeps us from boredom. It gives life its savour and health. It is the source of prosperity and lays the foundation of every fortune.
Behold the tiny ants!
How they march in a line,
Carrying grains of sugar in their mouths
And piling them in a mountain heap!
What a lesson do they not yield to us!
Here’s the secret of success
In all great and noble undertakings
With small means –
Study nature through and through,
Read her lessons between the lines,
And you will fine it written
On every page in bold characters:
“Continuity, persistence”.
4. KNOW THE VALUE OF TIME. Take time as your counsellor – it is the wisest. Time flies, but you are the navigator.
Start each morning determined to make the most of the day. “If you have a time and place for everything and do everything in its time and place, you will not only accomplish more but have more leisure than those who are always hurrying as if vainly attempting to overtake what has been lost” (T. Edwards).
Take time to laugh,
It is the music of life.
Take time to think,
It is the source of power.
Take time to play,
It is the source of youth.
Take time to read,
It is the fountain of wisdom.
Take time to pray,
It is the greatest power on earth.
Take time to be friendly,
It is the road to happiness.
Take time to listen,
It is the way to be accepted.
Take time to work,
It is the price to success.
5. A SENSE OF HUMOUR. Humour is an innate quality in every human being, enabling him/her to perceive life objectively.
Humour is more an attitude in depth than a skill in witty remarks. It is rooted in the personality’s detachment from life situations. Sir Thomas More, as he was about to ascend the gallows, said to the master of the Tower (London), “Help me climb up. I can manage the trip down myself”!
Humour is a safety valve, an effective drug for longevity in our tension-ridden society. The person who laughs remains free. Psychologist Gordon Allport describes the value of humour thus: “Humour may throw an otherwise intolerable situation into a new and manageable perspective. The neurotic who learns to laugh at himself may be on the way to self-management, perhaps to cure.”
Humour and sanity go hand in hand. A king said to his jester., “Say something silly.” The jester replies, “You are a great man!”
It has been said, and rightly so: “Humanity will have enough to laugh for when it realizes that man, woman, is a little less than angels and a little more than monkeys.”
Cooperation is a way of life in the case of the sane and the healthy. It helps to live effortlessly and to make the best and the most of it.
There is no satisfactory health or happiness that a person can obtain that neglects the source of life itself and the only all-embracing power there is.
We are cooperating with life when we remove the inner conflicts that cause resistance. Intelligent living consists in our ability to establish a healthy compromise between the pleasure-seeking elements of our nature and the disciplinary elements of our conscience.
A healthy mind produces a healthy body.
The way of wise cooperation is the achievement of a harmonious balance of our basic needs, such as security, acceptance, love and the Lord. Often, however, with our needs reduced, we are increasingly likely to function more positively, almost in direct proportion to how much we feel valued.
We are able to achieve results when we:
1. LIVE EACH DAY FULLY. Believe in today and in the work you are doing. Yesterday is a cancelled cheque; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is ready cash – spend it wisely.
TODAY
Be present – to yourself and to others.
Be interested – don’t try to be interesting.
Be pleasing – don’t expect to be pleased.
Be entertaining – don’t wait to be entertained.
Be lovable – don’t wait to be loved.
Be helpful – don’t ask to be helped.
An elderly man was working around the front yard of the house, whistling non-stop. The sound of the whistling was loud and clear, but its seemed rather aimless and purposeless, with no recognizable tune in evidence.
A visitor walked up to the man and said, “I see you’re fond of whistling.”
“Oh” he said, “it’s second nature to me now.”
Then pointing to the woman on the porch, he explained that she was his wife, and that they had been happily married for thirty-eight years when she became blind. Coming as it did so late in life, the blindness had been a deep-seated insecurity.
“I figured,” he went on, “if I just keep whistling while I’m outside the house, she’ll have the security of knowing I’m still with her.”
2.TAKE TIME TO REST. It is necessary to the body as is food. Good rest, a good night’s sleep is health. Rest is the best eraser of fatigue, the means to let off steam, to overcome interior conflicts. Sleep is nature’s way of building up energy. The ability to rest is the secret of wiser and more efficient work. It helps enjoy the normal pleasures of life.
Robert Louis Stevenson prayed: ”The day returns and brings us the petty round of irritating concerns and duties. Help us to play the man, help us to perform them with laughter and kind faces: let cheerfulness abound with industry. Give us to go blithely on our business all this day, bring us to our resting beds weary and content and honoured, and grant us in the end the gift of sleep.”
Use these specific techniques to spend the day in a restful and relaxed way:
a.) An optimistic philosophy of life will aid you in controlling your negative emotions. Unhappiness causes you to be chronically restless and constitutes one of the major causes of insomnia.
b.) Keep in mind that recreation is mental medicine. Don’t take yourself too seriously.
c.) Take things in their natural stride.
d.) Enjoy your work. Man is a worker. Work is love and joy made visible.
Thank God when you wake up every morning, that you have something to do, that you have a job. Many people are jobless and the future will offer still less work.
Do your work with due responsibility and intelligence. Your attitude toward work determines how successful it will be.
A worker has the right to just and favourable remuneration insuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity.
Work keeps us from boredom. It gives life its savour and health. It is the source of prosperity and lays the foundation of every fortune.
Behold the tiny ants!
How they march in a line,
Carrying grains of sugar in their mouths
And piling them in a mountain heap!
What a lesson do they not yield to us!
Here’s the secret of success
In all great and noble undertakings
With small means –
Study nature through and through,
Read her lessons between the lines,
And you will fine it written
On every page in bold characters:
“Continuity, persistence”.
4. KNOW THE VALUE OF TIME. Take time as your counsellor – it is the wisest. Time flies, but you are the navigator.
Start each morning determined to make the most of the day. “If you have a time and place for everything and do everything in its time and place, you will not only accomplish more but have more leisure than those who are always hurrying as if vainly attempting to overtake what has been lost” (T. Edwards).
Take time to laugh,
It is the music of life.
Take time to think,
It is the source of power.
Take time to play,
It is the source of youth.
Take time to read,
It is the fountain of wisdom.
Take time to pray,
It is the greatest power on earth.
Take time to be friendly,
It is the road to happiness.
Take time to listen,
It is the way to be accepted.
Take time to work,
It is the price to success.
5. A SENSE OF HUMOUR. Humour is an innate quality in every human being, enabling him/her to perceive life objectively.
Humour is more an attitude in depth than a skill in witty remarks. It is rooted in the personality’s detachment from life situations. Sir Thomas More, as he was about to ascend the gallows, said to the master of the Tower (London), “Help me climb up. I can manage the trip down myself”!
Humour is a safety valve, an effective drug for longevity in our tension-ridden society. The person who laughs remains free. Psychologist Gordon Allport describes the value of humour thus: “Humour may throw an otherwise intolerable situation into a new and manageable perspective. The neurotic who learns to laugh at himself may be on the way to self-management, perhaps to cure.”
Humour and sanity go hand in hand. A king said to his jester., “Say something silly.” The jester replies, “You are a great man!”
It has been said, and rightly so: “Humanity will have enough to laugh for when it realizes that man, woman, is a little less than angels and a little more than monkeys.”
A Charles Ringma Collections: Dare to Journey with Henri Nouwen
THE RISK OF LIVING
Moving beyond safety and security
-2 Corinthians 5:17
We can create a very safe world for ourselves. We establish our work routines. Cultivate a few friendships. Develop certain family patterns. Establish our ideas about God and the meaning of life. Maintain certain spiritual disciplines and take on certain commitments. None of these things in themselves need necessarily be inappropriate.
But all these may spring from the doubtful motivation of trying to make for ourselves a safe and secure world. A world which guards us from risks. A world which shelters us from new challenges. A world where the very fabric of our routines not only sustains us, but also anaesthetises us.
The inner life cannot fully develop under these circumstances. Safety is not always a key to growth. But questioning, searching and risk-taking are. Henri Nouwen makes the observation that the questions we raise ‘have to be lived rather than developed intellectually’. In other words, we need to cease taking our world for granted and begin to take our questions into the arena of life by living them out practically. True questioning can only lead to a new doing. Searching can only lead to shattering some of our securities. And risk-taking, when born of a desire to live more truly and authentically, can only lead to new life.
ACTION AND HOPE
Sustaining purposely activity
Acts 2:43-47
Hope is not just a vague feeling that somehow things will become better. Hope involves action, and action is what moves us towards the things we hope for. Hope inspires action and action begins to realise our hopes.
But not all action is helpful our constructive. Action born of frustration or compulsion seldom achieves positive results. While this form of activity may be characterised by initial energy and promise, it quickly fades or becomes sidetracked. Neither frustration nor compulsion are good motivations for the long journey of positive and constructive action.
Action inspired by guilt or duress or action as therapy are not helpful either. Action as therapy, embarked upon to rid us of a sense of guilt, becomes action that soon looks away from achieving the general good. It finally becomes self-seeking and self-serving, for it only looks to what it can do for us.
Action under duress is limited action as well. Before long, resentments will cause us to abandon the things we are made to do and we will begin to subvert the system in some way.
Purposeful action should not spring from frustration, compulsion, guilt or duress. It should come from freedom and hope. And hope will be all the more significant and powerful when the eye of faith can see its final realisation.
Henri Nouwen reminds us that action ‘is not a fearful attempt to restore a broken order’. Such action assumes too much, for we are not sufficiently wise and all-seeing. And we would never be able to sustain our action in order to achieve such a monumental outcome. We would become overwhelmed in the attempt.
Instead, as Nouwen rightly reminds us, action ‘is a joyful assertion that in Christ all order has already been restored’. Such action works out of a final promise, not towards such a promise. It springs from a believed goal, rather than making such a goal believable. Such hope not only inspires our action, but makes it sustainable.
PRAYER AND HOPE
The prayer that leads to partnership.
-Matthew 26:39
We have suggested that solitude has primarily to do with developing a new attentiveness. Thus listening lies at the heart of the practice of solitude. But good listening involves conversation. In conversation what one hears can be questioned, elaborated upon, made more specific and made more applicable to our situation.
This type of conversation highlights one form of prayer. This is not the prayer of adoration, nor that of thanksgiving, nor that of supplication. It is the prayer that probes and looks for greater light. It is the prayer that goes on seeking because it is not satisfied that it has understood all that needs to be grasped.
While Nouwen’s assertion that ‘every prayer is an expression of hope’ is true, the prayer that probes is particularly the prayer of hope. Its hope is not that it expects God to intervene marvellously and to change situations miraculously. Its hope is very different. Its hope lies in gaining a sense of what is on God’s heart. It seeks to understand God’s purposes. It seeks to enter into God’s concerns and obediently to discern his will. It does this because it believes that in doing the will of God our life will find its true purpose and this world will become a better place.
This form of prayer, which probes and question in order to understand more clearly, is the prayer that believes in partnership. It sees us linking our concerns, priorities and activities with God’s intention and this lives in the hope that God’s kingdom will be more fully reflected in our world.
HINDRANCES BECOME A WAY
The creative use of difficulty
-Jame 1:2-4
Creating space for ourselves, learning to be still and entering into solitude serve not only our spiritual development. These disciplines also help us to become our own persons. It is a way in which we can become sure of who we are, what we believe and what we must do. Solitude is a way of self-formation.
Solitude is also a way of making us more resourceful and creative. It can help us to reorient our thinking, so that, in the words of Nouwen, ‘what seems a hindrance becomes a way’. This is not easy. Hindrances and difficulties often frustrate us. They can make us angry at others, and even at God. They make us feel victimised and can drive us to self-doubt and despair. We prefer to side-step difficulties. We feel that we have run out of luck when too many hindrances stare us in the face. We curse fate and we doubt God’s benevolence and care. We seldom do well in difficulty.
This is often due to the fact that we lack inner resources and a strong resolve. We see hindrances and difficulties as ‘just one more thing on our plate’ that we don’t have time for.
And yet we could learn so much if we faced our difficulties. Sometimes difficulties can tell us much about ourselves. They can always tell us something about our world. And they can usually teach us something regarding new ways of responding and acting.
It is difficulty that has inspired some members of the human race to great creativity. It is an important factor in change. It is also the way in which we can become more careful and prayerful. And sometimes, when we take the time to be still and face the difficulties before us, we discover that they were not what they at first seemed- a hindrance – but were in fact a way to new experiences.
PRAYER FRIEND
Nourishing the inner life.
John 15:15
It is a paradox that in this time in history where we have created the megapolis and therefore live in increasingly crowded spaces, we can experience so much loneliness. It is a further paradox that in spite of the major advances in medical technology, we are still so unwell and that, in spite of the communication revolution, we still feel so alienated. We can safely say that whatever we seem to create at a societal level, however good it is, also has negative implications.
But more deeply, our difficulties cannot simply be laid at the feet of society. They also lie within us. And often feel deeply lonely, purposeless, frustrated, misunderstood and unloved. Our brave front and our many achievements don’t ease the pain of our inner poverty.
The enrichment of our inner life is therefore not an optional extra. It is life itself. It will allow us to hold our achievements with open hands in the realization that we are more than our accomplishments. It will also allow us to respond creatively to difficulty because we have wells to draw from that need never be dry.
Prayer is one way of nourishing the inner life. This is so, as Nouwen reminds us, because ‘the praying man is he who comes out of his shelter and not only has the courage to see his own poverty, but also sees that there is no enemy to hide from, only a friend who would like nothing better than to clothe him with his own coat.’
ACTIONS AND CONSEQUENCES
Sowing good seed for good results
Luke 8:15
We live in a refractory and difficult world. Our experience confirms this. Things do not always work out, despite our careful planning.
This does not mean, however, that everything is random. Some things do follow. When we freely forgive a person who has hurt us we can be sure that we will banish bitterness from our hearts. When we serve others, not out of guilt or compulsion, but out of love, we ourselves will be blessed. When we give, not because we expect to receive, but freely and with a generous heart, we will receive. When we become men and women of prayer, we will grow in spiritual wisdom. When we live in obedience to God’s will, our lives will be fruitful.
Things, however, follow not only in the spiritual realm, but in the practical as well. If we take time for solitude and renewal, we will be refreshed,. If we care for our souls, our bodies will also be blessed.
Henri Nouwen asserts that ‘he who has the day will gain the night as well’. If our day is spent purposefully, the blessing of a good night’s rest will be ours as well. Good actions can have good consequences. Good seed can produce good fruit.
Sadly, we often focus too much on results and not enough on the factors that produce such results. We want to pluck fruit from trees we have not planted and watered. We want to be blessed without walking the road of obedience. We want to experience well-being without caring for our own bodies. We want inner peace without being honest and transparent.
Yet we can have what we want. But this will involve sowing and watering. It will involve laying good foundations. It will involve doing what is right ahead of that which suits us. It may well involve walking the seemingly long road of faith and obedience rather that taking short cut to grasp the promised goal.
Moving beyond safety and security
-2 Corinthians 5:17
We can create a very safe world for ourselves. We establish our work routines. Cultivate a few friendships. Develop certain family patterns. Establish our ideas about God and the meaning of life. Maintain certain spiritual disciplines and take on certain commitments. None of these things in themselves need necessarily be inappropriate.
But all these may spring from the doubtful motivation of trying to make for ourselves a safe and secure world. A world which guards us from risks. A world which shelters us from new challenges. A world where the very fabric of our routines not only sustains us, but also anaesthetises us.
The inner life cannot fully develop under these circumstances. Safety is not always a key to growth. But questioning, searching and risk-taking are. Henri Nouwen makes the observation that the questions we raise ‘have to be lived rather than developed intellectually’. In other words, we need to cease taking our world for granted and begin to take our questions into the arena of life by living them out practically. True questioning can only lead to a new doing. Searching can only lead to shattering some of our securities. And risk-taking, when born of a desire to live more truly and authentically, can only lead to new life.
ACTION AND HOPE
Sustaining purposely activity
Acts 2:43-47
Hope is not just a vague feeling that somehow things will become better. Hope involves action, and action is what moves us towards the things we hope for. Hope inspires action and action begins to realise our hopes.
But not all action is helpful our constructive. Action born of frustration or compulsion seldom achieves positive results. While this form of activity may be characterised by initial energy and promise, it quickly fades or becomes sidetracked. Neither frustration nor compulsion are good motivations for the long journey of positive and constructive action.
Action inspired by guilt or duress or action as therapy are not helpful either. Action as therapy, embarked upon to rid us of a sense of guilt, becomes action that soon looks away from achieving the general good. It finally becomes self-seeking and self-serving, for it only looks to what it can do for us.
Action under duress is limited action as well. Before long, resentments will cause us to abandon the things we are made to do and we will begin to subvert the system in some way.
Purposeful action should not spring from frustration, compulsion, guilt or duress. It should come from freedom and hope. And hope will be all the more significant and powerful when the eye of faith can see its final realisation.
Henri Nouwen reminds us that action ‘is not a fearful attempt to restore a broken order’. Such action assumes too much, for we are not sufficiently wise and all-seeing. And we would never be able to sustain our action in order to achieve such a monumental outcome. We would become overwhelmed in the attempt.
Instead, as Nouwen rightly reminds us, action ‘is a joyful assertion that in Christ all order has already been restored’. Such action works out of a final promise, not towards such a promise. It springs from a believed goal, rather than making such a goal believable. Such hope not only inspires our action, but makes it sustainable.
PRAYER AND HOPE
The prayer that leads to partnership.
-Matthew 26:39
We have suggested that solitude has primarily to do with developing a new attentiveness. Thus listening lies at the heart of the practice of solitude. But good listening involves conversation. In conversation what one hears can be questioned, elaborated upon, made more specific and made more applicable to our situation.
This type of conversation highlights one form of prayer. This is not the prayer of adoration, nor that of thanksgiving, nor that of supplication. It is the prayer that probes and looks for greater light. It is the prayer that goes on seeking because it is not satisfied that it has understood all that needs to be grasped.
While Nouwen’s assertion that ‘every prayer is an expression of hope’ is true, the prayer that probes is particularly the prayer of hope. Its hope is not that it expects God to intervene marvellously and to change situations miraculously. Its hope is very different. Its hope lies in gaining a sense of what is on God’s heart. It seeks to understand God’s purposes. It seeks to enter into God’s concerns and obediently to discern his will. It does this because it believes that in doing the will of God our life will find its true purpose and this world will become a better place.
This form of prayer, which probes and question in order to understand more clearly, is the prayer that believes in partnership. It sees us linking our concerns, priorities and activities with God’s intention and this lives in the hope that God’s kingdom will be more fully reflected in our world.
HINDRANCES BECOME A WAY
The creative use of difficulty
-Jame 1:2-4
Creating space for ourselves, learning to be still and entering into solitude serve not only our spiritual development. These disciplines also help us to become our own persons. It is a way in which we can become sure of who we are, what we believe and what we must do. Solitude is a way of self-formation.
Solitude is also a way of making us more resourceful and creative. It can help us to reorient our thinking, so that, in the words of Nouwen, ‘what seems a hindrance becomes a way’. This is not easy. Hindrances and difficulties often frustrate us. They can make us angry at others, and even at God. They make us feel victimised and can drive us to self-doubt and despair. We prefer to side-step difficulties. We feel that we have run out of luck when too many hindrances stare us in the face. We curse fate and we doubt God’s benevolence and care. We seldom do well in difficulty.
This is often due to the fact that we lack inner resources and a strong resolve. We see hindrances and difficulties as ‘just one more thing on our plate’ that we don’t have time for.
And yet we could learn so much if we faced our difficulties. Sometimes difficulties can tell us much about ourselves. They can always tell us something about our world. And they can usually teach us something regarding new ways of responding and acting.
It is difficulty that has inspired some members of the human race to great creativity. It is an important factor in change. It is also the way in which we can become more careful and prayerful. And sometimes, when we take the time to be still and face the difficulties before us, we discover that they were not what they at first seemed- a hindrance – but were in fact a way to new experiences.
PRAYER FRIEND
Nourishing the inner life.
John 15:15
It is a paradox that in this time in history where we have created the megapolis and therefore live in increasingly crowded spaces, we can experience so much loneliness. It is a further paradox that in spite of the major advances in medical technology, we are still so unwell and that, in spite of the communication revolution, we still feel so alienated. We can safely say that whatever we seem to create at a societal level, however good it is, also has negative implications.
But more deeply, our difficulties cannot simply be laid at the feet of society. They also lie within us. And often feel deeply lonely, purposeless, frustrated, misunderstood and unloved. Our brave front and our many achievements don’t ease the pain of our inner poverty.
The enrichment of our inner life is therefore not an optional extra. It is life itself. It will allow us to hold our achievements with open hands in the realization that we are more than our accomplishments. It will also allow us to respond creatively to difficulty because we have wells to draw from that need never be dry.
Prayer is one way of nourishing the inner life. This is so, as Nouwen reminds us, because ‘the praying man is he who comes out of his shelter and not only has the courage to see his own poverty, but also sees that there is no enemy to hide from, only a friend who would like nothing better than to clothe him with his own coat.’
ACTIONS AND CONSEQUENCES
Sowing good seed for good results
Luke 8:15
We live in a refractory and difficult world. Our experience confirms this. Things do not always work out, despite our careful planning.
This does not mean, however, that everything is random. Some things do follow. When we freely forgive a person who has hurt us we can be sure that we will banish bitterness from our hearts. When we serve others, not out of guilt or compulsion, but out of love, we ourselves will be blessed. When we give, not because we expect to receive, but freely and with a generous heart, we will receive. When we become men and women of prayer, we will grow in spiritual wisdom. When we live in obedience to God’s will, our lives will be fruitful.
Things, however, follow not only in the spiritual realm, but in the practical as well. If we take time for solitude and renewal, we will be refreshed,. If we care for our souls, our bodies will also be blessed.
Henri Nouwen asserts that ‘he who has the day will gain the night as well’. If our day is spent purposefully, the blessing of a good night’s rest will be ours as well. Good actions can have good consequences. Good seed can produce good fruit.
Sadly, we often focus too much on results and not enough on the factors that produce such results. We want to pluck fruit from trees we have not planted and watered. We want to be blessed without walking the road of obedience. We want to experience well-being without caring for our own bodies. We want inner peace without being honest and transparent.
Yet we can have what we want. But this will involve sowing and watering. It will involve laying good foundations. It will involve doing what is right ahead of that which suits us. It may well involve walking the seemingly long road of faith and obedience rather that taking short cut to grasp the promised goal.
A Henry Gariepy Collections : When Life Gets Tough
WHEN LIFE COMES TUMBLING DOWN
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.-Psalm 46:1
Trouble eventually knocks at everyone’s door. Sometimes it doesn’t bother to knock, it bangs the door down –ruthlessly, violently, unexpected and unwanted.
Job’s plaintive warning echoes across the centuries: “Man is born to trouble…” Sometimes it is as a far off shadow, but inexorably it moves closer and will surely come to our door.
So what do we do when trouble comes, when life comes tumbling down about us? Do we seek to run from it? Refuse to face reality? Give up?
Any glib and simple answers about trouble and tragedy just do not ring true in a world where headlines scream to us of the millions of starving, the plight of refugees, the inhumanity of the holocaust, the slaughters by terrorists, and the nuclear nightmare that haunts every new generation.
“Bad things do not happen for nay good reason,” states Rabbi Harold Kusner in his book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. “But, “ He tells us, “we can redeem these tragedies from senselessness by imposing meaning on them. The question we should be asking is not, “Why did this happen to me? That is rally unanswerable. A better question would be, ‘Now that this has happened to me, what am I going to do about it?”
The psalmist invites us to put our trust in God as our refuge and strength. The God who cares is there to help and to heal when life comes tumbling down around us.
TODAY GOD IS REACHING OUT TO YOU. WILL YOU REACH OUT TO HIM?
THE CRISIS OF CHANGE
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.-Hebrew 13:8
Many of us can remember when “setting the world on fire” was merely a figure of speech, only preachers were preparing people to travel to outer space, a floppy dist was something you consulted your chiropractor about, and people were smarter than machines. Dynamic change is a trademark of our times. As Bob Dylan sang, “The times, they are a changin’!”
It has often been said since September 11, 2001, that life will never be same again. In a matter of minutes, our nation was changed from a country of peaceful security to a place vulnerable to the monstrous acts of terrorism and threatened with weapons of mass destruction.
The crisis of change also occurs on a personal level. Today we may march forth in health and vigour. Suddenly, sickness unhinges our knees and we become horizontal citizens of the sickroom, unwilling initiates into the fellowship of pain. Misfortune can overtake us in a moment, shatter our dreams, and bring us to the brink of desperation.
Alvin Toffler’s popular book, Future Shock, was written to “help us survive our collision course with tomorrow” as we face “death of permanence.” It was designed as a textbook with strategies for survival for those overwhelmed by change and its impacts.
But, of course, we already have a textbook for coping with the crisis change. The Bible provides the needed survival strategies and tells us of the One who remains unchanging in our changing world.
IN THE SWIRL OF CHANGE, COMMIT TO CLING TO THE ONE WHO NEVER CHANGES FOR YOUR STRENGTH.
THE ANTIDOTE TO FEAR
Therefore we will not fear. –Psalm 46:2
When the forecast calls for a storm, ships need a sure anchor; trees, deep roots; persons, a firm foundation of faith.
Faith in god becomes the antidote to fear. Like the psalmist, we, too, can declare in the middle of life’s crises, “Therefore we will not fear.” Throughout the Bible there are 365 “fear nots” or its equivalent. God has given us one for every day of the year!
A symbol of arrogance is found in the epigram carved over a doorway on the Titanic: “Not even God can sink this ship.” Its blasphemy still rots at the bottom of the Atlantic. Modern man is infected with the myth of self-sufficiency, of autonomy. The psalmist reminds us that we are insufficient in our own strength alone, that we need God as our refuge and strength for the trials and testings that surely will come our way.
This 46th Psalm became a major source of comfort and courage in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on America on September 11, 2001. The psalm was read on televised programs across the country. As described in the psalm, those things that had once seemed so secure came tumbling down upon us. Life could never again be the same. More than ever we have needed the assuring word that God is an ever-present help in trouble, and because He is with us, we need not fear.
Sooner or later stressful situations will beset each life, some striking us as emotional earthquakes.
WHEN SHATTERING EXPERIENCES COME INTO YOUR LIFE, IN PLACE OF FEAR GOD WILL GIVE YOU COURAGE AND COMFORT.
ABIDE WITH ME
Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over. –Luke 24:29
In one of the most beautiful accounts in the New Testament, following His resurrection, Jesus appeared to two of his followers on the road to Emmaus. For them, it was a road of disappointment, of heartbreak, of defeat. Their bright dreams of tomorrow had been turned into the grim nightmare of Calvary.
They did not recognize Christ, and as they approached their destination He seemed ready to take leave of them and go on. But following His luminous discourse with them, they urged Him to stay with them as evening was falling.
To each life there comes the time when the shadows of evening fall upon our pathway, and we need the presence of the lord. It is evening for our world when hope seems hard to find. It is evening for our families when troubles come. It is evening for us when we experience loss, illness, grief, or tragedy. And nightfall often comes with death.
When the evening times of life come, we would ask the risen Lord, as did the disciples of old, “Abide with us.” His presence sustains us and His promise stretches past the darkness into the brightness of day. As those two companions of old, we ,too, will rejoice in the glow of His presence as He turns our Good Friday into Easter Sunday.
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide.
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.
TAKE A MOMENT TO STAND AND READ ALOUD THIS PRAYER.
LIFE AFTER DEATH
If a man dies, will he live again? –Job 14:14
Job asked the universal question. He put into words the yearning of all humanity.
This ancient question echoes across the centuries and remains the central question of life. Inscriptions on tombs of tribes extinct for centuries offer mute testimony to man’s ancient quest for immortality.
Posed as an anxious question, Job referred to death as “the king of terrors” and “a journey of not return”. Death imposes for many a certain fear and anxiety. The question expose Job’s hope and quest for immortality.
The schools of philosophy cannot answer Job’s question. It is beyond the realm of science and technology. This ancient, anxious, and argued question finds its answer only in Christ. The Risen Lord alone could declare with ultimate authority: “He who believes in me will live, even though he dies” (John 11:25). The resurrection of Jesus Christ once and for all indisputably answered Job’s age-old question, “If a man dies, will he live again?”
Beethoven’s 6th symphony sounds the crash of the storm, followed by the first tremulous notes of new hope, broadening into a song of thanksgiving. That is something of what happened between Good Friday and Easter. And because of that, when storm and death strike, we have a hope that is an anchor for the soul.
Christ’s resurrection solved the riddle of death. It means that the worst has been met and conquered, and no matter what, the last word will be victory.
YOU CAN BE CONFIDENT IN CHRIST THAT DEATH IS NOT THE END BUT THE BEGINNING IN ETERNITY.
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.-Psalm 46:1
Trouble eventually knocks at everyone’s door. Sometimes it doesn’t bother to knock, it bangs the door down –ruthlessly, violently, unexpected and unwanted.
Job’s plaintive warning echoes across the centuries: “Man is born to trouble…” Sometimes it is as a far off shadow, but inexorably it moves closer and will surely come to our door.
So what do we do when trouble comes, when life comes tumbling down about us? Do we seek to run from it? Refuse to face reality? Give up?
Any glib and simple answers about trouble and tragedy just do not ring true in a world where headlines scream to us of the millions of starving, the plight of refugees, the inhumanity of the holocaust, the slaughters by terrorists, and the nuclear nightmare that haunts every new generation.
“Bad things do not happen for nay good reason,” states Rabbi Harold Kusner in his book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. “But, “ He tells us, “we can redeem these tragedies from senselessness by imposing meaning on them. The question we should be asking is not, “Why did this happen to me? That is rally unanswerable. A better question would be, ‘Now that this has happened to me, what am I going to do about it?”
The psalmist invites us to put our trust in God as our refuge and strength. The God who cares is there to help and to heal when life comes tumbling down around us.
TODAY GOD IS REACHING OUT TO YOU. WILL YOU REACH OUT TO HIM?
THE CRISIS OF CHANGE
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.-Hebrew 13:8
Many of us can remember when “setting the world on fire” was merely a figure of speech, only preachers were preparing people to travel to outer space, a floppy dist was something you consulted your chiropractor about, and people were smarter than machines. Dynamic change is a trademark of our times. As Bob Dylan sang, “The times, they are a changin’!”
It has often been said since September 11, 2001, that life will never be same again. In a matter of minutes, our nation was changed from a country of peaceful security to a place vulnerable to the monstrous acts of terrorism and threatened with weapons of mass destruction.
The crisis of change also occurs on a personal level. Today we may march forth in health and vigour. Suddenly, sickness unhinges our knees and we become horizontal citizens of the sickroom, unwilling initiates into the fellowship of pain. Misfortune can overtake us in a moment, shatter our dreams, and bring us to the brink of desperation.
Alvin Toffler’s popular book, Future Shock, was written to “help us survive our collision course with tomorrow” as we face “death of permanence.” It was designed as a textbook with strategies for survival for those overwhelmed by change and its impacts.
But, of course, we already have a textbook for coping with the crisis change. The Bible provides the needed survival strategies and tells us of the One who remains unchanging in our changing world.
IN THE SWIRL OF CHANGE, COMMIT TO CLING TO THE ONE WHO NEVER CHANGES FOR YOUR STRENGTH.
THE ANTIDOTE TO FEAR
Therefore we will not fear. –Psalm 46:2
When the forecast calls for a storm, ships need a sure anchor; trees, deep roots; persons, a firm foundation of faith.
Faith in god becomes the antidote to fear. Like the psalmist, we, too, can declare in the middle of life’s crises, “Therefore we will not fear.” Throughout the Bible there are 365 “fear nots” or its equivalent. God has given us one for every day of the year!
A symbol of arrogance is found in the epigram carved over a doorway on the Titanic: “Not even God can sink this ship.” Its blasphemy still rots at the bottom of the Atlantic. Modern man is infected with the myth of self-sufficiency, of autonomy. The psalmist reminds us that we are insufficient in our own strength alone, that we need God as our refuge and strength for the trials and testings that surely will come our way.
This 46th Psalm became a major source of comfort and courage in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on America on September 11, 2001. The psalm was read on televised programs across the country. As described in the psalm, those things that had once seemed so secure came tumbling down upon us. Life could never again be the same. More than ever we have needed the assuring word that God is an ever-present help in trouble, and because He is with us, we need not fear.
Sooner or later stressful situations will beset each life, some striking us as emotional earthquakes.
WHEN SHATTERING EXPERIENCES COME INTO YOUR LIFE, IN PLACE OF FEAR GOD WILL GIVE YOU COURAGE AND COMFORT.
ABIDE WITH ME
Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over. –Luke 24:29
In one of the most beautiful accounts in the New Testament, following His resurrection, Jesus appeared to two of his followers on the road to Emmaus. For them, it was a road of disappointment, of heartbreak, of defeat. Their bright dreams of tomorrow had been turned into the grim nightmare of Calvary.
They did not recognize Christ, and as they approached their destination He seemed ready to take leave of them and go on. But following His luminous discourse with them, they urged Him to stay with them as evening was falling.
To each life there comes the time when the shadows of evening fall upon our pathway, and we need the presence of the lord. It is evening for our world when hope seems hard to find. It is evening for our families when troubles come. It is evening for us when we experience loss, illness, grief, or tragedy. And nightfall often comes with death.
When the evening times of life come, we would ask the risen Lord, as did the disciples of old, “Abide with us.” His presence sustains us and His promise stretches past the darkness into the brightness of day. As those two companions of old, we ,too, will rejoice in the glow of His presence as He turns our Good Friday into Easter Sunday.
Abide with me, fast falls the eventide.
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, oh, abide with me.
TAKE A MOMENT TO STAND AND READ ALOUD THIS PRAYER.
LIFE AFTER DEATH
If a man dies, will he live again? –Job 14:14
Job asked the universal question. He put into words the yearning of all humanity.
This ancient question echoes across the centuries and remains the central question of life. Inscriptions on tombs of tribes extinct for centuries offer mute testimony to man’s ancient quest for immortality.
Posed as an anxious question, Job referred to death as “the king of terrors” and “a journey of not return”. Death imposes for many a certain fear and anxiety. The question expose Job’s hope and quest for immortality.
The schools of philosophy cannot answer Job’s question. It is beyond the realm of science and technology. This ancient, anxious, and argued question finds its answer only in Christ. The Risen Lord alone could declare with ultimate authority: “He who believes in me will live, even though he dies” (John 11:25). The resurrection of Jesus Christ once and for all indisputably answered Job’s age-old question, “If a man dies, will he live again?”
Beethoven’s 6th symphony sounds the crash of the storm, followed by the first tremulous notes of new hope, broadening into a song of thanksgiving. That is something of what happened between Good Friday and Easter. And because of that, when storm and death strike, we have a hope that is an anchor for the soul.
Christ’s resurrection solved the riddle of death. It means that the worst has been met and conquered, and no matter what, the last word will be victory.
YOU CAN BE CONFIDENT IN CHRIST THAT DEATH IS NOT THE END BUT THE BEGINNING IN ETERNITY.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
DEALING WITH STRESS
STRESS
J. Maurus
Stress is a common dimension of wellness which includes the ability to handle the stresses that inevitably occur in one’s life.
At one time or another we all deal with stress-producing events. What is not understood is that stress can result from positive events as well as negative ones.
Drs Thomas Holmes and Masada Monoru developed an instrument called “The Life Change Scale”. They have identified the events of various value counts which contribute to human stress. We have adapted it to the Indian context, and arranged it according to the decreasing value count:
Death of a spouse
Divorce
Marital separation from mate
Detention in jail or other institution
Death of a close family member
Major personal injury or illness
Marriage
Being fired at work
Marital reconciliation with mate
Retirement from work
Major change in the health or behavior of a family member
Pregnancy
Sex difficulties
Gaining a new family member
Major business readjustment
Major change in financial state
Death of a close friend
Son or daughter leaving home
Trouble with in-laws
Changing to different line of work
Taking out a mortgage or loan
Major change in responsibilities at work
Outstanding personal achievement
Trouble with the boss
Wife beginning or ceasing work outside the home
Beginning or ceasing formal schooling
Change in residence
Revision of personal habits
Major change in social activities
Major change in eating habits
Minor violations of the law.
DEALING WITH STRESS
J. Maurus
Walt Schaefer in his text Stress, Distress and Growth suggests the following ways of dealing with stress:
1. Take time for relaxation. This may involve a walk in the woods, visiting a museum, reading a book or listening to fine music.
2. Move through the day slowly. Take time to experience the beauty of the environment.
3. Allow time for the unexpected. This often means scheduling fewer tasks so the person can deal with such events when they occur.
4. Leave early enough so there is no need to rush to get to a destination.
5. Select activities and challenges that are meaningful so there is an avoidance of time and energy consumption.
6. Slow the pace of talking, walking, eating, and breathing.
7. Find time each day to exercise.
8. Find a good fit between one’s personal needs and the demands of the environment such as job, family, friends, neighbors, and household duties.
9. Become more aware of the stressors in the environment. The above scale will assist in this task.
10. Know your values, priorities and limits.
J. Maurus
Stress is a common dimension of wellness which includes the ability to handle the stresses that inevitably occur in one’s life.
At one time or another we all deal with stress-producing events. What is not understood is that stress can result from positive events as well as negative ones.
Drs Thomas Holmes and Masada Monoru developed an instrument called “The Life Change Scale”. They have identified the events of various value counts which contribute to human stress. We have adapted it to the Indian context, and arranged it according to the decreasing value count:
Death of a spouse
Divorce
Marital separation from mate
Detention in jail or other institution
Death of a close family member
Major personal injury or illness
Marriage
Being fired at work
Marital reconciliation with mate
Retirement from work
Major change in the health or behavior of a family member
Pregnancy
Sex difficulties
Gaining a new family member
Major business readjustment
Major change in financial state
Death of a close friend
Son or daughter leaving home
Trouble with in-laws
Changing to different line of work
Taking out a mortgage or loan
Major change in responsibilities at work
Outstanding personal achievement
Trouble with the boss
Wife beginning or ceasing work outside the home
Beginning or ceasing formal schooling
Change in residence
Revision of personal habits
Major change in social activities
Major change in eating habits
Minor violations of the law.
DEALING WITH STRESS
J. Maurus
Walt Schaefer in his text Stress, Distress and Growth suggests the following ways of dealing with stress:
1. Take time for relaxation. This may involve a walk in the woods, visiting a museum, reading a book or listening to fine music.
2. Move through the day slowly. Take time to experience the beauty of the environment.
3. Allow time for the unexpected. This often means scheduling fewer tasks so the person can deal with such events when they occur.
4. Leave early enough so there is no need to rush to get to a destination.
5. Select activities and challenges that are meaningful so there is an avoidance of time and energy consumption.
6. Slow the pace of talking, walking, eating, and breathing.
7. Find time each day to exercise.
8. Find a good fit between one’s personal needs and the demands of the environment such as job, family, friends, neighbors, and household duties.
9. Become more aware of the stressors in the environment. The above scale will assist in this task.
10. Know your values, priorities and limits.
Friday, August 8, 2008
THE KEY AND THE BIBLE
DO NOT FORGET TO MEDITATE AND PRAY
THE KEY AND THE BIBLE
There was a young man who was about to graduate from college. In a span of many months prior to his graduation, he dreamed of owning one very beautiful sports car that he saw on display in a dealer’s showroom at Makati. Since he knew that his father could afford buying it, (his father was a very successful businessman anyway) he told his father that this was what he wanted as a gift on the day of his graduation.
Graduation day arrived for the young man. He woke up very early. You can tell that he is very excited. Thoughts of a very beautiful,, shiny red sports ca kept playing on his mind. He was hoping that if he went to the garage, he would be able to catch a glimpse of his dream car already parked inside. He hurried to the garage, but he didn’t see any car inside. With a great feeling of disgust, he returned to his room. However, he did not lose hope. He said to himself, “Maybe my dad will bring his gift of a new car later, after all he does love surprises.”
Not long after he retuned to his room, his father called out to him. Whispering to himself, he said: “Maybe now he will give me the keys to the car and tell me where it is!” He approached his father, and his father embraced him so tightly and told him: “You know my son, I am very proud of you. You’re such a fine son and I love you so much.” At the same time, his father gave him his present, which was so wonderfully wrapped.
Because the young man was very curious, he opened the gift and out came a very beautiful leather Bible, on the cover of which his name was prominently embossed. Instead of being pleased, the young man expressed his disappointment and told his father: “You are so rich, and all you can give me is a Bible!” Stamping his feet in anger, he left. After the graduation ceremony, the young man, because of his great displeasure, packed his things and ran away.
After a few years, the young man became successful and was able to establish his own business. He was able to erect his house, own a luxury car, had a wife and three kids. It was then that he remembered of his father. He said to himself, “Dad is already old now I’m sure, maybe I should go and see him.” They hadn’t seen each other since his graduation.
But before he could prepare his things to go home and visit his father, he received a telegram saying that his father had just passed away, and that he was to inherit all his property. For the first time in his life he felt so depressed and so bereaved. It was when he so eagerly wanted to see his father that he passed away. He was beset by great sorrow but he knew he had to go back home to arrange everything especially his father’s funeral.
When he arrived at the house of his father, he couldn’t keep himself from crying. He would have liked to ask forgiveness from his father and tell him that he loved him, but his father could no longer hear him. But he said this anyway, while he cried, his arms wrapped around his father’s coffin.
After the funeral, he thought of entering his father’s bedroom. One by one he looked carefully at his father’s favorite things. He saw his father’s favorite hat; the jacket he used to wear when it was cold; the rocking chair his father would often sit in while taking a rest after eating. There was also a picture hanging on the wall, the two of them, father and son, riding a horse when he was only seven years old.
In searching through the important documents left by his father, he came across the Bible which was still gift-wrapped just like it was, several years ago on the day of his graduation. Tears fell as he opened the Bible because memories of that day flashed back – how he, because of his disgust, did not give importance to his father’s gift. He saw a verse in that Bible which his father underlined in Matthew 7:11, which goes:
“If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
After reading the verse, he was about to close the Bible when something fell on the floor. When he looked , it was a key to a car that was taped to the back of the Bible. That was the key of his father’s gift on the day of his graduation.
MORAL LESSON
Many times in our life, we don’t immediately see or understand the goodness of God because we don’t take time to pray and meditate. Sometimes we even become discontented with Him because what He gives us may seem to be different from what we really want. There are times when we go on trials and think that God is angry with us. What the great Apostle Paul said is really true, “ all things work together for good to those who love God…” Romans 8:28. We just need to learn how to read the events that are happening in our lives.
-Villamor S. Quebral
THE KEY AND THE BIBLE
There was a young man who was about to graduate from college. In a span of many months prior to his graduation, he dreamed of owning one very beautiful sports car that he saw on display in a dealer’s showroom at Makati. Since he knew that his father could afford buying it, (his father was a very successful businessman anyway) he told his father that this was what he wanted as a gift on the day of his graduation.
Graduation day arrived for the young man. He woke up very early. You can tell that he is very excited. Thoughts of a very beautiful,, shiny red sports ca kept playing on his mind. He was hoping that if he went to the garage, he would be able to catch a glimpse of his dream car already parked inside. He hurried to the garage, but he didn’t see any car inside. With a great feeling of disgust, he returned to his room. However, he did not lose hope. He said to himself, “Maybe my dad will bring his gift of a new car later, after all he does love surprises.”
Not long after he retuned to his room, his father called out to him. Whispering to himself, he said: “Maybe now he will give me the keys to the car and tell me where it is!” He approached his father, and his father embraced him so tightly and told him: “You know my son, I am very proud of you. You’re such a fine son and I love you so much.” At the same time, his father gave him his present, which was so wonderfully wrapped.
Because the young man was very curious, he opened the gift and out came a very beautiful leather Bible, on the cover of which his name was prominently embossed. Instead of being pleased, the young man expressed his disappointment and told his father: “You are so rich, and all you can give me is a Bible!” Stamping his feet in anger, he left. After the graduation ceremony, the young man, because of his great displeasure, packed his things and ran away.
After a few years, the young man became successful and was able to establish his own business. He was able to erect his house, own a luxury car, had a wife and three kids. It was then that he remembered of his father. He said to himself, “Dad is already old now I’m sure, maybe I should go and see him.” They hadn’t seen each other since his graduation.
But before he could prepare his things to go home and visit his father, he received a telegram saying that his father had just passed away, and that he was to inherit all his property. For the first time in his life he felt so depressed and so bereaved. It was when he so eagerly wanted to see his father that he passed away. He was beset by great sorrow but he knew he had to go back home to arrange everything especially his father’s funeral.
When he arrived at the house of his father, he couldn’t keep himself from crying. He would have liked to ask forgiveness from his father and tell him that he loved him, but his father could no longer hear him. But he said this anyway, while he cried, his arms wrapped around his father’s coffin.
After the funeral, he thought of entering his father’s bedroom. One by one he looked carefully at his father’s favorite things. He saw his father’s favorite hat; the jacket he used to wear when it was cold; the rocking chair his father would often sit in while taking a rest after eating. There was also a picture hanging on the wall, the two of them, father and son, riding a horse when he was only seven years old.
In searching through the important documents left by his father, he came across the Bible which was still gift-wrapped just like it was, several years ago on the day of his graduation. Tears fell as he opened the Bible because memories of that day flashed back – how he, because of his disgust, did not give importance to his father’s gift. He saw a verse in that Bible which his father underlined in Matthew 7:11, which goes:
“If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”
After reading the verse, he was about to close the Bible when something fell on the floor. When he looked , it was a key to a car that was taped to the back of the Bible. That was the key of his father’s gift on the day of his graduation.
MORAL LESSON
Many times in our life, we don’t immediately see or understand the goodness of God because we don’t take time to pray and meditate. Sometimes we even become discontented with Him because what He gives us may seem to be different from what we really want. There are times when we go on trials and think that God is angry with us. What the great Apostle Paul said is really true, “ all things work together for good to those who love God…” Romans 8:28. We just need to learn how to read the events that are happening in our lives.
-Villamor S. Quebral
Sunday, August 3, 2008
THE MIRACLE OF MIRACLES – THE MORE WE GIVE, THE MORE WE HAVE
THE MIRACLE OF MIRACLES –
THE MORE WE GIVE, THE MORE WE HAVE
If we stop the circulation of money- if our only intention is to hold on to our money and hoard it –since it is like energy, we will stop its circulation back into our lives as well. In order to keep that energy coming to us, we have to keep it circulating. Like a river, money must keep flowing, otherwise it begins to stagnate, to clog, to suffocate and strangle its very own life force. Circulation keeps it alive and vital.-Deepak Chopra
· “What! Giving again?” I ask I dismay.
“And must I keep giving and giving away?”
“Oh no,” said the angel, looking me through.
“Just keep giving till the master stops giving to you!”
-Anon
· One of the most potent spiritual principles in the universe, a basic fact of successful living is that to receive the good things of this life you must give.
But one must not give with any ulterior motive in mind. Rather, on should give because it is the wise thing, the right thing to do. One should give out of a spirit of compassion, as a mother does things for her little child, for her sick child, with no thought of her own health or comfort.
· In every seed is the promise of thousands of forests. But the seed must not be hoarded ; it must give its intelligence to the fertile ground. Through its giving, its unseen energy flows into material manifestation.
· If you want joy, give joy to others; it you want love, learn to give love; if you want attention and appreciation, learn to give attention and appreciation; if you want material affluence, help others to become materially affluent.
· The easies way to get what you want is to help others get what they want. This principle works equally well for individuals, corporations, societies, and nations. If you want to be blessed with all the good things in life, learn to silently bless everyone with all the good things in life.
Even the thought of giving, the thought of blessing, or a simple prayer has the power to affect others. Any time you come into contact with anyone, give him or her something. It doesn’t have to be in the form of material things; it could be a flower, a compliment, or, yes, a prayer. In fact, the most powerful forms of giving are non-material. The gifts of caring, attention, affection, appreciation, love and service are some of the most precious gifts you can give, and they don’t cost you anything.
When you meet someone, you can silently impart to him/her a blessing, wishing the person concerned much happiness, joy and laughter. This kind of silent giving is very powerful.
Make a decision to give wherever you go, whomever you see or meet. As long as you’re giving, you will be receiving. The more you give, the more confidence you will gain in the miraculous effects of this law. And as you receive more, your ability to give more will also increase.-Deepak Chopra
· “Service is wonderful; one should never evade it. The body belongs to the Lord; let it be of use to others. Those who do so are dear to the Lord. Also the blessings earned from others are a powerful protection.
FIRST:
Material service, e.g., helping others with money, food, clothes, medicines, etc.
SECOND:
Physical service or service with the body , e.g., cleaning places, carrying water , serving food, etc.
THIRD:
Service with the mind, e.g., sending our good vibrations, wishing others well, praying to God for the welfare of others, etc. In the context of subtlety, service with the mind is the highest service: nothing can be compared with that. It is concealed service and cannot be seen by others. Service with mind brings in immense bliss that is superior to material pleasures. A jiva who sends good wishes or vibrations to others, also helps himself. The good wishes or vibrations that are sent out influence others and affect the sender in return. He who is without good wishes is far from God. If you desire your own wellbeing, you must wish others well.”-Dr Rochaldas
· A cell is alive and healthy when it is in a state of balance and equilibrium. This state of equilibrium is one of fulfillment
And harmony, but it is maintained by constant give and take. Each cell gives to and supports every other cell, and in turn is nourished by every other cell. The cell is always in a state of uninterrupted dynamic flow. In fact, the flow is the very essence of the life of the cell. And only by maintaining this flow of giving is the cell able to receive and thus continue its vibrant existence. –Anon
· In order to understand the principle of giving and receiving, visualize a circle of people in which each person is giving to and receiving from another person in the circle. When everything is moving freely around the circle, everyone receives the benefit of whatever is circulating, including the energy, which is increasing its rate of vibration. If even one person holds on to anything the flow stops, and everyone feels the block in energy as well as the drop in the rate o vibration. Giving is another joy producer.-Arnold Patent
Chandru Gidwani
OUR MOST COMMON ATTACHMENTS
OUR MOST COMMON ATTACHMENTS
Striving after more and more things leads to the realization that you cannot ever fulfill yourself from the outside. It leads you to hoarding and ceaselessly comparing yourself to what others are accumulating. It takes your gaze away from the eyes and hearts of those that you encounter, to the contents of their wallets and material possessions.
2. ATTACHMENT TO OTHER PEOPLE
Detachment in human relationships does not mean an absence of caring. It means caring so much that you suspend your own value judgments about others and relate to them from a position of love rather than attempting to control or judge them. In learning to become less attached you also learn a fundamental truth about loving relationships. Love is for giving, not for taking or for demanding.
3. ATTACHMENT TO THE PAST
Ralph Waldo Emerson reminds us, “Be not the slave of your own past –plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep, and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect.”
4. ATTACHMENT TO YOUR FORM
Being exclusively involved with the outer appearance makes it difficult to see that your true essence is a formlessness that resides inside the body. Paramahansa Yogananda, writing in The Divine Romance, put it thus:
The saints say this is how you must treat the body, as a temporary residence. Don’t be attached to it or bound by it. Realize the infinite power of the light, the immortal consciousness of the soul, which is behind this corpse of sensation.
5. ATTACHMENT TO IDEAS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS
Because you are so attached to what you already believe, you insist on considering everyone who disagree with you wrong. It is fine to have strong opinions about anything that you choose, but the moment you become attached to these ideas and thereby define yourself by them, you shut out the possibility of learning another point of view.
6. ATTACHMENT TO MONEY
I firmly believe that having money is a benefit in life, and I have nothing negative to say about it. Money is fine, and working to make money is part and parcel of modern living. I have found that those who are able to do what they love and keep themselves focused on living that way have the amount of money they need come into their lives. They seem to keep that money circulating, using it to serve others, rather than letting the accumulation of capital and cost of things be the dominant themes in life.
7. ATTACHMENT TO WINNING
The test of true awakening is the ability to be detached from the need to win. When we are attached to winning, it becomes an obsession, and we suffer when we do not emerge as the winner. A great test of character is how we react when we lose. Attachment to winning makes many human beings feel like losers.
An attachment to winning almost always goes hand in hand with a need to fight our opponents. The language of competition is similar to that of warfare.
As you examine each of the above attachments carefully and see if they apply to you, remember, it is possible to love things within each one of these categories and still be detached from them.- Dr Wayne Dyer
A TALE OF TWO SISTERS
Once a beautiful and well-dressed woman visited a house. The master of the house asked her who she was and she replied that she was the goddess of wealth. The master was delighted and so treated her nicely.
Soon after, another woman appeared who was ugly looking and poorly dressed. The master asked who she was and the woman replied that she was the goddess of poverty. The master was frightened and tried to drive her away, but the woman refused to depart, saying, “The goddess of wealth is my sister. There is an agreement between us that we are never to live separately; if you chase me out, she goes with me.” Sure enough, as soon as the ugly woman went out, the other woman disappeared.
Men must realize that birth goes with death, fortune goes with misfortune, bad things follow good things. Foolish people dread misfortune and strive after good fortune, but those who seek Enlightenment must transcend both of them and be free of worldly attachments.- Book of Buddhism
Chandru Gidwani
UNDERSTANDING “DETACHMENT”
Perched on the selfsame tree
Intimate, friends,
The ego the self
Dwell in the same body.
The former eats the sweet
And sour fruits of the tree of life
While the latter looks on in detachment.
-The Mundaka Upanishad
· “Being in the world, but not of it.” –Jesus Christ
ENERGY REQUIRES FREE MOVEMENT
Looked at from the viewpoint of energy, we know that energy requires free movement in order to function effectively and efficiently. The energy of the universe wants to flow freely around and through us. When we allow it to, we and everyone else benefits. Each time we interfere with this free flow of energy, we reduce, proportionately, the abundance coming to us. Blocking the flow of energy also results in discomfort in our bodies – a signal from the universe that we are out of alignment with principle.
One of the ways we interfere with the free flow of energy is holding on to what we have.- Arnold Patent
· Continue to practice releasing your attachment to things and people until you feel peaceful irrespective of whether the object or person is there or not. One of the great benefits of reaching this state of peacefulness is that you will not feel so disappointed or sad when the object or person concerned is gone.
· When we accept the natural flow of abundance, we know that no matter what we give up, there is an infinite supply of energy available to replace it.
· Uncertainty is the fertile ground of pure creativity and freedom. Uncertainty means stepping into the unknown in every moment of our existence. The unknown is the field of all possibilities, ever fresh, ever new. Without uncertainty and the unknown, life is just the stale repetition of outworn memories. You become the victim of the past, and your tormentor today is your self left over from yesterday. Relinquish your attachment to the known, step into the unknown, and you will step into the field of all possibilities. In your willingness to step into the unknown, you will have the wisdom of uncertainty factored in. This means that in every moment of your life, you will have excitement, adventure, mystery. You will experience the fun of lie- the magic, the celebration, the exhilaration, and the exultation of your own spirit. Everyday you can look for the excitement of what may occur in the field of all possibilities. When you experience uncertainty, you are on the right path- so don’t give it up.-Deepak Chopra
· Attachment is based on fear and insecurity-and the need for security is based on not knowing the true self. The source of wealth, of abundance, or of anything in the physical world is the self; it is the consciousness that knows how to fulfill every need. All other things are symbols: they come and go. Chasing symbols is like settling for the map instead of the territory. It creates anxiety; it ends up making you feel hollow and empty inside, because you exchange yourself for the symbols of your self.
· Attachment to money will always create insecurity no matter how much money you have in the bank. In fact, some of the people who have the most money are the most insecure.
· Detachment is not about denying the joy of achieving abundance. Paradoxically, it will bring more abundance into your life, rather than require you to shed all your material goods. However, you will probably find it quite easy to divest yourself of your possession if that is your choice.-Dr
· Attachment is always to symbols. With detachment comes the freedom to create. Only from detached involvement can one have joy and laughter. Then the symbols of wealth are created spontaneously and effortlessly. Without detachment we are prisoners of helplessness, hopelessness, mundane needs, trivial concerns, quiet desperation, and seriousness – the distinctive features of everyday mediocre existence and poverty consciousness.
· As we accumulate more and more, our eyes shift to our possessions and away from one another’s humanity- Dr Wayne Dyer
· How can one be a happy, loving, fulfilled human being and still function within the materialism that seems to define all of our social structure? Is it possible to live one’s life with inner joy and harmony within a larger context of greed and accumulation? How can one accomplish a daily life of love and harmony, and, yes, success, when surrounded by people who beget loneliness and violence in their perpetual pursuit of more? The answers can be found in detachment.-Dr
· Detachment is the absence of a need to hold on to anyone or anything. It does not mean not having things. It is a way of thinking and being which gives us the freedom to flow with life, as does everything that is given to us by God.
· Detachment is one of life’s great lessons for those on the path of enlightenment.
· Try squeezing a handful of water and see how quickly it disappears. But relax and hold your hand in the flow of the same water and you experience the gentle touch of the water as long as you like. This is the principle of detachment and flowing. Allowing things to flow naturally is the way of the universe. Everything in the universe- yes, everything – is energy, and that includes you. Energy must have a free flow in order for it to be most efficient. Allowing things to flow naturally is the way of the universe. Air flows around the planet without interruption. Water flows throughout the entire physical plane along the path of least resistance. The earth itself flows perfectly without interruption on its axis, as do all heavenly bodies in the universe.- Robert Schuller
· You are not attached to the actions that your body performs every moment. You are not trying to make your entire system function. It is working perfectly without any direction from you.
You are never busy talking to and working on your digestive, respiratory, or elimination systems. Your heart beats thousands of times each day of your life without any effort on your part. It works automatically and perfectly. The less attached you are to it’s working, the less likely are you to have trouble from it.
· In the words of Kahlil Gibran in “The Prophet”:
They are sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself.
They came through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.
THE ONLY WAY OUT OF SUFFERING
· Detachment is the only way out of suffering, as a passage from the Bhagvad Gita explains:
A KIND OF SURRENDER
· Detachment involves a kind of surrender to the force or intelligence that is behind all form, including your own. Once you completely trust in this energy that makes all form work properly, you begin to slow down and work in harmony with this intelligence. The word “surrender” is a good one to keep in mind. It reminds us to stop the fighting that makes life into a battleground. With surrender, we relax in the comfort of the natural intelligence and flow of life and can ignore the impulse to be attached to things and people, as they wind in and out of our lives.-Dr
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