DEALING with INSULT….

Buddha explained how to handle insult and maintain compassion.

One day Buddha was walking through a village. A very angry and rude young man came up and began insulting him. "You have no right teaching others," he shouted. "You are as stupid as everyone else. You are nothing but a fake." 

Buddha was not upset by these insults. Instead he asked the young man "Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?" 

The man was surprised to be asked such a strange question and answered, "It would belong to me, because I bought the gift." 

 
The Buddha smiled and said, "That is correct. And it is exactly the same with your anger. If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you. You are then the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself."  

"If you want to stop hurting yourself, you must get rid of your anger and become loving instead. When you hate others, you yourself become unhappy. But when you love others,everyone is happy and in turn you are happy."

The young man listened closely to these wise words of the Buddha. "You are right, o Enlightened One, "he said. "Please teach me the path of love. I wish to become your follower." 

The Buddha answered kindly, "Of course. I teach anyone who truly wants to learn. Come with me.
 

Time = Life

"Time = life; therefore, waste your time and waste of your life, or master your time and master your life. -- Alan Lakein

Building Fences & Bridges by Janina Gomes

 Not all relationships will turn out good. Life has its ups and downs and this includes the way we relate to others. But as we grow older we come to realise that some will walk with us for a short distance; others for longer, but very few will do so all the way. We form our own equations. With some we share familiarity and exchange confidences. With others we are cordial and polite.
    Real life is full of exploitation. What this does is to sour relationships and create resentment and bitterness? When we have learned to protect ourselves in such situations, we may have perforce had to build fences. These fences protect our integrity and individuality and help us to live life the way it was meant to be lived, on our own terms. 

 The protective fence keeps marauders at bay. Like a line of control, the fence may help us stave off intrusions. However, when there are fences, it is important to also build bridges. These bridges are built through give and take. They in no way undermine our integrity, but help to meet with others; sometimes even antagonists, half way. When we build bridges, we in no way surrender the values for which we stand. We do not forfeit our individuality and are not hammered into submission, not at all.
    Bridges preserve mutuality without sacrificing our own interests. They help us cross troubled waters and to offer our friendship when it would be beneficial to both. Think of the lovely village cottage. It is fenced in to prevent animals and strangers from trespassing; at the same time, it is connected with the outside world.
    Bridges help us to build connections and establish connectivity, both important in all personal and social transactions. In our professional lives too, we cannot work alone. We are part of a team. Where the team spirit is weak, the stronger have the upper hand. It is part of growing and human maturity, to come to a stage where we can be ourselves, still interacting with others, but shunning people who will not allow us to grow.
    It is often made out as if only bridges are necessary in life. But fences play an equally important role in our spiritual lives. Sometimes we have to hem ourselves in, like the flower buds that need the right moment to bloom.
    Fences can be built without creating hostility. They help us create our own boundaries. These boundaries are not only important, but often we need them to survive. There will always be transgressors. But, as we learn from experience, we get better at discerning which relationships are bringing us closer to God and which ones come in the way.
    There could be times when we foolishly allow people to walk all over us. We learn to deal with this shortcoming and become our own persons. In a hierarchical society like ours, where the male tends to dominate, the onus is usually on the woman to build fences. Building fences and bridges could come more easily to women who are by nature wired for compassion and understanding.
    A bully, when confronted the right way, may actually give in and come to round seeing things from another perspective. When confrontation or discussion does not work, distancing oneself remains a good option. We cannot always find an outer environment that is peaceful, but we can certainly create an inner reservoir of peace, which will remain with us, whatever the circumstance. 

Courtesy :  The above article was published in Times of India, Mumbai Edition, dated 27th December, 2011 on the Editorial page - The Speaking Tree Column. Its been years that I have got addicted to reading this column everyday without fail. This article touched my heart so much that I felt like sharing it on my blog. In todays fast  and stressful life maintaining relationship is a great task. We need to actually know when to build an fence and when then how to build a bridge. This Article gives an insight on the topic. Thanks for visiting by my blog.

Owning Your Own Faults..

"How few there are who have courage enough to own their faults, or resolution enough to mend them." -- Benjamin Franklin

Quotes on Love....

Love is living your own life, by sharing it. It’s forgiveness. It’s making a million mistakes and turning them into learning experiences. Love is patience, optimism, and sometimes it’s a kiss when there is nothing left to say.

Everyday.....

Everyday
You Make Me Smile

You Let Me Know You Care
You Help Me See The Good In Things
And For Me You Are Always There.

Everyday
You Ease My Pain
And Help Me Through My Day
You Let Me Know I'm Not Alone
You Teach Me Love That Way.

Everyday
I Say A Prayer
To Keep You Safe And Free
And Every Day Is Filled With Hope
That You'll Spend Time With Me

Everyday
You Show Me Love
Wanting Nothing Back From Me
And Let Me Know You Are My Friend
And Keep Me Company.

Everyday
I Look Around
Even When My Life's A Mess
Knowing In My Heart Of Hearts
My Friends Are Just The Best

Everyday
I Thank The Lord
For Having Given Me
The Very Best That I Can Have
That Is My Friends You See
God Bless And Keep You ALL

-- Author Unknown

The nature of a Relationship...

Relationships-of all kinds-are like sand held in your hand. Held loosely, with an open hand, the sand remains where it is. The minute you close your hand and squeeze tightly to hold on, the sand trickles through your fingers. You may hold onto some of it, but most will be spilled. A relationship is like that. Held loosely, with respect and freedom for the other person, it is likely to remain intact. But hold too tightly, too possessively, and the relationship slips away and is lost.

Be brave! Be strong! Be fearless!

Once you have taken up the spiritual life, fight as long as there is any life in you. Even though you know you are going to be killed, fight till you “are killed.” Don’t die of fright. Die fighting. Don’t go down till you are knocked down. - Swami Vivekananda

Love is eternal

Love is such a beautiful feeling, that it blooms in your heart more and more day by day. It makes you feel stronger to take up any challenge in your life with a positive attitude. It makes you feel happy for no reason which emotes through your eyes, your lips. A smile always crosses your lip.

Love makes you free, gives you the vision to know yourself and realize your dreams. The presence of the person may not be always there, but the love woven in the heart beautifully like a string of musical notes shows you the path to take up all challenges thrown on your path by life and by each score won one after other to  make you and your love feel proud of.

Everything happens for the good......

Awsome Story 4 whole life... ♥

There was once a King who had a wise advisor. The advisor followed the King everywhere, and his favourite piece of advice to the King was . . . 'Everything happens for the good.'

One day the King went hunting and had a small accident when his bow slipped and he shot an arrow into his own foot. Fortunately he was not badly injured but as always he was compelled to ask his advisor what he thought about the accident, to which the advisor replied, 'Everything happens for the good.'

This time the King was really upset and ordered for his advisor to be put in prison.

The King then asked his advisor, 'Now, what do you think?'

The advisor again replied, 'Everything happens for the good.' and with that he was taken away to be imprisoned.

About a week later the King went on another hunting trip, this time without his advisor and with his injured foot still not fully healed. As it turned out the King was captured by some cannibals and taken to their camp where he would be prepared to be the evening meal for the cannibals. Before putting him into the cooking pot he was thoroughly inspected and the cannibals saw the wound on the King's foot and decided to throw him back into the jungle. According to the cannibal's tradition, they would not eat anything that was imperfect or in any way injured.

As a result the King was spared and he then realized what his wise advisor said was true. The advisor also escaped death because had he not been in prison, he would have followed the King on the hunting trip, and would have no doubt ended up in the cooking pot.

It is true that everything in our lives happens for a purpose, and most often for our own good. If you think about it, all our past experiences actually happened to bring us to where we are today and in the main make us a better person. So, whatever challenges that we may face today, consider it happening to bring us to the next level and always remember . . .
Moral-Our life experiences are our best teacher, EveryThing Happens For A Good Reason... :)

Thought for the day

There's one sad truth in life I've found, While journeying east and west -
The only folks we really wound, Are those we love the best.
We flatter those we scarcely know, We please the fleeting guest,
And deal full many a thoughtless blow, To those who love us best.  

- Ella Wheeler Wilcox

LOVE

“Your task is not to seek for love but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it” – Rumi

A dreamer...

 “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars and to change the world.”—Harriet Tubman

Power of Kindness Movie

Power of Kindness Movie: I once heard someone say, "If you teach your children the Golden Rule, you will have left them an incalculable estate." Truer words were never spoken. More than anything, the Golden Rule is about kindness. They improve your relationship with yourself and with others. It's not much in fashion these days to talk about the benefits of kindness, honesty and decency, but the benefits are there and they are valuable and worth the trouble.

Wise Sayings

On life's journey 
Faith is nourishment, 
Virtuous deeds are a shelter, 
Wisdom is the light by day and 
Right mindfulness is the protection by night. 
If a man lives a pure life nothing can destroy him; 
If he has conquered greed nothing can limit his freedom.
~✿~Buddha

212 degrees : The extra Degree

At 211 degrees...water is hot

At 212 degrees.... it boils

And with boiling water, comes steam.

And steam can power a locomotive.

And, it's that one extra degree that...

Makes all the difference.  

~Sam Parker & Mac Anderson  

From The Secret Daily Teachings - Happiness

Happiness is a state of being, and comes from the inside of you. By the law of attraction you must become on the inside what you want on the outside.

You are either choosing to be happy now, or you are making up excuses for not choosing to be happy. But there are no excuses for the law!

 

May the joy be with you,

Rhonda Byrne
The Secret... bringing joy to billions

Messengers of Karma