Sunday, October 26, 2008
"Diwali Celebrations 2008"
A celebration becomes meaningful only when we share it with those who are special to us. In life, people we really like, be they family or friends, must be celebrated. And how do we celebrate them? By being grateful for them. and thanking GOD for them, Every Single Day...
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Listening to the Whispers Within
In a world where instant gratification is becoming more and more rampant, the issue of time itself can become a discouraging factor when imagining how long our journeys may take. Each dream and journey could take years, even a complete lifetime to obtain and travel to. Time is essential to the process as there are necessary experiences that we will need to endure and valuable lessons that we will have to extract in order to reach our destination. Do not allow the uncontrollable to discourage you.
The circumstances we live in and our daily routines hinder our dreams from moving forward and prevent our desires from taking action without even being aware of it. We sometimes confuse an eventful life with a fulfilled one. We allow our days to interfere with our destinies by focusing most or all of our emotions and actions on insignificant and irrelevant matters. We are all born with dreams and desires and have places we want to go. Do not let the longing to find a place where you can stop and rest cause you to settle down short of your destination. Extract your lessons and continue on with your journey.
We need to step away from the world we live in from time to time, sit in silence, and hear what our hearts and souls are whispering within us. We need to remove ourselves from the everyday sameness and think about where it is that we want to go. We need to follow our hearts by closing our eyes and becoming aware of our inner surroundings. We all have an imaginary sanctuary that we travel to when we close our eyes to rest at night or when the world we live in is not in harmony with whom we really are or who we really need to be.
Go now, sit back in silence, and listen to the whispers within.
Michelle C. Ustaszeski is a writer and photographer of inspirational and motivational art. She believes that if you can prematurely feel the emotions of your desired outcome, your reservations have been made and reaching your destination is simply a matter of time. (Your friends at AsAManThinketh.net)
The circumstances we live in and our daily routines hinder our dreams from moving forward and prevent our desires from taking action without even being aware of it. We sometimes confuse an eventful life with a fulfilled one. We allow our days to interfere with our destinies by focusing most or all of our emotions and actions on insignificant and irrelevant matters. We are all born with dreams and desires and have places we want to go. Do not let the longing to find a place where you can stop and rest cause you to settle down short of your destination. Extract your lessons and continue on with your journey.
We need to step away from the world we live in from time to time, sit in silence, and hear what our hearts and souls are whispering within us. We need to remove ourselves from the everyday sameness and think about where it is that we want to go. We need to follow our hearts by closing our eyes and becoming aware of our inner surroundings. We all have an imaginary sanctuary that we travel to when we close our eyes to rest at night or when the world we live in is not in harmony with whom we really are or who we really need to be.
Go now, sit back in silence, and listen to the whispers within.
Michelle C. Ustaszeski is a writer and photographer of inspirational and motivational art. She believes that if you can prematurely feel the emotions of your desired outcome, your reservations have been made and reaching your destination is simply a matter of time. (Your friends at AsAManThinketh.net)
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
On Attitude & Self Esteem
I believe GOD has played a part in whatever success I achieved in life. The family I was born into, the opportunities that came my way and the strength that "HE" gave me to work hard are the factors which helped me succeed.
Though we can't change our basic destiny, we can work towards bettering it everyday. I believe what goes around come around. Our deeds get equalized in this very life itself.
Not too many of us are as blessed, we take our public faces too seriously and forget to look within ourselves and make time for the real person inside. And yet when we do so, it gives everything we do meaning and gives us a fresh reason to be.
Though we can't change our basic destiny, we can work towards bettering it everyday. I believe what goes around come around. Our deeds get equalized in this very life itself.
Not too many of us are as blessed, we take our public faces too seriously and forget to look within ourselves and make time for the real person inside. And yet when we do so, it gives everything we do meaning and gives us a fresh reason to be.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
The Daffodil Principle
Today I've read the article that just made my day.
I couldn't resist sharing it with you.
Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you
must come and see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted
to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead.
Going and coming took most of a day--and I honestly did not have
a free day until the following week. "I will come next Tuesday."
I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call.
Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so
I drove the length of Route 91, continued on I-215, and finally
turned onto Route 18 and began to drive up the mountain highway.
The tops of the mountains were sheathed in clouds, and I had gone
only a few miles when the road was completely covered with a wet,
gray blanket of fog. I slowed to a crawl, my heart pounding. The
road becomes narrow and winding toward the top of the mountain.
As I executed the hazardous turns at a snail's pace, I was
praying to reach the turnoff at Blue Jay that would signify I had
arrived.
When I finally walked into Carolyn's house and hugged and greeted
my grandchildren I said, "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road
is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the
world except you and these darling children that I want to see
bad enough to drive another inch!" My daughter smiled calmly, "We
drive in this all the time, Mother." "Well, you won't get me back
on the road until it clears--and then I'm heading for home!" I
assured her. "I was hoping you'd take me over to the garage to
pick up my car. The mechanic just called, and they've finished
repairing the engine," she answered. "How far will we have to
drive?" I asked cautiously. "Just a few blocks," Carolyn said
cheerfully.
So we buckled up the children and went out to my car. "I'll
drive," Carolyn offered. "I'm used to this." We got into the car,
and she began driving. In a few minutes I was aware that we were
back on Rim-of-the-World Road heading over the top of the
mountain. "Where are we going?" I exclaimed, distressed to be
back on the mountain road in the fog. "This isn't the way to the
garage!" "We're going to my garage the long way," Carolyn smiled,
"by way of the daffodils."
"Carolyn," I said sternly, trying to sound as if I was still the
mother and in charge of the situation, "please turn around. There
is nothing in the world that I want to see enough to drive on
this road in this weather." "It's all right, Mother," She replied
with a knowing grin. "I know what I'm doing. I promise, you will
never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."
And so my sweet, darling daughter who had never given me a minute
of difficulty in her whole life was suddenly in charge--and she
was kidnapping me! I couldn't believe it. Like it or not, I was
on the way to see some ridiculous daffodils--driving through the
thick, gray silence of the mist-wrapped mountaintop at what I
thought was risk to life and limb. I muttered all the way.
After about 20 minutes we turned onto a small gravel road that
branched down into an oak-filled hollow on the side of the
mountain. The fog had lifted a little, but the sky was lowering,
gray and heavy with clouds. We parked in a small parking lot
adjoining a little stone church. From our vantage point at the
top of the mountain we could see beyond us, in the mist, the
crests of the San Bernardino range like the dark, humped backs of
a herd of elephants. Far below us the fog-shrouded valleys,
hills, and flatlands stretched away to the desert. On the far
side of the church I saw a pine needle-covered path, with
towering evergreens and manzanita bushes and an inconspicuous,
hand-lettered sign, "Daffodil Garden." We each took a child's
hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path as it wound through
the trees. The mountain sloped away from the side of the path in
irregular dips, folds, and valleys, like a deeply creased skirt.
Live oaks, mountain laurel, shrubs, and bushes clustered in the
folds, and in the gray, drizzling air, the green foliage looked
dark and monochromatic. I shivered. Then we turned a corner of
the path, and I looked up and gasped.
Before me lay the most glorious sight, unexpectedly and
completely splendid. It looked as though someone had taken a
great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and
slopes where it had run into every crevice and over every rise.
Even in the mist-filled air, the mountainside was radiant,
clothed in massive drifts and waterfalls of daffodils. The
flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great
ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon
pink, saffron, and butter yellow. Each different colored variety
(I learned later that there were more than 35 varieties of
daffodils in the vast display) was planted as a group so that it
swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. In
the center of this incredible and dazzling display of gold, a
great cascade of purple grape hyacinth flowed down like a
waterfall of blossoms framed in its own rock-lined basin, weaving
through the brilliant daffodils. A charming path wound throughout
the garden. There were several resting stations, paved with stone
and furnished with Victorian wooden benches and great tubs of
coral and carmine tulips.
As though this were not magnificent enough, Mother Nature had to
add her own grace note--above the daffodils, a bevy of western
bluebirds flitted and darted, flashing their brilliance. These
charming little birds are the color of sapphires with breasts of
magenta red. As they dance in the air, their colors are truly
like jewels above the blowing, glowing daffodils. The effect was
spectacular. It did not matter that the sun was not shining. The
brilliance of the daffodils was like the glow of the brightest
sunlit day.
Words, wonderful as they are, simply cannot describe the
incredible beauty of that flower-bedecked mountain top. Five
acres of flowers! (This too I discovered later when some of my
questions were answered.)
"But who has done this?" I asked Carolyn. I was overflowing with
gratitude that she brought me, even against my will. This was a
once-in-a-lifetime experience. "Who?" I asked again, almost
speechless with wonder, "and how, and why, and when?"
"It's just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the
property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-
frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that
glory.
We walked up to the house, my mind buzzing with questions. On the
patio we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are
Asking" was the headline. The first answer was a simple one.
"50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "One at a time,
by one woman, two hands, two feet, and very little brain." The
third answer was, "Began in 1958."
There it was.
The Daffodil Principle. For me that moment was a life-changing
experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who,
more than 35 years before, had begun--one bulb at a time--to
bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top.
One bulb at a time. There was no other way to do it. One bulb at
a time. No shortcuts--simply loving the slow process of planting.
Loving the work as it unfolded. Loving an achievement that grew
so slowly and that bloomed for only three weeks of each year.
Still, just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, had
changed the world. This unknown woman had forever changed the
world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable
magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.
The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest
principles of celebration: learning to move toward our goals and
desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at a time--
learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of
time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments
of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent
things. We can change the world.
"Carolyn," I said that morning on the top of the mountain as we
left the haven of daffodils, our minds and hearts still bathed
and bemused by the splendors we had seen, "it's as though that
remarkable woman has needlepointed the earth! Decorated it. Just
think of it, she planted every single bulb for more than 30
years. One bulb at a time! And that's the only way this garden
could be created. Every individual bulb had to be planted. There
was no way of short-circuiting that process. Five acres of
blooms. That magnificent cascade of hyacinth! All, all, just one
bulb at a time."
The thought of it filled my mind. I was suddenly overwhelmed with
the implications of what I had seen. "It makes me sad in a way,"
I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had
thought of a wonderful goal 35 years ago and had worked away at
it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years. Just think what
I might have been able to achieve!"
My wise daughter put the car into gear and summed up the message
of the day in her direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said with the
same knowing smile she had worn for most of the morning.
Oh, profound wisdom! It is pointless to think of the lost hours
of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson a celebration
instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this
to use tomorrow?"
Keep your day bright!
Reference: http://www.goal-setting-guide.com
I couldn't resist sharing it with you.
Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you
must come and see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted
to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead.
Going and coming took most of a day--and I honestly did not have
a free day until the following week. "I will come next Tuesday."
I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call.
Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so
I drove the length of Route 91, continued on I-215, and finally
turned onto Route 18 and began to drive up the mountain highway.
The tops of the mountains were sheathed in clouds, and I had gone
only a few miles when the road was completely covered with a wet,
gray blanket of fog. I slowed to a crawl, my heart pounding. The
road becomes narrow and winding toward the top of the mountain.
As I executed the hazardous turns at a snail's pace, I was
praying to reach the turnoff at Blue Jay that would signify I had
arrived.
When I finally walked into Carolyn's house and hugged and greeted
my grandchildren I said, "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road
is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the
world except you and these darling children that I want to see
bad enough to drive another inch!" My daughter smiled calmly, "We
drive in this all the time, Mother." "Well, you won't get me back
on the road until it clears--and then I'm heading for home!" I
assured her. "I was hoping you'd take me over to the garage to
pick up my car. The mechanic just called, and they've finished
repairing the engine," she answered. "How far will we have to
drive?" I asked cautiously. "Just a few blocks," Carolyn said
cheerfully.
So we buckled up the children and went out to my car. "I'll
drive," Carolyn offered. "I'm used to this." We got into the car,
and she began driving. In a few minutes I was aware that we were
back on Rim-of-the-World Road heading over the top of the
mountain. "Where are we going?" I exclaimed, distressed to be
back on the mountain road in the fog. "This isn't the way to the
garage!" "We're going to my garage the long way," Carolyn smiled,
"by way of the daffodils."
"Carolyn," I said sternly, trying to sound as if I was still the
mother and in charge of the situation, "please turn around. There
is nothing in the world that I want to see enough to drive on
this road in this weather." "It's all right, Mother," She replied
with a knowing grin. "I know what I'm doing. I promise, you will
never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."
And so my sweet, darling daughter who had never given me a minute
of difficulty in her whole life was suddenly in charge--and she
was kidnapping me! I couldn't believe it. Like it or not, I was
on the way to see some ridiculous daffodils--driving through the
thick, gray silence of the mist-wrapped mountaintop at what I
thought was risk to life and limb. I muttered all the way.
After about 20 minutes we turned onto a small gravel road that
branched down into an oak-filled hollow on the side of the
mountain. The fog had lifted a little, but the sky was lowering,
gray and heavy with clouds. We parked in a small parking lot
adjoining a little stone church. From our vantage point at the
top of the mountain we could see beyond us, in the mist, the
crests of the San Bernardino range like the dark, humped backs of
a herd of elephants. Far below us the fog-shrouded valleys,
hills, and flatlands stretched away to the desert. On the far
side of the church I saw a pine needle-covered path, with
towering evergreens and manzanita bushes and an inconspicuous,
hand-lettered sign, "Daffodil Garden." We each took a child's
hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path as it wound through
the trees. The mountain sloped away from the side of the path in
irregular dips, folds, and valleys, like a deeply creased skirt.
Live oaks, mountain laurel, shrubs, and bushes clustered in the
folds, and in the gray, drizzling air, the green foliage looked
dark and monochromatic. I shivered. Then we turned a corner of
the path, and I looked up and gasped.
Before me lay the most glorious sight, unexpectedly and
completely splendid. It looked as though someone had taken a
great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and
slopes where it had run into every crevice and over every rise.
Even in the mist-filled air, the mountainside was radiant,
clothed in massive drifts and waterfalls of daffodils. The
flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great
ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon
pink, saffron, and butter yellow. Each different colored variety
(I learned later that there were more than 35 varieties of
daffodils in the vast display) was planted as a group so that it
swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. In
the center of this incredible and dazzling display of gold, a
great cascade of purple grape hyacinth flowed down like a
waterfall of blossoms framed in its own rock-lined basin, weaving
through the brilliant daffodils. A charming path wound throughout
the garden. There were several resting stations, paved with stone
and furnished with Victorian wooden benches and great tubs of
coral and carmine tulips.
As though this were not magnificent enough, Mother Nature had to
add her own grace note--above the daffodils, a bevy of western
bluebirds flitted and darted, flashing their brilliance. These
charming little birds are the color of sapphires with breasts of
magenta red. As they dance in the air, their colors are truly
like jewels above the blowing, glowing daffodils. The effect was
spectacular. It did not matter that the sun was not shining. The
brilliance of the daffodils was like the glow of the brightest
sunlit day.
Words, wonderful as they are, simply cannot describe the
incredible beauty of that flower-bedecked mountain top. Five
acres of flowers! (This too I discovered later when some of my
questions were answered.)
"But who has done this?" I asked Carolyn. I was overflowing with
gratitude that she brought me, even against my will. This was a
once-in-a-lifetime experience. "Who?" I asked again, almost
speechless with wonder, "and how, and why, and when?"
"It's just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the
property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-
frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that
glory.
We walked up to the house, my mind buzzing with questions. On the
patio we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are
Asking" was the headline. The first answer was a simple one.
"50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "One at a time,
by one woman, two hands, two feet, and very little brain." The
third answer was, "Began in 1958."
There it was.
The Daffodil Principle. For me that moment was a life-changing
experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who,
more than 35 years before, had begun--one bulb at a time--to
bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top.
One bulb at a time. There was no other way to do it. One bulb at
a time. No shortcuts--simply loving the slow process of planting.
Loving the work as it unfolded. Loving an achievement that grew
so slowly and that bloomed for only three weeks of each year.
Still, just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, had
changed the world. This unknown woman had forever changed the
world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable
magnificence, beauty, and inspiration.
The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest
principles of celebration: learning to move toward our goals and
desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at a time--
learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of
time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments
of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent
things. We can change the world.
"Carolyn," I said that morning on the top of the mountain as we
left the haven of daffodils, our minds and hearts still bathed
and bemused by the splendors we had seen, "it's as though that
remarkable woman has needlepointed the earth! Decorated it. Just
think of it, she planted every single bulb for more than 30
years. One bulb at a time! And that's the only way this garden
could be created. Every individual bulb had to be planted. There
was no way of short-circuiting that process. Five acres of
blooms. That magnificent cascade of hyacinth! All, all, just one
bulb at a time."
The thought of it filled my mind. I was suddenly overwhelmed with
the implications of what I had seen. "It makes me sad in a way,"
I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had
thought of a wonderful goal 35 years ago and had worked away at
it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years. Just think what
I might have been able to achieve!"
My wise daughter put the car into gear and summed up the message
of the day in her direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said with the
same knowing smile she had worn for most of the morning.
Oh, profound wisdom! It is pointless to think of the lost hours
of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson a celebration
instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this
to use tomorrow?"
Keep your day bright!
Reference: http://www.goal-setting-guide.com
You are all right!
The reason we have come to the universe is to learn.Growth is the purpose of human existence.We are meant to grow in all kinds of skills and qualities until we reach such a fine stage of being that we transcend our ego.We become realized things.This means that mistakes are totally the part of the curriculum. How would we learn otherwise?
We are always forgiven for everything we do.Yes our actions have consequences, but these consequences are not punishments because they are not meted out in anger and condemnation.
Consequences create a just and accountable world and must exist, but the love of GOD for his creation never falters.Even as we fall and stumble, GOD feels our pain and feels for us; and he never loses trust or faith in us.He goads us gently to try again and again until we learn our lesson. He wants us to succeed.
Everything that we go through in life is expressly for this one thing - to teach us what we need to know in order to finally go beyond the ego.Remember this and it will make it easier to forgive yourself and to try again.
In short. you are not all wrong - you are all right!
(excerpts from an article by Suma Varughese......)
We are always forgiven for everything we do.Yes our actions have consequences, but these consequences are not punishments because they are not meted out in anger and condemnation.
Consequences create a just and accountable world and must exist, but the love of GOD for his creation never falters.Even as we fall and stumble, GOD feels our pain and feels for us; and he never loses trust or faith in us.He goads us gently to try again and again until we learn our lesson. He wants us to succeed.
Everything that we go through in life is expressly for this one thing - to teach us what we need to know in order to finally go beyond the ego.Remember this and it will make it easier to forgive yourself and to try again.
In short. you are not all wrong - you are all right!
(excerpts from an article by Suma Varughese......)
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Joy of Wonder
The charm of life lies in the joy of wonder. When we encounter the unseen, the unheard and the unknown, we experience a lot of excitement. This excitement, when it is pleasant, is the essence of life.
Often, sad but true, wonder is equated with childishness rather than a childlikeness. And that is why most of us, cought in the tumble of urban life, keep our sense of wonder to ourselves, lest the other person perceive us as an overgrown child.
And gradually, unshared and unsung, the joy of wonder dies. This sense of wonder has to be nurtured for it to grow.
Wonder, often feeds on hope, which is another essential component of life.
Although most of us have no time or opportunity to amble into the meadows or climb a hill in search of the adventure, just keeping windows of the mind open to the sense of wonder is a quest that takes you towards situations yet unexplored.
And the best part about a sense of wonder is that it can be inculcated.
Often, sad but true, wonder is equated with childishness rather than a childlikeness. And that is why most of us, cought in the tumble of urban life, keep our sense of wonder to ourselves, lest the other person perceive us as an overgrown child.
And gradually, unshared and unsung, the joy of wonder dies. This sense of wonder has to be nurtured for it to grow.
Wonder, often feeds on hope, which is another essential component of life.
Although most of us have no time or opportunity to amble into the meadows or climb a hill in search of the adventure, just keeping windows of the mind open to the sense of wonder is a quest that takes you towards situations yet unexplored.
And the best part about a sense of wonder is that it can be inculcated.
Fists of Faith
Even if you fail in every area of your life, if you are able to love well those you love, if you are able to live with them, and more significantly show your love, you are a success in life.
If you believe that it is GOD who will give you what you want, why do you not believe that it is GOD who has given you what you RIGHT NOW HAVE?
Life is what is happening to us.
If tomorrow wants to bring with it our answered prayers, well, Thank You.But today too, GOD is around you and happy and thats all, really that all that should matter.
The greatest thing you can ever do is just to adore GOD, love and live this greatest gift called life.
If you believe that it is GOD who will give you what you want, why do you not believe that it is GOD who has given you what you RIGHT NOW HAVE?
Life is what is happening to us.
If tomorrow wants to bring with it our answered prayers, well, Thank You.But today too, GOD is around you and happy and thats all, really that all that should matter.
The greatest thing you can ever do is just to adore GOD, love and live this greatest gift called life.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Live a Happy Life
No matter how much stuff you buy, no matter how much money you make, you really get to keep three things in life.It means that no body can take these things away from you.
And these things are;
One, your experiences; two, your true friends; and three, what you grow inside yourself.
Experiences dont come on a grand scale.They are so called ordinary moments that we spend with our family istening to music, taking a warm bath and a quick nap.
True Friends are the ones who never leave your heart, even if they leave your life for a while.
As for what we grow inside,Thats up to each of us!Never grow sorrow or bitterness.
And these things are;
One, your experiences; two, your true friends; and three, what you grow inside yourself.
Experiences dont come on a grand scale.They are so called ordinary moments that we spend with our family istening to music, taking a warm bath and a quick nap.
True Friends are the ones who never leave your heart, even if they leave your life for a while.
As for what we grow inside,Thats up to each of us!Never grow sorrow or bitterness.
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