::: STORY : THE FLOWER & STONE ::

“You have hardened”, said the flower, bending her petals downward toward the half stone at her roots. “These rains should have softened you, made you more fertile and receptive to the seeds of the fields; but no. You have accumulated minerals and have become more silent and full of calcium. Why do you stay here? Why do you resist the brook that gives us water?”The stone said nothing.

A number of clouds passed by, the sun set and the night arrived with an immense bronze-coloured freckled moon with acne scars upon her worn face and in this manner reflected down upon the silent stone which still had not fallen asleep. The flower, by now, had tucked-in her petals and slept profoundly, and at this time the stone began to answer:

“I stay here because your roots have made me yours. I stay here because it is no longer about my feeling the earth rather because I have become part of that which functions as a support of your stem which resists the wind and the rain. Everything changes, my sweet flower”, said the stone, “but I stay here because love is that microscopic space between your feet and my salted skin. You would only be able to feel it if destiny were ever to separate the two of us.”

The moon followed the fade of the stars. Dawn gave a yawn as the sun began to burn its horizon on the lower lip of the mouth of a new day. The flower awoke and extended her beautiful petals. “Good morning”, she said, “I dreamt that you were singing to me. How foolish of me, don’t you think?”

The stone said nothing.

COURTESY : ZENACTIVE

11 Ways to Become the Person You Love

You are powerful when you believe in yourself – when you know that you are capable of anything you put your mind to.  You are beautiful when your strength and determination shines as you follow your own path – when you aren’t disheveled by the obstacles along the way.  You are unstoppable when you let your mistakes educate you, as your confidence builds from experiences – when you know you can fall down, pick yourself up, and move forward.

Here are 11 ways to become the person you love.

1. Stop judging, and appreciate the beauty within you.
2. Treat yourself the way you want others to treat you.
3. Care less about who you are to others.
4. Know your worth.
5. Don’t rush intimate relationships.
6. Let go of those who aren’t really there.
7. Forgive yourself and others.
8. Focus on the positive.
9. Believe in the person you are capable of being.
10. Work on goals you believe in.
11. Keep looking and moving straight forward.

In the end, loving yourself is about enjoying your life, trusting your own feelings, taking chances, losing and finding happiness, cherishing the memories, and learning from the past.  Sometimes you have to stop worrying, wondering, and doubting.  Have faith that things will work out, maybe not exactly how you planned, but just how it’s meant to be.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL.
Vijay 
 

Courtesy @ mark & angel

Just Love ..., Nothing Else

My Dear Souls ;

So just Love and Love ; Nothing Else...!
It is only the love which will make this world a better place to live ..
Love you all guys !!! 

vijay 

::::LIFE LESSONS :: ::12 Truths to Tell Yourself After a Mistake or Failure ::

""""Failure is a prerequisite for great success.  If you want to succeed faster, double your rate of failure."""""

Have you ever seen a child learn to ride a bike, or a toddler learn to walk?  They stumble and fall numerous times before getting it right.  Mistakes are learning opportunities.  It takes failure after failure to create success.  Believe you can and you are halfway there.  And never regret anything, because every little detail of your life, including your mistakes, is what made you who you are today.  Here are twelve reminders to keep you motivated after a mistake or failure:

1.    It’s okay.  You will be okay.
2.    There is no success without failure.
3.    Positive thinking creates positive results.
4.    Success is always closer than it seems.
5.    You are not your mistakes.
6.    Life’s best lessons are learned at unexpected times.
7.    Mistakes are rarely as bad as they seem.
8.    Not getting what you want can be a blessing.
9.    You have the capacity to create your own happiness.
10.    Mistakes are simply a form of practice.
11.     You are making progress.
12.     Life goes on.

Learn from your mistakes, but don’t regret.  Life is change, things go wrong, and life goes on.

COURTESY @MARK & ANGEL

:::::STORY : THE DONKEY ::::

An old man and a young man are traveling with a donkey. They have reached near a town; they both are walking with their donkey. School children passed them and they giggled and they laughed and they said, “Look at these fools: they have a healthy donkey with them and they are walking. At least the old man can sit on the donkey.”Listening to those children the old man and the young man decided, What to do? – because people are laughing and soon we will be entering the town, so it is better to follow what they are saying. So the old man sat on the donkey and the young man followed.

Then they came near another group of people and they looked at them and said, “Look! – the old man is sitting on the donkey and the poor boy is walking. This is absurd! The old man can walk, but the boy should be allowed to sit on the donkey.” So they changed: the old man started walking and the boy was allowed to sit.

Then another group came and said, “Look at these fools. And this boy seems to be too arrogant. Maybe the old man is his father or his teacher and he is walking, and he is sitting on the donkey – this is against all rules!”

So what to do? They both decided that now there is only one possibility: that they both should sit on the donkey; so they both sat on the donkey. Then other groups came and they said, “Look at these people, so violent! The poor donkey is almost dying – two persons on one donkey. It would have been better if they carried the donkey on their shoulders.”

So they again discussed, and then there was the river and the bridge. They had now almost reached the boundary of the town, so they thought: It is better to behave as people think in this town, otherwise they will think we are fools. So they found a bamboo; on their shoulders they put the bamboo and hung the donkey by his legs, tied it in the bamboo and carried him.

The donkey tried to rebel, as donkeys are they cannot be forced very easily. He tried to escape because he is not a believer in society and what others are saying. But the two men were too much and they forced him, so the donkey had to yield. Just on the bridge in the middle a crowd passed and they all gathered and they said,

“Look, these fools! We have never seen such idiots – a donkey is to ride upon, not to carry on your shoulders. Have you gone mad?”

Listening to them – and a great crowd gathered – the donkey became restless, so restless that he jumped and fell from the bridge down into the river – and died. Both men came down – the donkey was dead. They sat by its side and the old man said,

“Now listen… just like this donkey you will be dead if you listen to people too much. Don’t bother what others say, because there are millions of others and they have their own minds and everybody will say something; everybody has his opinions and if you listen to opinions this will be your end.”

Don’t listen to anybody, you remain yourself. Just bypass them, be indifferent. If you go on listening to everybody, everybody will be prodding you to this way or that. You will never be able to reach your innermost center.”

courtesy @zenactive

:::::STORY : THE DONKEY ::::

An old man and a young man are traveling with a donkey. They have reached near a town; they both are walking with their donkey. School children passed them and they giggled and they laughed and they said, “Look at these fools: they have a healthy donkey with them and they are walking. At least the old man can sit on the donkey.”Listening to those children the old man and the young man decided, What to do? – because people are laughing and soon we will be entering the town, so it is better to follow what they are saying. So the old man sat on the donkey and the young man followed.

Then they came near another group of people and they looked at them and said, “Look! – the old man is sitting on the donkey and the poor boy is walking. This is absurd! The old man can walk, but the boy should be allowed to sit on the donkey.” So they changed: the old man started walking and the boy was allowed to sit.

Then another group came and said, “Look at these fools. And this boy seems to be too arrogant. Maybe the old man is his father or his teacher and he is walking, and he is sitting on the donkey – this is against all rules!”

So what to do? They both decided that now there is only one possibility: that they both should sit on the donkey; so they both sat on the donkey. Then other groups came and they said, “Look at these people, so violent! The poor donkey is almost dying – two persons on one donkey. It would have been better if they carried the donkey on their shoulders.”

So they again discussed, and then there was the river and the bridge. They had now almost reached the boundary of the town, so they thought: It is better to behave as people think in this town, otherwise they will think we are fools. So they found a bamboo; on their shoulders they put the bamboo and hung the donkey by his legs, tied it in the bamboo and carried him.

The donkey tried to rebel, as donkeys are they cannot be forced very easily. He tried to escape because he is not a believer in society and what others are saying. But the two men were too much and they forced him, so the donkey had to yield. Just on the bridge in the middle a crowd passed and they all gathered and they said,

“Look, these fools! We have never seen such idiots – a donkey is to ride upon, not to carry on your shoulders. Have you gone mad?”

Listening to them – and a great crowd gathered – the donkey became restless, so restless that he jumped and fell from the bridge down into the river – and died. Both men came down – the donkey was dead. They sat by its side and the old man said,

“Now listen… just like this donkey you will be dead if you listen to people too much. Don’t bother what others say, because there are millions of others and they have their own minds and everybody will say something; everybody has his opinions and if you listen to opinions this will be your end.”

Don’t listen to anybody, you remain yourself. Just bypass them, be indifferent. If you go on listening to everybody, everybody will be prodding you to this way or that. You will never be able to reach your innermost center.”

courtesy @zenactive

“ THE PAST IS DEAD FOR ME AND I AM DEAD FOR THE PAST “

My dear souls;
Very good and sweet morning to all of you . 

Today I am giving you a mantra , which you have to repeat to yourself, whenever you get time and make affirmations to yourself.

The mantra is very simple : “THE PAST IS DEAD FOR ME AND I AM DEAD FOR THE PAST"

Please understand and appreciate that we all have bad pasts and we can do nothing to change whatever has happened.

So the KEY is “ MOVE ON“  !!!!!

I am sure you all will start talking to yourself with this statement as first statement of your daily life. 

Pranaam
Much love and light and off-course lot of Hugs !!
Vijay

STORY : THE OWL

Once there was an owl who sat on a limb and was listening to a song bird that was singing a lovely tune. When a wood pecker flew in and landed on this same tree and began banging its beak against the bark of the tree. “Rap, Rap, Rap.”

“Excuse me,” started the little song bird, “But, I am trying to sing here!”

“So,” replied the woodpecker and continued to pound its beak against the tree’s bark, making a loud and annoying sound. “Tap, Tap, Tap.”

The owl thought about this a moment and suggested, “Mr. Woodpecker… perhaps you could play percussion for the little song bird?”

“Nope, I am to busy,” The woodpecker replied.

“Busy doing what? Making noise?” The little song bird huffed.

“Tap, rap, tap, tap, tap,” the woodpecker continued. “I am looking for my dinner.” The woodpecker spat.

“There are bugs all over the forest floor,” the owl stated, “Why must you go about it the hard way?”

“It is what I do,” the woodpecker said. “Rap, rap, rap.” The little song bird got annoyed and flew away, while the owl tucked its head under its wing and ignored the woodpecker. Eventually the woodpecker moved on to another tree and eventually moved on to another part of the forest.

The little song bird returned and began complaining about the ways of the woodpecker, “That hard headed pecker-wood, ruined my whole day!”

“Why is that?” asked the owl. “You are free to go back to singing your lovely song.”
“I’m too upset to sing now. That woodpecker will probably come back and do the same thing again.” The little song bird huffed.

“Do not allow others to change you. You are a song bird, sing. Do not waste your time complaining about what others do. You have to accept them the way they are or you will spend a lot of time being unhappy because they do not see the world the same way as you.” With this the song bird thought about what the owl had said and then began to sing again.

A little while later the little song bird asked the owl,”And what is it you do, Mr. Owl?”
“Learn, by listening to the ways of others,” replied the owl. “Who, who, who am I to judge the ways of others.”

Courtesy @zenactive

:::LIFE CHANGING RULEBOOK : 10 Signs it’s Time to Let Go:::

Holding on is being brave, but letting go and moving on is often what makes us stronger and happier.

Here are ten signs it’s time to let go:

1.    Someone expects you to be someone you’re not. – Don’t change who you are for anyone else. 

2.    A person’s actions don’t match their words. – Everybody deserves somebody who helps them look forward to tomorrow.  If someone has the opposite effect on you, because they are consistently inconsistent and their actions don’t match up with their words, it’s time to let them go.

3.    You catch yourself forcing someone to love you. – Let us keep in mind that we can’t force anyone to love us.  We shouldn’t beg someone to stay when they want to leave.  That’s what love is all about – freedom. 

4.    An intimate relationship is based strictly on physical attraction. – Being beautiful is more than how many people you can get to look at you, or how others perceive you at a single glance.  It’s about what you live for.  It’s about what defines you.  It’s about the depth of your heart, and what makes you unique.  It’s about being who you are and living out your life honestly.  It’s about those little quirks that make you, you.  People who are only attracted to you because of your pretty face or nice body won’t stay by your side forever.  But the people who can see how beautiful your heart is will never leave you.

5.    Someone continuously breaks your trust. – Love means giving someone the chance to hurt you, but trusting them not to.  When you completely trust a person, without any doubt, you’ll automatically get one of two results - a FRIEND for life or a LESSON for life.  Either way there’s a positive outcome. 

6.    Someone continuously overlooks your worth. – Know your worth!  When you give yourself to someone who doesn’t respect you, you surrender pieces of your soul that you’ll never get back.  There comes a point when you have to let go and stop chasing some people. 

7.    You are never given a chance to speak your mind. – Sometimes an argument saves a relationship, whereas silence breaks it.  Speak up for your heart so that you won’t have regrets.  Life is not about making others happy.  Life is about being honest and sharing your happiness with others.
8.    You are frequently forced to sacrifice your happiness. – If you allow people to make more withdrawals than deposits in your life, you will be out of balance and in the negative before you know it.  Know when to close the account.  It’s always better to be alone with dignity than in a relationship that constantly requires you to sacrifice your happiness and self-respect. 

9.    You truly dislike your current situation, routine, job, etc. – It’s better to be a failure at something you love than to succeed at doing something you hate.  Don’t let someone who gave up on their dreams talk you out of going after yours. 

10.    You catch yourself obsessing over, and living in, the past. – Eventually you will overcome the heartache, and forget the reasons you cried, and who caused the pain.  Eventually you will realize that the secret to happiness and freedom is not about control or revenge, but in letting things unfold naturally, and learning from your experiences over the course of time.  After all, what matters most is not the first, but the final chapter of your life, which unveils the details of how well you wrote your story.  So let go of the past, set yourself free, and open your mind to the possibility of new relationships and priceless experiences.

And the one thing you should never let go of is hope.  Remember what you deserve and keep pushing forward.  Someday all the pieces will come together.  Unimaginably good things will transpire in your life, even if everything doesn’t turn out exactly the way you had anticipated.  And you will look back at the times that have passed, smile, and ask yourself, “How did I get through all of that?”

Courtesy @mark and angel