Only you can make the difference.............

One of our basic desires as humans is the desire to feel as though we are a part of something greater than ourselves.  It’s our desire to feel as though we have contributed, that we have given back, and that we have made a difference in the world – so that we may find comfort in the way we have lived our life.

Too often, we get caught in the trap of thinking that if we can’t make a big enough difference in the world – then it’s not even worth trying.  We play these wonderful, grandiose, and romantic images in our mind of how we can change the world… only to be confronted by the reality of how darn big the world really is!  …And with limited resources and time, our list of blockades, challenges, and excuses tally up and ultimately immobilize us through frustration.

And when that happens… We miss our real opportunity.

Our family.  Our friends.  Our neighbors.  Our co-workers.  Our community members.  These are the people that stand to grow and learn the most from our influence and our ideas.  As someone has rightly said, “The rest of the world isn’t nearly as important as the few who are here.”  Focus too much on the many who are not here and you lose the ones that are right in front of you.  Don’t act backwards.  Start by changing the lives of those who are around you, form deep connections that last (not superficial ones that hardly extend past formalities), and let that influence carry your legacy like a ripple from the center of your community and into the rest of the world.

Want to make a bigger ripple?  Connection is the key.  Connect with like-minded individuals who can help you make a bigger difference right from the stomping grounds of your own backyard.  The size of the ripple multiplies with the size of the team of connected, determined, and readied minds and start figuring out how you can broaden your network of connections and start making a real difference, with the ones closest to you, today.

MOVE FORWARD

"Aage badho,aage badho", the people in the crowded train were saying it to their fellow passengers in spite of knowing that there was almost no place left in the compartment. To my utter surprise the call seemed to work and the crowd adjusted. By the time the train had reached it's stop the people had plonked themselves in their slots. Some of the passengers got out and a new  batch had entered. The same thing happened. It was astonishing and a learning lesson.

The same applies to life too - I see people all the time become victims of their circumstances and life challenges.  When life gets tough or depressing, they adopt a negative perspective and think to themselves about how unfair life is: 

How they should have been born into better circumstances with more money; or how they should have been given better opportunities; or how things should have happened differently.

Well, the truth of the matter is that life is going to happen – sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse.  The one true thing that you will always have 100% control over is your response to these events.  When you adopt a positive attitude and always look for the good in any given circumstance – how could you not move forward…? 

"Aage badho, aage badho"......

Reaction & Response

Reaction & Response -

Do I have a choice?

In a restaurant where me and my family were dining, suddenly, a cockroach flew from somewhere and sat on a lady. I wondered if this was the cockroach's response to all the glory that was spoken about it! She started screaming out of fear.

With panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach. Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group got cranky to what was happening. The lady finally managed to push the cockroach to another lady in the group.

Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama. The waiter rushed forward to their rescue. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter.

The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough, he grabbed and threw it out with his fingers.

Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behavior?

 If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed? He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos. It is not the cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed the ladies.

I realized even in my case then, it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or my friend or my wife that disturbs me, but its my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me. Its not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me. More than the problem, its my reaction to the problem that hurts me.

The Take-Away : The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.

We should not react in life, we should always respond. Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always intellectual. We have the choice to choose our response and our freedom and happiness lies in our choices !

A Tale of Two Seas........ The Joy of Giving, Sharing and being Happy.........

A tale of Two Seas...the joy of giving .....

Sitting in the geography class in school, I remember how fascinated I was when we were being taught all about the Dead Sea.  

If you recall, the Dead Sea is really a lake, not a sea. Its so high in salt content that the human body can float easily. One can almost lie down and read a book!

The salt in the Dead Sea is as high as 35% - almost 10 times the normal ocean water.

And all that saltiness has meant that there is no life at all in the Dead Sea.

No fish.

No vegetation.

No sea animals.

Nothing lives in the Dead sea.

Hence the name: Dead Sea.

While the Dead Sea has remained etched in my memory, I don't seem to recall learning about the Sea of Galilee in my school geography lesson.

So, when I heard about the Sea of Galilee & the Dead Sea and, the tale of the two seas - I was intrigued.

Turns out that the Sea of Galilee is just north of the Dead Sea.

Both, the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, receive their water from river Jordan.

Yet, they are very, very different.

Unlike the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee is pretty, resplendent with rich, colorful marine life. There are lots of plants and lot of fish, too. In fact, the sea of Galilee is home to over twenty different types of fishes.

Same region, Same source of water, and yet, one sea is full of life, the other is dead.

How come?

Here is why.

The River Jordan flows into the Sea of Galilee and then flows out. The water simply passes through the Sea of Galilee in and out - and that keeps the Sea healthy and vibrant, teeming with marine life.

But, the Dead Sea is so far below the sea level, that it has no outlet. The water flows in from the river Jordan, but does not flow out. There are no outlet streams at all. It is estimated that over a million tons of water evaporates from the Dead Sea every day, leaving it salty. Too full of minerals and unfit for any marine life.

The Dead Sea takes water from the River Jordan, and holds it. It does not give/flow out.

Result?

No life at all.

Think about it.

Life is not just about getting. Its about giving, sharing.

We all need to be a bit like the Sea of Galilee.

We are fortunate to get wealth, knowledge, love and respect. But, if we don't learn to give, we could all end up like the Dead Sea.

The love, the respect, the wealth and the knowledge; could all evaporate. Like the water in the Dead Sea.

If we get the Dead Sea mentality of merely taking in more water, more money, more of everything, the results can be disastrous.

A good idea to make sure that in the sea of your own life, you must have outlets.

Many outlets for love, wealth and everything else that you get in your life.

Make sure you don't just get, you give out, too.

Open the taps. And you'll be opening the floodgates to happiness.

Make that a habit.

To share

To give.

Experience life.

Experience the magic of giving..!

Credits: Due credit to the author for the above work. I had read this article on the internet long ago and it remained etched in my memory.