God's Family

By Steve Goodier www.LifeSupportSystem.com

An old story is told of two men who went fishing in a small boat. The day was uneventful until one of them hooked a huge fish, which, in the struggle, pulled him overboard. He couldn't swim and began to panic.

"Help!" he yelled. "Save me!"

The friend reached over and grabbed the man by the hair to pull him closer to the boat. But when he tugged, the man's toupee came off and he slipped down under the water again.

He came up shouting, "Hey, help me! I can't swim!"

So the friend reached down again and this time latched onto the struggling man's arm. But when he pulled, the arm came off! It was an artificial limb.

The drowning man continued to kick and thrash around and his friend reached out a third time. This time he grabbed a leg and pulled. You guessed it -- a wooden leg.

The man continued splashing and sputtering and calling out, "Help me!" until his friend finally called back in disgust, "How can I help you if you won't stick together?"

And that is a metaphor for each of us.

How can people in marriages and families stand a chance when they won't stick together?
How can religious communities, civic groups, schools and businesses get anywhere when they won't stick together?
And how can a nation or even our global village function well when it won't stick together?

Archbishop Desmond Tutu put it this way:
“We are made for goodness.
We are made for love.
We are made for friendliness.
We are made for togetherness.
We are made for all of the beautiful things that you and I know.
We are made to tell the world that there are no outsiders.
All are welcome: black, white, red, yellow,
rich, poor, educated, not educated,
male, female, all, all, all.
We all belong to this family, this human family, God's family.”

First secret of success--Believe in yourself

– by Steve Goodier, www.lifesupportsystem.com

Adam was ready to retire. His wife Anna, however, was less enthusiastic.

As she explained to a friend, "Adam has never done anything that required physical exertion. He never played golf, mowed the lawn or even washed the windows. When he retires, he will sit in his easy chair and expect me to bring him his food."

But to Anna's surprise, soon after her husband retired, he joined a health club. And one night, when Adam arrived home from exercise class, he announced, "I signed up for the wrestling tournament. I am going to wrestle Friday night."

Anna was shocked. "Please don't do it, Adam," she begged. "You're not in shape. You will be so beat up they will have to carry you home!"

However, he couldn't be dissuaded and she told him that if he went through with his "lame idea," she was not going to watch.

True to her word, she stayed away that Friday evening as Adam wrestled.

And just as she predicted, two men practically carried Adam home. He lay down on the couch, every muscle strained and bruised.

Before she could speak, he sputtered, "Don't say a word, Anna! This is not the worst of it. I won tonight. I have to wrestle again tomorrow night!"

As Dr. Norman Vincent Peale said, "People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success."

Words can hurt or heal

Sathya Sai Baba, My Dear Students, Vol 5, Ch 2, Mar 9, 1993.

You eat food daily, take in thousands of grains! Have you ever calculated how many rice grains you have consumed? However the moment one minute stone comes in the rice you eat, you are very unhappy that day and complain that your food has stones.

Similarly your life is three fourths happiness and one fourth sorrow. But you become a victim to sorrow. You choose to give more importance to sorrow than happiness. This is an animal quality (Pashu Lakshanam).

Teach your tongue not to lose its reputation by following the wrong path.

Your tongue is capable of raising you to Divine or droop to that of an animal.

If someone is good to you, the tongue praises them as God Himself. If someone harms you, the tongue then equates them to an animal. Teach your tongue to ever chant the Name of the Lord and never to criticize anybody!

Naxalites (terrorists) are not merely the people who hold guns and pistols. Anyone who hurts others in thoughts, words and deeds is a naxalite.

Three important things that all of you must pay attention to are your thoughts, words and deeds. When there is a thought, the word follows and then the body acts. In the arena of thoughts, never think evil of others.

Next is word. Never use harsh words, do not humiliate others and never try to deceive others with your words. If one is killed with a knife or a pistol, they die immediately. But if you hurt a person with words, he or she will be pained till their death.

Medicines exist for all external injuries, however no medicine or doctor can heal the wound or injury inflicted through words.

Therefore the harm done by words is more dangerous and takes a long time to heal. Spiritual ways alone can alter the harm done by thoughts, words and deeds

A rare conversation between Ramkrishna Paramahansa Swami Vivekanand

Author Unknown. Received in mailbox.

Swami Vivekanand:- I can’t find free time. Life has become hectic.

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you free.

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Swami Vivekanand:- Why has life become complicated now?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Stop analyzing life.. It makes it complicated. Just live it.

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Swami Vivekanand:- Why are we then constantly unhappy?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Worrying has become your habit. That’s why you are not happy.

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Swami Vivekanand:- Why do good people always suffer?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don’t suffer.

With that experience their life becomes better, not bitter.

Swami Vivekanand:- You mean to say such experience is useful?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Yes. In every term, Experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test first and the lessons afterwards.

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Swami Vivekanand:- In tough times, how do you stay motivated?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.

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Swami Vivekanand:- What surprises you about people?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- When they suffer they ask, “why me?” When they prosper, they never ask “Why me?”

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Swami Vivekanand:- How can I get the best out of life?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.

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Swami Vivekanand:- One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- There are no unanswered prayers. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Life is a mystery to solve, not a problem to resolve. Trust me. Life is wonderful if you know how to live.

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