Let go or Hang on?

These are 2 stories on the same concept but with a different ending.

Story no 1:

http://serenityhelp.com/addiction-information/understanding-monkey-traps/

In South Africa a young girl watched her mother weave a simple basket. She asked her mother, “What are you making?” The wise mother replied, “We are short on money and need to buy coal for our stove. So, I am making a monkey trap.”

“But, momma that basket is far too small for a monkey to fit into. I know it won’t work.”

“Well, the trap is quite small child. But, the trap needs to only fit the hand of the monkey, not his body to work.”

“Mmm, I don’t understand.”

“You see we chain this basket to a strong tree and put inside a delicious piece of fruit. When the monkey notices the fruit inside the basket, he grabs the fruit quickly and tries to pull it out. Surprise, our trap is not wide enough for him to remove his clenched fist with the bait. So, he is stuck, trapped, and we can sell him alive to the Afrikaners.”

“Why doesn’t the monkey just let go of the fruit and escape?”

“Because the monkey is greedy, single minded, and obsessed with the fruit. He will not let go because he is afraid someone else may get it or he will have to find something else to eat that he cannot see.”

“Momma’ I’m very glad I am not as dumb as a monkey!”

Story 2:
Tales & Parables of Sri Ramakrishna

In a certain place the fishermen were catching fish.

A kite swooped down and snatched a fish. At the sight of the fish, about a thousand crows chased the kite and made a great noise with their cawing.

The kite flew to the south and the crows followed it there. The kite flew to the north and still the crows followed after it. 

The kite went east and west, but with the same result. Whichever way the kite flew with the fish, the crows followed it.

As the kite began to fly about in confusion, lo, the fish dropped from its mouth. The crows at once let the kite alone and flew after the fish.

Thus relieved of its worries, the kite sat on the branch of a tree and thought: 'That wretched fish was at the root of all my troubles. I have now got rid of it and therefore I am at peace.'

Learning?

If the monkeys just surrendered what they were holding on to, they could have been free. They are stubborn, hoping that they will be able to have their food and their freedom at the same time. 

As long as the kite was holding on to the fish, it was under lot of pressure from the crows to release it. The moment he released it he was at peace.

Worldly desires put a lot of pressure on us. The pursuit of those desires force worries, anxieties and restlessness on us. These desires are the Nuts that we are hanging on to which deny us the Peace. We do not rest till those desires are fulfilled. When one desire is fulfilled, another one crops up creating more and more pressure. 

let us introspect: What are we holding on to? What can we let go to be free? Is living life like a roller coaster ride is what we want or a peaceful life?

Of course, it is hard to let go but not impossible. One should be mentally strong to control those desires. But no sooner do we renounce these desires than we start enjoying peace of soul.

Do you want to be the monkey or the kite? 

Where does God reside?

Author Unknown

Once upon a time, when God had finished making the world, he wanted to leave behind a piece of His own divinity, a spark of His essence, a promise to man of what he could become, with effort. He looked for a place to hide this precious gift because, He explained, what man could find too easily would never be valued by him.

"Then you must hide this gift on the highest mountain peak on earth," said one of his counselors.

God shook His head, "No, for man is an adventuresome creature and he will soon enough learn to climb the highest mountain peaks."

"Hide it then, O Great One, in the depths of the earth."

"I think not," said God. "for man will one day discover that he can dig into the deepest parts of the earth."

"In the middle of the ocean then, Master?"

God shook His head. "I've given man a brain, you see, and one day he'll learn to build ships and cross the mightiest oceans."

"Where then, Master?" cried His counselors.

God smiled, "I'll hide it where every man and woman will be able to find it if they look sincerely and deeply enough. I'll hide it in their heart."

This explains why our Heart is always equated to compassion. The Almighty, embodiment of compassion, resides there. He is Love incarnate and so Heart is a symbol for love. Heart represents the feeling-based wisdom while head represents reason-based wisdom. That’s why it is always said, whenever in doubt, listen to the heart. After all it is God who guides us from there.

Know your worth

Author Unknown     

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a 2000 Re note. In the room of 200, he asked. "Who would like this note?"

Many hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this to one of you - but first, let me do this."

He proceeded to crumple the note up. He then asked. "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air.

"Well," he replied, "what if I do this?" He dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?"

Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth Rs 2000. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless; but no matter what happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.”

Remember: Those who love you do not care what you do, how you do, when you do or why you do but love you for WHO YOU ARE. That is your worth.

Positives in Negatives

A woman was sitting at her dining table, worried about taxes to be paid, house-work to be done and to top it all, her family was coming over for Thanksgiving the next day. 

Worried and Tired as she was, she was not feeling very thankful at that time.

As she turned her gaze sideways, she noticed her young daughter scribbling furiously into her notebook. She asked her, “What are you writing?”

“My teacher asked us to write a paragraph on “Negative Thanksgiving” for homework today,” said the daughter. “She asked us to write down things that we are thankful for, things that make us feel not so good in the beginning, but turn out to be good after all.”

With curiosity, the mother peeked into the book. This is what her daughter had written:
“I’m thankful for Final Exams, because that means school is almost over.
I’m thankful for bad-tasting medicine, because it helps me feel better.
I’m thankful for waking up to alarm clocks, because it means I’m still alive”.

It then dawned on the mother, that she had a lot of things to be thankful for!

She thought again…
She had to pay taxes but that meant she was fortunate to be employed.

She had house-work to do but that meant she had her own home to live in.
She had to cook for her family for Thanksgiving but that meant she had a family with whom she could celebrate.

My thoughts:

Learning to stay positive in life is vital. Looking for the positives in a negative situation can completely change your perspective on the situation at hand. Not that they will allow you to be happy in life but they will no doubt give you strength to deal with any challenges in life. Accepting a situation and finding a solution and by being thankful to what you have are sure ways of looking at a negative situation with positivity. 

Do not Quit

Author Unknown

A dramatic ballad singer studied under a strict teacher who insisted that he rehearse day after day, month after month the same passage from the same song, without being permitted to go any further.

Finally, overwhelmed by frustration and despair, the young man ran off to find another profession.

One night, stopping at an inn, he stumbled upon a recitation contest. Having nothing to lose, he entered the competition and, of course, sang the one passage that he knew so well.

When he had finished, the sponsor of the contest highly praised his performance. Despite the student’s embarrassed objections, the sponsor refused to believe that he had just heard a beginner perform.

“Tell me,” the sponsor said, “who is your instructor? He must be a great master.” 

The student later became known as the great performer Koshiji.

Story Courtesy: https://academictips.org/blogs/practice-makes-perfect-dont-quit/

All are equal

Story contributed by Preeti Ramakrishnan

Once there was a fight in Anita's kitchen. Salt and sugar were fighting for superiority. 

"I am simply the best creation of God," said salt. 

"I make food so tasty that man can't do without me."

Sugar got angry with salt. It felt that it was the best. 

"I am much better than you," said sugar. 

"What sweetness I bring to every dish," it said with pride.

Sugar and Salt were so boastful that all the other ingredients in Anita's kitchen were now fed up. 

"What do they  think?" asked tamarind to pepper. 

"Just because I am sour, does it make me less special?"

Pepper felt that salt could not do without it. Coffee powder was angry at sugar for not giving it any importance.

All the spices in Anita's kitchen were very agitated too. 

But there was one spice, Turmeric which was very quiet. 

"Please don't fight dear Salt and Sugar," requested Turmeric. "Each ingredient in the shelf is important in it's own way," said Turmeric with a smile.

Sugar and Salt looked at Turmeric and mockingly laughed at it. "So you are going to tell us what to do and how to behave,"  they asked very angrily. Turmeric calmly replied that all ingredients were useful and nothing was superior or inferior.

Suddenly Anita's son Rohan entered the house crying. Anita was worried. 

"What happened?" asked Anita. 

"I was playing football when suddenly I fell down. My wound is bleeding profusely," cried Rohan.

"Who will help him now?" wondered the ingredients. 

Anita then reached out for Turmeric powder and said, "Don't worry my son. Turmeric will stop the bleeding immediately."  

Soon Turmeric stopped the bleeding and Rohan was happy again. 

But now there was silence in Anita's shelf. Salt and sugar realized what Turmeric had said earlier. They became aware of the fact that everything has value and good qualities and that everything was the same in nature's eyes. 

They thanked Turmeric as it was not only a great healer but also a wonderful Teacher.

Loving oneself is not selfishness

"To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance," says Oscar Wilde. 

Taking laws of attraction to another level is self-love. Loving ourselves attracts more love. As simple as that. But why is it that we don't practice it often? Because most of us confuse self-love with selfishness. Unfortunately we have been conditioned from childhood to think that to put oneself first amounts to self-centredness. What is the thin line that divides both? "Self love" spreads by including others too in the process while "selfishness" is loving one's own self at the exclusion of others. 

Ignoring the conditioned mind, let's start listening to our heart. Without procrastinating anymore, let's start practicing to love ourselves right now. Healthy self-love means doing things which adds quality to our lives.

Having confidence in ourselves, being kind to ourselves by binging on that chocolate once in a while, not feeling guilty when we take a much needed break to watch a movie occasionally, treating ourselves with a health spa when required, patting our own back on a success, taking responsibility for failures without remorse, be willing to accept help when offered, accepting and honoring our emotions when we feel like crying, accepting compliments gracefully, forgiving ourselves whenever we commit a mistake, being gentle and compassionate to ourselves. These are only small beginnings. 

One word of caution though about this life-long romance. Knowing where to draw the line. Else we would end up like this woman who loved herself a little too much.

A woman was lamenting that she had gained weight. She'd made her family's favorite cake over the weekend, she reported, and they'd eaten half of it at dinner.
The next day, she said, she kept staring at the other half, until finally she cut a thin slice for herself. One slice led to another, and soon the whole cake was gone. The woman went on to tell her friends how upset she was with her lack of willpower, and how she knew her husband would be disappointed.
Everyone sympathized, until someone asked what her husband said when he found out.
She smiled. "He never did. I baked another cake and ate half!"

Redrawing gender roles

Shared from a Facebook page “Upworthy” (via inspiringthefuture.org)

It is a classroom with children between the ages of 5 & 7

One day three guest women come to the class.

One woman tells the children, “this afternoon we are going to draw pictures of people doing jobs. And the first we will draw is that of a firefighter.

All the children happily settle down to draw. “Mine is firefighter Gary," says one, “This is firefighter Stan"; "This is Simon. He is very strong,” say others. And it goes on.

“Next we are going to draw a surgeon,” says the second woman. Again a happy and hectic activity.

“What is the name of this surgeon?” asks the woman to one child. “This is Jim Bob. He is a brain surgeon,” says one. “He gives medicines,” says another.

“Next we are going to draw Fighter Pilot,” says the third woman.

One child draws a fighter plane and says, “This is Mr X. He rescues people.” And so on.

“Now we would meet these people for real,” says the women. There’s a cheerful “YES!” from all.

The three women go and come back as Firefighter, Surgeon and Fighter Pilot.

There’s an incredible gasp. Jaws wide open, faces with diverse expressions, the children look at all the three. They still don’t believe. “Fake, they are all dressed up,” they shout.

The first woman introduces herself as a surgeon.

The second introduces herself as a fighter pilot.

And the third, as a fire fighter.

There’s an unbelievable silence. The three women make the children don their caps and the children happily do so.

What is special about this incident?

61 pictures drawn were that of men and 5 as women!!!!!

Obviously, gender stereotypes are defined between the ages of 5 & 7.

When a real-life firefighter, surgeon, and fighter pilot drop in on a classroom, these kids have their assumptions turned around.

Watch this video https://www.facebook.com/Upworthy/videos/1309607832413405/

To remove this stereotyping, parents, teachers and other social agencies can teach their children to be androgynous, a person who may at will engage in both masculine or feminine behaviors & tasks as seen by the society; a person who focuses less on culturally built behaviours for males and females and rather focus more on a behaviour that is more operative under the given situations.

Isn’t it time we redrew the balance?

Adopting positive attitude as a way of life

Everyone wants to be happy in life. But no one believes that happiness is a choice. People blame all outside forces for being unhappy —relationships, fate, workplace experiences, … anything that they are not happy with.

Remember, you can either be a prey or a producer. The choice is yours. Making the choice empowers you to shift from prey mode to producer mode. Adopting positive attitude as a way of life, brings constructive changes in the way we live. We are in control of our happiness quotient by being so.

True, it’s easy said than done. If and when we really work hard on it, we can easily find something good about a situation that looked bad a while ago. Practice makes it perfect.

A little boy was heard talking to himself as he walked through the playground, carrying his cricket bat and ball: “I’m the greatest batsman in the world.”

Then he tossed the cricket ball in the air, swung at it with the bat and missed.

Undaunted, he picked up the ball, threw it into the air again, swung the bat at it, and missed again for the second time.

He did this four more times and missed all four times.

After missing the ball for the sixth time, he yelled out: “I’m the greatest bowler in the world!”

Life can be tough at times, painful at other times and testing at more times. But turning a situation to your advantage, like the little boy did, is the key. It’s certainly a state of mind well worth developing.

Happiness comes from within

We often see inequalities in societal life. Some do mean tasks and the others do white collared jobs. Although this inequality exists everywhere, there are many questions about it that makes us wonder.

Where did inequality come from?
Why does it continue?
Do we justify inequality?
Can we eliminate inequality?
Can we make a society in which people are equal?

Here is a short story; which gives a clear message of why we need this differentiation, not only from the spiritual point of view but also for the functioning of society at the secular level.

There once was a king ruling his kingdom peacefully and happily. But he was extremely sensitive to the inequalities that existed in his kingdom. He said, “I want to pray to God to make everybody like me. Why should all of them not be like kings?”

So, he went to the forest and meditated for a long time. Finally, God appeared and asked him what he wants.

The king said, “God, why are there so many troubles and difficulties? Why are some rich and the rest poor? Why can’t all be the same?”

God asked, “Are you sure you want this?”

The king said, “Yes, God. This is the type of kingdom I want.”
God said, “Ok, if this is really what you want I grant you your wish.”

The king was really happy and as he moved back to his city after crossing the forest, he suddenly found that the whole picture had changed.

The roads were dirty; all clothes were lying on the roadsides, unwashed; the drains were overflowing; and the king wondered what had happened in the few days that he was away.

He entered the palace and there too, he noticed that everything was tattered.

Then it dawned on him that all the people in his kingdom had become wealthy and had risen up the ladder like him. All his subjects were now potential kings. So, nobody wanted to wash clothes or clean the roads.

It then struck him about the mistake he had made by asking for a wrong wish because this sort of equality does not allow the society to function in a balanced manner.

Of course, the king went back to the forest and apologised to God. God appeared again in all His mercy and said, “Ok, now that you have understood the truth, things will come back to their normal shape.”

My thoughts: There are plenty of people who have all the luxuries in life but are unhappy, and plenty of people who have very little but are happy. The difference lies solely in the quality of their perception. Happiness comes from within, not from the outside. To live a harmonious community, it is important that inequality remains but not marginalized to the extent that one side is above the other.