Money and Wisdom

Think about money and wisdom. 

Ask yourself, "Am I ready to receive a gift of money? Am I ready to use it?"
Now ask: "Am I willing to accept words of wisdom? Am I willing to apply them in my life?"

Can you answer honestly?

Check It Out!

Ask yourself about the actual situation you are presently in.

Job? Check! Are you satisfied with what you do or would you prefer to be doing something else? Do you feel appreciated, rewarded, respected enough?
Finances? Check! Do you feel reasonably secure? Can you relax and enjoy what you have or are you constantly worried about the future?
Family? Check! Is your family situation/environment acceptably serene? Are you enjoying a good relationship with your relatives or are you having serious problems with anyone? Is it possible to solve the problem or is it an on-going, never-ending predicament?
Personal Attitude? Check! Are you comfortable with yourself? Do you behave in a way that makes others feel at ease?
Deeper Feelings? Check! Do you believe you have done enough? Have you fulfilled your own expectations?

If you take the time to answer these questions, you will learn a lot more about the reason why you are where you are right now.
(Excerpt from my article on "Arab News")

Selfishness

Selfishness is a sore. But, if you told anyone that they are selfish, they will immediately deny it. The selfish person, in fact, totally believes that they are only giving themselves what they have a right to. They say, "I deal with people the way 'I' find it suitable. 'I' do not accept any imposition or advice.You do not talk to 'me' like that! 'I' need this. 'I' have the right to that..." and so on. 

It is always I, I, I. They do not realize that their attitude may hurt others, that their behavior may offend another, that their 'I' talk makes their interlocutor feel worth nothing.

I often wonder about the blindness of those who, only because they have problems, take the liberty to ignore the needs and feelings of their fellow human beings. How sad, indeed!

When Sad, Go There!

Are you aware of what gives you real pleasure and fulfillment? Beside materialistic things such as eating, shopping etc., is there something that makes you feel glad to be alive?

A friendly hobby can serve as an outlet for your sad, frustrating moments. If you like gardening, when you are upset go attend to your flowers and plants. It will provide an immediate relief to your sorrow. When I need to express a bothering sensation, I jot down a few lines about it. Someone else might write a poem, draw a picture or take a walk. Do you enjoy playing a musical instrument or just listening to music? When upset, go there! It will help. Also reading can be a temporary therapy. But the more creative your "hobby" is, the more fulfilling it will be. 

Some people are too lazy to investigate their deeper nature while those who take the time to discover their inner needs and inclinations are able create more satisfaction in their own lives.

Life Schedule

How do you think a "Life Schedule" should be?
Most believe it should follow this pattern:
* Get an education
* Find a job
* Get married
* Have children
* Keep on working
* Retire
Do you agree on all points or only on some?
Some reflections:
- Is any kind of education indispensable for a rewarding life? Should there be a discrimination?
- Is having children a "must"? Can a life without them still be complete and fulfilling?
- Should "work" aim more at a material reward than a psychological one?
- What kind of attitude (positive/negative, resilient/aggressive,
accepting/challenging) is more apt to bring along results?

Useless Planning?

An interesting observation is that Life usually takes you in a direction that is totally different from the one you had planned or just imagined. I don't mean this "only" in a negative way, though. When you are young you envision a certain path: you see it clearly in front of your eyes and you also endeavor to follow it, doing all the things that, supposedly, should be done to achieve your aim. Yet, many times (not to say almost always) things go differently. You thought your career would be such and such, but it wasn't. You were sure you would immediately pinpoint the perfect partner and, although at first you believed you had succeeded, you eventually realized that you hadn't. You were positive about being able to create the best family ever, but later you had to admit that the results were not up to your expectations. Why does all this happen? Could it be that a well-planned "planning" is rather useless and that all we can do is our best and then accept what comes along?

Why Pray?

I have often wondered about the real reason why people pray. I would really like to know how many pray:

* out of habit alone

* without their prayer having any impact on their lives
or because:

* they mind the judgment of others

* they believe it is a duty

* they fear going to "hell"

* they really have faith in the value of prayer

Amen!

Tastes & Interests

Tastes can be recreational, cultural or creative.
Some are interested in sports, others in fashion, in gardening, in art, or in gossips about famous people. Some are interested in books, movies or music. One likes to know what actress XY's latest love story is, while another enjoys growing flowers, painting or learning about the history of art. Some play sports while others simply enjoy watching. 
A few are interested in learning more about "Life" in order to improve their own. They believe that, beside recreational stuff (which is good, but only to a certain extent) lies a world that belongs to the mind and which goes on to touch the spirit as well.
What is the percentage of these? Hard to say. But they are certainly not the majority.

Three "Impossible" Things

Here are three "impossible" things that have been proven scientifically. Yes, only at a sub-atomic level, so far, but... it is still on "our" physical plane.

1. A particle can move forward and backward in time.

2. A particle can be in two places at the same time.

3. A particle can move from one place to another without actually "moving", just disappear from here and re-appear over there.

I find these facts extremely intriguing and unsettling. What can they mean in our "real" world?

The Life You Want

Imagine you could wear a helmet and be able to create in your mind the life you had hoped of living. (Some already do this, but it is only a game, so far.)

You could experience the happy conclusion of a badly-ended love story. You could see yourself surrounded by a nice family. You could feel the love, the attention, the appreciation you have been lacking. You might see yourself living in a beautiful, exciting environment - so different from your real one - or succeeding in your career as you had been dreaming for years.

Would you try such experiment?

Or would you be afraid that - once you saw your dreams come true (although in a virtual reality) - you wouldn't want to come back to your every-day life?

P.S. It has been hypothesized the possibility that a "virtual" life can actually exist in a parallel Universe. So...? 

Sickle or Scissors?

Excerpt from my "Arab News" article:

There is a funny little story that my father used to tell. I loved it, I've never forgotten it and I often quote it. Here it is.

Two peasant spouses were discussing the best way to cut grain crops.

Husband: "You use a sickle."

Wife: "No, you use scissors."

Husband: "Sickle"

Wife: "Scissors"

They went on like this for quite some time. Finally, the exasperated husband threatened the woman to put her in the water well until she admitted that the right tool was the sickle. But she kept denying it. So he started lowering her into the well while keeping on asking her, "How do you cut the grain?". She kept on answering, "With the scissors". Her last reply, while the water was filling her mouth, was, "Scissors... glu...glu". And happily drowned. Cruel husband? Sure! But... talking about stubbornness (= need to prove one's point)!

That's (Not) Impossible!

I have often thought that certain things some people do seem impossible. Stunts, pulling a truck with one's teeth, breaking a thick brick wall with bare hands, extreme sports... Such admirable individuals are tremendously skilled, they have attained a proficiency that doesn't seem humanly reachable, they can perform incredible tasks. Not only do they do it, they also make it seem easy. But easy it is not. They work hard, are committed, make sacrifices in order to attain their goal and... they succeed. Therefore, you should never say "This can't be done". The proverb says, "What man can conceive, man can achieve", so you should always remember that - if you are motivated enough and have strong will and commitment - you can reach the destination you dream of, in due time.

Word Power

Do you ever take the time to examine your mood? You might be interested in noticing how often you switch from one to another in the course of the day. Now you are feeling fine and then... just one word uttered by someone else can change your mood in a whim. So, now you don't feel so good any more! Did anything truly unpleasant actually happen? Did you get hurt? Are you in pain? Not at all. Yet your well-being has disappeared and has been replaced by upset, sadness or anger. Isn't it strange that one single word (or gesture, or look, or expression) can be so powerful? But... does a word really have such power? Yes, it does - but only if "you" allow it!

Friends In Your Life

How would you define a friend? Who can you consider a "friend"? There are different kinds of people you meet throughout your life. They all have a place, a collocation, but the impact is quite different.

* There are those whom you meet just briefly. No impact whatsoever.

* There are those you interact with for a certain time, who then disappear from your life without leaving a trace. Just a tiny impact.

* There are those who stay in your life for quite some time, whom you consider more than an acquaintance, but who then disappoint you. A remarkable impact.

* There are those who have been your friends for a long time and suddenly exit your life without a word, and you never discover * There are those whom you considered as real friends but who either betray you, do not support you, or who exploit you. Huge impact.

* Fortunately, there are those who behaved like your friends, still behave like your friends, who "are" your friends. 

Be thankful even if you have just one. Many don't.

The Value of People

Here is another big question: what is the "value" of each human being? Absurd, you might say, people have all the same value. You are right but, if you really think about it, only to a certain extent. From a spiritual point of view, we agree on the fact that all "souls" are on an evolutionary path and therefore they all deserve respect and appreciation. So far so good. But, as far as the way they carry out their earthly existence, can we say that they are all equal? Here is a person who did good, here is another who did bad, and over there is someone who did "nothing", an indolent individual who, for instance, in dealing with others showed neither love nor hate. If you try to remember their material deeds or manifestations of feelings, you see no-thing, you have no revealing memories of any significant action of theirs.

Therefore, making an inventory of these people's lives, can we say that the result is the same?

Resisting Change

I recently reflected upon the reason why some of us resist change. What I have come up with is that we are afraid of not being up  to the change, that we might not be "good enough". We therefore find the excuse that we don't need it (whatever "it" is, either an object, a habit, an idea etc.), that the old one is still good, it still works for us. But it actually does not. Living in this world and in a certain environment implies that we "adapt" to the transformations that inevitably occur from time to time. We are unconsciously scared of the new because we believe, although we don't want to admit it even to ourselves, that we might not be capable of coping. But we are! We have been in the past and we still are. Therefore... let us try to dare!