Life Management

Do you sometimes try to direct and manage the lives of others? Especially of those who are near you, you live with you? Please, don't. Don't take advantage of your position to impose your opinions, your ideas, your will. Each human being has the right to their own choices, even if they are in contrast with yours. Don't forget that it is "their" life that is involved. Will they make a mistake? It is possible. But it will be a mistake caused by their choice, not by your imposition. I know, it is not easy to keep quiet when you see a dear one heading for trouble, making a decision that is clearly doomed. You can see it and they cannot. Yet, it is not up to you do "decide" on their behalf (unless they ask for your advice. But they usually don't, do they?)

Supremacy

Modern society seems to be based on competition. Everybody is encouraged to always try to be “better” than others: prettier, fitter, richer, smarter… But this creates problems because it is simply impossible to “always” be better than others. Ask yourself: Why is it so important to be “more” than another? Why this need to live in a perpetual confrontation? Why aren’t people happy with what they are, with what they can be “for their own sake”? Far too many are the solicitations you receive from the outside world which try to convince you to think, say and do what fashion, the papers, advertisements etc. instigate you to accept and, worse of all, believe in. And so you endeavor to reach a whatsoever supremacy not following your own ideals but simply to show that you can excel over the mass! But… can you really? And… what for?

Experience

An old story talks of a cat that, having got burnt by sitting on a hot stove, refused to ever sit again.  Past experiences are useful for the things they teach you, but they can become negative if you use them as a reference point for your present actions. When you do so, in fact, you give up the opportunity to try something new, to live creatively. The cat of the story should have learned that a hot stove can be dangerous if you sit on it. But not every stove is dangerous (it may not be hot), and the act of sitting can make you comfortable. Every experience should be therefore considered for its deep meaning and not judged from its superficial appearance. 

Questions Without Answers

Our mind is very clever in asking questions, but not always is it able to find the answers. How come? If - according to scientists - ours is a mathematical world, it should also be a logical world. Consequently each question, formulated by the logical mind, should also have a logical answer. Many times it does, but many others it doesn't. So, what can we do? Keep on asking the nagging question and never give up the hope to get an answer? Or just forget about it and... live "happily" (ignorant) ever after?

Fears

Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the belief that something else is more important than fear. Try to remember this when you accept to be deterred by harmful doubts and so you give up on your dream. Imagine to see someone you love in grave danger: what would your behavior be? You would certainly forget about fear and defy fire, water, a wild animal, a bullet etc. in order to save your loved one. Can you apply the same idea to win over other kinds of fears? Actually, you don’t even need to talk about “win over” or defeat such negative feeling. You can simply replace it with the strength of your desire, with the thought of the fulfillment you will experience once you reach your goal. It should be enough to make you braver than you think you are.

A Loaf of Bread

If a miraculous substance such as penicillin was obtained from mold, something good can come out of you even if you keep behaving in the wrong way. For example, when you say hurtful words, when you act without thinking, when you ignore responsibilities, when you try to avoid the consequences of your actions. And also when you are jealous, touchy, aggressive, gossipy, lazy… Several are the factors that make bread go moldy. Many are the attitudes that make you behave negatively. What can you do? Simply endeavor to discover the “penicillin” (the good stuff) that is hidden in your deep self which, after all, is the nature of your true, beautiful person. Next time you are about to do or say something “wrong”, think of an old, long forgotten loaf of bread. Then compare it to a fragrant, freshly baked one!

The Singing Bird

A Chinese proverb says, “If I keep a green branch in my heart, a singing bird will sit on it”, that is: life can be beautiful if we only decided to make it so. The branch represents different things. If you interpret it as good will and perseverance, those words mean that you must cultivate such traits in order to allow the bird to sit - maybe even build its nest – on it. It will also gift you with a song. Here, the bird symbolizes success, the realization of your wishes. If, on the other hand, you interpret the branch as a romantic relationship, in order to keep it green and avoid it to wither, you must provide all it needs to survive: understanding, dedication, sharing. Without these elements the singing bird, i.e. love, will neither stop long enough nor sing for you. It will fly away, looking for another tree, for another branch.