======================= VOTT IF ... you could get a short, humorous, informative e-mail each week that was insightful and meaningful to your life? ======================= Valuing Ourselves Do you have a guru? Well, actually we all do, even though we don't necessarily acknowledge it. Sri Ramakrishna tells this amusing story about a devotee who learned that God was in all things from his teacher. One day he was walking out in the forest, when suddenly he encountered several people running in a frenzy. "Mad elphant! Mad elephant! Run!!" they cried as they passed him. The devotee remembered the teaching of his master and figured that since God was in all things, God must also be in the elephant which was therefore not to be feared. Eventually, the elephant's mahut came running up and pleaded with him to flee. However, so strong was the devotee's conviction that he stood his ground unafraid. By and by, the mad elephant came upon him (the mahut had long since disappeared), proceeded to trample him underfoot and then went on its way. The devotee, still barely alive, was taken to recuperate at the home of his teacher. When he had regained consciousness, he explained what had happened, quite perplexed that his master's teachings seemed to have been shown to be not correct: "I trusted that God was in the mad elephant and therefore feared him not, yet I was trampled by the creature!" His master chuckled, "I am glad you believed in the God which resided within the elephant, but why did you not listen to the God who was in the mahut who was telling you to run away? The universe always tries to teach us, but we do not make good pupils when we hear only our own fancies than the lesson being taught." So next time the mad elephant rushes at you, pay attention to what the universe is telling you and remember that life is the real guru. Time Tippies The benefit of the checklist cannot be overstated. These days we have some extremely elaborate time management contraptions. Some take the form of massive planners with a myriad of sections to house practically your entire imagination. When these get too complex you can always computerize the whole thing to help you find everything you put into it. Some people aren't happy with one or the other, so they use both! However, all of these have their basis in one simple idea. You have to make a list of what to do. When you make that list, you are giving yourself a 'roadmap' that you can follow. Whether you prioritize the items, or assign times to them, or categorize them into separate sections, or enter them into a Pentium IV running at 650 MHz really isn't as important as getting them down so you can actually see them in front of you! Then you have something to act on and as you get each task done, you can check it off. Inspiration A grandmother at age 73, did not want to take courses because she found them stressful - even those that were for leisure. However, she has always been very gifted at handwork and upon the urging of her grandson, began to feel the creative juices flow once more. She was inspired to make a quilt for him and upon the advice of people in the field, she enrolled in a quilting course. Well, even before the orientation session this grandmother spent several sleepless nights worrying if she would be able to understand her teacher as her first language is not English and her hearing is impaired. Then, she wondered if she would be able to see properly to keep the accuracy essential for quiltmaking as cataracts blur her vision. Her strong desire to do a job she has undertaken well caused her considerable turmoil. She made it through the orientation session and nervously awaited the beginning of the course. She did not sleep the night before and arrived early for the day. Concentrating intensely on the task at hand, she persevered. Her stitching proved to be perfect - an example to the class! We salute this grandmother who conquered her demons and rose above obstacles to create a work of art. Funecdotes In logic class, the professor posed the following problem to her students: "Two men were digging a well. After finishing they came out of the hole and one was dirty while the other was not. Which man will go and shower?" "The dirty one of course!" one student answered. "Are you sure?" asked the professor, "Suppose they can see only each other and not themselves?" "I get it!" exclaimed another student, "The clean one sees the other and assumes he is dirty and so takes the shower, while the dirty one sees the clean one and assumes he is clean and therefore does not take a shower." A furious debate then ensued after which the professor remarked to the class, "We have a lot of work to do, it seems. How could two men be digging a well together and one of them not get dirty?" ... with you on your journey Towards Freedom mailto:about@towardsfreedom.com (autoresponder) http://www.towardsfreedom.com (website) information, imagination, inspiration - truly a site for soaring I's ======================= If you ever wish to unsubscribe just do so at http://towardsfreedom.com/suvottif.html#subscription_handling =======================