======================= VOTT IF ... you could get a short, humorous, informative e-mail each week that was insightful and meaningful to your life? ======================= Valuing Ourselves There is a story from Buddha's era that illustrates the power of self-worth very well: In the areas around Kashi, a severe famine was spreading. The Buddha called his followers together and spoke: "Now is the time to earn blessings. Which of you will feed the hungry and be blessed?" A very wealthy man quickly said, "Not all my wealth can feed the hungry. There are just too many!" There was general agreement after his statement. Then a young beggar girl rose to speak. She declared that she would feed the hungry. "You? Little beggar girl?" laughed the others. "You who are so poor! How can you feed even one, never mind so many?" The little girl quietly answered,"Yes, I am the poorest in your midst, but I receive my share of the wealth too. From this I will give to the hungry. I shall call at every home and say, 'Give me my share for the service of the poor!' " And so, all were humbled and gave out of their abundance to feed the poor till the famine disappeared from the land. Even the poorest is of immeasurable value and this value never has anything to do with money, fame, position or talent. It has everything to do with courage, compassion and faith - those wonderful things that are totally free for all of us: our divine inheritance! Time Tippies Just for fun, let's look at some real time wasters. Not the usual stuff like interruptions, indecisions, procrastinations, disorganizations, but the ones which we don't always see as timewasters. Such things like stress, worry, doubt, anger and of course, fear. We tend to pass these things off as part of a grand scheme which we conveniently call 'human nature' and spend our efforts dealing with the first list. However, there are far more serious issues that have to be dealt with in the second. This latter list prevents us from being our best, in fact, they do an excellent job in bringing out the worst in us. Time management is nothing more (or less) than life management and if we cannot live our lives feeling we are effective as human beings, there isn't much point to trying to 'squeeze' a few more hours out of the day by taking a course or two. So pay close attention to that list which affects the quality of the way you live your life. The items on that list are more than timewasters - they are really lifewasters. Inspiration Ralph Waldo Emerson was an idealist, a non-conformist and a radical. He was born in 1803 and died at the age of 79. His father, a pastor, passed away when Ralph was 8 years old, so Emerson grew up under great financial hardship as his mother raised a large family. He entered Harvard College when he was 14 years old and later entered Harvard Divinity school to eventually become the pastor of the church where his father had preached. He parted on friendly terms with the church as he did not agree with all the rituals. At age 32 he settled down to a happy life with his second wife Lidian Jackson. He began to lecture across the United States encouraging scholars to think and live freely. He spoke out against formalism and tradition in religion. Underlying his philosophy was the love of Nature and belief in the infinite capacity of each person. Though his views were not endorsed by all, people flocked to his lectures. He put his thoughts onto paper and these, along with his poems, are revered to this day. Emerson trusted inspiration more than reason and was spiritually and intellectually a man of freedom. As a person, he was of exalted character, ineradicable honesty, whose influence was worldwide. His words continue to inspire humanity to "hitch its wagon to the stars". Funecdotes The famous writer George Bernard Shaw was at a party in the company of a vain and verbose high society lady who, though professing to be a great admirer of his, spent the evening talking about herself. Towards the latter part of the marathon, she felt she would honour the writer with the following suggestion: "Why Mr. Shaw think how wonderful it would be if we married and had a child. How superlative our child would be with your brains and my beauty!" "Indeed, quite possible madame, replied Shaw, "but suppose the child wound up with my looks and your brains?" ... 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 =======================