Ring Out

I Love Thee

I love thee,

I love but thee

With a love

that shall not die

Till the sun

grows cold

And the stars

grow old.

~ Willam Shakespeare

Love Story

I WILL FOLLOW HIM

An Obituary

An Obituary printed in the London Times

Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
Why the early bird gets the worm;
Life isn't always fair;
and maybe it was my fault.

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spendmore than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children,are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boycharged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.

Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children. It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the religious organizations became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims. Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed torealize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in herlap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement. Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his spouse, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason. He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers; I Know My Rights, I Want It Now, Someone Else Is To Blame, and I'm A Victim.

Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

I Wander Lonely As A Cloud

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,

They stretched in never-ending line

Along the margin of a bay:

Ten thousand saw I at a glance,

Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.
The waves beside them danced;

but they out-did the sparkling waves in glee:

A poet could not but be gay,

In such a jocund company:

I gazed--and gazed--but little thought

What wealth the show to me had brought:
For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils.

WILLIAM WORDSWORTH

Success Principles

Catalina Island is twenty-one miles away from the coast of California, and many people have taken the challenge to swim across it.

On July 4th 1952, Florence Chadwick stepped into the water off Catalina Island to swim across to the California coast. She started well and on course, but later fatigue set in, and the weather became cold. She persisted, but fifteen hours later, numb and cold, she asked to be taken out of the water.

After she recovered, she was told that she had been pulled out only half a mile away from the coast. She commented that she could have made it, if the fog had not affected her vision and she would have just seen the land. She promised that this would be the only time that she would ever quit.She went back to her rigorous training. And two months later she swam that same channel. The same thing happened. The fatigue set in, and the fog obscured her view, but this time she swam with faith and vision of the land in her mind. She knew that somewhere behind the fog was land. She succeeded and became the first woman to swim the Catalina Channel. She even broke the men’s record by two hours.

SUCCESS PRINCIPLES: When you set your goal, keep pressing on even when you are tired, physically and mentally, and even though there are many challenges ahead. Keep the vision of your goal crystal clear before you and never, never, never… give up!See the reaching, commit to it, and you will surely see your goal realized.

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Is Baar Nehi

Looking for Space - John Denver

The Serenity Prayer Video

Blind Man Wandering
Artist: Marisa
Album: East of Everything

The Serenity Prayer is a prayer written by Reinhold Niebuhr on July 1, 1943. Early in World War II, the prayer was printed on cards and distributed to the troops by the U.S.O. However, the prayer is reported to have been used before that date in Twelve-step programs for those recovering from hurts, habits, addictions and hang-ups.

Faith

When you walk to the edge of all the light you have and take that first step into the darkness of the unknown, you must believe that one of two things will happen:

There will be something solid for you to stand upon, or, you will be taught how to fly.

© Patrick Overton
The Leaning Tree, 1975
Rebuilding the Front Porch of America, 1997

La Vita Nuova

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Pilgrim

Pilgrim, how you journey
On the road you chose
To find out why the winds die
And where the stories go.

All days come from one day
That much you must know,
You cannot change what’s over
But only where you go.

One way leads to diamonds,
One way leads to gold,
Another leads you only
To everything you’re told.

In your heart you wonder
Which of these is true;
The road that leads to nowhere,
The road that leads to you.

Will you find the answer
In all you say and do?
Will you find the answer
In you?

Each heart is a pilgrim,
Each one wants to know
The reason why the winds die
And where the stories go.

Pilgrim, in your journey
You may travel far,
For pilgrim it’s a long way
To find out who you are.

How many other things we are missing?

Washington DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.
4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the till and, without stopping, continued to walk.
6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
10 minutes:
A 3 year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly, as the kid stopped to look at the violinist.. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced them to move on.
45 minutes:
The musician played. Only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace.
He collected $32.
1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by theWashington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

The questions raised: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?
One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments .....

How many other things are we missing?

Thought of The Day

The question is often asked, "Is there anything more beautiful in life than a young couple clasping hands and pure hearts in the path of marriage? Can there be anything more beautiful than young love?"

And the answer is given. "Yes, there is a more beautiful thing. It is the spectacle of an old man and an old woman finishing their journey together on that path. Their hands are gnarled, but still clasped; their faces are seamed, but still radiant; their hearts are physically bowed and tired, but still strong with love and devotion for one another. Yes, there is a more beautiful thing than young love. Old Love."

UN Best Poem

Planet Earth

Why We Differ?

A frog lived in a well. It had lived there for a long time. It was born there and brought up there, and yet was a little, small frog. Of course, the evolutionists were not there then to tell us whether the frog lost its eyes or not, but, for our story's sake, we must take it for granted that it had its eyes, and that it every day cleansed the water of all the worms and bacilli that lived in it with an energy that would do credit to our modern bacteriologists. In this way it went on and became a little sleek and fat. Well, one day another frog that lived in the sea came and fell into the well.

'Where are you from?' 'I am from the sea.' 'The sea! How big is that? Is it as big as my well?' and he took a leap from one side of the well to the other. 'My friend,' said the frog of the sea, 'how do you compare the sea with your little well?' Then the frog took another leap and asked, 'Is your sea so big?' 'What nonsense you speak, to compare the sea with your well!' 'Well then,' said the frog of the well, 'nothing can be bigger than my well; there can be nothing bigger than this; this fellow is a liar, so turn him out.'

That has been the difficulty all the while.

--- Swami Vivekananda

In Inspiring Story

A giant ship engine failed. The ship's owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine.

Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.

Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed!

A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars.

"What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!"

So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill."

The man sent a bill that read:
Tapping with a hammer...... ......... ....... $ 2.00
Knowing where to tap.......... ......... ...... $ 9, 998.00

Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort makes all the difference!

Albert Einstein

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Buddha Quote

In A Burying Ground

This is the spot where I will be
When life has had enough of me,
These are the trees that will grow
Above me like a living sea.
These gay old lilies will not shrink
To draw their life from death of mine,
And I will give my body's fire
To make blue flowers on this vine.

"Oh Soul" I said, "have you no tears"?

"Was not the body dear to you"?

I heard my Soul say carelesly,

"The myrtle flowers will grow more blue."

--- Sarah Teasdale

Vaishnavo Janato with Translations

Vaishnav jan to tene kahiye je [One who is a Vaishnav]
PeeD paraayi jaaNe re [Knows the pain of others]
Par-dukhkhe upkaar kare toye [Does good to others, esp. to those ones who are in misery]
Man abhimaan na aaNe re [Does not let pride enter his mind]
SakaL lok maan sahune vande [A Vaishnav, Tolerates and praises the the entire world]
Nindaa na kare keni re [Does not say bad things about anyone]
Vaach kaachh man nishchaL raakhe [Keeps his/her words, actions and thoughts pure]
Dhan-dhan janani teni re [O Vaishnav, your mother is blessed (dhanya-dhanya)]
Sam-drishti ne trishna tyaagi [A Vaishnav sees everything equally, rejects greed and avarice]
Par-stree jene maat re [Considers some one else's wife/daughter as his mother]
Jivha thaki asatya na bole [The toungue may get tired, but will never speak lies]
Par-dhan nav jhaalee haath re [Does not even touch someone else's property]
Moh-maaya vyaape nahi jene [A Vaishnav does not succumb to worldly attachments]
DriDh vairaagya jena man maan re [Who has devoted himself to stauch detachment to worldly pleasures]
Ram naam shoon taaLi laagi [Who has been edicted to the elixir coming by the name of Ram]
SakaL tirath tena tan maan re [For whom all the religious sites are in the mind]
VaN-lobhi ne kapaT-rahit chhe [Who has no greed and deciet]
Kaam-krodh nivaarya re [Who has renounced lust of all types and anger]
BhaNe Narsaiyyo tenun darshan karta [The poet Narsi will like to see such a person]
KuL ekoter taarya re [By who's virtue, the entire family gets salvation]

--- Narsi Mehta

I-m-age

The Alchemist on Destiny

The boy didn't know what a person's "destiny" was. "It's what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their destiny is. At that point in their lives, everything is clear and everything is possible. They are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives. But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their destiny... It's a force that appears to be negative, but actually shows you how to realize your destiny. It prepares your spirit and your will, because there is one great truth on this planet: whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it's because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It's your mission on earth."

--- Old King to Santiago

The Alchemist

The Gift of Insults

There once lived a great warrior.

Though quite old, he still was able to defeat any challenger. His reputation extended far and wide throughout the land and many students gathered to study under him.

One day an infamous young warrior arrived at the village. He was determined to be the first man to defeat the great master. Along with his strength, he had an uncanny ability to spot and exploit any weakness in an opponent. He would wait for his opponent to make the first move, thus revealing a weakness, and then would strike with merciless force and lightning speed. No one had ever lasted with him in a match beyond the first move.

Much against the advice of his concerned students, the old master gladly accepted the young warrior's challenge. As the two squared off for battle, the young warrior began to hurl insults at the old master. He threw dirt and spit in his face. For hours he verbally assaulted him with every curse and insult known to mankind. But the old warrior merely stood there motionless and calm. Finally, the young warrior exhausted himself. Knowing he was defeated, he left feeling shamed.

Somewhat disappointed that he did not fight the insolent youth, the students gathered around the old master and questioned him. "How could you endure such an indignity? How did you drive him away?"

"If someone comes to give you a gift and you do not receive it," the master replied, "to whom does the gift belong?"

--- A Zen Parable

Love Poem between Ryokan and Teishin

The moon, I'm sure

Is shining brightly

High above the mountains

But gloomy clouds

Shroud the peak in darkness

--Teishin

You must rise above

The gloomy clouds

Covering the mountaintop

Otherwise, how will you

Ever see the brightness?

--Ryokan

Lessons Learnt

I've learned....
That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.
I've learned....
That when you're in love, it shows.
I've learned....
That just one person saying to me, "You've made my day!" makes my day.
I've learned....
That being kind is more important than being right.
I've learned....
That you should never say "no" to a gift from a child.
I've learned....
That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.
I've learned....
That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.
I've learned....
That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.
I've learned....
That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.
I've learned....
That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.
I've learned....
That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.
I've learned....
That money doesn't buy class.
I've learned....
That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular. I've learned...
That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.
I've learned....
That the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?
I've learned....
That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.
I"ve learned...
I have the power to attract all the good things in my life NOW and thats a FACT!!!

Life

The Lord's Prayer

Medley

Pics Courtesy: Kalyan Mazumder

Sacred Journey

MUST READ

It was a sports stadium.

Eight Children were standing on the track to participate in the running event.
* Ready! * Steady! * Bang!!!
With the sound of Toy pistol, all eight girls started running. Hardly have they covered ten to fifteen steps, one of the smaller girls slipped and fell down . Due to bruises and pain she started crying.


When other seven girls heard this sound, stopped running, stood for a while and turned back, they all ran back to the place where the girl fell down. One among them bent, picked and kissed the girl gently and enquired 'Now pain must have reduced'. All seven girls lifted the fallen girl, pacified her, two of them held the girl firmly and then all seven joined hands together and walked together and reached the winning post.
Officials were shocked. Clapping of thousands of spectators filled the stadium. Many eyes were filled with tears and perhaps it had reached the GOD even!

YES. This happened in Hyderabad [ INDIA ], recently!

The sport was conducted by National Institute of Mental Health. All these special girls had come to participate in this event and they are Spastic children.

Yes, they were mentally challenged.

What did they teach this world?

Teamwork?
Humanity?
Equality among all?????

Successful people help others who are slow in learning so that they are not Felt far behind.

We don't do this ever because we have BRAINS!!!

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It's only when we truly know and understand

that we have a limited time on earth -

and that we have no way of knowing

when our time is up,

we will then begin to live

each day to the fullest,

as if it was

the only one we had.

Perhaps Love

Timeless Ways to be Happy

Our passions, expectations, life experiences, and even our personalities all contribute to the level of happiness we experience in our lives. Some find happiness in their careers while others find ways to be happy in their marriages or other relationships. No matter how you define happiness for yourself, there are certain universal and time-proven strategies to bring, and sustain, more happiness into your life. Over time, these strategies will become positive and life-changing habits that will begin to bring more happiness, joy and peace into your life.

Some of us see the glass as being half-full and others see the glass as half-empty. The next time you are caught in traffic, begin thinking how nice it is to have a few moments to reflect on the day, focus on a problem you have been trying to solve, or brainstorm on your next big idea. The next time you get in the slow line at the grocery store, take the opportunity to pick up a tabloid magazine and do some “guilty pleasure” reading. Take all that life throws out you and reframe it with what’s right about the situation. At the end of the day, you will more content, at peace and happy. Take the time to begin to notice what’s right and see the world change in front of your eyes.

How many times do you say the words “thank you,” in a day? How many times do you hear these same words? If you are doing the first thing, saying the “thank yous,” the latter will naturally happen. Learn to be grateful and you will be open to receive an abundance of joy and happiness.

Do you remember how to play? I’m not referring to playing a round of golf or a set of tennis. I’m talking about playing like you did when you were a child – a game of tag; leap frog, or street baseball when the bat is a broken broom handle and the bases are the parked cars. One way to find or maintain your happiness is to remember the kid you were and play!

There is no question that by merely watching acts of kindness creates a significant elevation in our moods and increases the desire for us to perform good deeds as well. Kindness is indeed contagious and when we make a commitment to be kind to ourselves and to others we can experience new heights of joy, happiness and enthusiasm for our lives.

Although an abundant social and romantic life does not itself guarantee joy, it does have a huge impact on our happiness. Learn to spend time with your friends and make the friendships a priority in your life.

To be in the moment is to live in the moment. Too often we are thinking ahead or looking ahead to the next event or circumstance in our lives, not appreciating the “here and now.” When we savor every moment, we are savoring the happiness in our lives.

There are times when we need the time to unwind, decompress, or to put it simply, just “to chill.” Life comes at all of us hard and fast. Time, as do the days on the calendar, keeps going forward at its own natural pace, which is not always the pace we would choose. Fatigue, stress and exhaustion may begin to settle in on us faster than we may think, or notice. The best remedy for this is indeed rest.

The expression a “runner’s high” does not infer an addiction, but a feeling or a state of mind - a state of euphoria. There is no question exercise, or any physical exertion, elevates your mood and enhances a more positive attitude as well as fosters better personal self-esteem and confidence. Indeed, one way to increase your happiness is to move!

Sometimes we have to fake it until we make it. I’m not suggesting that we not be honest, real or authentic, but I’m suggesting, sometimes, we just need to put on a happy face and keep moving forward. Researchers claim that smiling and looking like we are happy will indeed make us happier. Studies further show that if we act like we are happy then we can experience greater joy and happiness in our lives.

The absence of goals in our lives, or more specifically avoiding to pursue our goals, makes us feel like we are stuck and ineffective. The pursuit of goals in our personal lives, in our relationships, or with our careers, is the difference between having a mediocre life or a life full of passion and enthusiasm. Pursue your goals and watch your happiness soar.

Some find meaning in religion or spirituality while others find purpose in their work or relationships. Finding your calling may be much more than accomplishing one simple strategy for increasing your happiness, but having a sense of purpose – of feeling like you are here for a reason – can perhaps bring the greatest joy of all.

Flow is the form of joy, excitement and happiness that occurs when we are so absorbed in an activity we love that we can lose ourselves and time seems to stand still. What creates flow is unique to each one of us. To find and sustain true happiness in our lives, we must get off the sidelines and get into the flow.And two more just to sweeten the pot a little more.

One way to achieve flow is by understanding and identifying our strengths and core values, and then begin to use these every day. Once we aware of our strengths and we begin to play to your strengths we can better incorporate them in all aspects of our lives.

Know when to say when. What gives you joy and happiness the first time may not work the second time. Too much of a good thing may begin not to feel as good if the “thing” becomes more of a routine, or an expectation. Set healthy and reasonable boundaries for yourself and don’t overdo it.

Einstein Said

The Lotus Dance

Quotes

The world is filled with Beauty that goes unnoticed. Much of it lies like a newly seeded field within the depths of each Heart, waiting for the sun to shine and the rain to come in order to grow and flourish.

Each of us has a destiny to fulfill that represents the deepest longing of our soul. Embrace this longing. Let it wind its way through your Heart. For the end of longing is the accomplishment of peace, and the gift of longing is the deepening of LOVE.

Why Women Cry

One day, a young boy asked his Mom. "Why are you crying?"
"Because I'm a woman" she told him.
"I don't understand," he said.
His Mom just hugged him and said, "And you never will, but that's okay."

Later the little boy asked his father, "Why does Mom seem to cry for no reason?"
"All women cry for no reason" was all his dad could say.

The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry.
Finally, he put in a call to God.
When God got back to him, he asked, "God, why do women cry so easily?"
God answered,

"When I made woman, I decided she had to be special.
I made her shoulders strong enough
to carry the weight of the world,
yet her arms gentle enough to give comfort.
I gave her the inner strength to endure childbirth
and the rejection that many times will come,
even from her own children.
I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going
and take care of her family and friends,
even when everyone else gives up,
through sickness and fatigue, without complaining.
I gave her the sensitivity to love her children
under any and all circumstances,
even when her child has hurt her badly.
She has the very special power
to make a child's boo-boo feel better
and to quell a teenager's anxieties and fears.
I gave her strength to care for her husband, despite faults,
and I fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart.
I gave her wisdom to know
that a good husband never hurt his wife
but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve
to stand beside him unfalteringly.
For all of this hard work, I also gave her a tear to shed.
It is her's to use whenever needed and is her only weakness."
"When you see her cry, tell her how much you love her
and all she does for everyone.
And even though she may still cry,
you will have made her heart feel good."
"She is special!"

The Missing Brick

Once, when I and my wife were traveling, I received a fax from my secretary.

“There’s one glass brick missing for the work on the kitchen renovation,’ she said. ‘I’m sending you the original plan as well as the plan the builder has come up with to compensate for it.”

On the one hand, there was the design my wife had made: harmonious lines of bricks with an opening for ventilation. On the other, there was the plan drawn up to resolve the problem of the missing brick: a real jigsaw puzzle in which the glass squares were arranged in a higgledy-piggledy fashion that defied aesthetics.

“Just buy another brick," wrote my wife. And so the did, and thus stuck to the original design.

That afternoon, I thought for a long time about what had happened; how often, for the lack of one brick, we completely distort the original plan of our lives.

Alone On The Road

When things get hard, let us not forget that - independent of race, color, social situation, beliefs, or culture - everyone has experienced exactly the same. A lovely prayer written by the Egyptian Sufi Master Dhu'l-Nun (d. AD 861) neatly sums up the attitude one needs to adopt at such times:

O God, when I listen to the voices of the animals, to the sound of the trees, the murmur of the water, the singing of the birds, to the rushing of the wind or to the rumble of thunder, I see in them evidence of Your unity; I feel that You are supreme power, supreme knowledge, supreme wisdom, supreme justice.

O God, I also recognize You in the difficulties I am experiencing now. God, let Your satisfaction be my satisfaction, and let me be Your joy, the joy that a Father takes in his child. And let me remember You with calmness and determination, even when it is hard for me to say: I love You.

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"There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief...and unspeakable love".

... Washington Irving.

Many Lives, Many Masters

"Patience and timing . . . everything comes when it must come. A life cannot be rushed, cannot be worked on a schedule as so many people want it to be. We must accept what comes to us at a given time, and not ask for more. But life is endless, so we never die; we were never really born. We just pass through different phases. There is no end. Humans have many dimensions. But time is not as we see time, but rather in lessons that are learned".

A wisdom by one of the Masters through Catherine. This wisdom is taken from the book Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr. Brian Weiss.

The Notebook

I am nothing special of this I am sure.
I am just a common man with common thoughts.
There are no monuments dedicated to me
and my name will soon be forgotten.
But I've loved another with all my heart and soul,
and to me, that has always been enough.

~Nicholas Sparks

No Other Thoughts Exist

Repeating the name of Ranjha
I have become Ranjha myself.
O call me ye all "Dhido-Ranjha,"
Let no one call me Heer .
Ranjha is in me, I am in Ranjha,
No other thought exists in my mind.
I am not, He alone is.
He alone is amusing himself.



By : Bulleh Shah

Me

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more .

Messages from The Masters

Live in the present, not the past or the future. The past is over; learn from it and let go. The future is not yet here. Plan for it, but do not worry. Worry only wastes your time and energy.

The Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh describes enjoying a good cup of tea. You must be in the present moment, mindful and aware, to enjoy the tea, to savor the sweet aroma, to taste the flavor, to feel the warmth of the cup. If you are ruminating about past events or worrying about the future ones, you will look down at your cup and the tea will be gone. You drank it, but you do not remember, because you were not aware.

Life is like that cup of tea.

A Passage from Messages from the Masters

What is the difference in this life if you are wealthy and I am not?
Only the treasures of spirit can be retained.
What is the difference if you are powerful or famous and I am not?
Happiness has no roots in power or fame, only in love.
What is the difference if you are more liked and respected by others than I am?
Perhaps I am daring to tell and live the truth, and the truth is rarely popular.
Happiness comes from within, not from without, not from the reflection of what others think of you. Jealousy is poison to the soul.

--- Dr. Brian Weiss, MD, an eminent psychiatrist.

Love Poems between Teishin and Ryokan

Have you forgotten me
Or lost the path here?
I wait for you
All day, every day
But you do not appear.

--Ryokan

Here with you
I could remain
For countless days and years
Silent as the bright moon
We watched together.

--Teishin

Where is Heaven?

"Then where is Heaven?", asked the puzzled child

The Wise One took her tiny hand and smiled

Then swept an arm across the earth and sky,
"It is right here, never far and not too high

Look with your Heart, my little one, and See

For all who find their peace within are free;

So search for beauty always in all things

For ever from the Soul true Heaven springs"