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ALL GLORIOUS WITHIN
MY HAPPINESS: AN INSIDE JOB
PREFACE
I believe that Happiness is a natural condition of
our life! I like to assume that the natural condition
of human beings is to be happy. Something within
me assures me that all of us were created to be
happy. It is my humble belief that God created
each one of us to be happy in this world created
by him and to be happy forever with Him in the
next.
Therefore, if a person is perpetually unhappy,
something has gone wrong, something is missing.
It may not be the person’s fault or choice. Be
patient with me as I try to explain WHY I think so
and BELIEVE SO.
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If each of us looks deep within ourselves, is there
not this gut feeling in us, a stubborn, inborn
desire in us to be HAPPY? It is unfortunate that all
of us have at some time or the other experienced
some frustration of this inner most desire for
happiness.
Often enough you and I have had dreams of
places and people whom we felt sure to make us
happy but only to find our dreams fall apart. One
dream after another have risen and collapsed and
our HOPES FORLASTING HAPPINESS have
vanished into thin air. So much so that we think
our HAPPINESS will come from outside things or
other persons but if so, our dreams are destined
to die a natural death.
What then is the Formula for HAPPINESS?
HAPPINESS is an INSIDE JOB: H= I + J
Frustration and despair will be ours if you and I
dream and continue to place our HAPPINESS in
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things or in the hands of other humans.
Disillusionment will always follow when we expect
someone or something else to make us happy.
Our mistake begins when we expect things and
other people to assume responsibility for our
happiness. No one can make us truly happy or
unhappy.
Consequently, there arises in us much cynicism
about happiness and since our search has
beenlargely unsuccessful, many have given up.
They are convinced that, “Life today is a struggle
and then you die.” For many, if not for most,
happiness is only a cruel HOAX.
But for all the disillusion we have experienced, we
never seem to look INSIDE for that which we seek.
We have pinned our hopes on other people and
on objects that simply can’t deliver happiness.
Therefore, to remind yourself, put in a prominent
place this SIGN POST: “YOU ARE LOOKING AT THE
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FACE OF THE PERSON WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR
YOUR HAPPINESS.” Every day believe more and
more in what that SIGN POST says.
One of the questions the human heart is always
asking is this:What will make me Happy?
Unfortunately the answer you and I try to find is in
Comparison and Competition. We tend to get
trapped and the usual points of comparison are:
1. Looks
2.Brains
3.Behavior
4.Accomplishments.
Most of us have been taught to compare
ourselves with others and comparison is the death
of true SELF-CONTENTMENT. Contests and
Comparisons have left life-long scars in many a life
and in competition everyone loses. When we sort
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out all our memories we feel convinced that
HAPPINESS is within the reach of EVERYONE. The
only problem is that if we reach out for
happiness to persons and things, we are going in
the wrong direction. HAPPINESS is and has
always been an INSIDE JOB.
One other important thing to keep in mind is that
HAPPINESS is also a “BY PRODUCT.” Like the
elusive butterfly happiness cannot be directly
pursued. All attempts to seek happiness directly
are doomed to failure. Happiness is attained by
doing “SOMETHING ELSE!” This “SOMETHING
ELSE” can be condensed into 10 LIFE TASKS or
PRACTICES.
Life is a process, a gradual growth process. We can
accomplish our LIFE TASK only gradually.The more
we accomplish the 10 listed TASKS, the more we
shall be able to attain a sense of Peace and
Satisfaction. The more we look within ourselves
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and not to the other persons or things, we will
find a meaning and direction to our lives.
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CONTENTS
1. Practice 1: We must accept ourselves as we
are - In His Time!
2. Practice 2: We must accept responsibility for
our lives - Listen!
3. Practice 3: We must try to fulfill our needs for
relaxation, exercise and nourishment - This Little
Light of mine must shine!
4. Practice 4: We must make our lives an Act of
Love - Love it was that made us!
5. Practice 5:We must stretch ourselves out of
our comfort zones - Bless be the Lord!
6 Practice 6: We must learn to be Optimistic
about life - Walk with Me, O Lord!
7 Practice 7: We must seek Growth and not
Perfection - Lead, Kindly Light!
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8. Practice 8: We must learn to communicate
effectively -I thank my God!
9. Practice 9: We must learn to enjoy the good
things of life -I pray with Joy!
10. Practice 10: We must make Prayer a part of
our daily lives - This is my Prayer!
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PRACTICE 1: We must accept ourselves as we are.
What are the Signs of Self-Acceptance? First and
foremost self-acceptance implies a joyful
satisfaction in being who I am. But it is not easy to
confront ourselves. Do I really accept myself? Do I
enjoy being who I am? Here are the Signs of Self-
acceptance:
1.Self-accepting people are happy people.
Strangely, the first sign of self-acceptance is
happiness. On good days and bad days that
familiar delightful person is always there. Not
much can make them unhappy.
2.Self-accepting people go out to others easily.
The more we accept ourselves as we are, the
more we presume others will like us. So
anticipating their acceptance, we will like to be
with others.We will think of ourselves as Gifts to
be given through self-disclosure and of others as
Gifts to be received gently and gratefully. Another
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aspect is that we enjoy and savour moments of
solitude, otherwise being alone is a painful
loneliness.
3.Self-accepting
people are always
open to being loved
and complimented.
I will be able to
accept love from
others graciously
and gratefully. I will
not be suspicious of
the motives of the
giver of compliments.
4.Self-accepting persons are empowered to be
their “real selves”. I will be free to be ME, it
demands being honest, open and sincere. In short
I don’t have to put on a“Mask” and pretend. We
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have a gut instinct when we are genuine and
honestly portray our true self.
5.Self-accepting persons accept themselves as
theyare right NOW. What matters is who I am
right NOW. Yesterdays “Me” is history and
“Tomorrows me” is unknown.
6.Self-accepting persons are able to laugh at
themselves easily and often. Being able to laugh
at one’s frailty and folly requires inner SECURITY
that is born of only self-acceptance.
7.Self-accepting people have the ability to
recognize and attend to their ownneeds. Self-
acceptance seeks to live the kind of balanced life
in which their needs are met. Enough rest,
relaxation, exercise are nourishment and refrain
from all self-destructive habits like over eating,
smoking, drunkenness, drugs.
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8.Self-accepting people are self-determining
people: I will do what I want, I will do what I think
is right and appropriate, not what others think or
say. No mob psychology or mob spirit.
9.Self-accepting people are in good contact with
reality.No day dreaming or regrets or to think of
“what might have been.”
10.Self-accepting people are assertive, joyful and
challenges us to be assertive and to express
ourselves openly and honestly.
Pride and true humility begin the same way by
realizing and enjoying one’s own goodness and
gifts but then Virtue and VicePart Company. Pride
claims this goodness and giftedness as personal
accomplishments. Pride listens for applause, Pride
is lonely without recognition and reward which I
was not given. Humility is grateful, not grasping.
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What now are the OBSTACLES to Self-
Acceptance?
1.Physical Appearance is the first and most
frequent point of comparison and for many a
serious obstacle. We have to be fearless in asking
how our physical appearance and physical
disabilities and afflictions affect ourself-
acceptance. Here again the only constructive
starting point is utter honesty. Only the truth can
make you free.
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2.Do I accept My Mind? Do I feel comfortable
with the amount and quality of my intelligence I
have? Am I tempted to compare myself with
others on this basis? My self-esteem and
therefore my happiness may be seriously involved
in my answers to them.
3.Do I accept my mistakes? We human beings
unlike animals and birds who have infallible
instincts have to learn most things by trial and
error. Learning growth requires change and
change means “letting go.” How difficult or easy is
this for you? Ruthless honesty is required to come
to the truth and without the truth there is no
growth or joy.
4.Do I accept my feelings and emotions? Can I
feel fear, hurt, anger, jealousy, resentment to self-
satisfaction or self-pity without getting involved in
self-criticism and self-condemnation? Are these
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feelings I would like to conceal in the hope that
they will pass away?
5.Do I accept my
Personality? Each
of us is unique,
different from all
others. Am I happy
to be me? Does my
basic personality
seem attractive or
regrettable to me?
An Exercise that may help. List 5 qualities that
describe you best: plain, diplomatic, funny, verbal,
emotional, involved, lonely, joyful, troubled and
so forth.
Choose a very closeand honest friend to describe
you. Putting the 2 lists together gives you a
starting point. Am I satisfied with who I am and
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would I choose someone like myself for a close
friend?
The human mind is like a garden. If we want
flowers to grow there, it has to be weeded. We
should each begin this process.
Make a separate list of supportive and
healthyideas as opposed to demoralizing and
unhealthy programs that may have been
implanted in us from early childhood.
List all our gifts and blessings and soon the
flowers will start appearing. We will begin to be
more aware of our personal goodness and
giftedness and will gradually replace the ugliness
that has held us captive.
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IN HIS TIME:
In His time, In His time, He makes all things
beautiful in His time,
God, please show me every day, as you’re
teaching me your way,
That youdo what you say in your time.
In Your time, in your time, you make all things
beautiful in your time,
God, my life to you I bring with its winter and its
spring,
May I fathom everything in yourtime?
There’s a time, there’s a time,
Both for sowing and for reaping there’s a time,
Time for losing, time for gain, Time for joy and
time for pain,
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Every purpose under heaven has a time.
There are Times, there are days,
Weeks and months we cannot understand God’s
ways,
If for years we fail to scan, what is His Eternal
Plan?
We’ll remember that HE CAN, all the time.
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PRACTICE 2: We must accept responsibility for
our lives
Accepting full responsibility for all our actions,
our emotional and behavioral responses to all
life situations is a great step forward, towards
human maturity. However the tendency to blame
our responses on other people or things is as old
as the human race.
We learn to explain away our failures on the
groundwe did not have the right materials to work
with or our stars were not proper and sadly we
are not in contact with reality. As a result we do
not get to know ourselves and do not mature or
grow.
Growth begins where blaming ends.The opposite
of this blaming tendency is to accept full
responsibility for our lives, to become owners, not
blamers. Responsibility ensures that we will grow
up. In spite of our childhood upbringing, in spite of
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habits deeply ingrained, full responsibility
implies,“I don’t want him or anyone else to decide
how I am going to act. I am an action person and
not a reaction person.”
When my Adult is in charge and not my parent’s
upbringing or childlike emotions and I think
independently and make rational decisions, then I
take my cues
from within my
own self-
fullresponsibility
of my life.As
responsible
adults, we can
fully experience
them and then
decide how we can express them constructively
and maturely.
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If I own my responses, take responsibility for my
emotions and behavior, I will get to know myself. I
will grow up. If I try to explain away my actions
and feelings by shifting responsibility to other
persons or situations, I will stunt my own growth.
A question? Does assuming full responsibility
really make us happy? Not automatically nor
immediately. If we assume full responsibility we
are free to recognize and revise our responses and
this is a pathway to peace and personal
happiness. I can’t change the world to suit mebut I
can change my responses to the world I
cannotchange.
Happiness is an inside job. All of life is a process.
Weare all on a journey to the fullness of life. And
we are meant to enjoy the trip. I am sure that the
two legs, which weuse to walk through life are the
first two practices outlined here.
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1.Joyful self-acceptance an appreciation of our
human uniqueness.
2.A willingness to assume full responsibility for
every step and mistakes along the way.
LISTEN, LET YOUR HEART KEEP SEEKING:
Listen, let your heart keep seeking, Listen to His
constant speaking,
Listen to His Spirit calling you, Listen to His
inspiration,
Listen to His Spirit calling YOU.
He’s in the sound of the thunder, in the whisper of
the breeze,
He’s is in the might of the whirlwind, in the
roaring of the sea,
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He’s in the laughter of children, in the patter of
the rain,
Hear Him in cries of suffering, in their moaning
and their pain.
He’s in the noise of the city, in the singing of the
bird,
And in the night-time, the stillness helps you listen
to his WORD.
He speaks through all your companions, through
the friendly and the foe,
Therefore give ear to His Spirit wherever He may
blow.
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PRACTICE 3: We must try to fulfill our needs for
relaxation, exercise and nourishment.
We human beings are not grounded angels or
pure spirits trapped in a prison of flesh. It is not
that simple!
The fact isthat we are a magnificent oneness that
has three interconnected parts: Body, Mind and
Spirit! Now this can get very confusing at
times.We want to uncomplicate this one sided
human mystery. We don’t like this
interrelationship of parts. We are reluctant to
admit that the material body could influence how
we think and what we chose.We are also reluctant
to admit that mind and spirit can work out their
hidden agenda on the poor body. We want to
deny this kind of oneness and interconnectedness.
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Still it is true. The twisted mind and deprived spirit
can make us physically sick. Like it or not, we are a
mysterious oneness with three sensitively
interconnected parts.The body has an effect on
the mind and spirit. And so caring for our body is
indirectly caring for our mind and spirit. Such
caring will always be necessary for a full and
happy life.
Our happiness requires that all three of these
interconnected parts be cared for. No one can be
truly happy unless the needs of all these three are
provided.We are mainly talking about the body
and it’s need for relaxation, exercise and nutrition.
STRESS: whether the
source be pleasure or
pain, stress can easily
make us unhappy. The
Four basic sources
through which stress
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enters our livesare:Environment, Our bodies, Our
minds, and Our spirit.
As far as Environment is concerned there is
always some challenge of adaptation. We are
called upon to endure cold, heat, noise, crowding,
living with one another, time deadlines, threats to
personal security and self-esteem.
The Body also offers many challenges: rapid
development of adolescence, the slow toll of
aging, illness, accidents, sleep or diet.Laziness to
keep our bodies trim and strong and beautiful by
daily exercise either in a gym or at home. Brisk
and long walks, regular meals at regular times,
strict control of our diet and care not to eat out of
time or indulge in chocolates and sweets. Once
over weight, it is difficult to move and even to
work. A good handsome or beautiful body is
definitely an asset and help to happiness.
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The Mind - We see ourselves as inadequate or
unloved or unworthy and our failures are
catastrophic. In each case the result is Stress.
Today the regular habit of reading is limited to the
Newspapers or Magazines but there is a need to
develop in our youngsters a love for reading good
healthy books on self-development and self-
growth. There is also the need to read good
Novels in our spare and leisure time.
Unfortunately the Mobile and the Internet, very
useful if well
used, is now
thoroughly
abused.
Television if
not strictly
controlled at
home can
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have disastrous effect on our Youth and
pornography when it grips our minds, can easily
destroy our happiness.
Spirit -Deprived of Spirit can cause us great
discomfort. We think we can get along without
the security and comfort of Faith but soon
experiencepainful loneliness and anxiety causing
depression. The Spirit registers Stress when we
can’t find meaning in life. There is imminent need
of Solitude and Quiet spent in personal prayer for
at least half an hour daily and an Examination of
Conscience at the end of each day and a regular
Diary of daily events.
Some Stress seem to help us, others tend to
diminish us. Stress in our lives has been compared
to the friction of a violin bow. If there is no
friction, there is also no music,if there is too much
friction, there is only painful screeching. Helpful
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Stress gets us going, exercises us, and energizes
us.
Music - the listening of soft and soothing music,
not with the ear phones, can be a great help. But
even more if we can learn an instrument like the
Guitar or the Key Board or the Flute, the Tabla and
the harmonium, our Stress will be deeply reduced
and controlled.
THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE
This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine.
The light that shines is the Light of Love, Lights the
darkness from above.
It shines on me and it shines on you and shows
what the power of love can do.
I’m going to shine my light both far and near, I’m
going to shine my light both bright and clear.
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Where there is a dark corner in this land I’m going
to let my light shine.
On Monday, God gave me the gift of love, Tuesday
Peace came from above, and On Wednesday He
told me to have more faith, On Thursday He gave
me a little more grace. Friday he told me just to
watch and pray, Saturday he told me just what to
say, On Sunday he gave me the power divine to let
my little light shine.
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PRACTICE4: We must make our lives an Act of
Love.
For those who have not loved, old age is a winter
of loneliness. The greatest human talent was
buried in the ground so that it would not be lost.
And in the end everything was lost. No one else
came or cared. There was only a loveless and a
lonely person waiting for death
On the other hand and for those who have loved,
old age is a harvest time. The seeds of love
planted so carefully and so long ago have matured
with time. The loving person is surrounded in the
twilight of his or her life with the presence and
caring of others. What was given so freely and
joyfully, has been returned with interest.
What is love? It is the most frequently misused
word in the English language!
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1. Love is identified as - feeling. When a feeling
turns us on, we speak of “falling in love.” When
the feeling ebbs, love is suddenly a matter of
history. It’s
over. All
infatuation or
temporary
emotional
attraction can
so easily be
confused with
love.
2. Love - “Need for love.” When a person comes
along and fills one of our needs, we say, “OH, I
love you!”Real love:“I need you because I love
you” is quite different from,“I love you because I
need you.”
Love is always a freely given gift to you.
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3. Real Love is a decision and a commitment.
Before I can really love someone I must make an
immediate decision which commits me to
whatever is best for the one I love. Love moves
me to say, to do, to be whatever the one loved,
needs. “What is the loving thing to do?”
It is an ideal but it is the only life principle that
can bring us happiness and not money or fun or
pleasure or applause. The best drive is simply to
be a loving human being.
But the only question: “What is the loving thing
to do?”This is the decision of love. This is
commitment. There is an order of priority
corresponding to the level of commitment,
family before friends, friends before strangers
and so forth...
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LOVE IT WAS THAT MADE US
Love it was that made us and it was Love that
saved us.
Love was God’s Plan when He made man, God’s
Divine Nature is Love.
Born of God’s Love we must love Him, That’s why
He made us to love Him.
But only when we love all men, Can we partake of
God’s love.
Love is a wonderful
thing, Joy in our heart
it will bring.
Where there’s true
love there is God and
where there is God
there is Love.
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PRACTICE 5:We must stretch ourselves out of our
comfort zones.
We are all pilgrim beings in process of becoming.
Each one of us must march bravely toa personal
drummer, climb our personal mountains,
struggle for a destiny that is ours alone.
I am “I” and you are “You”. Sometimes it seems
much safer just to follow the good old beaten
path. It seems safer to be a member of a flood.
“The Road less travelled” always seems so risky.
But we are all pilgrims, each on the way to a
personal private destiny. There is no “one road
for all.” We are each gifted with an enormous
but unique potential.
However in our rendezvous with destiny, we have
to take chances, run risks, get rejected and hurt,
be knocked down but yet get back on our feet.
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We must learn to survive defeats. It is all so wild,
so terrifying, and so adventuresome.
Pilgrims on the way to a promised land, it would
seem above all to be courageous and very tough.
Sometimes it
will feel that
determination
alone,
compels us to
go on. It is so
tempting to
find a place in
the sun and
stay there.
Our fertileimagination can and will make up a
thousand rationalizations.
“That is not forme” and “This is just as good” and
therefore Why try something else?
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We can send out a thousand small distress signals.
Bleeding hearts will surely see them and rush to
our rescue. Our rescuers will also make excuses
for us,theywillassure us that they will like us justas
we are and there is no need to find something
MORE!
So we are doomed to stay in the same place. We
do the very same things we have always done.
Our actions and reactions become very
predictable.Some will call us dependable. Others
will be able to see that we are paralyzed by our
fears. We are stagnant and stifled. Each day
becomes a carbon copy of the previous. Each year
begins to look very muchalike the last one. Our
bones ache a little more, new wrinkles mark our
forehead and faces.There is less energy. But
otherwise we are just the same person we have
always been, living in a world without challenges
or change!
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BLESS BE THE LORD!
Bless be the Lord, bless be the Lord,
The God of mercy, the God who saves.
I shall not fear the dark of night,
Nor the arrow that flies by day.
He will release me from the nets of sinful men,He
will protect me from their wicked hands, beneath
the shadow of His wings, and I will rejoice to find a
dwelling place secure.
I need not shrink before the terror of the night
norstand alone before the light of day, no harm
shall come to me, no arrows strike me down, no
evil settle on my soul.
Although a thousand ones have fallen by my side,
I’ll not be shaken with the Lord at hand, His
faithful Love is all the armour that I need, to wage
my battle with the foe.
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PRACTICE 6: We must learn to be Optimistic
about life
In one sense most of us are good Finders and our
human searches are often a success. We all seem
to find whatever it is we are looking for. The
object of our expectation seems to be there all
the time, waiting to be discovered by us.
From childhood on, somehow some of us seem to
have braced ourselves for disappointment. Of
course we then find disappointments in
abundance. Life often becomes a scenario of
broken dreams and disillusions. Our heroes always
seem to collapse and reveal feet of clay. What can
go wrong, does go wrong and after wandering
through all the trials of life, we find we come to a
road that is a dead end.
Others, however, have been guided by a different
compass we seem to be moving along ahigh road
of life.The scenery is beautiful and the people
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along the way are very helpful. We feel ourselves
surrounded by goodness and good fortune. There
may be a few dark days here and there, but in the
end everything seems to work out well. We know
by personal experience what the Lord meant
when He looked upon creation and upon man and
beamed with joy: “It is all very GOOD!”
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Here is a prayer worth reciting with Faith and
Hope:
Walk with me, O my Lord
Walk with me, O my God through the darkest
night and day.
Be at my side O God, hold my hand and guide me
on my way.
Sometimes the road seems long, my energy is
spent, and then God I think of you and I am given
strength.
Stones often bar my path and there are times I
fall, but you are always there to help me when I
fall.
Just as you calmed the winds and the fury of the
seas, conquer the storms, O God, that threaten
me.
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Help me to pierce the mists that cloud my heart
and mind, so that I shall not fear the steepest
mountain side.
As often you healed the sick and gave sight to the
blind, help me when I’m down to hold my head up
high.
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PRACTICE 7: We must seek personal GROWTH
and not personal Perfection.
It all seemed so noble, so generous, and if I may
say so myself, it seemed too saintly: “Reach for
the Top. Give it your Best. Don’t settle for
SECOND BEST”
The very rhetoric of zeal to do one’s best seems to
send fire into one’s veins. But all that is indeed
rhetoric and far from reality and is very un-
realistic. These ideas and thoughts often come to
the best of us.
The results of our zeal for perfection often leaves
a thick and bitter taste in our mouths. Deep inside
us will often be this feeling:“I tried so hard. I gave
it all I had. It was my best shot.” Often, we will
pound our fists in frustration or wave them at the
sky deeply discouraged that we are imperfect and
think we have made a mistake thinking that trial
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and error is my fate and condition. It is painful
that all that we have tried has failed.
But under all this sham and pretext that we can be
perfect, there has always been that gut feeling
that we could never make all our dreams, with all
our efforts come to perfect fulfillment. This
obsessive compulsion about Perfection is
actually the cause of many, very many falling
into deep depression and discouragement. A
quest for PERFECTION will always leave room
only for failure and discouragement.
Let us feel sad
and sorry for all
those people out
there trying to
wage war with
the same demon
of perfection.
They die inch by inch, day by day. And even when
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they never really die, they lose all zest for life and
living. They crawl into a corner of hopelessness
and there they wait for death to say:“It’s over.”
Perfectionism is indeed a suicide course.
THEREFORE SEEK GROWTH TO ENJOY rather than
ACHIEVE!
If Perfection is a torturous ideal, growth is not.
Growth sees life as a process during which skills
are gradually developed. Learning to play the
piano starts with laboriously fingering the scales
over and over again. Then we proceed to
melodies and these melodies become more and
more “classical”.
Growth knows that even the journey of a
thousand miles begins with one step. Time and
practice are the essence. Actually, once we get
the knack, gradual growth is much more fun than
instant arrival.
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Here is a surprise bonus. If you set out to enjoy,
you will actually do a better job than if you are
determined to
make it perfect.
May be you don’t
believe that yet but
I think some day
you will. If you are
in school, set the
dials of your mind
to enjoy the courses you are taking as much as
you can. I‘ll bet the results will surprise you. If you
hold a job, try to do your work with as much
enjoyment as possible, you will most likely notice
an improvement in your performance.
Setting out to achieve perfection, by contrast, will
become stressful and demoralizing. The end result
will probably be discouragement. And
discouragement always wants to quit, give it all
up.
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LEAD KINDLY LIGHT
Lead kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom, Lead
thou me on;
The night is dark and I am far away from
home,lead Thou me on.
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see the distant
scene, one step enough for me.
So long the power hath blest me, sure it still will
lead me on;
O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent till the
night is gone.
And with the morn those Angel faces smile which I
have loved long since, and lost awhile.
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PRACTICE 8: We must learn to communicate
effectively
The human
condition has
been
compared to
a person
trapped at
the bottom
of a deep dry
well. All calls for help go unanswered. They seem
to be blown away by the winds that blow at the
top of the well. Hope begins to wear thin then,
when hope seems certainly to be on the death
bed, an answering call comes from the top of the
well, “We know you are down there,we are
coming with help. We will rescue you.”
Now there is an explosion of joy. “We will rescue
you.” And in the heart of the trapped
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person,“Thank God, someone finally knows that I
am here.”
It is likereal communication. The person who
opened up to another and has been heard, no
doubt feels some sense of relief and exhilaration.
“Thank God, Thank God, someone finally knows
what it is like to be me!”
Communication therefore is a MUST and an ACT
of LOVE.
The secrets that we keep hidden inside us
becomes the poison that makes us
sick.Sometimes it is so- I cannot tell you what I am
not telling myself.This is an extreme.
Communication is a nice word.Everybody seems
to be for it as they are for love and peace.
Communication has been called the lifeline of
love. In its root meaning it refers to an act of
sharing. It implies that two persons or more have
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something in common because it had been
shared. In its most profound sense
communication is the sharing of the persons
themselves. It implies openness and trust!
Communication as an Act of Love
Two convictions
needed in us as
essential perquisites.
The first is that we
must think of
ourselves as gifts to
be given. The second
is that we must
regard others as gifts offered to us. The exchange
of these gifts is communication. It is an act of
gracious hospitality to welcome another into our
confidence and it is gracious of others to take us
into their confidence.
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An important element too is listening. How
important it is to listen with the head and with the
heart to build genuine communication.
There is also the danger and temptation to QUIT.
How important it is to keep in mind the motto:
“Winners never quit and Quitters never win.”
I thank my God each time I think of you and
when I pray, I pray with Joy!
Now there is one thing I am sure of, He who
began his work in you,Will see that it is truly
finished, when the day of reckoning comes.
I thank my God each time I think of you, and
when I pray, I pray with Joy!
I pray your knowledge will be deepened, your love
be mutual and strong
That when you will reach perfect goodness,
Then to God you will belong.
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PRACTICE 9: We must learn to enjoy the good
things of life
The Talmud is a collection of rabbinical wisdom
that dates back to the time of Jesus. One of the
lines in the Talmud that caught my attention to is
this, “Everyone will be called to account for all
the legitimate pleasures which he or she has
failedto enjoy.” Most of us, I suspect have even
thought about this. God’s will is that we enjoy all
the good things he has provided.
We are all Pilgrims.
We are on our way
to a holy and
happy place - Our
Father’s House.
Just call to mind
the Pilgrims who
landed on the
shores of the New
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World. They set out with determination. Imagine
if they had kept their eyes down and their noses
to the grindstone, suppose they kept grumbling
and mumbling, think of all the marvelous
experiences that they would have missed. The
skies, the lakes, the sunrises and sunsets. The
changing of seasons, the springtime through the
summer and the fall with the witness of winter.
How foolish these Pilgrims would have been with
downcast eyes and dreary determination.
So many of us are like the foolish pilgrims.
Whatever we are determined to do and wherever
we are determined to go, we become so
preoccupied that we miss much of the beauty
along the way. We lost the art of enjoying.
Sometimes I am sure that the Talmud is right.
Enjoyment is an Art God wants all of us to
cultivate.
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“A cheerful heart is a good medicine but a
downcast spirit dries up the bones.”
Enjoyment is also
an Inside Job. Just
as happiness
comes from a
source inside each
of us, so does
enjoyment... As
the old Roman
philosopher tried
to tell his contemporaries,“It’s all in the way you
look at it.” Remember the two men who looked
out of prison bars, one saw mud, the other stars.
Enjoyment is more a mindset than a set of
circumstances. Enjoyment is more a choice than a
chance.We all know that some people enjoy life
much more than others do. And I think we all
know that those who enjoy lifeare not necessarily
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more gifted or fortunate than the joyless. It is just
that some have their interior dials set to enjoy life,
while others seem to insist on struggling through
life.
“I thank my God each time I think of you and
when I pray for you, I pray with JOY!”
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PRACTICE 10: We must make Prayer a part of our
daily lives!
The famous scientist Albert Einstein prayed and
listened to God saying to him: “Be stilland know
that I am God”and when he approached he
said:“When I approach this God I must take off
my shoes and tread lightly for I am on sacred
ground.”
An important condition for success in prayer is
Surrender! The very word terrifies us but the fact
of the matter is that Surrender is a nonnegotiable
condition of prayer. The story I shall now relate
will prove this point.
A woman from humble origin, who lived ina cold-
water flat, would struggle to save money for a
treat, one fine day met her husband-to-be. She
could not believe her ears when he asked her to
marry him. Among other things he had some
wealth, so they moved to the suburbs where
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there was warm water, large windows, and green
lawns. There were flowers in the summertime and
soon there was the marvel of children. It was all
that this woman Jean wanted.
Then one day she began feeling physically sick.
Eventually she went to a doctor and he put her in
a hospital for tests. She was not at all prepared for
it when the doctor looked at her sadly and said:
“Your liver has stopped working.” She almost
screamed at him: “Are you telling me that I am
dying?” With downcast eyes he said solemnly:
“We have done all we can.” Then he turned and
silently left her hospital room.
She felt a fire of anger ignite inside her. In her fury
she wanted to tell God off. So, in her hospital
gown she struggled through the corridors on her
way to the Chapel. She felt terribly weak and
hadto support herself against the wall as she
moved along. When she entered the chapel, it
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wasdark. No one else was there. So she
proceeded up the center isle on her way to the
altar. From her room to the chapel she had been
preparing her speech:“Oh God, you are a fraud, a
real phony. You have been passing yourself off as
love for two thousand years. But every time
anyone finds a little happiness you pull out the
rug from under their feet. Well, I just wanted you
to know that I have had it. I see through you.”
But as she neared
the altar, on the
carpeted steps were
woven: “LORD, BE
MERCIFUL TOME A
SINNER.” Suddenly
all the angry words,
all the desire to tell
God off, was gone.
All that was left
was:“Lord have mercy on me a sinner!” Then she
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put her head down over her crossed arms and
listened. Deep within herself she heard: “All of
this is a simple invitation to ask you to turn your
life over to me. You have never done that you
know. The doctors here do their best to treat you
but I alone can CURE YOU.”
In the silence and darkness of that night she
turned her life over to God. She signed her blank
check and turned it over to him to fill in all the
amounts. It was the hour of God. It was the
moment of her surrender.Finding her way back to
her hospital room she slipped into a deep sleep.
The next day after the blood andurineanalysis
tests, the doctor gave her the good news: “Your
liver seems to be functioning again.”
Like Job, God had led her to the brink but only to
invite her to surrender. It is an important
prerequisite for the communication of prayer.
“Thy will be done” is an enormous and
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frightening concession. It leaves us standing
naked and defenseless. No masks, no protective
barriers. Just: “Be still and know that I am God.”
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Behind Cover:
SIGN POST: YOU ARE LOOKING IN THE MIRROR
AT THE FACE OF THE PERSON WHO IS
RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR HAPPINESS: Every day
believe more and more in what that SIGN POST
says!
Life is a process, a gradual growth process. We
can accomplish our Life Task only gradually. The
more we accomplish the 10 listed TASKS the
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more we shall be able to attain a sense of Peace
and Satisfaction. The more we look within
ourselves and not to other persons or things, we
will find a meaning and direction to our lives.