Peace !

Once a master was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and the master told one of his disciples “I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there.” 

The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that some people were washing clothes in the water and, right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to my master to drink!” So he came back and told , “The water in there is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink.”
After about half an hour, the Master asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake. This time he found that the lake had absolutely clear water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to the Master. 

The Master looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said, “See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be ... and the mud settled down on its own, and you got clear water! 

Your mind is also like that. When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless.”

Having 'peace of mind' is not a strenuous job; it is an effortless process. Just give your mind some time to settle down and there will be peace within soon. When there is peace inside you, it permeates to the outside.

Call for greater Strength

A young boy and his father were walking along a forest path. At some point, they came across a large tree branch on the ground in front of them.

The boy asked his father, “If I try, do you think I could move that branch?” His father replied, “I am sure you can, if you use all your strength.”

The boy tried his best to lift or push the branch, but he was not strong enough and he couldn’t move it.

He said, with disappointment, “You were wrong, dad. I can’t move it.”“Try again,” replied his father.

Again, the boy tried hard to push the branch. He struggled but it did not move. “Dad, I cannot do it,” said the boy.

Finally his father said, “Son, I advised you to use all your strength. You didn’t.“You didn’t ask for my help.”

Our real strength lies not in independence, but in interdependence. No individual person has all the strengths, all the resources and all the stamina required for the complete blossoming of their vision. That requires the inspired collaboration of many like-hearted beings. To ask for help and support when we need it is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of wisdom. It is a wise call for the greater strength that lives in our togetherness.

Acres of Diamonds!!

There was a farmer in Africa who was happy and content. One day a wise man came to him and told him about the glory of diamonds and the power that goes along with them. The wise man said, “If you had a diamond the size of your thumb, you could have your own city. If you had a diamond the size of your fist, you could probably own your own country.” And then he went away. That night the farmer couldn’t sleep. He was unhappy and he was discontent. 

The next morning he made arrangements to sell off his farm and went in search of diamonds. He looked all over Africa and couldn’t find any. He looked all through Europe and couldn’t find any. When he got to Spain, he was emotionally, physically and financially broke. He got so disheartened that he threw himself into the Barcelona River and committed suicide.

Back home, the person who had bought his farm was watering the camels at a stream that ran through the farm.
Across the stream, the rays of the morning sun hit a stone and made it sparkle like a rainbow. He thought it would look good on the mantle piece. He picked up the stone and put it in the living room. That afternoon the wise man came and saw the stone sparkling. He asked, “Is the farmer back?” The new owner said, “No, why do you ask?” The wise man said, “Because that is a diamond. I recognize one when I see one” .The man said, no, that’s just a stone I picked up from the stream. Come, I’ll show you. There are many more. They found that the farm was indeed covered with acres and acres of diamonds.

Each of us is, at this very moment is standing in the middle of our own acres of diamonds. If we had only had the wisdom and patience to intelligently and effectively explore the work in which we’re now engaged, to explore ourselves, we would most likely find the riches we seek. We fail to recognize the wealth in our own backyard and we end up walking over untold riches every day!!