HAPPINESS:

I don’t know why I chose today to bring a happy story, but as I sit writing this I sense it was a good choice. The weekend offers more time with your family and friends, and it is only a full working day away.

Do you celebrate a birthday in a big way? My observation is why wait a full year to be happy! I try to make every day full of the essence that brings forth a cheerful attitude.

Photo Courtesy: readersdigest.com.au

Today’s story is slightly different, it is more like a joke than a story, but hidden within it is a confirmation that certain things are more important than others.

If you strive for financial prosperity, would you bend your head down and charge your way through life, bustling everything out of your way. Or would you do your job to the best of your ability, remain cheerful and happy and watch with due care and attention as the play of life unfolds.

Chris Evert, the American tennis player once said, “If you can react the same way to winning and losing, that is a big accomplishment. That quality is important because it stays with you the rest of your life.”

It is how you view life that assists in your efforts to be happy. Everyday situations arise that try to knock you off your pedestal, almost as if a magnet is pulling you down.

To do a certain task may hold you in high esteem amongst your colleagues, but to do it with grace, nobleness, cheerfulness and a most pleasant attitude; will imply that you have room for more. You have a big heart, but wait until they see it at its biggest. You are determined, but wait until they see you totally committed. In other words you’ll appear to breeze through every task, in fact you’ll find no need to impress people with what you do, it will be obvious.

Please enjoy this story, you’ll not be able to resist telling others…

100 POINTS

A man dies and goes to heaven. Of course, St. Peter meets him at the pearly gates. St. Peter says, “Here’s how it works. You need 100 points to make it into heaven. You tell me all the good things you’ve done, and I give you a certain number of points for each item, depending on how good it was. When you reach 100 points, you get in.”

“Okay,” the man says, “I was married to the same woman for 50 years and never cheated on her, even in my heart.”

“That’s wonderful,” says St. Peter, “that’s worth two points!”

“Two points!?” he says. “Well, I attended church all my life and supported its ministry with my tithe and service.”

“Terrific!” says St. Peter, “that’s certainly worth a point.”

“One point!? Golly. How about this: I started a soup kitchen in my city and worked in a shelter for homeless veterans.”

“Fantastic, that’s good for two more points,” he says.

“TWO POINTS!!?” the man cries, “At this rate the only way I get into heaven is by the grace of God!”

“Thank you for seeing that, that’s worth 95 points, please come in,” said St. Peter.

(Unknown Author).

Don’t TRY to impress, by doing impressive things. Allow your roots to be fed with love, grace and a happy attitude. Then everything that grows will be impressive without TRYING…

QUOTE: “Artists who seek perfection in everything are those who cannot attain it in anything.”

(Eugene Delacroix).

HAPPINESS:

QUOTE: “Be happy with what you’ve got, rather than waste all your life striving for something that you expect to make you happy.”

That quote is saying be happy now, rather than wait until tomorrow. You may recall saying something like this, “I’ll be happy when I get my new car tomorrow.”

What is wrong with being happy now? As a general rule of thumb, every upon every piece of written material that encourages you to be more prosperous in life, in both money and health; starts with motivating you to be happy.

courtesy: 1.bp.blogspot.com

Happiness attracts happiness. Happiness opens doors you never thought existed.

Whatever you have been striving for, whether that be for something in the next week, month, year or decade, be happy first and watch that goal become more achievable by the second.

Make the most of what you have, smile at the very fact that you are alive and well. Appreciate the small things, offer love and affection to the big things; you’ll notice that you become a magnet for more happiness.

If you cannot see anything to be happy for, try turning a negative into a positive or if you can turn a sour moment that becomes a test of endurance into a cherished moment, you’ll become an inventor of happiness. In fact… just remember this next story, it’s a gem.

CRACKED or PERFECT

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house. The cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master’s house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.

“I am ashamed of myself, and want to apologize to you.”

“Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?”

“I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts,” the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again he expressed his feeling to the water bearer.

He replied by saying, “Did you notice that flowers were only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side?

That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”

(Unknown Author).

QUOTE: “No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change.”

(Barbara De Angelis)

Article by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead ; follow him on twitter . If you want to wake up happy on a daily basis, you have to own your own time . You have to be the one that dictates what you do and when you do it . Otherwise, you’re at the mercy of your owner boss. You may think that you should be grateful for your job, and you should. But when it comes down to it, you’re not going to hit a ceiling of happiness and purpose if you’re not working for yourself. (I know there may be a few exceptions, but let’s be honest, they are exceptions .) There’s no getting around this . But working for yourself is a scary idea, right? No one to tell you what to do every day. No one to say when you can go to the bathroom and when you can eat lunch. No one to tell you what to wear or who to talk to. Taking off the leash is frightening when you’ve worn it for so long. Here’s the clincher, here’s the real mind-blower: Most of us don’t even think we have leashes around our neck at all. Most of us think that we’re in control. But we’re not. Let’s take a look at how this typically breaks down: Steady paycheck? Check. Benefits? Check. Comfortable routine? Check Free paper clips?  Check. Meaning? Rarely. Purpose? You mean that unintelligible corporate mission statement? Security? Not really. Freedom? Asking for permission is not freedom. Do you really think you have job security? You have no control over whether your company goes under. That is not job security. So what’s the difference between a renegade and the average cubicle citizen? It’s mindset. It’s astonishing that this makes difference between the people that end up being “lifers” at a company (by default), and gives up on their dreams vs. those who steer their own course and live their dreams. What’s the gap between dreams being fantasy and reality? Obviously, it’s a matter of action. But, what makes the free man take action where the cubicle citizen recoils? This is the question that has been burning in my mind for some time. This mindset makes the difference between success and near certain failure. We all have these traits in us; it’s just a matter of cultivation and practice for them to become fully expressed. Here are the seven things you can do now. 1. Reclaim your mind. This might seem a little strange, right? Who would think that they don’t own their own mind? The truth is that most of us live with partially free minds. We act on our intentions as long as our comfort zone is not violated. We rebel when the risk is minimal. In order to reclaim ownership of your mind (and stop renting it out) you have to demand of yourself nothing short of a completely free, unadulterated mind. Underline this in your mind: “I won’t let anyone else have control or dictate the contents of my mind. Only I have that power.” 2. Put yourself on auto-response. The ability of the leader to take action, despite not having a clear course, is a highly coveted skill in the entrepreneurial world. A leader takes action while others wait around for the situation to become more favorable. He has the “auto-response” of “I’ll figure it out.” When faced with a tough decision, or unclear path, he takes action instead of waiting for orders. The more you’re able to take action despite having all the facts, the faster you’ll get results. You’ll adjust your course when you make mistakes and ultimately get there much faster than the person waiting around for the perfect plan to materialize. 3. Think holistically. All of our decisions are interconnected. A choice in our health could create an improvement in our productivity. A shift in our spiritual practice can cultivate a calm state, where your focus increases. A move toward working for yourself will dramatically impact your freedom of time and movement, and greatly improve your happiness. All of our decisions are interconnected and a smart renegade knows this. She tries to make high leverage holistic decisions that will have a ripple effect across all aspects of her life. Think holistically. See how the changes in all areas of your life impact each other, not just in business, but in the areas of health, fitness, finances, mental/emotional and spirituality. 4. Question authority. Too much skepticism will make you unbalanced, and will honestly probably turn you into a conpiracy-theory nutcase. A healthy amount of skepticism, on the other hand, is essential to working intelligently. One of the oldest living renegades, Siddhartha Gautama (also known as the Buddha) once said, “Do not believe anything that you’ve been told, unless it agrees with your own common sense.” The same advice applies 2,000 years later. Listen to yourself first, before you listen to the experts. Test before you assume. 5. Focus on interdependency. We all have certain communities of people or tribes that we naturally connect with and are attracted to. Seek out these people, help them, start conversations with them. These are the people that are most likely to identify with you, therefore the most likely to also support and promote your work. Find a way to connect with influential leaders or members of your tribe today. Whether it be through sending them a message on twitter, contacting them through their blog or emailing them directly. And if you can, try to get one of these people to mentor you. It can’t hurt to ask and you’ll be surprised at how genuinely helpful some of these people can be. 6. Defrost your passion. If you’ve been stuck in a cubicle-farm for some time, or have been in a less than ideal work situation, you’ve probably given up hope on some level. Being surrounded with people you’d rather not work with, grey walls, no windows and bad coffee tends to dampen your spirits. This dispirited condition may have progressed so far that you have trouble remembering what it’s like to be excited about your life. That’s got to change. It’s time to reconnect with what you’re truly passionate about and wake up to the possibility that you can start making your own rules. Life doesn’t have to be a struggle of paying your dues with the occasional bit of fun. Realize that you don’t have to live in the way you think is required. 7. Be ridiculous. There’s obviously a certain societal value to being practical. But what’s easily overlooked is the value of being highly impractical. You have to be willing to take risks, and keep your head in the clouds to be a successful trailblazer. You have to strike a balance between having roots (practicality) and wings (innovating). Realize that all major revolutions in the world were first seen as crazy, ridiculous and absurd. If you want to innovate, you’ll have to accept that the majority of the population will view you as a lunatic. You secretly know, though, that your level of lunacy is quite possibly your most valuable skill. Working for yourself forces you to grow One 0f the coolest things about entrepreneurship is that it’s one of the biggest catalysts for personal growth. Starting your own business is one of the most meaningful rights of passage you can go through. It will challenge you. It will make you question yourself and force you to get really clear about your purpose and what you want to contribute. It boosts your confidence and your intelligence. But most of all, it makes you feel proud of yourself at the end of the day. I feel so passionately about this that I created a manifesto called the Liberation Revolution - Time to Cut the Cubicle Umbilical Cord. It’s a wake up call to help you reclaim ownership of your time. To help you figure out a way to gain the courage to say Dear Boss: You’re Fired. Click here to download the FREE manifesto This article was written by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead of Illuminated Mind . To learn more about how to not ruin your life, grab a subscription to Illuminated Mind.

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Cut the Cubicle Umbilical Cord: The Seven Traits of the Free Man

Article by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead ; follow him on twitter . Caring is supposed to be a good thing, yet, it can become unhealthy and have an adverse effect on our lives. When we care too much, we become obsessive and it often leads to dysfunction. There are definitely times where passion fuels our desire to act. Working towards change, being involved in a social movement, and contributing in a meaningful way to others are all examples of this. But it’s the not caring about things that don’t matter that allows you to focus your attention on these big, important things. It’s the lack of out-of-control caring that brings more levity into your life . Here are a few classic examples of caring gone too far: Caring too much about things that don’t matter. Caring too much about things being perfect and reach a point of diminishing returns. It can take four hours of studying to get a 95% on a test, but it may take fifteen hours of studying to get a 100%. Are those additional eleven hours really worth it? Caring too much about always being updated. We want to know what’s happening on facebook, twitter, email, and we lose our ability to focus. Adversely caring about what others think and don’t give enough credit to what we think. Caring too much about the future. We’re always thinking about what will happen next. I could go on and on about all the possibilities of toxic caring. It’s already plain to see that caring — something usually seen as a positive action — can be highly undesirable. I’ve seen so many people waste so much time caring about things that don’t really matter. They have dreams and they have big ideas , but they can’t get them off the ground because their attention and concern is in the wrong place. If your mind is too focused on what’s happening in the next five minutes, you’ll never make progress on the things that will impact your life five years from now. If you’re too focused on tidying up your desk, reorganizing your paper clips and making sure everything is filed immaculately, you’re just spinning your wheels. Things like this have a place, and organization is important. But when it’s taking up more time than your most important tasks, you might want to rethink things. The same thing applies not just with organization, but with caring too much about getting everything done. If you have a lot of little loose ends and small tasks that you need to close, you could easily get overwhelmed. And you might think that finishing those things is a bigger priority than working on your something amazing . But trust me, it’s not. There will be more little things to obsess over. There will be other things that you can find to do that will creep into your consciousness. These things are your enemies. I repeat: These minutiae must be not be allowed residence in your mind. They cannot take up the precious and sacred focus of your attention. This is where you need to learn the art of putting things off. Yeah, I know that might sound controversial, given how many of us have issues with procrastination. But, this is actually good news for you procrastinators! Now you can use this valuable skill to your advantage. Put off or procrastinate all the stuff that doesn’t matter. Do this for the survival of your dreams. If you don’t learn how to skillfully put off the trivial details of your to-do list, your dreams will suffer for it. If you don’t learn how to stop caring about all the stuff that won’t matter in ten minutes or ten years, your dreams will be left as nothing more than a phantom of your imagination. I will admit, this is something I’ve struggled with for a long time. While I haven’t fully learned the skilled art of putting off the inconsequential, I am making serious progress. I used to obsess about the little things, partly because I’m a recovering perfectionist. But it’s also largely due to the fact that I was afraid of facing my dreams. I was putting off the wrong stuff. I was putting off facing the reality of what I really wanted and coming to terms with whether or not it was truly possible. I was afraid of failure; but most of all, I was afraid of the unknown. Now I see that when I’m putting off the wrong stuff (my true desires), I need to take a closer at myself. I see it as a clue that I might be avoiding what I really want for some reason. Maybe it’s fear, maybe it’s something else. But I know that getting too wrapped up in the details means that I need to step back and take a look at the bigger picture. Take a step back, and breathe… When you realize that you’re spending time on a lot of insignificant things, take a look at what the deeper message might be. Maybe you’re afraid of taking the first step toward your dreams. See what happens when you put off or stop caring about… Checking your email every ten minutes. Having everything finished on your to do list. Having an immaculately clean house. Trying to please everyone. Seeking praise and popularity. [Your malady here.] See this article for a full list of things worth giving up . When you’re left with your real, authentic self, you will probably be a little uncomfortable, as I was. But it’s better to be face-to-face with this discomfort than letting this lawless caring get in the way of you living your dreams. So put things off, be flaky. Stop caring about the stuff that doesn’t matter … your dreams depend on it. — If you liked this article, please share it on del.icio.us, StumbleUpon or Digg . I’d appreciate it.

The rest is here: 
Put Things Off and Stop Caring to Realize Your Dreams

Article by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead ; follow him on twitter . Caring is supposed to be a good thing, yet, it can become unhealthy and have an adverse effect on our lives. When we care too much, we become obsessive and it often leads to dysfunction. There are definitely times where passion fuels our desire to act. Working towards change, being involved in a social movement, and contributing in a meaningful way to others are all examples of this. But it’s the not caring about things that don’t matter that allows you to focus your attention on these big, important things. It’s the lack of out-of-control caring that brings more levity into your life . Here are a few classic examples of caring gone too far: Caring too much about things that don’t matter. Caring too much about things being perfect and reach a point of diminishing returns. It can take four hours of studying to get a 95% on a test, but it may take fifteen hours of studying to get a 100%. Are those additional eleven hours really worth it? Caring too much about always being updated. We want to know what’s happening on facebook, twitter, email, and we lose our ability to focus. Adversely caring about what others think and don’t give enough credit to what we think. Caring too much about the future. We’re always thinking about what will happen next. I could go on and on about all the possibilities of toxic caring. It’s already plain to see that caring — something usually seen as a positive action — can be highly undesirable. I’ve seen so many people waste so much time caring about things that don’t really matter. They have dreams and they have big ideas , but they can’t get them off the ground because their attention and concern is in the wrong place. If your mind is too focused on what’s happening in the next five minutes, you’ll never make progress on the things that will impact your life five years from now. If you’re too focused on tidying up your desk, reorganizing your paper clips and making sure everything is filed immaculately, you’re just spinning your wheels. Things like this have a place, and organization is important. But when it’s taking up more time than your most important tasks, you might want to rethink things. The same thing applies not just with organization, but with caring too much about getting everything done. If you have a lot of little loose ends and small tasks that you need to close, you could easily get overwhelmed. And you might think that finishing those things is a bigger priority than working on your something amazing . But trust me, it’s not. There will be more little things to obsess over. There will be other things that you can find to do that will creep into your consciousness. These things are your enemies. I repeat: These minutiae must be not be allowed residence in your mind. They cannot take up the precious and sacred focus of your attention. This is where you need to learn the art of putting things off. Yeah, I know that might sound controversial, given how many of us have issues with procrastination. But, this is actually good news for you procrastinators! Now you can use this valuable skill to your advantage. Put off or procrastinate all the stuff that doesn’t matter. Do this for the survival of your dreams. If you don’t learn how to skillfully put off the trivial details of your to-do list, your dreams will suffer for it. If you don’t learn how to stop caring about all the stuff that won’t matter in ten minutes or ten years, your dreams will be left as nothing more than a phantom of your imagination. I will admit, this is something I’ve struggled with for a long time. While I haven’t fully learned the skilled art of putting off the inconsequential, I am making serious progress. I used to obsess about the little things, partly because I’m a recovering perfectionist. But it’s also largely due to the fact that I was afraid of facing my dreams. I was putting off the wrong stuff. I was putting off facing the reality of what I really wanted and coming to terms with whether or not it was truly possible. I was afraid of failure; but most of all, I was afraid of the unknown. Now I see that when I’m putting off the wrong stuff (my true desires), I need to take a closer at myself. I see it as a clue that I might be avoiding what I really want for some reason. Maybe it’s fear, maybe it’s something else. But I know that getting too wrapped up in the details means that I need to step back and take a look at the bigger picture. Take a step back, and breathe… When you realize that you’re spending time on a lot of insignificant things, take a look at what the deeper message might be. Maybe you’re afraid of taking the first step toward your dreams. See what happens when you put off or stop caring about… Checking your email every ten minutes. Having everything finished on your to do list. Having an immaculately clean house. Trying to please everyone. Seeking praise and popularity. [Your malady here.] See this article for a full list of things worth giving up . When you’re left with your real, authentic self, you will probably be a little uncomfortable, as I was. But it’s better to be face-to-face with this discomfort than letting this lawless caring get in the way of you living your dreams. So put things off, be flaky. Stop caring about the stuff that doesn’t matter … your dreams depend on it. — If you liked this article, please share it on del.icio.us, StumbleUpon or Digg . I’d appreciate it.

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Put Things Off and Stop Caring to Realize Your Dreams

HAPPINESS:

Happiness is the result of action. We know this but don’t often apply it.

Practical Philosophy isn’t a serious study that would take four years at college or university. It is a reminder of good principles, beliefs and life’s fundamentals. So happiness is a result of action. But his is positive action of course. You may think a monk or a nun does nothing. But their action is offering their soul to the lord. For every action a criminal does, it is one step nearer to trouble. This of course is stating the obvious.

You will also know that greed, desire and keeping up with the Jones’s can cause heartache and  unhappiness. We know this but we still subscribe to it. Not in a big way, but in a small way.

QUOTE: “Boredom is simply a lack of attention.”

(Christopher Fremantle - 1906 – 1978 Philosopher, Teacher).

This may not apply to you, but many people desire to eat when they are bored! The answer to boredom is to become attentive and not eat (or over eat).

To start a desire for anything other than a necessity begins a spiralling effect. If you don’t get it  on your first visit, the intensity of that desire gets bigger and stronger. It can start to take up  more and more of your life. It engulfs everything.

If you can control your desire, you can control your happiness.

RELEASING THE COWS
(Told by Master Thich Nhat Hanh)

One day the Buddha was sitting in the wood with thirty or forty monks. They had an excellent  lunch and they were enjoying the company of each other. There was a farmer passing by and  the farmer was very unhappy. He asked the Buddha and the monks whether they had seen his  cows passing by. The Buddha said they had not seen any cows passing by.

The farmer said, “Monks, I’m so unhappy. I have twelve cows and I don’t know why they all ran  away. I have also a few acres of a sesame seed plantation and the insects have eaten up  everything. I suffer so much I think I am going to kill myself.

The Buddha said, “My friend, we have not seen any cows passing by here. You might like to look  for them in the other direction.”

So the farmer thanked him and ran away, and the Buddha turned to his monks and said, “My  dear friends, you are the happiest people in the world. You don’t have any cows to lose. If you  have too many cows to take care of, you will be very busy.

“That is why, in order to be happy, you have to learn the art of cow releasing (laughter).

You release the cows one by one. In the beginning you thought that those cows were essential  to your happiness, and you tried to get more and more cows. But now you realize that cows are  not really conditions for your happiness; they constitute an obstacle for your happiness. That is  why you are determined to release your cows.”

QUOTE: “We act as though comfort and luxury were the chief requirements of life, when all that  we need to make us happy is something to be enthusiastic about.”

(Charles Kingsley)

I was just wat ching Dr. Wayne Dyer’s Power of Intention on PBS this afternoon. He highlighted some interesting medical research on the health benefits of preforming acts of kindness. Apparently researchers have studied the effects of acts of kindness on both the giver, receiver and the witnesses and have concluded that preforming acts of kindness increases serotonin levels and strengthens immune function in both the giver, receiver and witnesses of acts of kindness. Serotonin’s are brain neurotransmitters, a type of endorphin. Increased levels in serotonin’s are seen in happy people: increased endorphin levels are the brain chemicals responsible for the ‘runners high’. Many of the anti-depressant drugs function to increase brain serotonin levels. Researchers have found that witnessing, giving or receiving acts of kindness will increase these brain chemicals, in addition to strengthing immune function. It doesn’t get more empowering than that! KB

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Randon Acts of Kindness Improve Health

HAPPINESS:

QUOTE: “Be happy with what you’ve got, rather than waste all your life striving for something that you expect to make you happy.”

That quote is saying be happy now, rather than wait until tomorrow. You may recall saying something like this, “I’ll be happy when I get my new car tomorrow.”

What is wrong with being happy now? As a general rule of thumb, every upon every piece of written material that encourages you to be more prosperous in life, in both money and health; starts with motivating you to be happy.

Happiness attracts happiness. Happiness opens doors you never thought existed.

Whatever you have been striving for, whether that be for something in the next week, month, year or decade, be happy first and watch that goal become more achievable by the second.

Make the most of what you have, smile at the very fact that you are alive and well. Appreciate the small things, offer love and affection to the big things; you’ll notice that you become a magnet for more happiness.

If you cannot see anything to be happy for, try turning a negative into a positive or if you can turn a sour moment that becomes a test of endurance into a cherished moment, you’ll become an inventor of happiness. In fact… just remember this next story, it’s a gem.

CRACKED or PERFECT

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house. The cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master’s house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.

“I am ashamed of myself, and want to apologize to you.”

“Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?”

“I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts,” the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again he expressed his feeling to the water bearer.

He replied by saying, “Did you notice that flowers were only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side?

That’s because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”

(Unknown Author).

QUOTE: “No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything about yourself or your life that you want to change.”

(Barbara De Angelis)