Self Esteem

When we spend time watching others its too easy to become a little envious (jealous), to want what they have, to aspire to be what they are. Some say it's good to aspire to be like someone, achieve what someone else has achieved and then, when you get there you will be happy. But it's impossible. We want the lives of others, the achievements of others, the prestige of others, and in the wanting we will find the threads of discontentment, fear of possible failure, envy and jealousy. We cannot be someone else. We can only 'be ourself' and can only play our own assigned role.
Question: Who is it in your life that you envy or would most like to be like or attain what they have attained?
Reflection: What sort of feelings/emotions come up when you are watching them or thinking about them?
Action: What will you/can you do to free yourself from aspiring to be someone else?

The cracked pot

The Cracked Pot

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots was perfectly made and never leaked. The other pot had a crack in it and by the time the water bearer reached his master's house it had leaked much of it's water and was 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 to his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. 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 I 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 the pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers 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."


Moral of the Story:

Each of us has our own unique Strengths and weaknesses. We're all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, God will use our flaws to grace his table. In God's great economy, nothing goes to waste. So appreciate your strengths and acknowledge your flaws and you too can be the cause of beauty. Know that in our weakness we find our strength. Help your colleagues to explore the same for themselves by giving your honest feedback and be the cause of beauty to them.

Relationship between happiness and negative feelings

When negative feelings and emotions come to disturb your happiness, what do you do?
First - understand these feelings will come. They come from the past. You stored them up in your subconscious yesterday, last year or may be when you were a child. And they have to come out.
Second – don't fight or struggle with them. Just watch them, observe them, accept them, but don't identify with them, they will pass with just as easily as clouds roll across the sky.

And if you do that, eventually that emotion will subside and dissolve. In fact, it will have been healed. Negative feelings (emotions) come because you thought or did something negative in the past, stored the feelings, and here they are, disturbing your happiness now.

So why not make the future full of happiness and positivity by thinking and feeling positive.

Joy of sharing

When we think of sharing, we sometimes wonder if it is really beneficial. Normally the belief is that when we share any thing or resource, we find ourselves a little poorer with that resource. So we do not want to consistently share, which is believed, will bring benefit only to the other person. When we share inner resources like happiness, peace, love etc. we are enriched. Every time we give, we not only get back from others but also experience that quality ourselves. When we share our physical resources too, it is our own experience, which is important than the outcome. That means, I enjoy giving itself rather than expect appreciation (which may or may not come!)