The Ant

In a deep forest, at the foot of an old tree, there was a big anthill.  A hundred thousand ants may possibly have lived in it.  Most of them were merely workers, who silently fulfilled their tasks – the care for the eggs and small larvae which would transform into new ants – and the occasional leaving of the hill to search for food and pine needles recently fallen from trees, to put another layer onto the hill.

Thus passed the life for the ants within the darkness of their hill.  There was, however, a certain warmth and a certain feeling of community in there.

Ants, too, possess some minor diversity of capabilities – if not of personalities.

One of the ants wondered how the world further out, beyond the narrow area of search for food and needles, beyond the dominance of the tribe, would look like – and what sense or meaning out there life could possibly have.

Thus, our ant communicated with two other ants, how ever little ants can do that, to ask them to come along in once climbing the tree where their anthill was located – to once see how the whole world would look like – to possibly understand from where they all came und what sense or meaning the whole thing would have.

On a nice day, the three ants began their ascent of the tree.

But after only 10 meters, the two companion ants turned around.  They found the forest’s wide, empty, and lifeless spaces quite frightful.  Mainly, the large dark trees visible at different distances around them appeared threatening.

They preferred being back in the density of their anthill, with all the other ants whom they knew and with whom they could communicate in their own way – and where they had the customary work, without the need for confusing thought.

Our ant now climbed alone and lonesome further up the tree, in order to see just once the whole world and possibly also to understand it.

After a long climb, the dark crown of the tree was reached, with interwoven branches of several adjacent trees.  What a strange world of density – but without any such life as that of the ants.  Was there any different life at all anywhere?

Then the climb continued beyond the dense crown of the tree to the highest branches reaching into the open sky.  There was even more emptiness around the ant than anywhere before.  One could look over the forest to ever more distance, as over a surface of waves.

But what did the ant see in the greatest distance?  It looked like an extended wall – it was a range of mountains.  This did not exist anywhere in the world of the ants.  Why did it exist up here, in the distance?  How did it originate?  What sense did it make?

After the last part of the climb of the ant, a surface of water became visible at the foot of the mountains, immensely larger than the puddles which could form after a rain close to the anthill.  Did this immense width of the view still have similarity or any kind of coherence with the life of the ants, possibly on a much higher level?  What was then the meaning of the lives of the ants?

A small bird – as strange as a meteorite – came simply flying through empty air and picked for the ant!  But it had quickly hidden itself.

After this horrifying experience, the ant preferred to rather climb down again.  Arrived down below, the ant hesitated one short moment before reentering the hill, once more looking up the tree into that other, so much larger world – which, after all, was also the ant’s world – or had now become the ant’s world.

The ant had to reenter the ant-hill.  There it was warm and one was connected with many others, which all pursued their meaningful tasks.

But there was no way to communicate with others about this excursion.  They did not understand our ant and, actually, did not want to know or care very much about the strange larger world – into which they, however, were embedded, too.  Wasn’t life in the anthill interesting enough, occasionally exciting or dangerous and, ultimately, meaningful enough?

Our ant became a bit of an outsider – and had to try hard to be like all the others, to be fully accepted. 

The ants continued concentrating on the eggs and the small larvae, which came forth to become another generation of ants themselves, to spend the same life in the anthill as any generation would again.

ER or MR?......

We all work in our life for rewards or rather reward is one of the motivating factors why people prefer to work at a particular place or with particular organization.  But often I have seen people unhappy even if they are rewarded enough …why so?

I often pity those people who fail to understand the difference between materialistic rewards and emotional rewards.  They often make a mistake of telling themselves that they are happy because they are paid well for the job, people are good and this job gives me the status, quality life and everything one can ask for…..may be true but what about your own happiness??

We need to sit back and ask ourselves…….

Do we really enjoy the kind of work we do?

Do we really give our best to the work we do?

Am I really satisfied with my own performance?

I have a friend who is handling the additional responsibility of a particular job profile.  I have never seen this friend of mine so happy and satisfied before because now, I could gather from her talks and see that she is getting that emotional reward for her work.  The salary does not matter at all, she is not even getting anything much from the additional responsibility, in fact it is additional work and extremely hectic routine but still I can see that immense pleasure on her face.  She is looking happier than ever, this only happened because she is doing what she always wanted to do, automatically her performance is at its peak.  Human beings are very funny, they often fail to opt for things they actually don’t want, rather they fail to understand what exactly they want and there starts the whole process of dissatisfaction and heartbreaks.  

You will always find people who are engaged in the activities they are passionate about and love to do perform better in those tasks rather than their routine work.  This happens because the person when he/she gets emotional reward after doing that work.  ER--Emotional rewards should always be valued more than the MR--Materialistic rewards, if you want to remain happy and contented in your professional and personal life.

What will happen if its not there?

Is it there, will I get it? ....it could be your increment amount, your appointment letter, your any materialistic desire.....our life is filled with this simple question, Is it there???....and the next question is,
What will happen if its not there??? and the Insecurity follows.....the worst ever state of mind.....

This insecurity fills our life with negativity, we end up becoming bitter souls.  It completely attacks your belief system, your own identity and gradually takes your charge....you become its slave!


When insecurity takes your charge, you become restless all the time, you look unhealthy, you keep investing valuable time of your life in manipulating petty things and you make your life miserable.

How to get over these insecurities in life,

• One thing we all must assure ourselves is, shaping our life is in our hand but our existence is beyond our control!! So, we all must remember that me, myself and because of me.....is just our ego, there is much more beyond this state of mind.....
• Faith....have faith in yourself and always tell yourself that yes, I am capable of doing this and I can do it!, have faith in your relationships, If this belongs to you then it will always remain with you, even if it may get drifted from you for a short period of time but in the end it will come back to you! and unfortunately if its not yours then how much ever you try and hold it, it will go away, just like sand, the more you try and hold it tight it will slip off  because it was never meant to remain in your hand....., In the professional life, if you are capable of getting something and you focus on your goals and target properly instead of wasting time in manipulations you will definitely get what you want! just need to have faith in yourself!
• And Patience.......everything that is precious takes its own time to happen, we should keep our efforts and commitment towards our goals constant, We should also tell ourselves from time to time that Rome was not Build in a day! every beautiful creation or experience is a result of patience.

In-security is In You....throw it out and Secure your mental and physical health for your own self!

Made for each other..........

Relationships are like thread, they can tie you together and help you to build a strong bond with people or if not handled correctly they suffocate you to death!!

With changing life-style the meaning of Relationship has changed to a great extent.  What people need is a trust, faith and to top it all space !!!

Why relationships break?
I personally feel, that they break because we do not want them to work!!
we live with the negativity all throughout our life, we are all the time busy playing blame game to escape from our weaknesses, we always pity ourselves, we always have suspicion about everything which is going to happen or rather we are overcautious about the result of our efforts and more importantly we break those relations which we know we can break !!  we prefer to disown things as per our own convenience because we do not want to make efforts to make them work!! If a child is not eating food and remain hungry for a day will the mother allow to remain her/him hungry? she will make all the efforts in the world to feed him !!

Relations break because there are less efforts to make them work......and those efforts should be unconditional, sincere and honest. 

How to make relationship work?

• Simple, just stop thinking negatively about anything around you, the more negative you think the more negativity you attract in your life.  If your relationship is breaking never ever think that it is going to break or treat the situation in that manner, in fact in such situation keep the things as normal as you can, and it does wonders!!
• Never indulge with people who pass negative vibes, always make friends with people who inspire you or motivate you in a right direction
• Self healing, is the best way to solve many issues in life, find ways which help you to keep your calm and help you to remain focused in life
• Spend sufficient time in introspecting, just try and evaluate your actions and what you could have done better, while doing this never let thoughts of self pity come to your mind, this exercise can be done just for 15 mins a day but it really helps in improving your inner-strength
• Always look at the positive side of every situation or person, this tremendously help people to maintain relations
• Be thankful to whatever you receive in life, that will help you to remain contented and happy
• And patience !!! listen to the other person, give time to people to make things work but this we find very difficult in the culture of 20/20 match & fast-food :)

It is very simple to come out and say that it is not working or it did not work We are very selfish as far as these things are concerned, we always make efforts for those things which gives us materialistic results,but we always ignore or take for granted things which do not give us materialistic benefits.

We often forget that all materialistic things will vanish one day and what will remain forever with us and go with us is the true unconditional love of our loved ones !!! We need to put all efforts to make all relations work in our life and if the efforts are genuine, sincere and honest there is nothing in the world which can stop your success!!!

Listen to the whisper ... or wait for the brick!

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and drove the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car, shouting, "What was that all about and who are you?
Just what the heck are you doing?
That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money.
Why did you do it?"
The young boy was apologetic. "Please mister ... please, I'm sorry... I didn't know what else to do," he pleaded.
"I threw the brick because no one else would stop..."
With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car.
"It's my brother," he said.
"He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up."

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."
Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.

"Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger.
Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the little boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!

God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us.

It's our choice: Listen to the whisper ... or wait for the brick!

Agoraphobia Story: Finding a Purpose Greater than Fear

Autor: saprice

Since I recovered from panic disorder and agoraphobia, people often ask me what the major turning point in my recovery was. There were many turning points, but if I had to choose just one, I would pick the night I made a deal with God in one of my darkest hours of fear. That’s because it changed the orientation of my life.

I wasn’t sure if you can really make a deal with God, but I didn’t care. In complete and utter desperation, I prayed to God that if I could be freed from suffering and have my normal life back, I would use whatever abilities God gave me in the service of other people. I told God that if I were made well, my purpose in life would be to help others in times of suffering. Though I didn’t know it then, this change in purpose made all the difference.

To that point my life had all been about me. My life had been about doing whatever I needed to do to achieve everything I wanted for myself. Though I hadn’t realized it, the purpose I had given myself actually created fear – fear of failure.

When my life was all about meeting my personal goals, fear of failure always loomed in the back of my mind. I lived with the anxiety that I may not reach my goals or get what I want out of life – and then what would my life have meant? Constantly striving, fulfillment and satisfaction always seemed to be far away in the future.

In making this promise to God that I would live to do good for others, I let go of the anxiety over reaching my personal goals and found a new sense of purpose in giving to others. This new sense of purpose offers meaning and satisfaction along the way. I have since found that when the purpose of my life is to do good for others, I have a purpose greater than fear, including the fear of failing.

The need for purpose is one of the most basic human needs. A strong sense of meaning can be powerful in overcoming a fearful situation. German psychiatrist, Viktor Frankl, wrote about this in his book, Man’s Search for Meaning.

Dr. Frankl had the unique experience of living through the horrors of the Nazi death camps of World War II. Approximately one in twenty-six of Frankl’s fellow prisoners survived. From observation and interview, Frankl discovered that the main difference between those who lived and those who died was a deep sense of meaning or purpose in life.

Simply put, the men who lived were the ones who had the strongest reasons to live. The disproportionate survival of men who practiced religious faith intrigued Frankl greatly. He watched spiritual men of inferior constitution outlive more robust prison-mates. As a result, Frankl emerged from the prison camps firmly convinced that a sense of meaning or purpose in life is as vital to our existence as food, water or clothing.

I first read about Frankl’s experience when I had agoraphobia. When I read about his experience I related to the men in the Nazi death camps because I felt like I was in prison also, only my prison was a psychological one instead of a physical one.
Agoraphobia had turned my own home into a prison. The difference between my prison and a Nazi death camp was that I had a lot more control over my release. My prison was of my own making.

I decided that if a strong sense of meaning and purpose in life could sustain a man through the horrors of a Nazi death camp, then certainly a sense of meaning and purpose in life could carry me through to the other side of panic disorder and agoraphobia. I just needed a purpose in life that was greater than my fear, especially my fear of failure.

Self expression & Social Networking Sites

Self expression & Social Networking Sites

I was at the Seminar yesterday and there the topic of Social networking was discussed at length.  Many aspects were discussed but the thought (put across by one of the speakers) which awakened me was how carelessly people respond on these social networking sites.  What we write or express can create a huge impact on the image and emotional stability of a person at the receiving end, but who cares!  We just express spontaneously without much realization.

Words we use are like sword, it can be used either to defeat somebody or to save our own life! Here when we respond we are playing with the emotion of a person, it can create both positive and negative impact on the receiver/reader/follower.  Just because we cannot see the person’s reaction does not get the ticket to express anything we feel like or what comes in our mind.

Many a times our responses to quiet a few issues depend upon our emotional status at that time.

With changing life style now, people are becoming more and more dependent on these social media for self-expression.  It definitely helps people to come out of their loneliness and brings the world closer but at the same time what we need to remember is that it involves humans!!

Mahatma Gandhi had said, “The human voice can never reach the distance that is covered by the still small voice of conscience.”