Live Fully

Poetry

Joy of living

To live fully means to find joy in the ordinary existence of daily life. It means being contented with where you are instead of wasting precious hours whining over what you do not have.  Joy is the breath of life.  If you wake up healthy, no discernible pain, food in your refrigerator and you are well enough to eat it you are rich, you have everything you need for that day and this is cause for celebration.

  Think of the alternative realities of many people in the world, who awake to the sound of bullets, riddling through their walls, or wake up with no food in the house and have to look forward to another day of water and more water. This is the reality of many children in many parts of the world, yet many of these children who have so little yet find joy in just being alive, being able to run into the bushes and perhaps pick a fruit from the tree which is all they might have for that day.  I am always amazed when I see photographs of children living in some of the worst conditions on this earth, look so radiant, their smiles and wide and deep and sincere.  They seem truly happy. I say to myself, what is it that these children have that we in the rich West do not have?  I thought about this a whole lot and came to the conclusion that they have the spirit of the Creator in them; they are not bogged down with things and attachments as we are in the West. We have so much to take care of that sometimes we forget they are merely things of no particular value in the larger scheme of things and there are so much more important things to be concerned with such as having fun and joy in our lives.

    Joy is about living in the moment, be present with your Lord and be grateful for all that you have been blessed with even if it just a cup of water.  When you accept your blessings with gratitude something fills yours hunger.  You are filled with the love of God, so filled you are that  even though it might be just a couple of crackers with sugar and water, you will feel as if you had the most wonderful treat in the world.

    Joy is having a purpose-filled life. We wonder why our children with all that they have are still so miserable? Are still so discontented and never seem to have enough, always wanting something more?  Well let me tell you, it is because our children are living lives with little purpose. They get up eat, play and go about their sports or other activities? Do they have a purpose in the home? Do they have a chore to tell them that they are part of a family and that family members each have a role to play, each must give as well as take? When our children feel part of a whole and can see how important their contribution is to the entire family, they feel a sense of purpose. They know when they get up they have something to do to earn their position as a family member be it  to wash the dishes, make up their beds, feed the dog or something. This is very important for our children’s sense of self and for their enjoyment through their purpose-driven lives.

   Imagine if you were to get up in the morning with nothing to do, just to ring a bell and have someone do everything for you, you would feel bored and useless, you would get dress and go shopping for things you do not want but just to pass time and fill empty spaces in your life.  This sort of activity lends itself to superficial satisfaction, which wears away very quickly and in its place depression sets in, or we begin to engage in unhealthy behaviors.

    Let us commit ourselves to having joy in our lives by having a purpose each day. Joy is our natural state.

Cultural Tidbit - Pakistan and Afghanistan

"Here (in Pakistan and Afghanistan), we drink three cups of tea to do
 business; the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend,
 and the third, you join our family, and for our family we are prepared to
 do anything - even die." (Haji Ali, Korphe Village Chief, Karakoram Mtn.)

Networking for success

In this age of job uncertainty, networking has evolved into an art and a skill that everyone is told they need to develop or at least pay attention to. It is  about connecting with people with similar interest to help further one’s career or job search. The saying it’s not “what you know but who you know assumes greater resonance in the world of work and pleasure as well.  Ideally, it is a relationship of give and take. No one wants to feel used or abused or a stepladder.

  Networking has some unwritten rules that if compromised you might find yourself being shunted aside and out of the loop.  You cannot approach networking in a selfish way – what’s in it for me.  A better way of thinking of networking is “what do I have to contribute?”

   Networking is a collaborative, cooperative and collective activity where there is goodwill for everyone.  You must want the best outcome for everyone and not try to use the network to further your own career at the expense of anyone or everyone in your paths. Those people are called sharks and sharks are quickly identified and steered clear of.  Here are some of the things you have to keep in mind as you build your network:

 

1)      Everyone can be of help to you. Do not discount an old colleague, your neighbor, and the woman who volunteers at a homeless shelter – she may be the sister of a CEO of a company to whom she can refer you.

2)      Check out career fairs in your neighborhood, city or community.  They offer good information and provide you with important contacts – a person to phone, direct numbers to people who can make a difference, connecting a face to a name you might have heard before.

3)      Networking is an opportunity for you to share what you know and learn from others.  Be a resource in your network; find out the needs of people in your network and forward them useful information.  If they are looking for particular jobs share employment opportunities with group members.

4)      Networking does not have to be face to face.  You can be part of an international network through email and Internet connections – these are just as valid and can be quite effective.  You may have connections in several parts of the country so that whenever you are in that City you can arrange a face-to-face meeting over lunch with one of your contacts.

5)      You do not have to limit yourself to only one network. You can belong to several network each for a different purpose;

6)      Networking is useful throughout one’s life and not limited only to career or professional enhancement. You can develop a career to expand on your leisure activities as well – travel companions etc.

7)      When you are participating in an online network prepare a brief description of yourself without giving out too much of your personal information including your home phone number.

8) When you are part of a face-to-face network a more elaborate introduction might include the skills you have to offer, work or business experience or interests, why you choose the particular network, what interests you.  Be clear, concise and interesting. Above all be honest.    

      

Self-Awareness

What is self awareness?  The answer seems obvious.  It is to become aware of the self? Where is the self?  What is the self and what does aware mean?  Sometimes what appears to be simple are the things that stretch to the deepest parts of ourselves.

 

Self awareness is becoming aware of your center and your true being.  You might have heard the phrase that we are spiritual beings having a human experience.     So it is according to the greatest spiritual minds past and present.  When we are aware of ourselves, we become stronger, we become more confident and we become more truthful. Our words accumulate greater weight. People begin to see that self because there are no more masks. When we come into awareness of ourselves, we understand certain things clearer and the need to lie, to pretend we are what we are not, to attach ourselves to people, places and things become less important to us because we understand these are not the things that would make us happy.  What makes human beings happy is understanding of the self and working in synchrony with that self. When we are aware of the self, our words, actions and deed become more aligned with each other. As human beings we are in a constant stream of becoming aware of the self, it is a work in progress but what a delicious work. This work brings contentment, fulfillment and bliss. When we are clouded by the material longings of the ego, we are burdened, we are unhappy, we are always wanting and wanting more, we are never satisfied, our job becomes deciding which or our many masks to wear.  After some time, we become the masks we wear and our selves loom further and further behind all the masks and some would say we lose ourselves.    

  

Self-awareness is becoming aware of the inner light within us by communing with silence. Can you go for a day without speaking to anyone? Without any human contact, not even the ring of the phone? If you do, after a while as you move about in your home you may forget you have a body and may get glimpses in to the self in a way you cannot in the noise of existence. In that moment, sit quietly, breathe slowly and consciously and allow your mind to expand beyond its limit and it will if you do not interrupt it, just breathe  and focus on your thumb, move it back and forth; your mind is controlling its movement.   Feel the peace and contentment. You are alone with yourself and you have all you need   to feel whole. Understand that you are not the clothes you wear, the job you do, or not the money in your account. You are a living, breathing energy sent in this world to do good and to develop greater understanding of the self, your inner being.  When you are in touch with that being you are in touch with the universe.