NATURE

Whether one is watching a thrilling thunderstorm or looking up at a mighty tree, the experience of nature is one of awe.

One cannot help but marvel at the intricate design of a single leaf, or the roar of a great waterfall. Time spent in nature is time spent realizing that you don't know it all and that you never will.

A great place for a family to relate to each other is in the beauty of nature. Petty arguments and grudges fall to the wayside in the face of nature's majesty. The earth is meant to be enjoyed by its inhabitants. That includes keeping it in the pristine condition in which it was discovered. Everyone has a part of the earth that they relate to the most. Whether it is a majestic mountain range, a roaring waterfall, a bouquet of flowers, or the calm of the woods, these are places to get to know oneself and build bonds with family.

Story of St. Valentine 
                                   

  "The story of Valentine's Day begins in the third century with an oppressive Roman emperor and a humble Christian Martyr. The emperor was Claudius II.   The Christian was Valentinus.

Claudius had ordered all Romans to worship twelve gods, and had made it a crime punishable by death to associate with Christians.   But Valentinus was dedicated to the ideals of Christ; not even the threat of death could keep him from practicing his beliefs.   He was arrested and imprisoned.

During the last weeks of Valentinus's life a remarkable thing happened.   Seeing that he was a man of learning, the jailer asked whether his daughter, Julia, might be brought to Valentinus for lessons.   She had been blind since birth.   Julia was a pretty young girl with a quick mind.   Valentinus read stories of Rome's history to her.   He described the world of nature to her.   He taught her arithmetic and told her about God.  She saw the world through his eyes, trusted his wisdom, and found comfort in his quiet strength.

"Valentinus, does God really hear our prayers?" Julia asked one day.

"Yes, my child, He hears each one."

"Do you know what I pray for every morning and every night?  I pray that I might see.   I want so much to see everything you've told me about!"

"God does what is best for us if we will only believe in Him," Valentinus said.

"Oh, Valentinus, I do believe! I do!"  She knelt and grasped his hand.

They sat quietly together, each praying.   Suddenly there was a brilliant light in the prison cell.   Radiant, Julia screamed, "Valentinus, I can see!  I can see!"

"Praise be to God!"  Valentinus exclaimed, and he knelt in prayer.

On the eve of his death Valentinus wrote a last note to Julia, urging her to stay close to God.   He signed it, "From your Valentine."  His sentence was carried out the next day, February 14, 270 A.D., near a gate that was later named Porta Valentini in his memory.   He was buried at what is now the Church of Praxedes in Rome.   It is said that Julia planted a pink-blossomed almond tree near his grave.   Today, the almond tree remains a symbol of abiding love and friendship.   On each February 14, Saint Valentine's Day, messages of affection, love, and devotion are exchanged around the world." 


 HAPPY VALENTINES DAY TO ONE AND ALL IN MY LIFE!  I LOVE YOU ALL!

 Golden Rules

If you open it, close it.

If you turn it on, turn it off.

If you unlock it, lock it up.

If you break it, admit it.

If you can’t fix it, call in someone who can.

If you borrow it, return it.

If you value it, take care of it.

If you make a mess, clean it up.

If you move it, put it back.

If it belongs to someone else and you want to use, get permission.

If you don’t know how to operate it, leave it alone.

If it’s none of your business, don’t ask questions.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

If it will brighten someone’s day, say it.

If it will tarnish someone’s reputation, keep it to yourself.

 

LETTING GO

To let go does not mean to stop caring, it means I can’t do it for someone else.

To let go is not to cut myself off, it’s the realization that I can’t control another.

To let go is not to enable, but to allow learning from natural consequences.

To let go is to admit powerlessness, which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To let go is not to try to change or blame another, it’s to make the most of myself.

To let go is not to care for, but to care about.

To let go is not to fix, but to be supportive.

To let go is not to judge, but to allow another to be a human being.

To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to affect their own destinies.

To let go is not to be protective, it’s to permit another to face reality.

To let go is not to criticize, or regulate anyone, but to try to become what I dream I can do.

To let go is to fear less, and to love more.

LIFE IS A  GAME

Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them – work, family, health, friends and spirit and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – family, health, friends and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life. How?
 

Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.

Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.

Don’t take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

Don’t let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live ALL the days of your life.

Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

Don’t be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us each together.

Don’t be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible to find. The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you are going.

Don’t forget that a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.

Don’t be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily.

Don’t use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved. Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way.

  

                       VALUE YOUR TIME !

 Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with Rupees 86,400.

It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day.

What would you do?

Draw out every cent, of course!!!

Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME.

Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours.

There is no going back. There is no drawing against the “tomorrow”. You must live in the present on today’s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success!

The clock is running. Make the most of today.

To realize the value of one year, ask a student who has failed his final exam.

To realize the value of one month, ask the parent of a premature baby.

To realize the value of one week, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of one day, ask a daily wage laborer who has a large family to feed.

To realize the value of one hour, ask lovers who are waiting to meet.

To realize the value of one minute, ask a person who has missed the train, the bus, or a plane.

To realize the value of one second, ask a person who has survived an accident.

To realize the value of one millisecond, ask the person who has won a silver medal at the Olympics.

Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time. And remember that time waits for no one.

Unconditional Love

We all know the expression – but do we all mean the same thing when we use the words?

I am going to examine “unconditional love” from the perspective of what mischievous distractions obscure the original meaning of the expression. Then I will look at how relating to unconditional love in its pure form can empower an individual human being.

“Love” is a problematic term on its own. We use it to refer to everything from preferences (“I love chili hot dogs”) to appreciation (“I love the way you arranged those flowers”) to emotion (“I love my dog”) to commitment (“I will always love you”). We use the simple expression “I love you” to mean an apology (I know I upset you but I didn’t mean to, please forgive me), a demand (do this because I love you so you owe me), a promise (I will take care of you for the rest of your life), or a way of avoiding a promise (I love you, isn’t that enough?).

When we add “unconditional” to qualify love, we narrow the possible range of meanings considerably. If you really comprehend what constitutes a “condition”, you will find that the type of love which is truly unconditional is one with which we are not terribly familiar in our culture.

What does “conditional” mean?

Conditional – relating to conditions.

Conditions – circumstances, requirements.

So, if the presence of love relates to any particular condition (circumstance or requirement), it is not, by definition, unconditional.

The love of parents for their children and vice versa is not unconditional. It depends on the circumstance of being related by birth or adoption. Parents and children can move from conditional to unconditional love at any time (once the children reach the age of reason), but most never do.

Sexual love is not unconditional. It depends on the sexual attraction between the participants. It is possible that two people who have a sexual loving relationship may also love one another unconditionally – the test of this is whether the love would be present if the sexual relationship ended and both parties started sexual relationships with others. If this circumstance would interrupt the love, then the love is not unconditional.

The love of one’s friends is not unconditional. It depends on shared interests, mutual support, communication, and all the other things that make our friends our friends. People who share friendly love may also love one another unconditionally. If the love is unconditional, it remains present through betrayal, lies, long periods of no communication, and severe divergence of lifestyles and interests. If any of these circumstances threaten the love, then it is conditional.

Unconditional love is not personal. If you love someone for their sense of humour, personality, the way they make you feel, or any other aspect of their identity, your love is conditional. It depends on the presence of that characteristic. If the person ceased to be or have all the things that you enjoy, would the love still be present?

Here’s the real kicker – unconditional love does not come and go. It just is.

So, there exists unconditional love between all people, and in fact within the entire Universe, at all times.

So how can we say that, for example, love between parents and children is conditional? If there is always unconditional love present, wouldn’t “love” always be unconditional then?

While unconditional love always exists, we are often unaware of it. And other forms of love, conditional forms, are one of the things that can get in the way of truly experiencing it.

What gets in the way of experiencing unconditional love (as a presence) is all the distractions of a human being identity. These distractions include the seven deadly sins (anger, pride, envy, and so on), but those are relatively easy to spot. A more subtle set of distractions is all the things we think are good – like the attached love of sexual partners, friends, and relatives.

There is something daunting in surrendering the attached loves. Somehow, it seems almost unloving to let go the bonds and love those people just the way we love everyone else on the planet. It is as though we feel the attached love is loving “more”. Loving personally and specifically is “stronger” or “better” to us.

I can only offer as encouragement my observation that it is easier to truly hear and understand someone when listening from unconditional love. Attached love clouds the space with your own ego identity and its wants and needs, limiting the room for the other person to express themselves and be heard clearly. Attached love contains expectations, which cause upsets when they are not met. Upsets cause reactions, reactions cause further reactions, and before you know it the experience of unconditional love is completely obscured. You may still be having a good time, even, but it is a small, inside-the-ego-consciousness good time, not an experience of boundless, infinite, unconditional love.

In a way, it is easier to experience unconditional love with a stranger than with someone close to you. There is less pre-existing “stuff” in the space. Although we are pretty good at projecting all kinds of apprehensive thoughts into the space with a stranger, too!

In the end, unconditional love is a reflection of the whole human experience – all around all the time, yet we are attending to anything and everything else, and we just miss it. The brief moments of pure consciousness, of complete connection with the Universe, have their corresponding moments of pure connection with another human being, you-and-I-are-one consciousness.

We resist it.

We avoid it.

We fear it.

We worship it.

We seek it.

We deny its very existence.

But, fundamentally, we are it.

When you take away all circumstances, all identity, all personal characteristics, all individual ego wants and needs and desires, all that remains is that which we all have in common, that which we all are.

And that which we are is – only and always - “unconditional love”.