Hope

Hope, one of humanity's greatest inner resources, is "an essential factor in helping us sustain our efforts when we encounter obstacles and setbacks in our lives, helping us persist in finding solutions to life's challenges.". HH the Dalai Lama in The Art Of Happiness in a Troubled World

Try something new everyday

"Every day is an opportunity to learn something or discover something or someplace. Be curious, play, go out on a limb, walk a different way to work, try a new food at dinner and keep learning and growing." Sandra Magsamen

TODAY'S QUOTE

"People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within."  Elisabeth Kübler-Ross

Crisis and Calm

The words 'Crisis' and 'Calm' are two sides of the same coin.  They produce each other.  

Now, I want you to take a careful note of the different shapes and movements of your mouth as you gently pronounce the two words starting with "Crisis" and then "Calm."  

Note the differences in the personal energy level you need in order to pronounce each word. 

Which one of these two words did you need more or less effort to pronounce and which one did you feel more or less relaxed to pronounce?  

One helps to take you a step away from the crisis. The other helps to take you a step deeper into it. One lets you spot and focus on the potential opportunity in the crisis. The other lets you see only the problem.

If this knowledge inspires you to think more deeply of how you could better manage your next life crisis, share it with others and tell them you got it from www.mamcoaching.com

Three Steps To Develop and Maintain a high sense of connection with your community:

According to HH the Dalai Lama, there are three simple steps for developing and maintaining a high sense of connection with your community:

First, become aware of the seriousness of your lack of a sense of connection with members of your community and how destructive this can be for your happiness; 

Second, become aware of the benefits of having a strong connection with members of your community, such as
emotional anchor or having others with whom you can share your problems and feelings, etc;

Lastly, begin to translate your awareness into daily positive action steps. This means regularly making deliberate efforts to establish and maintain list of personal contacts with various members of your community

Societal Happiness Begins with Teaching Intrapersonal Skills to Children

You need interpersonal skills to manage others.  You use these life skills to communicate and interact with others. These skills are taught to children in schools and colleges as part of their curriculum.  Many organisations devote a huge proportion of their annual training budget to sharpen their employees’ interpersonal skills.

On the other hand, you need intrapersonal skills to manage yourself.  If you cannot manage yourself, you cannot manage others.  You use these skills to build up your character traits, to develop your personality, to deepen your understanding of your purpose in life and to be driven to things that lead you toward self-fulfilment. These skills make you become the best or the worst of human being.   

As important as intrapersonal skills are to human performance and happiness, I am not yet aware of any curriculum available in schools or colleges that teaches children how to be happy with themselves, how to be kind to others, how to forgive others, how to be compassionate to fellow human beings, etc. I am also not sure if any employer will be prepared to devote a dime teaching their employees how to develop any of these great human virtues.

In the past, the responsibility for helping children to cultivate these virtues laid first, with parents or guardians and then, with religious leaders. At a time when the roles of family and religion are being systematically undermined by society, what is the future for our children?

Humility

It is humility when you feel totally unconstrained to stand amongst people others judged as inferior.  It is humility when you have no inhibition whatsoever to walk with people others consider as second class citizens.  It is humility when you have the freedom to eat and dine with people others look down upon as of lower status.  It is humility when you lower yourself in a public gathering and take the back seat. It is humility when you have the courage to say, “I’m sorry” in order to simply restore peace. Namaste.