The Lesson Of The Ant

The Lesson Of The Ant One morning I wasted nearly an hour watching a tiny ant carry a huge feather cross my back terrace. Several times it was confronted by obstacles in its path and after a momentary pause it would make the necessary detour. At one point the ant had to negotiate a crack in the concrete about 10mm wide. After brief contemplation the ant laid the feather over the crack, walked across it and picked up the feather on the other side then continued on its way. I was fascinated by the ingenuity of this ant, one of the smallest creatures on earth. It served to reinforce the miracle of creation. Here was a minute insect, lacking in size yet equipped with a brain to reason, explore, discover and overcome. But this ant, like the two-legged co-residents of this planet, also shares human failings. After some time the ant finally reached its destination - a flower bed at the end of the terrace and a small hole that was the entrance to its underground home. And it was here that the ant finally met its match. How could that large feather possibly fit down small hole? Of course it couldn’t. So the ant, after all this trouble and exercising great ingenuity, overcoming problems all along the way, just abandoned the feather and went home. The ant had not thought the problem through before it began its epic journey and in the end the feather was nothing more than a burden.   My Message Doesn't this story sound familiar? It's like our lives. We worry too much about our family; we worry about money or the lack of it, we worry about work, about where we live, about all sorts of things. These worries are often burdens - the things we pick up along life’s path and lug them around the obstacles and over the crevasses that life will bring, only to find that at the destination they are useless and we can’t take them with us. Let go of all the things worrying you. Let go of those grudges and thoughts that haunt you. You have the opportunity to live a life burden free from worry and negativity so why carry it along on your journey. Focus more on the beautiful things, count your blessings and be grateful for everything you possess. Click here for previous story/message on the same subject May you have an amazing week free from worry and full of gratitude for the awesome things in your life. Darren Zwiers The Quote: “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” Winston Churchill

The Illusion Of Reflection

The Illusion Of Reflection Once there was a king who had presented his daughter, the princess, with a beautiful diamond necklace. The necklace was stolen and his people in the kingdom searched everywhere but could not find it. Some said a bird might have stolen it. The king then asked them all to search for it and put a reward for $50,000 for anyone who found it. One day a clerk was walking home along a river next to an industrial area. This river was completely polluted, filthy and smelly. As he was walking, the clerk saw a shimmering in the river and when he looked, he saw the diamond necklace. He decided to try and catch it so that he could get the $50,000 reward. He put his hand in the filthy, dirty river and grabbed at the necklace, but some how missed it and didn't catch it. He took his hand out and looked again and the necklace was still there. He tried again, this time he walked in the river and dirtied his pants in the filthy river and put his whole arm in to catch the necklace. But strangely, he still missed the necklace! He came out and started walking away, feeling depressed. Then again he saw the necklace, right there. This time he was determined to get it, no matter what. He decided to plunge into the river, although it was a disgusting thing to do as the river was polluted, and his whole body would become filthy. He plunged in, and searched everywhere for the necklace and yet he failed. This time he was really bewildered and came out feeling very depressed that he could not get the necklace that would get him $50,000. Just then a wise man who was walking by, saw him, and asked him what was the matter. He told the wise man about the necklace and how he tried and tried to catch it, but kept failing. The wise man then told him that perhaps he should try looking upward, toward the branches of the tree, instead of in the filthy river. The clerk looked up and true enough, the necklace was dangling on the branch of a tree. He had been trying to capture a mere reflection of the real necklace all this time.   My Message Material happiness is just like the polluted river; because it is a mere reflection of the true happiness in the spiritual world. We can never achieve the 'long term lasting' happiness we are looking for no matter how hard we endeavour in material life. The material 'physical' world is finite and can only last for a given amount of time. Once that finite spec of physicality is gone, so would your happiness. Instead we should look towards the source of true happiness, and stop chasing after the reflections in the material world. This spiritual source of happiness; G-d, the universe or whichever term you may feel comfortable with, is the only thing that could satisfy us completely as it is infinite. Don't spend your time chasing reflections, harness the real thing within you and you will have the power to express its beauty forever. Yes, the reflections are extremely pretty and pay an important role but never forget the real beauty of the object casting it. May you have an awesome week, where you have the power to seek and harness the real beauties within yourself. Darren Zwiers The Quote: Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul. – Democritus

Don't Change The World

Don't Change The World Once upon a time, there was a king who ruled a prosperous country. One day, he went on a trip to some distant areas of his country. When he returned back to his palace, he complained that his feet were very painful, because it was the first time that he went on such a long trip, and the road that he went through was very rough and stony. He then ordered his people to cover every road of the entire country with leather. Definitely, this would need thousands of cows’ skin, and would cost a huge amount of money. Then one of his wise servants dared himself to tell the king, “Why do you have to spend that unnecessary amount of money? Why don’t you just cut a little piece of leather to cover your feet?” The king was surprised, but he later agreed to his suggestion, to make a “shoe” for himself.   My Message Some of us if not most of us think of how we can change the world, how we can change it for a better, greater future, but the truth is, that as heroic, grand and noble it sounds is it really possible to change it? There is a very big difference between changing the world and making a difference in the world. This is important to understand because you can only do the one. Making a difference in the world is readily available for you. The only changing that takes place is within you. It's not the world that needs to change it's ourselves and then you have the tools to make an impact to your surrounding environment. As the story above explains the king wanted to change the world but all he had to do was change something even closer than he thought. To make this world a happy place to live, you better change yourself - your heart; and not the world and as a result you will certainly make a difference. Have an awesome week! Darren Zwiers The Quote: “If everyone only cleaned their own doorstep, the whole world would be clean.” - Mother Teresa

Practice Short Jumps

Practice Short Jumps A big game hunter in India sighted a large Bengal tiger.  Since the animal was only a short distance away, the hunter took a quick shot . . . but he missed.  Fortunately, the tiger, in leaping toward the hunter, had jumped too far . . . and he also missed.  The hunter returned to camp and began practicing short shots.  He was determined never to be caught unprepared again.  When he went into the jungle the following day, the first thing he saw was the same Bengal tiger . . . Practicing Short Jumps.   My Message Like the hunter and Tiger we get overly focused on our long-range goals and tend to forget that we can only reach them through achieving short range objectives. Not only will the short jumps get you to your goals more easily, but will keep you motivated for longer as you can realistically evaluate your progress. It is very important to keep your eye on your principle purpose…. but don't forget to practice short jumps. On a side note this story also teaches us that while we are improving ourselves… so are the people around us. So keep your head up high and keep perfecting your skills. Have an incredible week where you strive to achieve all your short term goals which in turn lead you to reaching your ultimate victory! Darren Zwiers The Quote: Nothing stops the man who desires to achieve. Every obstacle is simply a course to develop his achievement muscle. It's a strengthening of his powers of accomplishment. - Eric Butterworth