Christmas Time

Impatience has today become part of our personality without our realising it. We are generally in a hurry to log on and to log off. We run short of time and no longer does time stand still. If it does, we worry why is it so. Instead of becoming our friend, time has become our master.
But Christmas is just a day away and on this day we need not navigate time to fill in the missing links. Christmas time is the time to commune with our inner self and be happy within and then share that happiness with others. Here's a short poem sharing joy for Christmas and New Year.

"New Year is round the corner,
Christmas is knocking at the door,
Let's forget our past woes,
and warmly wish all friends and foes
A loving and joyful Christmas,
A New Year's resolve too, in tow.
Be, what you wish to be,
Free, frank, fearless and loving to the core."

Wishing every one a loving Christmas, and a Happy New Year!!!!!!!!

What is impatience

To develop patience it is necessary to recognise impatience in us. The seed of impatience lies in our thoughts and to some extent speech. Too many thoughts jumbled in our minds means loss of clarity. Emotions and stress related to work causes mental and physical fatigue. In such a state, the mind lacks focus and steadiness and short term goals are chased at the cost of long term ones. A wider perspective, a macro vision of life and flexibility to change is a must to overcome the web of impatience which robs us of peace. Under the spell of impatience we turn to wrong means to achieve our goals which lead to negative repercussions later on. It is necessary to focus on one important thought and goal at a time and to do full justice to it. Small baby steps when tackling something new, mean fewer mistakes and the time taken will be exactly the same as when we try to do things hurriedly and often mess up.
Believe me, I speak from experience. Recognising and acknowledging impatient behaviour is the first step towards patience. Change is possible only when we feel the need for change.

Patience

Patience is the touchstone of progress towards mastery of your own self and in today's world most difficult to maintain. But without it there can be no inner and outer peace. Very few people are born with exemplary patience and today it is at a premium. Patience really means accepting people and circumstances over which one has little or no control cheerfully. Relationships, at work, with children, and even efficient workers need to be tolerated with loving patience. However, patience should not be confused with apathy, laziness or sheer inertia. Patience is quiet strength in the face of dominant opposition and a willingness to wait for the inevitable change. Seasons change in cycles and so does life. Hope is the key of patience.

The Seeker

A seeker is one who has a genuine thirst for knowledge. He or she is dissatisfied with the present state of affairs, not superficially but from deep within. The person seeks to understand the cause of the annoying or difficult set of circumstances. Material fulfilment ceases to matter, satiated as some are with the best that the world offers. Dissatisfaction can, in fact, become the spring board for achievement if channelised in the proper direction, and if not it can take one to the abyss of despair. The seeker must have patience and wait for the right guide to come along.

The Guide

The question is who is a guide and do we need one? Are we self-sufficient to manage on our own and how do we check out the right guide? We all go through our phases of doubts and fears when unable to decide we forgo all decisions altogether and simply drift, the flow sometimes rapid and sometimes sluggish. Late in life we realise that life has passed us by and we wasted the most important years of life in frivolities. Dissatisfaction and regret creeps in but its never too late to understand and change. The moment we are ready for transformation we are ready to recieve the guide. The guide seeks out the one who understands what he or she has come to say. Before meeting such a person nature is our best guide. Understanding the functioning of nature calls for intelligent study and implementing it in daily life means learning to shed the old impositions from childhood and embracing new insights.

When will we understand the need to understand ourselves? I see people moving somnabulantly, apathy writ large on their faces, forever trying to catch up, not to be left behind and to be part of the crowd. Is there comfort in a crowd which racuously cheers and boos without thought? Youngsters perhaps may be excused because they know no better, but people who do, should they not stand apart and serve as guides in their own little way?
A guide is not a teacher sermonising. He or she points out the way to the weary wayfarer. A guide gives advice only when asked for and not before.

Understanding the root cause

It is very interesting to note the chain of action and reaction when we are facing minor or even major problems in life. To some extent we must analyse to check what went wrong where. We need to find the root cause----was it desire, animosity, anger or fear which motivated us to take a controversial decision, which set in motion certain events leading to the current crisis. We must understand the root cause, have clarity of thought, and then take the right decision to reverse the negative fall out of the problems we are facing. Each one has to seek their own means of understanding themselves and their difficulties. Sometimes the problems are self created due to lack of awareness and wrong habits. Change can come about only by understanding.

Holding On

Sometimes, without quite realizing we hold on to relationships, be it with friends or one's own children. We cling to a pattern of behaviour which we have seen and expect our children to duplicate it. But that seldom happens and even if it does, it cause friction and ultimately disappointments. It's best to accept every one as they are, to let them be and to learn live and let live.

We must learn the art of seeing the universe in the child. Innocent, unspoilt, loving and trusting----that is how children are. The universe, too, is based on those principles. Rivers, seas, forests, all the flora and fauna of the world, were inherently unspoilt in their pristine beauty. They still can revert back with a little help from people who care for nature as it once was. Some where along the technological revolutions we have lost the art of sharing and caring. But everything is possible with understanding and effort.