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Good Afternoon Friends!


Poem of the Day
గమ్యం  లేని  పయనం ... 
మార్గం  లేని  లక్ష్యం .. 
వెలుగు  లేని  వెన్నెల .. 
ఆర్ద్రత  లేని  హృదయం .. 
ఇవన్ని  ఉంటె  నీవు  లేక  నేను  కూడా  ఉన్నట్లే   మిత్రమా ... 
స్నేహించు  కానీ  శోదించకు ....... మీ చందు 

What Is Success?

What is success, really? What does the word success bring to your mind?
I am sure many would answer along the lines of lots of money, big house, new car, designer clothes, five star restaurants and all that. And sure enough, those are signs of success on the material level. Nothing wrong in reaching for those - as long as you feel joy in the process.

It has been interesting to see how my own idea of success has evolved through the years. When I was young, I was eagerly reaching for material success. I chose my jobs accordingly and so of course ended up in sales. And sure enough I did earn some pretty good pay checks.

But then a nagging feeling started to grow. I began to realize selling was not what I wanted to do all my life. After all I was often forced to sell products I knew did not really fit the customer. You know how sales meetings go: all that matters is the amount of money you made. The values were hard. Eventually I became very unhappy.

And so I became to realize that even with big pay checks I did not feel successful. That is when my search for success turned inwards. I quit sales and chose another profession - this time helping people. The feeling of relief and belonging was great - and suddenly my life felt successful again. Even though I earned less, I was much more content.

I started to paint again. I love horses so at first it was horse portraits only. Then abstracts - and then other subjects. (If you click on the "Egypt" tab you'll find a link to my Ancient Egyptian Art -blog.)

And then I returned to my old love - writing. And positive thinking. These two are what this website is all about.

I realized I felt the most successful when I loved what I did, never mind the money. And so for my own part I define success by the feeling of contentment. Joy, happiness. These emotions can be triggered by many things. Painting, writing. Playing with a small child. Handling a difficult case at work well.

So what is success for you? Do you let others define what is your success ? Are you reaching for that big house just to impress others? Or have you learned yet to listen to yourself and what feels good within? Try to learn to listen to your own feelings - and you may be surprised at what you find. I know I was - but I am also much happier for it.

And always remember - what is success for you may not be success in someone else´s mind. But you are not here to live anyone else´s life but your own. It is not your obligation to please others with your life - only yourself. Because only if you are happy yourself, can you spread happiness to others. You cannot give what you do not have.

So be true to yourself and follow your own joyful path to your own definition of success.

Photo of the Day

Emperor Penguins, Antarctica

Toss a Coin

- Can´t decide? Why not toss a coin?

I looked at my friend.

- Toss a coin? Are you nuts? That´s no way to make important decisions!

I had been sitting deep in my thoughts. I needed to make a big decision about my job. It seemed that the more I thought about it, the more complicated the issue became in my mind. My friend had invited me over for lunch and now looked at me with a slightly bored expression. No wonder - I hadn´t talked much, thinking about my problem.

- Why don´t you try? I have a special coin just for the occasion.

She opened her bag and took out a small purse. When she opened it I saw only one coin. A genuine old silver dollar.

- This belonged to my grandfather, she said, - And he always used it to make important decisions when he did not know which way to go.

- You mean your grandfather flipped a coin and based his decisions on it?

- When ever he couldn´t decide, yes.

Now I had know her grandfather and always thought of him as one of the most down-to-earth kind of a person.

- You can´t be serious… I looked at my friend, unbelieving.

She just gave me the coin. It felt heavy in my hand.

- Quickly. Decide which answer is heads and which is tails.

Oh what the hey - why not play along. I nodded to show I had made my decision.

- Now toss it.

I did.

- Heads. That would be "Yes". But that can´t be so! I mean if I did that, it would mean… What are you smiling at?

She really was, and looked very amused.

- You see: you got your answer.

- No, I didn´t! It showed "yes" but that can´t be right…

I shut up. I got it.

- Now you see why my grandfather used to toss a coin. He did not follow the answer it showed - head or tails, yes or no. Instead he listened very carefully what was his first emotional reaction to the answer the coin gave. And THAT was the real answer. With this coin he passed his analytical mind and let the subconscious wisdom come through.

I looked at the coin in my hand.

- Wow, I never thought about it that way.

- Well - now you know. Can I have my coin back? And perhaps we could have a meaningful conversation from now on?

That we did.

---

To toss a coin to get answers to questions must have been a habit of man for thousands of years. I remember reading one Donald Duck cartoon as a small kid where our poor duck got into real trouble by tossing a coin to make even the smallest decisions. I found the story hilarious and only later learned that it really is an ancient habit.

There is interesting information about coin tossing, for example check what Wikipedia has to offer: fascinating information, isn´t it!

Mankind uses many ways to talk to the subconscious - but in the end the point is to listen to your own inner voice and not take any outside "oracle" as your guide. If you start directing your life according to outside advice only, you´ll soon find yourself lost.

Instead learn to know yourself, listen to your own emotions - and respect yourself as the person who best knows best what is good for you. When you learn to do this, there´s no need for you to toss a coin to get the answer - it is enough just to think of the question and the answer comes.

So do this little exercise every once in a while:

1) Relax the best you can.

2) Think of a question you want an answer to and then...

3) Be quiet. Notice any physical sensations you might have. Notice any emotions you feel. Those are signs from your own mind. With time you learn to interpret their meanings and the process gets quicker and more reliable. You are waking up your own intuition.

4) In the beginning you might want to write down your feelings - both physical and emotional. They are easy to forget.

సాగర  తీరం  
చల్లని  పావనం  
వేచని  కిరణం  
కోకిల  గానం  
మయూర  నాట్యం  
గులాబీల  పరిమళం  
అన్నీ   కలిసిన   ప్రకృతి  అందం  నీ  స్నేహం ...మీ చందు 


Once Again Good Afternoon and Have A Blessed Day  my dear friends!