Give Up To Be Happy

From one of my mails I thought it was worth sharing

15 Things You Should Give Up To Be Happy

Here is a list of 15 things which, if you give up on them, will make your life a lot easier and much, much happier. We hold on to so many things that cause us a great deal of pain, stress and suffering – and instead of letting them all go, instead of allowing ourselves to be stress free and happy – we cling on to them. Not anymore. Starting today we will give up on all those things that no longer serve us, and we will embrace change. Ready? Here we go:

1. Give up your need to always be right

There are so many of us who can’t stand the idea of being wrong – wanting to always be right – even at the risk of ending great relationships or causing a great deal of stress and pain, for us and for others. It’s just not worth it. Whenever you feel the ‘urgent’ need to jump into a fight over who is right and who is wrong, ask yourself this question: “Would I rather be right, or would I rather be kind?” Wayne Dyer. What difference will that make? Is your ego really that big?

2. Give up your need for control

Be willing to give up your need to always control everything that happens to you and around you – situations, events, people, etc. Whether they are loved ones, coworkers, or just strangers you meet on the street – just allow them to be. Allow everything and everyone to be just as they are and you will see how much better will that make you feel.“By letting it go it all gets done. The world is won by those who let it go. But when you try and try. The world is beyond winning.” Lao Tzu

3. Give up on blame

Give up on your need to blame others for what you have or don’t have, for what you feel or don’t feel. Stop giving your powers away and start taking responsibility for your life.

4. Give up your self-defeating self-talk

Oh my. How many people are hurting themselves because of their negative, polluted and repetitive self-defeating mindset? Don’t believe everything that your mind is telling you – especially if it’s negative and self-defeating. You are better than that.“The mind is a superb instrument if used rightly. Used wrongly, however, it becomes very destructive.” Eckhart Tolle

5. Give up your limiting beliefs

about what you can or cannot do, about what is possible or impossible. From now on, you are no longer going to allow your limiting beliefs to keep you stuck in the wrong place. Spread your wings and fly!“A belief is not an idea held by the mind, it is an idea that holds the mind” Elly Roselle

6. Give up complaining

Give up your constant need to complain about those many, many, maaany things – people, situations, events that make you unhappy, sad and depressed. Nobody can make you unhappy, no situation can make you sad or miserable unless you allow it to. It’s not the situation that triggers those feelings in you, but how you choose to look at it. Never underestimate the power of positive thinking.

7. Give up the luxury of criticism

Give up your need to criticize things, events or people that are different than you. We are all different, yet we are all the same. We all want to be happy, we all want to love and be loved and we all want to be understood. We all want something, and something is wished by us all.

8. Give up your need to impress others

Stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not just to make others like you. It doesn’t work this way. The moment you stop trying so hard to be something that you’re not, the moment you take off all your masks, the moment you accept and embrace the real you, you will find people will be drawn to you, effortlessly.

9. Give up your resistance to change

Change is good. Change will help you move from A to B. Change will help you make improvements in your life and also the lives of those around you. Follow your bliss, embrace change – don’t resist it.“Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls” Joseph Campbell

10. Give up labels

Stop labeling those things, people or events that you don’t understand as being weird or different and try opening your mind, little by little. Minds only work when open. “The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don’t know anything about.” Wayne Dyer

11. Give up on your fears

Fear is just an illusion, it doesn’t exist – you created it. It’s all in your mind. Correct the inside and the outside will fall into place.“The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself.” Franklin D. Roosevelt

12. Give up your excuses

Send them packing and tell them they’re fired. You no longer need them. A lot of times we limit ourselves because of the many excuses we use. Instead of growing and working on improving ourselves and our lives, we get stuck, lying to ourselves, using all kind of excuses – excuses that 99.9% of the time are not even real.

13. Give up the past

I know, I know. It’s hard. Especially when the past looks so much better than the present and the future looks so frightening, but you have to take into consideration the fact that the present moment is all you have and all you will ever have. The past you are now longing for – the past that you are now dreaming about – was ignored by you when it was present. Stop deluding yourself. Be present in everything you do and enjoy life. After all life is a journey not a destination. Have a clear vision for the future, prepare yourself, but always be present in the now.

14. Give up attachment

This is a concept that, for most of us is so hard to grasp and I have to tell you that it was for me too, (it still is) but it’s not something impossible. You get better and better at with time and practice. The moment you detach yourself from all things, (and that doesn’t mean you give up your love for them – because love and attachment have nothing to do with one another, attachment comes from a place of fear, while love… well, real love is pure, kind, and self less, where there is love there can’t be fear, and because of that, attachment and love cannot coexist) you become so peaceful, so tolerant, so kind, and so serene. You will get to a place where you will be able to understand all things without even trying. A state beyond words.

15. Give up living your life to other people’s expectations

Way too many people are living a life that is not theirs to live. They live their lives according to what others think is best for them, they live their lives according to what their parents think is best for them, to what their friends, their enemies and their teachers, their government and the media think is best for them. They ignore their inner voice, that inner calling. They are so busy with pleasing everybody, with living up to other people’s expectations, that they lose control over their lives. They forget what makes them happy, what they want, what they need….and eventually they forget about themselves.

You have one life – this one right now – you must live it, own it, and especially don’t let other people’s opinions distract you from your path.be happy, give up attachment, give up criticism, give up to be happy, give up your fears, how to be happy, law of attraction, things you need, to give up----------

Choosing your problems wisely

My neighbour has always been using me as a convenient peg to hang all his problems. Not a day passed without him approaching me to discuss some of his concerns. He would say “My wife and my mother are not getting on well, as you know. It is always petty things like what meal to cook,, when my wife will take mom to her cousin’s house or when she will find the time to mend her new sari that was torn by the maid. My wife has no patience stressed as she is in the mornings. What could be tackled smoothly turns into exchange of words, bitter fight, and inevitable crying. Tell me, Partha, what should I do?”

Rather than curtly saying that this is a matter best resolved by the concerned within his house, I give a patient hearing to his woes. He would then tell me that it was getting late for his office and that I should meanwhile think of a solution. Having shifted his burden on me he would go his way light in heart. I try to catch up the 45 minutes lost of my precious morning and get stressed doing things hurriedly. I have no time for answering my wife patiently on an urgent issue that had cropped up. She would get upset very rightly as I rush to the office without listening to her. It was all because of my foolishness in trying to solve somebody’s problem.

The moment neighbour’s wife and his mother come to know of my participation in their tussle, they too make a demand on my time in the evening. My wife is resentful that I get time to give a patient ear to others and not to her. This manifests itself in ever so many disconcerting ways that a wife alone can do.

The moral is that we need not always be ready to listen to others troubles simply for the reason they come to you. If we refuse politely and tactfully to take their difficulties on our shoulders, they would go to someone else who is willing. When we are short of time in the mornings we do not have to answer every sales man who rings the bell or answer the phone without seeing the caller ID or respond to an invitation for a chat while at computer. By answering the phone or responding to chat, we become willing victims especially when we are pressed for time. Undue politeness is no virtue. It is also not a sign of rudeness for us to say we are busy when we are really so.

There would always be others problems thrown at us all the time if we are suckers. Passing problems to others is a staple of human nature. Once we understand this trait we can make our relations with others easier. We can make sure that they don't pass on their problems to us without our permission. The trouble is that we tend to think high of ourselves if someone approaches us for help with a problem. It flatters us and satisfies our ego making us swallow the dangling bait. In most cases we are tricked into issues totally unrelated to us. Saying a polite no without hurting others sentiments is no incivility but a key to stress-free life. .In genuine cases one should go all out to be helpful even if personally inconvenient. The advice to ward off all kinds of problems tossed towards us by others in home or office is no prescription for becoming insular, getting disinterested in others or being discourteous but to choose the problems thrown at us wisely on their merits and relevance. If we develop this ability, we may find that we are able to remain cool and relaxed, enjoying our life with family undisturbed by habitual problem throwers.

Can we be a little more patient?

I have observed that we are generally very impatient, be it at home or outside. This frailty could have stemmed from our desire for instant or immediate gratification of whatever we wish for. We get upset with the slightest hurdle in our path and easily lose our cool. We are not accommodative and wish always to surge ahead of others. This unwillingness to be patient is more pronounced in our interactions with utter strangers whom we may not meet again .How many of us are willing gladly to wait for our turn in a long queue unless regulated by someone? Where is that good natured tolerance to slight delays or incompetence as someone described patience?

Whenever we travel in the plane, we find passengers standing up immediately after the plane comes to a halt and start pulling out the boxes from the overhead cabins and dragging them along the aisle before others in the front rows take theirs and move. Soon there is a jam with none able to move. Why not wait for the passengers in the row ahead to move first as they do in US with none behind attempting to jump the queue. Things are so orderly and fast that nobody would like to break the system. They are patient and adhere to basic courtesies. It is the same in bill counters in the malls with shoppers waiting in line for the one ahead to complete his purchase. It is not so here unless the queue is enforced.

Visualize the melee in the railway platforms with passengers vying with one another to enter the railway compartment though all the seats are reserved and none can deprive the other of his berth. Yet patience is one thing that is missing to everybody’s inconvenience.

The scene at several traffic signals show this bad trait prominently with drivers trying to beat the signal even when red light begins to flash accompanied by honking of horns from many cars. I am witness to many narrow scrape through and a few accidents all due to lack of patience.. I have frequently seen in post offices illiterate people requesting others to help fill in the money order forms or the address on envelopes only to be rudely told to look for someone else. Even if they know the area and the names of streets, people respond to request for directions with an insensitive “patha nai” or an insolent wave of hand. It would appear they have no time to stand even for a few seconds to reply patiently.

Unless it is a matter of life and death or extremely urgent, there is no justification to abandon this virtue. When you talk of emergency, I am reminded of how callously drivers do not slow down or move aside to give way to the wailing ambulance behind trying to reach the hospital with a dying patient. They show no patience to fellow beings in distress.

While this behaviour is not acceptable even to strangers, what shall we say about the impatience shown to children at home? The father on return from office is greeted with a big smile and a warm hug followed by endless complaints against each other by the young siblings only to be responded with a crazy shouting to keep quiet. A small smile, a little patience and a gentle plea for some respite before answering their questions would rub off on the kids and make them realize that the dad is tired and needs quiet.

I read this story written by one Carmen that there was a monk who was very impatient and went to live in a cave deep in the forest to practice patience. Several years later a man who went inside the forest saw this monk and asked him why he was there in such a secluded part. The monk replied that he was endeavouring to get over impatience. The man asked him “if there is no one around you, how will you know that you have conquered impatience.” The monk exploded in anger “Get away from here. I have no time to talk to you.”

While it is difficult to get over this failing completely, one should not forget to remember the monk every time we flare up and flex muscles over innocuous remarks or petty incidents or insignificant delays. Impatience affects one’s health in the long run. It is better to be patient than to become a patient

Learning to live with imperfections

I was intrigued when my wife had hung a board in the living room that had the message We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly. Not amused seeing the message all the time when I asked my wife about it,she said that she liked the quote and that it had no allusion to anything or anyone in particular. It was her conviction that life would be easier for all if we do not chase the rainbow of perfection in all the things we do, see or acquire. She added this applied to all aspects of life as nothing is perfect in this world.

True we cannot compromise with inferior stuff or imperfect things as there is always an acceptable minimum standard in everything. Granting that premise, if we are not content with what we have and always look for something better in everything, life can turn out to be an endless chase and struggle. When I go to restaurant I go through the menu card carefully and order say channa bhatura I should normally be happy. Yet when I see someone eating a long and crisp onion rava dosa I would wish I had ordered the same. It is the same with every little thing. I would buy a Hamam soap for me and when my wife comes out after a bath with the fragrance of Mysore sandal soap I would regret my choice. I keep changing my brand of whitening tooth paste whenever I see something new in the market. The grass has always been greener on the other side. I always felt the children in my friend’s house were smarter than mine until my wife tells me they score less marks than my children. The images in my TV appear duller and lack clarity than my neighbour’s although both of us have the same make and brand. I keep comparing all the time thinking there are better and more perfect things than mine. I need to be assured constantly that the things I have are as good as or better than any other.

We should thank god for the doughnut we have instead of cursing the hole in it. Instead of being content and happy with what we have, we pay attention on what we do not have or what is wrong with what we have. I am a disorganized person always searching for a comb, car keys, mobile or socks and making all other inmates in the house tense by my whining. In contrast my wife was organized and systematic. She had a place for everything and everything had its place in her scheme. She can retrieve any object of mine in a matter of minutes. She tried to change me initially but gave up when it did not work out. She accepted me as I am with all my warts. She had her own foibles like cooking more than what is needed or buying whatever caught her fancy whether useful or not. Both of us pledged that we would not be openly focusing on the imperfections. As a result life for us was gentle and sweet. This did not mean we ceased to do our best in overcoming our weaknesses. While we recognized that each of us could do better in some areas, this knowledge of inadequacy did not stand in the way of enjoying each others company and accepting the way the things are. Craving for perfection in everything is a disorder unless it is a matter of life and death. Not all the mangoes are alphonso variety. Yet we enjoy a banganpalli or dussheri or langra with equal relish. In life too things are different and if we accept them for what they are, life’s journey would be smooth and joyous.

Fear of failure

When I was talking to a group of youngsters, I asked them whether they can walk fast on a long rectangular beam measuring two feet in width and forty feet in length lying on the ground. Every one of them said they could easily do that, while a few said they can even run. While I expressed my satisfaction at their response, I asked them how many would be able to do similar feat if the beam was raised to a height of twenty feet above the ground and fixed firmly on both ends. None responded. I asked them the reason for their silence. They said we may fall down. When I pointed out that it is the same beam that they had said they could run on except that the location is different. Someone replied that he was afraid and another said he was sure to fall down. Nothing had changed significantly. It is only the fear of failure that stood in the way of what they easily could accomplish earlier. While they were confident in the first situation, they lost their nerve in the second instance as they anticipated failure and its adverse consequences

The girl is taught by her mom the song for the competition that she had joined in the school. She had practiced it dozen times and sung confidently before her parents without any flaw. Yet when she stood before a large audience the usual confidence gave way to fear and she fumbled while singing. It is the fear of failure that wrecked her show.

Success or failure is more a mental game. We usually get what our mind and mental attitude indicates. That is if you believe you can, you can. If you believe you cannot, you cannot. The first requisite for success is self confidence. If you analyze the reason for people doing below their potential, you will observe that fear of failure is the main reason; I know a friend who can write brilliantly but she does not write as she fears her writing may not be good. She had judged herself through her warped vision. As a result of this diffidence people play safe and avoid situations where they could be tested. This is true in many fields be it in business, official career, education, sports or performing arts. By underestimating one’s ability to succeed, many miss wonderful opportunities to succeed. Reasonable risk taking consistent with one’s capability will alone enable people to realize their full potential. Absence of sheltered environment, presence of an alternate plan, adequate preparation and high self esteem are the insurance against failure.The stories of men who had accomplished daring feats or authored great success in any human field are those with high confidence in themselves backed by hard work.

“Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt”. William Shakespeare

The power of silence

You might have heard the story of a farmer who lost his watch in the barn. When he failed to find after a search he asked a group of children playing outside the barn to help find out.The children happily went inside the barn and went through the entire stack of hay only to fail in finding the watch. When the farmer was about to give up, a little boy asked to be given another chance. The farmer readily agreed. After a while the little boy came out with the watch in his hand! The happy farmer asked the boy how he succeeded where the rest had failed.
The boy replied, "I did nothing but sit on the ground and listen. In the silence, I heard the ticking of the watch and just looked for it in that direction."

Things that do not readily come to you in normal times or in normal ways readily come to you in silence. The silence gives the mind a greater understanding, an entirely different perspective in the calm that pervades your mind. A peaceful mind possibly can think well than a worked up mind.

I enjoyed these quotes from Nisargadatta Maharaj's book"I am That", published by Acorn Press on pure silence and share them with you

"Whatever you may have to do, watch your mind. Also you must have moments of complete inner peace and quiet, when your mind is absolutely still. If you miss it, you miss the entire thing. If you do not, the silence of the mind will dissolve and absorb all else."

"It has nothing to do with effort. Just turn away, look between the thoughts, rather than at the thoughts. When you happen to walk in a crowd, you do not fight every man you meet, you just find your way between. When you fight, you invite a fight. But when you do not resist, you meet no resistance. When you refuse to play the game, you are out of it."

"No particular thought can be mind's natural state, only silence. Not the idea of silence, but silence itself. When the mind is in its natural state, it reverts to silence spontaneously after every experience, or, rather, every experience happens against the background of silence."

"To go beyond the mind, you must be silent and quiet. Peace and silence, silence and peace - this is the way beyond. Stop asking questions."

"These moments of inner quiet will burn out all obstacles without fail. Don't doubt its efficacy. Try it. Silence is the main factor. In peace and silence you grow. In peace and silence, the skin of the "I" dissolves and the inner and the outer become one."

"Your hope lies in keeping silent in your mind and quiet in your heart. Realized people are very quiet. You must realize yourself as the immovable behind and beyond the movable, the silent witness of all that happens."

It is is striking to see what Jesus had said on silence. "Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God." If our hearts are filled with uncharitableness and jealousy, we cannot see God. I can spend hours in church, but I will not see God if my heart is not pure. That is why we need silence. In the silence of the heart God speaks and in the purity of the heart God speaks”.
Silence of our eyes Silence of our ears Silence of our mouths Silence of our minds Silence of our hearts

The old woman and the kitten

It was a lazy Sunday morning. I thought I heard a giggle and came out to the balcony to see my young daughter of five years smiling. I asked her what made her smile. She pointed out to an old and emaciated woman squatting outside the church across the road for the alms that visitors generally gave.”Yes, what about the old woman?”I asked

“Mom, don’t you see the small kitten in her hand? She is feeding her the loaf of bread she got. Isn’t it nice of her to take care of a tiny kitten?”

What I saw was a sickly old woman with shrunken face in tattered dirty clothes with a skinny cat. I could not see the love and compassion the old beggar woman had for the kitten and in her sharing the measly loaf she got with a hungry feline. It was only the dirt and sickly condition that stood out prominently for me. But my little girl was happily giggling at such a sight. I asked her “What made you smile?”

“Mom,I would love to keep the cat. We can give it milk and every food we eat. But don’t you think how sweet and kind of the beggar woman in parting with what little she had especially when I saw the other beggars drive that cat away from them. It was this that made me happy and smile at both of them.

It hit me then how different our perspectives were for the same sight. What gave me revulsion gave happiness to my little daughter. The manifestation of love shown to a neglected animal by a beggar who was herself poorer than church mouse was a matter for joy and celebration for her. Happiness is not in acquiring material things or experiencing pleasures of senses but in finding joy in ordinary incidents big or small that we come across. Happiness is seeing beyond the superficial, seeing the beauty in God’s creations, appreciating love and kindness displayed to strangers and many such more however insignificant they may be in our scale of mundane values.“Happiness resides not in possessions and not in gold, the feeling of happiness dwells in the soul.”

While all the learning and knowledge are good possessions to have, they do not always help us experience the joy of seeing innocent love and spontaneous kindness shown to the hapless needy or rejoice at simple pleasures that nature in its beauty and bounty offers. It calls for certain awareness. To be aware is different from to know. Mere knowledge is no awareness. It was good lesson that I learnt that morning from my girl. “Happiness is spiritual, born of Truth and Love. It is unselfish; therefore it cannot exist alone, but requires all mankind to share it.”(Mary Baker Eddy)

Restraining anger

Do you get angry frequently? It could be for a variety of reasons due to perceived injustice or unfair treatment. There is nothing to worry. It is a natural human trait and you are in good company. Even gods and sages from the mythology are known to exhibit this attribute and some of the incarnations (avatars) are manifestations of God’s deep displeasure and anger with some wicked individuals harassing the innocent. He was fiercest in Narasimhavatar when He appeared in part lion part man form out of a stone pillar to tear Hiranyakasibu for tormenting his son Prahlad, a devotee of the Lord. As Rama He came down to earth to kill various demons harassing His devotees and to slay the mighty Ravana when his misdeeds became intolerable. He even got infuriated and took the bow against the Sealord when he proved a hurdle.Krishnavatar is replete with His destroying evil men in anger including his own uncle Kamsa. Bhagavan says in the Gita verse IV 8 Paritranaya sadhunam that He will come, in every yuga (age) for the upliftment of the good and virtuous, for the destruction of evil and for the reestablishment of the natural law. Don’t you remember Ma Kali with her garland of skulls protruding tongue and angry eyes out to kill the bad and evil?

Unless you are an evolved soul, anger for legitimate reason is a normal response accompanied with a desire to react and if possible punish with words or violence. So long as one is within confines of law, anger does not put one at risk with law enforcing authorities. Excessive anger like grinding one’s teeth, eyes becoming bloodshot, shivering, increased heart beats would mean losing control of oneself and may lead to unhappy situations. Suppressing anger by putting a lid over it is also dangerous. What do we do then?

One must always examine why a man is unjust to you and what actions of yours cause his anger. Without this introspection one can turn blind in rage as the other party. Having done this when someone unfairly hurts by word or action, you must express your disapproval and that you are not happy with his action in unmistakable words without raising your voice or employing harsh words. Your disappointment can be made clear without a thought of revenge. The desire to pay back in the same coin may be tempting but best eschewed. Even this expression of disapproval should be done keeping the surroundings and the possible effect in mind. The response to hurtful words or acts should be on your terms and time and not as expected by other party. There is however no place for cowardice.

All said we cannot control people’s reaction. They will tend to meddle in your affairs and say/do unreasonable things. Where they are minor in nature, it is best to ignore them. Unless, the offense is repetitive and intentional, one should stay away from such people where possible. If you treat their actions with contempt they deserve, much room for anger would not be there. Sharing the instances with very near and dear will bring out a dispassionate feedback and can help in removing angularities in your own personality.

Tantrums hardly help but can make one a laughing stock. By sheer practice one can control anger without submitting oneself to insults. A person in control of his emotions in a dignified way is much sought after and becomes popular.The famous Thirukkural has a few guidelines on restraining anger. Some of them are given below.
1.Anger against the weak is wrong/It is futile against the strong.

2.Off with wrath with anyone/It is the source of sin and pain

3.Is there a foe like harmful ire/Which kills the smile and joyful cheer?

4Thyself to save, from wrath away/If not thyself the wrath will slay

5..Wishes he gains as he wishes/If man refrains from rage vicious

6.Dead are they who are anger-fed/Saints are they from whom wrath has fled.

Carrying the cross

I read a story ascribed to one Schiller, a German author that tells once upon a time long long ago birds did not have wings and managed to strut about on their legs. Then God in His infinite mercy threw wings at their feet and asked them to carry the wings on their backs. The birds felt that this was an imposition of a hard job and a burden. Nevertheless they obeyed God and carried what they thought were unwieldy wings. When the wings got attached to their body, they were surprised they could fly easily. What they thought initially a burden turned out to be a boon.

Many of the burdens we bear in life are not by our choice. We often bemoan that we are burdened with hardships more than our share. True things do not seem fair in life when we compare with others and the outcome is not based on the effort one puts in. We know very little of the divine design as the burden could be beneficial as in the above story or it could be to liquidate the past karma if you believe in Karma theory.

We cannot wish away many burdens. The attitude towards the burden can make them seem lighter. In the rural sides when technology had not appeared, the labourers, when they did heavy labour like lifting water from deep well or while dealing with heavy weights, sang a song in unison. The monotony and the heaviness of work would seem bearable. When life's problems seem overwhelming, a song , a prayer or a look around showing others coping with bigger burdens would do the trick
Sometimes we choose a burden willingly to help others in distress. We add burden to ourselves. Such burdens would turn out to be beneficial by divine blessings as the story below would show

“Sadhu Sundar Singh, a Hindu convert to Christianity, became a missionary to his people in India. Late one afternoon Sadhu was traveling on foot through the Himalayas with a Buddhist monk. It was bitterly cold and the wind felt like sharp blades slicing into their skins. Night was fast approaching when the monk warned Sadhu that they were in danger of freezing to death if they did not reach the monastery before darkness fell.

Suddenly, on a narrow path above a steep precipice, they heard a cry for help. At the foot of the cliff lay a man, fallen and badly hurt. The monk looked at Sadhu and said, "Do not stop. God has brought this man to his fate. He must work it out for himself. Let us hurry on before we, too, perish."

But Sadhu replied, "God has sent me here to help my brother. I cannot abandon him."

The monk continued trudging off through the whirling snow, while the missionary clambered down the steep embankment. The injured man's leg was broken and he could not walk, so Sadhu made a sling of his blanket and tied the man on his back. With great difficulty he climbed back up the cliff, drenched by now in perspiration.

Doggedly, Sadhu made his way through the deepening snow and darkness. It was all he could do to follow the path. But he persevered, though faint with fatigue and overheated from exertion. Finally, he saw ahead the lights of the monastery.

Then, for the first time, Sadhu stumbled and nearly fell. But not from weakness. He had stumbled over an object lying in the snow-covered road. Slowly he bent down on one knee and brushed the snow off the object. It was the body of the monk, frozen to death.

Years later a disciple of Sadhu's asked him, "What is life's most difficult task?"

Without hesitation Sadhu replied: ‘To have no burden to carry’."

"Be assured beyond all doubting,

In the trial you're passing through,

That the Lord's great love and mercy

Is at work for good in you."-

Anon.