First Post for 2016 - On gratitude and being a catalyst

NEW YEARS RESOLUTION => GRATITUDE => CATALYST
www.TuheGhouseDiary.com"

Let me start the New Year with gratitude, and a short prayer for the well being of fellow humans and the increasingly inclusive environment that we all live in .

I am what I am today because of others, and so are you. We have to find our own path despite what others say or do to us, blaming others will not change a thing in our lives, but working to improve will increase the chances of getting better.

If we help others do well, we can see how magically it transforms all of us,  it is unbelievable. The bottom line? If you want to do well in life, make sure others do well without demanding or expecting returns or complaining if they don’t appreciate you.

Thanks for the 1200+ birthday and New Years wishes and positive notes in my inbox and 100+ on my facebook wall, it is indeed uplifting! Once again, a very happy new year to you.

Mr. Harbans Lal, my first boss in 1972 was one of the catalysts in my life; he encouraged my writing abilities, whenever I wrote letters for his company. His words echo in my ears even after 40 years that I am a good writer, which I was not.

Life is not that easy though, while most of my bosses uplifted me, two of my bosses were hell bent on pulling me down, no matter what I did, they found faults or downplayed my achievements, at worse dismissed them. They did choose to give credit on insignificant things. Did that pull me down? Hell no, they lost potential supporters for their own business. I wish Bill Gates can go on a speaking tour and let the world know that the more you lift others, the more millionaires you make out of your employees, and more rich you get in fame and fortune.

If you don’t have the ability to see goodness in others, shut up, don’t pull them down… because that is one of the three reasons that pulls you down. Please remember, pulling others down will never raise you up, but uplifting others most certainly uplifts you! I guarantee it.

Today, you can pledge to be a catalyst like Harbans Lal to others, uplift others in whatever endeavors one pursues or has the potential, be a contributor to the well being of your own self and everything that surrounds you; people and environment.

Dr. Mike Ghouse is a motivational speaker,  a community consultant, social scientist, thinker, writer, newsmaker and a speaker on Pluralism, Interfaith, Islam,politics, Terrorism, human rights, India, Israel-Palestine, foreign policy and building cohesive societies. Mike offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. More about him in 63 links at www.MikeGhouse.net and his writings are at TheGhousediary.com

Gratitutde on Sunday Morning

Good morning friends, how many of you get up early in the morning? Its so nice to see the light and the blue skies, particularly through the trees. It is indeed life giving.

I remember Appaiah, the man who had no limbs or arms, he was merely a torso,and all he could do was crawl on his back from door to door for food (in 60'sin India). As a teen I did not understand the purpose of his life, and seriously thought he should commit suicide as there is nothing in life for him.  He cannot marry;he cannot have kids, cannot take baths, cannot wear clothes and simply cannot do a thing other than crawling door to door for food.

After three years of providing him food on Sunday afternoons, I gathered up the courage and asked him, hey Appaiah why do you continue to suffer ( I had become a big Buddha fan then), what is there for you in life?

He took a deep breath, and laughed out loudly - and said, "Son, I have every reason to live my life that is given to me, when it rains, I love to crawl up in the open and smell the fresh rained upon dirt, when I crawl through the streets I love the smell of the food and above all, when I get up in the morning, I love seeing the blue skies and the light.... that had floored me then and I continue to remember him often.

Gratitude is what re-energizes our soul.  If Appaiah can be grateful with nothing ,virtually nothing other than sight, sound, smell and taste, why can’t we be grateful?Being thankful to the system that gave us life, being thankful to God, merely a thought of appreciation of any one who has been good to us like the parents, siblings, spouse, kids and friends will energize us,those who are not good to us can be forgiven at least in our own minds, its powers us up. Those whom you have scores to settle, keep that up, there is plenty in life to be grateful for.

Forgiveness is the most powerful ability we have, we have to use it liberally, we will be the ultimate beneficiary of it. – all this all could happen in our minds and find a release.

Wish you the very best for the day.

Mike Ghouse

www.MikeGhouse.net  

Let us build a better world together, says Mike Ghouse. Here’s how

It is a delight to read my article reformated by my  friend Susan McKenzie,  making the article more meaningful and powerful. Thanks  you Susan - Mike Ghouse

The website is Abe Today
Link: http://abetoday.com/2011/11/06/let-us-build-a-better-world-together-says-mike-ghouse-here%e2%80%99s-how/

November 6, 2011

by Susan McKenzie

WHAT DOES LIVE AND LET LIVE MEAN?
We need to think about this as our neighbours may be of a different religion and culture. In America, Australia, Asia and Europe – your neighbours could be Hindus, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Atheists, Pagans, Wiccans, Zoroastrians and all manner of others as well.

LET A THOUSAND FLOWERS BLOOM
Why should anyone stand up for you, if you are not willing to do the same for others?

THE PLURALISTIC FACTS OF LIFE
Other people follow different beats in their hearts and even if we find it difficult to understand why they don’t embrace our faith we should respect their way of life.

LEVELS OF ACCEPTANCE
We may not want to take part in the prayers and ceremonies of Jewish, Muslim or Hindu religions if we are Christian, but we should have enough respect in our hearts to realize that devout Jews, Muslims and Hindus could never be expected to become Christians, or embrace all aspects of secular culture.

EXTENDING RESPECT
We should also respect Christians and others who are prepared to attend the prayer sessions of other religions because they believe in pluralism, harmony and as a way of showing respect to others.

ACTION FOR GOOD AND GODLINESS
In fact, these actions confirm our beliefs in the overall goodness of religion. Embracing our fellow man and partaking in his religious ceremonies actually gets us closer to God. Think about it – what would you be doing if you were not doing that? You might be at a ball game (nothing wrong with that) or watching television (nothing wrong with that either), but if you are in a Temple of God, a Mosque of God or a Church of God then you are drawing nearer to God.

DRAW NEARER TO GOD AND GOODNESS
Jesus (PBUH) was a Jew and worshipped in synagogues – if what is good enough for Jesus, it must also be good enough for us. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) also worshipped God with non-Muslims. Hinduism may not be about one God but nevertheless we could look upon this religion as encompassing all aspects of God from different perspectives. At the very least it is about holiness and respect and that can only be good.

WHY WE SHOULD BUILD UP OTHER’S FAITHS
Look at your world – do we have enough Godliness in it? The world would be so much better if everyone had a religion and practised it as best they could. We should make it our life purpose to build up Godliness in all and that includes respecting and supporting all religion.

WHAT EACH FAITH IS
Mike Ghouse: Each faith is dear to the believer and no faith is superior to the other either. Faith is about humility. All faiths are designed to bring solace to its followers. Religion is a mechanism that gives hopes and restores one’s balance with what surrounds one; people and the environment.

LET US BUILD A BETTER WORLD BLESSING
B: Building up should be our aim in life. Build up the Godliness within us and then we can help others.
L: Live and let live, because living in a respectful way leads on to building better communities and societies.
E: Embrace Godliness by showing respect to all good and wholesome religions. Every major religion (Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hinduism, Buddhism and more) have good and wholesome values at their core.
S: Show respect and make this a better world.
S: Showing respect will increase the amount of respect in this world, including respect for your beliefs and religion.

Y: You are an ambassador of your religion if you say you have a religion, so do remember to be the best ambassador that you can be.
O: Our world will be so much nicer if we put respect at the forefront of our understanding of the practices by people with other religions. Other people follow different beats in their hearts and even if we can’t understand why they don’t embrace our faith we should respect their way of life. Our heart should be a heart of respect.
U: Understand the interplay of religion and culture and seek to increase the understanding in the world by being the personification of the good aspects of your religion.

BEST BLESSING: Building respect leads on to building understanding and with understanding we may have more respect. Respect and understanding leads to a more harmonious society – a more peaceful society where more people can operate together and flourish. Will you help in this grand scheme of building up society in this way? Encourage everyone to practice their religion by really respecting the practice of religion generally. Godliness and being godly and goodly in our natures is what makes the world a better place.

SOURCE OF THIS POSTING
http://mikeghouseforindia.blogspot.com/2011/11/bigotry-against-hinduism-in-kentucky.html
Mike Ghouse is a speaker, thinker and a writer committed to build a cohesive America and offers pluralistic solutions on issues of the day. His work is fully indexed at www.MikeGhouse.net

Susan McKenzie is an English teacher with over 20 years teaching experience. Susan has worked in the British Council and Linguaphone, well-known language teaching organizations. Susan is a London-trained lawyer, and has also been an editor in an international book publishing house and a national magazine. In her teens, Susan was a Sunday School teacher and in 2006 was appointed as an Ambassador of Peace by the Universal Peace Federation and Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace. Susan is also a co-author of two law books: English Legal System and Company Law, published by Blackstone, Oxford University Press. For enquiries about the IELTS, practical English and pronunciation courses Susan teaches, email susanmckenzie2003@yahoo.co.uk. FOR DAILY BLESSINGS: www.abetoday.com