Stepping - Not 'Stopping stones

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STEPPING – NOT ‘STOPPING’ STONES-Vasuki mahal

There

is a fable which says that God called his special angels and gave them

seeds and told them to scatter them over the earth. The Evil One,

hearing about the seeds, called his little special demons, and gave

them dirt. He instructed them to go out and cover up the seeds to stop

them from growing.But the " obstacle " didn’t work in the way the

Evil One had planned. Instead, the dirt helped to grow into sturdy,

healthy plants. They never would have been able to reach their full

maturity without the dirt.So it is with people. Our failures and disappointments can help us to grow. Our setbacks can make us reach higher; but only if we look at them with a positive viewpoint; only if we use the obstacles in our way as stepping stones, and not ‘stopping’ stones.

Adopting

the positive view point does not mean ignoring the problems that

confront you, and pretending that they do not exist. But it does mean

facing them squarely and asking yourself, " What can I do about this? "

And then going ahead and following constructive thought with

constructive action.The negative thinker, when presented with

an obstacle or problem, let his mind become so filled with thoughts of

self-pity that he has neither the incentive nor the energy to do

anything to solve his problem. He is too busy trying to solve the

riddle of Why did this happen to me? As long as he continues to try to

figure that out he will be going in circles and digging a deeper

negative rut for himself.People who are successful have reached

that success not because life was without its problems, but because

they viewed those problems with the positive approach. Their problems helped them to grow into success, just as the dirt helped the seedlings to grow.

Several

years ago, as a member of senior high school class, I visited the Dow

Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan. The class was given a grand tour

of the thriving company’s buildings. I didn’t know then about the

positive spirit on which the company was founded.Herbert Dow

had discovered a way of obtaining potassium bromide from brine by using

the electrolysis method. This discover had great potentialities, but it

needed perfecting. The bromide made by this method had too many

impurities. As a result, few sales were made, and the company failed

financially. Within a short time, however, Dow formed another company,

with the idea of perfecting his original discovery.But one

night an accident happened that proved to be the turning point for the

company. An employee was supposed to be watching the kettles to see

that the liquids in them did not overflow. However, when he learned

that something was wrong in the engine room, he went to check, leaving

the kettles unguarded. When he came back the liquid had boiled so long

that there was only fused salts in the bottom of the kettles.Mr.

Dow, hearing this, could have fired the employee or become angry or

wasted time in self-pity that this had happened to him. But he did none

of these. Instead of berating the employee for the accident, he

immediately asked about the results. What did the residue in the

kettles show?He checked samples from the kettles and found that

they had the purity for which he had been searching through many

experiments! His positive approach to difficult situation led him to

success.Such an open mindedness often leads to new opportunities.

You will not be able to see the opportunities, of course, if you rivet

your thoughts on the negative aspects of a situation. In worrying and

complaining about a situation you don’t like, you are using precious

energy and time that could be used in finding a solution to the problem.We

have to work at being positive-minded. It is often a test of faith to

look through a problem or situation, knowing that somewhere there is a

solution, even though the appearance for the time being is to the

contrary. It is also requires persistence, especially when you are in

the company of negative thinkers and talkers. Not long ago a woman said

to me, " Oh, I could keep my viewpoint lifted if I were around positive

mined people. But this family of mine – honestly they’re always talking

down, and I catch it from them. " Thoughts are contagious. Other

persons’ thoughts and words can uplift or downgrade yours. It is well

to be with positive minded persons as much as you can, but like the

woman quoted above you may be frequently in the company of negative

thinkers. What then?You can learn to immunize yourself against

negative mental contagion. Here again mental discipline must be

practiced. You can deliberately attempt to keep your thoughts on the

positive side; you can deliberately try to see the good of the

situation, regardless of what the other person is thinking or saying.Alphonse Karr has said, " Some people are always grumbling that roses have thorns. I am thankful that thorns have roses. "

Try

to make it a habit to be a positive thinker; Whether you are a positive

or negative thinker is largely a matter of habit. It is the way you

habitually see things, so why not try to see them in their best light?The

English writer Samuel Johnson wrote 200 years ago: " The habit of

looking on the best side of every event is worth more than a thousand

pounds a year. " You may not be able to become a positive thinker

overnight, but you can work daily at the " becoming " and see

improvement. Your faith in God and in good is your greatest bulwark

against negativity.As your faith becomes stronger and your

mental discipline becomes greater, others’ negation will have less and

less affect you. Their gloomy words and views will no longer have the

power to pull you down to their level. In fact, in many cases you will

be able to draw them up into a higher level of thought and freshen the

atmosphere.I have a friend who is a master at this. She not

only refuses to be drawn into a negative conversation but exerts her

own exuberant personality and joy so that anyone who is with her is

lifted up mentally and spiritually.The positive minded person

refuses to respond meekly to the negative. Instead of reacting

passively to it, letting the problem or situation have the upper hand,

he does the acting on it. He takes the initiative. He does something

about it, either to improve or solve the problem.Lydia O’Leary

was born with a problem. She came into this world with a large red

birthmark on her face. Surgery could not help her. For many years Miss

O’Leary reacted negatively to this birthmark, and became immersed in an

inferiority complex. But later, she began to act on the problem. She

worked with a chemist to try to find a special cosmetic that would

cover the mark. They eventually discovered and developed a preparation

that completely covered birthmarks and other skin discolourations. the

cosmetic could not be detected, not would it rub off.This was

Miss O’Leary’s positive answer to her own problem. Her life was changed

because of it. To help others who were afflicted with similar skin

discoloration she began to manufacture her cosmetic.She was

requested by doctors to demonstrate her product in hospitals. Many war

veterans and others found that her discovery was an answer to their own

particular problem.So often when a person reacts positively to

his problems others are helped of benefited in some way. Lovers of

Beethoven’s music would never have had that to enjoy of Beethoven had

reacted negatively to his deafness. He would not let deafness be the

master and keep him from composing music. He was the master of the situation.

In

June 1952, the play " Wish You Were Here " opened on Broadway. The

critics were blunt about their lack of enthusiasm for it, and for the

first month the play lost money.This was a blow to its producer

Joshua Logan, but he didn’t sit and mope about it. He recognized the

problem – the play did have low spots that, no doubt, had dampened the

critics’ views.Then he acted to remedy the problem. He called

the author Arthur Kober and the composer Harold Rome and the three of

them worked out revisions, which improved the play greatly and made it

a hit. " It’s never been done – remaking a play after the opening. " Joshua Logan said, " but I decided to do it – and it worked. "

The positive approach has " pulled many chestnuts out of the fire " and solved many problems.

The negative approach has never accomplished anything, and had only

caused headaches, ulcers, and general misery. The choice is yours as to

which approach you will take.If

you choose the positive your home, your work, your entire environment

will reflect a lighter, happier atmosphere. Your faith in life, your

belief in the good, will enrich not only your own life but the lives of

others.With Love,Ganesh Babahttp://kriyababa.blogspot.com/To get spiritual mails

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