Shroro

The Syriac Orthodox Christian Digest - September, 2005

Creative Living - Part 4

By Rev. Fr. Shyjan Kuriakose

THINGS THAT YOU SHOULD ALWAYS TAKE CARE

1. No body will like critics and advisors:

What is advice? We can give it in abundance without incurring any sort of expenses. Kids expect favorable considerations from their elders. We will find it in everybody; some good qualities which deserve appreciation and we should not be short of providing it.

2. Avoid anger:

If we couldn’t do better anger management, the number of our friends will decrease.

3. Never become pessimistic:

These people see only the dark side of everything. (We should be able to think that half-full box is not a half-empty one) They are always wet blankets. When we look outside our window, are we seeing only the dirty mud? Raise our head and look wide, we can see the clear blue sky and stars.

4. Our noble thoughts make us:

My heart is a garden and my thoughts are the seeds which I saw there. A mind full of evil thoughts makes that life also evil. Good fruits are produced by a good tree only. I reap what I saw.

5. Be a good friend and win a good friend:

There are hundreds of our class mates, but how many of them do we remember now? We may remember a few. Why is that? They might have a special influence on us at some times. Remember! It is a great thing if we can be a remembered flower enriching any of your friends’ heart. Good behavior wins good friendship. We will have more sincere friends. Learn to control our tongue.

6. Learn to Laugh.

A good smile contains health and wealth. When we laugh, the world will laugh with us. But we may be alone when we cry. Some people cannot smile even if they pose for a photograph. We have seen how nicely a smiling shopkeeper receives a customer to his shop. We should know how to laugh even at our home.

Conclusion:

Fish in an aquarium do not know the depth and width of the sea. The bird kept in the cage does not know the songs of the jungle nor of the wind. Our children should grow knowing many things. It is much better to know the call of hunger and wetness of cold once in a while in our life – it will help us to nurture our way of living in compassion to our fellow creatures. Wake up the mind and spirit. Make use of it. The idle iron gets rusted. It is the blocked water that gets polluted. Make good use of the surroundings where we are. We may not be able to shine like stars, but we can be sure as a firefly.

And my concluding words to students: Crow's sight, Crane's meditation and Dog’s slumber takes you to perfection.