Perspective

 Myself Jyotima, When i was very young i was diagnosed with disease names Takayashu. I was always sick and moving around doctors. I used to complain a lot, crib, cry and use to ask “ Why Me”. Why i have to suffer so much, why I am going thru all this. Why can’t i live a normal life. My life became a life of a victim. While this was all going there was so much good also happening in my life. My supportive parents, my well paying job,good life style, beautiful home,  my loving husband ,adorable kids and caring friends all around, which i never noticed and appreciated. In year 2010 when my health deterioted and life got me the situation where i could see death very closely , i got the awakening and realisation of life , how blessed i was. Every breathe was so precious , every moment is a blessing which i spent in complaining . That was a turning time in my life which shaped my perspective of life and started practicing “ Gratitude” for my every breathe. I start my day saying “ Thank you God i am alive”. Today i am grateful Life Coach helping people to practice gratitude  and live a happy blissful abundant life. Life is so beautiful, count your blessings. Thank you thank yiu thank you,  magical word. 

 The world is how we see it. What lense we are using shapes the experience of the world we live in. The poor man in this story saw his world, the small  house he lives in with his wife and  his six children sleeping in the small room as a source of  his misery. When his house was filled with chickens,a goat and a cow he realized how much misrable he became. Now he gained another perspective to look at the same house he lived in. This new and different perspective changed his old perspective. How we look at our life and  how we relate to it makes a big diifference.Our awareness of our perspective shapes our expereince. Mindful awareness helps us to create a clear perspective of living with deep contentment with the world we live in.Our house becomes a home.

When I was growing up in a family composed of four brothers, three sisters and parents living in  a small house, We did not feel miserable. We learnt the art of living by living  in a small houe without grudging , comparing and complaining. This way of growing up shaped my perspective of living mindfully and happily with conentment.
My freedom lies iin my way of looking at who I am and what I have without comparing  myself with others. I have not felt superior or inferior to others. I reconize and value the inner qualities of people in my life. I admire those qualities without me feeling low or high. Such a way of living has eneriched my life internally and harmoniously.
Namaste.
Jagdish P Dave

 We become the stories we tell and focus upon. I love this folktale and used to tell it when I performed for families at libraries and schools. :) In my own life I am currently wrestling with the idea of relocating out of Washington DC where I moved 4 years ago. I keep asking myself, "am I seeing the full picture" or am I focusing on a negative perspective: is it really too "noisy" here with the current political atomsphere and activism that's now nearly 24/7? I ask myself to remember all the good here too: the amazing Burning Man and couchsurfing communities, the deeply heartfelt All Souls Unitarian church I attend. The fact that it's a walkable city. My housemates whom I lovingly refer to as the Golden Girls as they are in their 70s and 80! So many blessings. And yes, DC is tough to live in at the moment too. So I meditate and pray and ask, "what is best for my heart and soul" and may I see the full picture with gratitude too. I hope this helps... :) To shape perspective in a broader sense I also myself, "what story are you telling yourself about this situation? and "might there be another story?" <3