Inner Peace 2 - The Umpire Strikes Back

Continuation from Inner Piece 1 - A New Hope...

Ever wonder how things will be like if you only had one more day on earth? Nature becomes more beautiful than ever before, simple things in life would bring about great pleasure, you'll fight for every chance just to spend quality time with family and friends, build better relationships. You'd probably smile at everyone and that is because your senses are sharper.

Change

Obama said: Change has come tonight. I wish him, America and the world well. Often, people wanted change because they got tired of the same things. The new President will have his hands full. Six months down the road, can all the good things come and be sustained? Just like you and me. Can we change and sustain? Our world becomes how we choose to make it. You can achieve success or just accept a miserable life beyond hope. It's our choice.

When one takes positive action, a powerful force is released for a more fulfilling life be it love, family, friends, health, career and all true riches. To change the world, change yourself. Change must be effected from inside out like your golf swing. You must begin with yourself. The very things and behaviour of other people that you criticised and dislike would remain and grow stronger and more dominant if you don't change yourself since we have a bit of all other people's fault. 


Changing yourself for the better will also help influence people whom you come into contact with. It then gives a multiplier effect. Change can also be effected on the dark side of things. Being pretentious, putting on false fronts, etc. Watch for people who ask questions without offering you any information. There was once a woman who asked God to protect her and bless her with a long life then to prepare herself for that long life she went on to do all the cosmetic surgery. One day, while crossing a road, she got hit by a car and died.

When she met God she reminded Him that He had promised her a long life so why take me here? God looked at her for quite awhile and said: Sorry, I couldn't recognise it was you.

Character

Your thoughts shall become words and words become actions and your actions become habits and habits become character and your character becomes your destiny. If one does not build positive traits in character, success cannot endure. It is impossible to fake good character as it can be easily spotted as there is no substance or ability to sustain your phony. You must have a strong desire to be good, honest and considerate at first. Taking this path will enable you to do the right things simply because it is the right thing to do regardless of the circumstances.

Are you the kind of person you would like to have as a friend? Do you consider the feelings of others or just of yourself? When things go wrong, do you look for solutions or point a finger? Build character not reputation. Your character is your reputation. People of good character are noble and their word is their bond. They are leaders that others turn to for help and guidance because they have consistently shown that they care and can be trusted. 


Others respect you when you respect your commitments even when it is not convenient to do so. You are reliable and dependable. Taking any ethical shortcuts is not a good character trait. You do what is right even when everyone else may not. Sometimes, others may misunderstand you. If your foundation is strong, you need not be too concerned as others will soon find out the truth. Spend time constantly on self-inspection. 


The moment you deceive yourself is the end of your good character. You'll quickly decline to a level where you justify unacceptable behaviour. Step back and observe yourself. If you have sincere conviction that you are a person of sound character, a caring, kind, dependable and an honest person, you need not worry or fear. Thomas Jefferson said that a majority is one man with the courage of his convictions. I remember teachers were fond of saying this during our primary school exams: "When you cheat, you are cheating yourself." They couldn't be more right.

Reflection

In Greek mythology, Greek God Narcissus looked into the waters, saw his own reflection and fell in love with himself. How many of us are like that, being in love with oneself being self absorbed.In circumspect, shouldn't we reflect upon ourselves not in self admiration but to look at ourselves honestly and see our own flaws to correct and improve upon them and to eliminate these flaws. 


At the end of each day before you sleep, do you lift your pillow higher to reflect upon what you have said or done the whole day. All you need is to single out one good deed and a bad one and determine what you could have done differently to change the outcome from a bad one to good and a good one to an even better one. You will find that there are so many things that could have been better so many times.

Trust

Before anyone enter into a relationship, there is the question of trust.

Can you be trusted and do you really care? The answer depends on the person's previous experience with other partnerships either business or personal and the confidence that develops between you. Trust involved relationships that are committed to ensure success and happiness. It is fragile and takes a very long time to build but can be easily shaken or completely destroyed overnight. Years of good relationship cannot be guaranteed to endure and can be irreparably damaged by a thoughtless act or some unkind or insensitive words. Never speak or act in haste or let your emotion or ego cause you to loose sight of this principle. It is a two-way thing. Founded on equality, it becomes an extremely powerful relationship.

You Reap What You Sow 

You Reap what you sow can be interpreted in several ways but the meaning is all encompassing and is universal principle. The Chinese says: Plant melons you get melons, plant beans you get beans. In work parlance, you have to work (sow) before you can get the results, the harvest (reap). It means you can't sit there and whine but you have to act. Whether you are a farmer, an office worker or a businessman, this principle holds true at all times. 


Put in the efforts and you will get the results. It can be your exams, career, relationships. It also means that what you dished out to others you will get back. If you have been unfair, caused hurt, created injustice, favouritism, scheming against others or evil then you have planted negativity and seeds that are contaminated. 


Conversely, if you had been kind, compassionate, helpful, a peacemaker, encourage, bring cheer, motivate and create postive outcomes then you have planted good seeds. You reap what you sow when it is harvest time. A single seed will grow into a big tree which will bear fruits, many fruits. Your harvest is seven fold, ten fold and many folds and you will reap them. One must always ensure that every seed that you plant is a good one so that come harvest time you get back many blessings. If you sow a bad seed, I dare not imagine when you start to reap rotten fruits in great numbers. Some people simply call it retribution.

Giving

The soil is barren unless seeds are carefully planted and nurtured. The relationship between giving and receiving is a constant in all things. If you want success, you must invest your time to earn a return. You have to give before receiving. If you cheerfully do your best before asking for any compensation, you can expect a bountiful harvest of the greatest rewards life has to offer. Money is the root of all evil as they say. But money itself is nothing. It is the love of money that can lead to all evil. Money has no character, no personality, no values. Its actions only reflect the desires of its owner. 


Money can build great hospitals and schools, or it can be gambled away or squandered on meaningless possessions. Money may build museums to house beautiful works of art, it may construct beautiful houses of worship or it may be used to create instruments of war and destruction. As you build your personal wealth, make sure you build your character by setting aside a portion of your income to help others. Choose a church, a charity, or a cause that you can enthusiastically support. Then give of your money and your time in support of that cause. The primary beneficiary of such noble actions is always the one who gives, not the one who receives. Another universal truth.

Power

If you have to tell people that you are powerful or you throw your weight around then you are not. Name dropping or threatening is too passe. It doesn't work.

Truly great leaders are respected by the way they conduct themselves and not by shouting orders. You get respect by respecting others. The application of the Golden Rule in treatment of people will win you undying loyalty. Prove yourself worthy if you expect to have authority over others. Demonstrate and show people that you care and that as their leader you will always look after them. A great leader makes sure that his men are provided for before he takes care of his own needs. In a haste to get to the top, many forgot these lessons. Leadership by example is one of the greatest and most powerful influence. People do what you do not what you say.

Honesty & andTruth

The truth is it requires less effort to be truthful than to be deceitful.

But human behaviour is complex and in today's get-rich-quick society, boundaries of acceptable hehaviour has become harder to distinguish until they become completely blurred. Laws establish minimum standards on codes of ethics. What about your own codes of conduct to exceed such minimum standards where you will not allow yourself to fall below no matter what happens or what other people do or say? When you have this quality of an in-built defence, it helps you to quickly decide what is appropriate even in a difficult situation and preserve your integrity.

People sometimes cheat or steal little things selling their souls for a pittance. It is not restricted to material things but in relationships too. Somoeone who stole your idea or whom you may have helped but they have forgotten and turned to bite you. At no time should you do back the same things to them because to these individuals, dishonest behaviour is a way of life. You cannot match them in experience or do it as naturally and when you do, you effectively become like them. 

That would be like bringing a curse unto yourself. When a person lies about insignificant things or cheats a little, they would need to tell a bigger lie or cheat more the next time since each time they have to conceal the previous ones. Soon enough, without even realising it, it is in them. Even a lie can assume a life of its own.

In honesty, there are only absolutes. You are either honest or you are not. It is a reward in itself and does not come at a price. Honest people never have to worry who they lied to or getting caught. They have a free mind to go about doing other meaningful things instead of concocting all kinds of lies. Don't take that first step away from the truth or take something that is not yours and you will never ever have to worry. Do not forget that people sometimes talk in their sleep and if you cheat or lie, all your secrets may be revealed when you talk in your sleep. Haha, gotcha!!

Hey Guru, I have a question: So why shouldn't people lie?

Answer: Because it is impossible to conceal the truth. It is the way the universe works whereby the truth will eventually come out in the open. It is not a matter of will it be known but when it will spill out. And in all kinds of spillages, you can expect any spillage to be spectacular such as when you spill your tomato soup or your wine on a new carpet. And spillages happened when you least expected it. A business or personal relationship will not endure long if built upon a lie but when founded on truth and equality, the benefits and power of such allied forces is unlimited. Make it a habit to be honest even on the smallest things so that it resides in you. Don't wait for the day when the whole world discovered the truth about you!

We have seen soccer players abusing or attacking referees but once I caught the news of a referee attacking a soccer player by punching him. I'm not asking you to do that. When we are enagaged in an argument or dispute, no matter how impartial we are, we will be seen as on the other side. It doesn't help when we could not even compromise or settle even when it seems fairly doable. So let us learn to step out from our original position and look at things with greater clarity without allegiance or bias to either teams. In other words, see it like a referee and umpire. Then go back and make a solution and decision with the view resembling more like those of an umpire. Then let The Umpire Strikes back!