February 7 2024

Notes by Om Shreejay

Review: 

Last week we heard the story of Kiran who was stuck in a freezer at an ice cream factory. Anything he thought of would appear, but not people he loved. As he got colder and closer to his last breath, the security guard came in and saved him. The guard told him that one of the best parts of his day was being greeted by Kiran. The guard remembered not being greeted by Kiran that evening and came in to check on him as he appreciated the relationship he had developed with Kiran from the simple daily greeting. Kiran’s relationship with the security guard saved his life! 

This story taught us that we should value relationships more than things. 

Our RAW was to say Hi to someone you don’t know, which helped us practice valuing relationships. 

Story: 

Long ago there was a magical place that held the world’s greatest treasures. This place was on the map for everyone to find. All you needed to do to enter was to be a good person. 

One day two young friends, Jeeva and Isha, went to find their fortune at the magical place. They found themselves in a beautiful garden decorated with many statues that looked real. As Jeevan looked closer, he observed how sad the statues were. But then he remembered what he had come there for and moved forward. He came to the entrance to a large forest where there stood two large statues, one very angry and one very happy. There was an inscription that said, “Tell the statue about your goodness. Then you may enter.” 

Jeeva said, “I’m a good person. I’ve never caused anyone harm, and no one has ever complained about me.” After a long silence, the statue with the happy face came to life, stepped down and said, “Excellent! Your goodness is perfect for this place. The statues here too have never caused anyone any harm just like you.” As this happened, Jeeva turned into a statue, but he could still see, hear, and feel. 

On the other hand, Isha was so moved by how sad the statues were that he reached out to touch the face of the statues hoping he could help them. He realized their faces were alive and thought they may have been imprisoned there by a curse. He saw a fountain and tried to parch their thirst by giving them water, completely forgetting why he had come there in the first place. He also saw Jeeva trapped as a statue, but he couldn’t do anything to free him. 

Finally overcome by sadness, Isha came to the entrance of the large forest with the two large statues and the inscription between them. He ignored the inscription thinking he could defend his good deeds some other time and instead asked, “Please help me save my friend and the statues trapped by the curse.” 

The statue with the angry expression came to life, grumbling as he awoke and said, “What rotten luck! Here we have one who isn’t a statue. We’ll just have to let him go and he can take one statue with him.” 

Isha brought Jeeva back to life and hugged him. The trees of the forest opened to let them into the magical place. However, Jeeva told Isha that they must save all the other statues first. They went back and demanded that all the statues be freed. As this happened, hundreds of people arose to join them to go to the magical place. 

Lesson from Story: 

This story helps us reflect on what being a good person means. Simply living our lives to not do wrong and not receiving complaints does not make us a good person. Being a good person is living to support those around us because others have been supporting you. 3 Ls of a good person –

1. A good person is one who lives up to what is right – values such as honesty, kindness, discipline. 
2. A good person is always learning – takes the time to think before acting and to ask people who know more for help, as it is not always easy to know if you are doing what is right. Jeeva thought about his choices when he was stuck as a statue and observed Isha doing the right thing. This made him go back to free all the other statues. Jeeva learned from Isha to do the right thing. We should learn from teachers by paying attention and be open to learning from everyone. For example, we can learn from ants how to work hard and to work as a team. 
3. A good person is one who leaves things better than when they found it – constantly supports others.   

Activity: 

First Friend Dwija asked us to pick our favorite Happy Hour value/virtue. Think about how that value/virtue affects your daily life in a positive way – in the way you feel about it, not trying to please others or not hurt them. Then think about the opposite of the value/virtue and how that would affect your daily life in a negative way. Keep your virtue in mind and see if you can see it in others.

RAW:

When you see someone being a good person (remember 3Ls), remember it and write it down. Do this at least once a day. 

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