March 13 2024
Notes by Om Shreejay
Review:
Last week we heard the story of a boy Jeeva and his mother, who was blind in one eye. Jeeva was embarrassed by his mother’s disability and would complain, however she would say nothing. She cried as her son thought of being rich and successful far away from her mother. Later Jeeva became rich and successful and left his mother behind. One day, Jeeva’s mother came to his home, and he pretended to not even know her as his family enquired who she was. As she walked away, she smiled happily. Later Jeeva was invited to a class reunion back home and was excited to show his friends how successful he had become. After this he went to his old house and saw his mother’s diary on the table. It said that she didn’t have much time left due to her sickness. She said her impending death didn’t matter as she received everything she ever wanted in her life. She wanted her son to get what he wanted – to be happy, rich, and successful, which he did. His mother said, “I forgive him for all the pain he has caused me, for taking what I have done for him for granted. I’m glad that when he got hurt as a child, I was able to give him one of my eyes so he could have two eyes.”
We learned his mother embodied sacrifice. Sacrifice is when we are dedicated to something greater than ourselves. It empowers us to live up to our values, convictions, and purpose. His mother’s purpose was his happiness.
We learned the son embodied compromise. Compromise is when we forget what is really important, which we do when we are want worldly things (e.g., wealth, fame, success), and forget what is most valuable (e.g., our relationships, values, virtues). Compromise is when we hold on to the lower and let go of the higher.
Our RAW from last week was to write a note to each of our family members thanking them for all what they have done and are doing for us. Sumanji shared how his mother kept the letters he and his sister had written to them in a safe.
Story:
Jeeva lived in an awesome futuristic house that had everything he could ever want. Jeeva didn’t help around the house at all. He was extremely happy when his parents bought home a “Robot Butler”. The robot did all the work at home. It found all Jeeva’s things that he had misplaced. It cleaned up his usually dirty and messy room. But now since everything was neat he couldn’t find his things in the place where he normally kept them. In his normal messy life, he knew where everything was, but now he didn’t. He started to follow the Robot Butler around and felt that it was hiding and stealing his things. He complained to his parents about this, but his parents didn’t believe him. So, he decided to take pictures of the Robot Butler. The Robot Butler hears all his complaints and explained to him “I didn’t know it would bother you. I calculated that since those things were on the floor, they were not valued by you. I am programmed to take things that you do not value and give them to people who really value and take care of them.” Hearing this, Jeeva felt ashamed by how he treated his things as useless and wasteful. He realized that he felt more organized and lighter as his room became more organized. He understood that the Robot Butler was not programmed wrong, but it was him that needed reprogramming.
Lesson from Story:
- Organize the external – We should not take our possessions for granted. We should take care of all the things that we have – for everything a place and everything in its place. Being organized is important so that when we need something, it is accessible to us. This makes us more efficient. Tidy up to make things more accessible.
- Organize the internal – Use a planner to track your goals, responsibilities, steps to achieve them. This helps us move things from our mind and makes us feel lighter. Plan and lighten your mind.
Also, we should manage our wants so that we have what we need and need what we want. We should make our wants the things that we need.
Activity:
First Friend Dwija asked us to find a place at home that isn’t organized or messy. Think about what you could throw, give to someone else and see what you could change.
Declutter your life and mind – be light!
RAW:
Pick your space (e.g., your room/drawer/closet) and tidy it each day.
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