Notes by Om Shreejay

Story

There was a farmer who complained about his land a lot because he had so much land that he had to put up a fence to know which was his land. When he looked outside he couldn’t see his cows,and when he tried walking from the barn to his house it was hard because it was dark and he had a lot of land. He also complained about the lake because it had too many fish.

So he decided he was going to move to some place better and called his real estate agent to sell his land.

As the farmer was reading a newspaper the next day, he saw an advertisement for a nice house in a beautiful place — it had a lake, fish, a classic barn, beautiful flowers, had good hills, great grass and it came with a wonderful herd of cows! It was next to a town where one could buy groceries. The farmer was so happy because this was exactly the house he wanted to move to.

After reading the ad for a second and a third time, he realized that the real estate agent had actually listed his own house and property in this ad!

So the farmer called his real estate agent and told him that he was already living in the best place possible and did not need to move!

Lesson from the story

It is easy to complain and be frustrated with our current situation. Think about how our current situation would look to an outsider. This gives us a new perspective on our situation that tells us that things are not as bad as we think. We forget about all the things we already have that we take for granted.

Virtue for this week

This week we studied the virtue of CONTENTMENT.

Om santushtaya namaha — which means “I admire the one who is always CONTENT.”

Reflect — How many things have you wanted in your life? How many of these things have you got?

Lesson — We will never get everything we want e.g. not everyone can come first in a race.

Think about all the things that you have that you take for granted — a pillow to sleep on, good food to eat, water to drink, space to play. Many people do not have these basic things.

Remember all that you already have. This is called GRATITUDE.

Practice and its significance

Take 5 minutes to write down everything that you appreciate and are grateful for about your parents.

Then find your parents and tell them what you wrote down.

How did you think your parents felt when you read your list to them? Happy, loving.

How did you feel sharing this with your parents? Happy, good!

This teaches us that all we need is to remember what we already have, just like the farmer in the story. Everyone’s happiness is not outside of us, our happiness is us. When we practice being grateful, we invoke the happiness that is us. This is what CONTENTMENT is.

Questions & Answers

If someone is bothering you and they don’t stop even after you ask them to, what should you do?

1. Ask them to please stop bothering you
2. If they don’t stop, talk to an adult about it.
3. Understand that others are also struggling — this could be because they are being bothered or troubled by others. Try to put yourself in their shoes. This makes it easier for you to face challenges and forgive even those who are bothering you.

RAW for the week

Each day before you sleep, write down 3 things that you are grateful for. Keep this list by your bed.

First thing in the morning before you get out of bed, read what you were grateful for and start your day feeling CONTENT!

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Notes by Pranavi Ananthanarayanan

Story

Once there was a farmer who always kept complaining about all things in life. He complained about a lake how dirty it was. One night he was working and starting to get overwhelmed with all the farm work. So he decided to leave and not stay in the house anymore and to get a new house. Next day, he called the farm seller to sell his farm. But then he suddenly noticed an advertisement about a house which had a very good description. He read more than once and in the third time he realized that it was his own house that was beautifully described by a women. He was sad how he treated his house and the animals in the farm. He then decided to stay in his own house and be happy and grateful for what he has.

Lesson: Sometimes we need a new perspective on how we see things.

We all take everything for granted which is not good.

Virtue:

Santushta : I admire the one who is content (grateful for)

Practice: Write 3 things about your parents and why you are grateful to them.

RAW : Every night before you go to sleep write 3 things what you are grateful for and in the morning read the 3 things that you wrote and start the day.