The way of life

“If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane!”

- Robert Frost

Smile and laughter

Laughter is a great gift that is offered to human race. For a man to be healthy in his mind he needs to be happy. Laughter is an expression that the person is happy. If you laugh

you will be healthy.

In the previous chapters, I have told you what are all the important things that you need to know for weight reduction and to stay healthy. But this chapter, even though being the last, is the important among all. If your thoughts are good then your actions will be good.

From actions arises your habit. This habit makes your character, which ultimately determines your life. To have a healthy mind set, try to be happy. There is a fa mous quote

that I have heard. It goes like this…

“Victory come s to those who are happy!”

If you want victory in life, then try to be happy. Most of the problems are caused to man are because of inability of the man to be happy. I you want a good mind, good body and

a good life be happy.

Why are people unhappy?

People are mo stly unhappy because they expect something and if they don‟t get it, they feel unhappy. Whether it is wea lth or health or so mething that a man desires, if he doesn‟t

get it then, he loses his happiness. So how can one be happy?

Here I have shared some of the ideas that you need to keep them in your mind always.

Remember always!

No fear

I have seen this wording pasted as a sticker in most bikes and cars. But what I tell is that this must have been pasted in your heart. Fear arises when we are not ready to face the

problem. When we don‟t have an idea about a thing that is going to happen, then fear arises. To prevent this fear all you have to do is to face the problem with confidence. Most

problems will go away without affecting us when we are ready to face it.

This parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer‟s well. The farmer heard the mule praying or whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his

neighbours together, told them what had happened, and enlisted them to help haul dirt

to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.

Initially the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbours continued

shovelling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of d irt landed on his back, he would shake it off and step up!

This he did, blow after b low. “Shake it o ff and step up…shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up!” He repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or how distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought panic and just kept right on

shaking it off and stepping up!

It wasn‟t long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well! What seemed like it would bury him actually helped him, all because

of the manner in which he handled his adversity.

If we face our proble ms positively, w ithout fear, then we will win.

Change your fo cus and choose happiness

Life is full of choices. If you need happiness in your life, then choose happiness. There are

always alternates fo r eve rything, but what happens is that we don‟t focus upon then. We

keep a single choice and look for it. When it fails, we don‟t have other choice, so we fail. Instead, if we have alternative choice s, then we can be safe and successful. So to be

happy, choose happiness as your first p riority.

A man feared his wife wasn‟t hearing as well as she used to and he thought she might need a hearing aid. Not quite sure how to approach her, he called the family Doctor to discuss the problem. The Doctor told him there is a simple info rmal test the husband

could perform to give the Doctor a better idea about her hearing lo ss.

Here‟s what you do,” said the Doctor, “stand about 40 feet away from her, and in a normal conversational speaking tone see if she hears you. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20

feet, and go until you get a re sponse.”

That evening, the wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he was in the den. He says to

himself, “I‟m about 40 feet away, let‟s see what happens.” Then in a normal tone he asks,

„Honey, what‟s for dinner?” No response.

So the husband moves to closer to the kitchen, about 30 feet from his wife and repeats,

“Honey, what‟s for dinner?” Still there was no re sponse.

Next he moves into the dining room where he is about 20 fe et from his wife and asks,

Honey, what‟s for dinner?”

Again he gets no response so, He walks up to the kitchen door, about 10 feet away.

“Honey, what‟s for dinner?” Again there is no response.

So he walks right up behind her. “Honey, what‟s for dinner?”

“James, fo r the FIFTH time I‟ve said, CHICKEN!”

The problem may not be with the other one as we always think, could be very much

within us..!

Extract goodness from your failure

Everything in this world had good and bad in it. A matchstick can light a candle and also it can destroy a forest. You have to choose the goodness from everything. Try to choose

the goodness, when you fail. Don‟t worry that you have failed. Instead, try to extract

goodness from it by making the failure an experience.

As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No

chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time can break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not. He saw a trainer nearby and asked

why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it‟s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to

break free.”

The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but

because they believed they couldn‟t, they were stuck right where they were.

Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot

do something, simply be cause we fa iled at it once befo re?

Lea ve your stresse s

If you are a working person, if you have stresse s times at job, lea ve the stress there itse lf

and then go home. Many people carry their job stress to home, show the stress towards his wife and child ren. A home is a place that is apart from o ffice. Then why should we bring stress to home? Home is a place to live, not a place to work. There are differences

between a home and a workplace.

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience.

As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they‟d be asked the “half empty or half

full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: ”How heavy is this glass of

water?”

Answers called out ranged from 8 o z. to 20 oz.

She replied, “The abso lute weight doesn‟t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it‟s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I‟ll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the

glass doesn‟t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”

She continued, “The stresses and worries in life are like that glass o f water. Think about

them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will fe el para lyzed – incapable of do ing

anything.”

It‟s important to remember to let go of your stresses. Reme mber to put the glass down!

Ne ver find faults with any one

Everyone in this world is created fo r a purpose. We were created by god for a specific purpose. Every one of us has unique capabilities. One may be well in cooking, but he may

not be well in sports. But there will be a man who will be who is good at sports, but not

well in cooking. We all have certain capabilities. So it is not wise to complain about

anyone or anything. Remember the quote, “Everyman is a volume if you know how to

read them.” Everyone is useful to someone in some way. Keep this in mind and never find

fault with any one.

One day a peacock met a crane and said, "So sorry for you. You have so dull feathers.

Look at the fine co lours o f my feathers."

"Well!" replied the crane, "your looks are brighter than mine. But whereas I can fly high up

into the sky, all you can do is to strut about on the ground."

Don‟t underestimate yourself

When all your friends, neighbours and relatives are living a good life, you might get a feeling that you are not capable. It is common to have such a feeling. But the fact is that,

we too can also improve like them if we have a confidence to achieve success.

Once upon a time, a clever monkey lived in a tree that bore juicy, red rose apples. He was very happy. One fine day, a crocodile swam up to that tree and told the monkey that he had travelled a long distance and was in search of food as he was very hungry. The kind monkey offered him a few rose apples. The crocodile enjoyed them very much and asked the monkey whether he could come again for some more fruit. The generous monkey

happily agreed.

The crocodile returned again the fore coming days. Soon the two became very good friends. They discussed their lives, their friends and family, like all friends do. The crocodile told the monkey that he had a wife and that they lived on the other side o f the river. So the kind monkey offered him some extra rose apples to take home to his wife. The

crocodile‟s wife loved the rose apples and made her husband promise to get her some

every day.

Meanwhile, the friendship between the monkey and the crocodile deepened as they

spent more and more time together. The crocod ile‟s wife started getting jealous. She wanted to put an end to this friendship. So she pretended that she could not believe that

her husband could be friends with a monkey. Her husband tried to convince her that he

and the monkey shared a true friendship. The crocodile ‟s wife thought to herself that if the monkey lived on a diet of rose monkeys, his flesh would be ve ry sweet. So she asked

the crocodile to invite the monkey to their house. The crocodile was not happy about this. He tried to make the excuse that it would be difficult to get the monkey across the rive r.

But his wife was determined to eat the monkey‟s flesh. So she thought of a plan. One day, she pretended to be very ill and told the crocodile that the doctor said that she would

only recover if she ate a monkey‟s heart. If her husband wanted to save her life, he must

bring her his friend‟s heart.

The crocodile was aghast. He was in a dilemma. On the one hand, he loved his friend. On

the other, he could not possibly let his wife die. The crocodile‟s wife threatened him saying that if he d id not get her the monkey‟s heart, she would surely die. So the

crocodile went to the rose apple tree and invited the monkey to come home to meet his

wife. He told the monkey that he could ride acro ss the river on the crocodile ‟s back. The monkey happily agreed. As they reached the middle of the river, the crocodile began to sink. The frightened monkey asked him why he was doing that. The crocodile explained that he would have to kill the monkey to save his wife‟s life. The clever monkey told him that he would gladly give up his heart to sa ve the life o f the crocodile‟s wife, but he had left his heart behind in the rose apple tre e. He asked the crocodile to make haste and turn

back so that the monkey could go get his heart from the apple tree.

The silly crocodile quickly swam back to the rose apple tree. The monkey scampered up the tree to safety. He told the crocodile to tell his wicked wife that she had married the

biggest fool in the world.

Don‟t underestimate yourself. There are bigg er fools in this world.

Be yourself

You can‟t satisfy everyone. Even when you are the best in all, there will be some people

who will hate you. As I said already, people are unique; you can‟t satisfy all of them. So you need to learn to live even in midst of such people. Always be yourself, try not to

please eve ryone.

One day, a man was on his way to the market with his son to sell their donkey. He comes across some village boys out to have fun. Seeing the father and son duo walking with the donkey, they first suggest that the son ride on the donkey and save the effort. The son is

put on the donkey‟s back. The boys then ridicule the boy for riding while the father walks. The father and son switch places. The father rides while the son walks. The boys then taunt the father for making the poor son walk and advise the duo to ride the donkey

together.

Thinking it a good idea they comply. The poor donkey collapses from exhaustion. The boys then express their disgust at the duo for ill-treating the donkey and advice that they take the donkey to an animal doctor. The duo again follows the advice. On the way, they come across barking stra y dogs. In the confusion that ensues, the donkey falls into the flowing rive r. The donkey is lost fo rever. The man loses the donkey, because he follows

what he is suggested without thinking for himself.

If you listen to e verybody, then you will only be come a laughing stock.

Money can‟t buy eve rything

Most people run for to earn money. It is good to earn money. But there is something that

money can‟t buy. Money is just a tool to live. But many think, with money only you can do

things. This is a wrong approach. Try to live a happy life without money or w ith less

money and fill the remaining with lo ve.

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and

nights on the farm of what would be conside red a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father a sked his son, “How was the trip?”

“It was great, Dad.”

“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.

“Oh yeah,” said the son.

“So, tell me, what you learnt from the trip? ” asked the father.

The son answered: “I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle o f our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have

imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve

others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to

protect us; they have friends to protect them.”

The boy‟s father was speechless. Then his son added, “Thanks Dad for showing me how

poor we are.”

Love, Unity, Care, Satisfact ion is richer than any comfo rt money gives.

Be true, always!

If you be true to everyone there will be no worries or fear. Life will be hard, but it will not be impossible. There is a difference between a task that is hard and a task that is

impossible. An honest life will be hard to live. But its benefit will be seen in long terms.

Two women were brought before King Solomon. Both these women had a quarrel over a

single baby. Each woman was saying that she was the baby's mother.

One lady said, "Oh King! I am the baby's mother". The other lady said, "Oh King! Believe

her not. She is not the mother. I am the mother of the child".

King Solomon was confused. After a deep thought he said, "Cut the baby into two and

give one part to each mother". One woman was silent. The other cried "Oh King! Let she

have the baby. Let the baby live". The king gave the child to the crying mother.

Truth wins, always!

Lo ve everyone.

Love – the g reatest thing that holds us all. Without love we would not be living in this

world. Life is not meaningful without love. There is a quote which says like this, “People when they understand that this life is not meaningful to live, some of them die; while

others start to love someone.” The best way to be happy is to love one. This one may be

your parents, children, wife or husband, friends, relatives etc. When you love, you feel that

this life is wonderful. So stay in love always.

No one is perfect. But if we start loving perfectly, then life becomes beautiful. If a husband and wife have a problem, one has to adjust themselves. If anyone forgives, then the

problem goes away. But when they both stay in having ego, then problem arises more

furious.

Take an example, a man loved a woman but, due to some reasons, they get separated. The man marries another woman, and he lives peacefully. One day the past love of the

man gets revea led to the man‟s wife and she gets angry and fights with the man. The man too fights and says bad things at his wife. Now if you see, to solve this problem either of the one must leave their ego and try to compromise by asking sorry. A sorry and a smile is enough to end any problem. If the man had truly loved his wife, then surely he would have told about his past or at least after his wife came to know the past, he would have asked sorry. If the wife truly lo ved him, then when she came to know the past love,

then she would have understood that her husband didn‟t tell this to her, because it would

hurt her feeling and make her unhappy. When love becomes lean between relationships,

there is more space for problems to enter.

Bible says a verse which would mean, “True love forgets faults”. When a couple is in true love, then they will not see any faults between. A husband will never see any fault with his wife and in the same way, the wife will never see any fault in her husband, and if there are also any faults between them, they will fo rgive them. Love stands firm in pre sence of forgiveness. If any you have any problems in relations, then just forgive. You will surely

having a loving life when you forgive. So try to love everyone, don‟t find faults in them,

since nobody is perfe ct. There is no happiness greater than to be in love and to be loved.

Howard Kelly, was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal

at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the

door.

Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought

him a large glass of milk. He d rank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?”

“You don‟t owe me anything,” she replied. “Mother has taught us never to accept pay for

a kindness.”

He said, “Then I thank you from my heart.”

As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God

and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Years later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were ba ffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his e yes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor‟s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best

to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He loo ked at it, and then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the

rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on

the side of the b ill. She began to read the following wo rds:

“Paidin full, with one gla ss o f milk”

Signed by

Dr Howard Kelly.

Where is happiness?

The better part of happiness is to wish to be what you are. -Desiderius E rasmus

There was a thief looking for to rob someone. As he was searching, he saw a man having a bag full of money. So the thief started to follow him. After a while the man came to a temple. The man had noticed that the thief is following him and trying to steal his bag. So

he was very careful in keeping his money.

There were many people who used to stay in the temple, especially those who come from far places to worship god. For those people the temple will provide a blanket and a place

to stay. People can keep their bag like a pillow. The man decided to stay and so did the thief. The thief‟s plan was to escape as soon as he gets the money. He was waiting for everyone to sleep. After some time a ll the people other than the thief, fell asleep. Now the thief started to look for the money. But he could not find it anywhere near the man who

had money. He searched the whole night, but could not find it.

In the morning the thief was so disappointed. The man who had money got up and asked

the thief did he get the money. The thief was shocked and asked, “ Did you know that I

came to steal your money?”

The man answered, “Yes, I know it”

Then thief asked, “Well, where you kept the money? I searched everywhere, but could not

find it.”

The man asked, “Did you check below your pillow? I kept the money below it. I knew that

you won‟t search it there.”

The main moral in this story is that, what we search for in our life is actually is within us. If you need happiness, then search inside you. Try not to search happiness in a glass of alcohol or in a cigar or at the prostitute. Instead, search for happiness in your work environment, in your home – wife and children. Happiness is everywhere, if you can

identify it.

 See your wife – who has com e into your life, to share all your so rrow, joy and every mo ment of your life.  See your kids – an exact carbon copy of you! How amazing is that you have a

loveable child having your characteristics!  See your friends and relatives – how joyful is it to be with friends and relatives?

They are similar to you! They like the same things like yours and hate the

things that you hate too.  See this world – You can find happiness e verywhere. See kids when they play, spend time with your pets, spend time in gardening, play games with friends,

go outing with your lover/wife, everywhere you can find happiness.

Enjoy even a small joke

If you can laugh for even a small joke, then you will be happy always. Crack jokes and

make everyone laugh. Laughter doesn‟t cost any money. So laugh and laugh. But

remember, not to hurt anyone with your laughter.

Laughter without hurting anyone is good for all.

Everyone loves jokes. Here I have some jokes that made me to laugh. I want you too to

laugh. Some laughter for you…

Boss hangs a poster in Office

"I AM THE BOSS, DO NOT FORGET"

He returns from lunch, finds a slip on his de sk.

"Your wife made a phone call; she wants her poste r back home."

Man (outside phone booth): Excuse me! You are holding the phone since 20 min, but you

haven't spoken a word..!!!

Man (inside): I'm talking to my wife!

Husband: You know, our son got his brain from me.

Wife: I think he did, I still got mine with me!

Girl: When we get married, I want to share all your worries, troubles and lighten your

burden.

Boy: It's very kind of you darling. But I don't have any worries or troubles.

Girl: Well that is because we aren't married yet.

Tom: How should I convey the news to my father that I've failed?

David: You just send a telegram “Result declared, past year's pe rformance repeated.”

Man: Doctor! My Son has swallowed a key.

Doctor: When?

Man: Three Months Ago

Doctor: What were you doing till now?

Man: We were using duplicate key

Teacher: Hey! Stand up. Tell me two pronouns.

Student: Who? Me?

Teacher: Very Good, Sit down.

Before marriage…

He: yes! At last it was so hard to wait

She: do you want me to leave?

He: No! Don‟t even think about it

She: do you love me?

He: of course! Ove r and over!

She: have u ever cheated on me?

He: No! Why are you even asking?

She: will u go on with me on picnic?

He: every chance I get!

She: will you hit me?

He: Are you cra zy? I'm not that kind of person!

She: can I trust you?

He: yes..

She: Darling!

After marriage??? - Simply read from bottom to top

A very old lady teacher o f English asks this question with the class:

When I say "I am beautiful", which tense is it?

One pupil answered: It‟s the past tense of course.

Man: How old is your father?

Boy: As old as me.

Man: How can that be?

Boy: He became a father only when I was born

Diner: I can't eat such a rotten chicken. Call the manager!

Waiter: It's no use. He won't eat it either.

Commerce pro fesso r: what is the most important source of finance fo r starting business?

Student: “Father in law”.

Husband sent a text to his wife at night,

“Hi I will get late, plea se try and wash all my dirty clothes and make sure you prepare my

favourite dish be fore I return.”

He sent another text,

“And I forgot to tell you that I got an increase in my salary at the end of the month I‟m

getting you a new car”

She texts back: “Oh really?”

Husband replied,

“No, I just wanted to make sure you got my first message”.

A prisoner in jail rece ives a letter from his wife: "Dear husband, I have decided to plant

some lettuce in the back gard en. When is the best time to plant them?"

The prisoner, knowing that the prison guards read all mail, replies in a letter: "Dear wife,

whatever you do, do not touch the back garden. That is where I hid all the money."

A week or so later, he receives another letter from his wife. "Dear husband, you wouldn't

believe what happened. Some men came with shovels to the house and dug up the back

garden."

The prisoner writes back: "Dea r wife now is the best time to plant the lettuce."

2 men are looking at Egyptian mummy.

Man 1: Look so many bandages; I think it‟s a truck accident case.

Man 2: Yes. The number of the truck which hit is also written here. It says BC-1760!

A tourist asked a man

Tourist: Any great man born in this village???

Man: no sir, only small babie s!

At an interview

Manager: Can you spell a wo rd that has more than 100 letters in it?

Man replied: Post box

Interviewer: What is your b irth date?

Man: 13th October

Interviewer: Which year?

Man: Every yea r!

Man (on phone): "Doctor my wife is pregnant. She is having pain right now".

Doctor: Is this her first child?

Man: No, this is her husband speaking!

A man made a ca ll to the airport and asks…

Man: How long is the journey from India to Ame rica?"

Receptionist: One second sir…

Man: Ok, thank you!

Doctor: You will die within 2 hours. Do you want to see any one befo re you die?

Woman: Yes! A good doctor!

Judge: why are you arrested?

Man: for shopping early?

Judge: well, that's not a crime! Anyway how early were you shopping?

Man: before opening the shop...

Teacher told all students in a class to write an essay on a cricket match.

All were busy writ ing except one boy. He wrote…

No match, due to rain!!!

A drunkard (looking at sky): Is that a sun or moon?

Other drunkard: No idea. I am new to this city.

The doctor told a man that if he ran 8 km a day fo r 300 days, he would lose 34 kg. At the end of 300 days, the man called the doctor to report he had lost the weight, but he had a

problem.

Doctor: What's the problem?

Man: I am 2400 km from home!

Two leaders L1 & L2 are sitting in a ba r.

A guy walks in and asks them, “What are you guys do ing in here?"

L1: We're planning World War III.

Guy: Really? What's going to happen?

L1: Well, we 're going to kill 140 million people and one blonde.

Guy (exclaimed): A blonde? Why kill a blonde?"

L1 (to L2): See, I told you, no one would worry about the 140 million people!!!

There were 11 people holding onto a rope that came down from a plane. Ten were men, and one was a woman. They all decided that one person should get off because if they

didn't then the rope would break and everyone would die. No one could decid e who should go, so finally the woman said, "I'll get o ff. A woman a lways make s others to live " After hearing this touching speech from the woman saying she would g et off, a ll the men

started clapping.