A man, a great man, a fighter for freedom was traveling in the mountains. He stayed in a caravanserai for the night. He was amazed that in the caravanserai there was a beautiful parrot in a golden cage, continually repeating, “Freedom! Freedom!” And it was such a place that when the parrot repeated the word “Freedom!” it would go on echoing in the valleys, in the mountains. No animal feels the anguish; all animals are utterly satisfied as they are. Man is the only animal who is intrinsically discontented; hence, the feeling of shame because he knows, “I can be free.”
“The real difficulty is to overcome how you think about your self”- Maya Angelou
There’s a humorous office sign that reads “The beatings will continue until morale improves!” We laugh at the sign, but many of us carry an idea that the harsher we are to ourselves, the more likely we are to change.
The opposite is true. Research shows that people who are compassionate toward themselves are better able to take on feedback, grow, and change. They find it easier to adapt because they’re already comfortable with themselves.
They’re less fragile because their whole sense of identity isn’t on the line. They know that what they did isn’t who they are. They can open up, connect, and learn.
Self-compassion doesn’t mean glossing over your failures or challenges. It means supporting yourself while you’re putting them right.
How to Stop Rescuing Other People to Feel Good About Yourself By Andrew Cain
This Story is a tale of an old woman who bought a parrot to keep her company and for entertainment, but she returned it the very next day of the purchase.
“This bird doesn’t talk”, she told the owner.
“Does he have a mirror in his cage?”, he asked. “ Parrot love mirrors. They see their reflection and start a conversation.” He replied.
The old woman bought a mirror and left in the cage. The next day she returned back and inform the shopkeeper that the bird still wasn’t talking .
“How about a ladder? Parrot loves ladders. The happy parrot is a talkative parrot.”
The woman bought a ladder and left it in the cage, But the next day, she was back.
“ Does your parrot have a swing? No? Well, that’s the problem. Once he starts swinging, he’ll talk up like a storm.”
The Old lady reluctantly bought a swing and left. When she walked into the store next day, her countenance had changed.
“The parrot died”, She said.
The Pet store owner was shocked. “I’m so sorry. Tell me. Did he ever say anything?”, he asked.
“Yes, right before it died” , the woman replied.
“In a weak voice, it asked me, ‘ don’t they sell any food at that pet store?”
Sometimes we forget what’s really important in Life. We get so caught up in things that are good while neglecting the things that are truly necessary.
Take a moment to do a priority check and strive for what is most important today.
“Your conflicts, all the difficult things, the problematic situations in your life are not chance or haphazard. They are actually yours. They are specifically yours, designed specifically for you by a part of you that loves you more than anything else. The part of you that loves you more than anything else has created roadblocks to lead you to yourself. You are not going in the right direction unless there is something pricking you in the side, telling you, “Look here! This way!” That part of you loves you so much that it doesn’t want you to lose the chance. It will go to extreme measures to wake you up, it will make you suffer greatly if you don’t listen. What else can it do? That is its purpose.”
A king was coming out of his palace for his morning walk when he met a beggar. He asked the beggar,
“What do you want?”
The beggar laughed and said,
“You are asking me as though you can fulfill my desire!”
The king was offended. He said,
“Of course I can fulfill your desire. What is it? Just tell me.”
And the beggar said, “ Okay if you insist but on one condition..so think twice before you promise anything.”
The emperor had seen many beggars – but beggars with conditions?
And this beggar was really strange, a very powerful man. He was a Sufi Mystic. He had charm, a charisma, his personality had an aura. Even the king felt a little jealous. And conditions?
The emperor said, ” What do you mean ? What is your condition?”
The beggar said, “It is a very simple one. You see this begging bowl?
I accept only if you can fill my begging bowl absolutely.”
It was a small begging bowl. The king said, “Of course. What do you think I am? I cannot fill this dirty small begging bowl ?”
The beggar said, “It is better to tell you before, because later you can get into trouble. If you think you can fill, then come start filling.”
The king called his vizier and told him to fill to fill it with precious stones, with diamonds, rubies and emralds. Let this beggar know with whom he is talking. But then comes the difficulty. The bowl was filled, but the king was surprised- as the stones fell into it, it would disappear. It was filled many times and each time it was again empty.
Now he was in a great rage, but told the vizier, “Even if the whole kingdom goes, if my all treasuries are emptied, let them be- but I cannot allow this beggar to defeat me.”
And all the treasures, it is said, disappeared. By and by the king became a beggar. It took months. And the beggar was there, king was there and the whole capital was there and everybody was wondering what was going to happen, what would happen in the end.
Everything was simply disappearing. Finally the king had to fall at the feet of the beggar and he said, ” Forgive me, but before you leave just tell me one thing. What is the secret of this begging bowl? All has disappeared in it “
The beggar started laughing. He said, “It is made of human ego, everything disappears in it, nothing ever fulfils it.”
ONE TUSK 
