1. Do things willingly, because you truly want to, not because you feel compelled to. 2. If they insult, you can exult. 3. Throw off the thralldom of those texts! 4. There must be some very grand purpose for life on Planet Earth amidst the vast Universe even though we may never be quite sure what it is. 5. It’s not your job to try to please others. 6. If God spoke to some people in the past, as they say, surely He must speak to us now as well. 7. Seek God in you

1. Turn receiving an insult into an occasion for giving a blessing. 2. In school, they trained us to be informed, not wise. 3. If you get the chance to do a good deed, don’t leave it for someone else to do—do it yourself. 4. Stand up for truth and righteousness. 5. Look the bully in the eye. 6. Lift others up; don’t put yourself down. 7. Loving is among the best things one could ever do. 8. Always follow the guidance of the Inner Voice. 9. What you have to d

1. With every passing moment, we are growing in the fulfillment of our life’s purpose, though we may not realise it. 2. The purpose of life is to live, not just to earn and do. 3. We were born in a particular context because the Divine willed it so. 4. Hurtful people are often themselves hurt. 5. Don’t let the bad people may do to you lead you to forget the good they may have done to you. 6. To bless those who curse you is itself a great blessing. 7. Leave this

1. If they curse, bless and move ahead with your life. 2. Don’t let the behaviour of those who behave badly with you make you behave the same way towards them, because then you will become just like them, and you surely wouldn’t want that, would you? 3. Soon, we’ll be joining the swelling ranks of the dead. 4. Everything begins with a thought. 5. Be kind to your body: observe it more. 6. A messy or cluttered table, room or house reflects a messy or cluttered mind.

1. Ideologies are a mix of error and truth. 2. No ideology is error-free. 3. The absurdities and falsities of an ideology are often easily apparent to its deniers but not to its proponents. In that sense, the former know its reality better than the latter. 4. If as an adult your views on basic things remain identical to that of your parents, it possibly only shows that you haven’t evolved. 5. There is no higher ‘religion’ than kindness. 6.

1. God made us and placed us here on Earth for Him to fulfill His purpose(s) in making us and placing us here. 2. God seeks our love, not our craven, compelled worship. 3. To be ‘spiritual’ or ‘good’ doesn’t mean neglecting oneself. 4. Some folks wrongly think that it is a grave sin to be happy and great piety to be glum. 5. Love of God flows into love for His creatures. 6. Do the needful, and leave the rest to God. 7. The purpose of our being here is to be part

1. What one gets reflects what one gives. 2. There is no getting without giving. 3. They live well who love well. 4. Our life unfolds very gradually, just one moment at a time. 5. You can drift through life or you can navigate through it. 6. To be true to oneself, one has to be authentic with others, but that is not always an easy thing to do. 7. Respect yourself if you want others to respect you. 8. People either respect you or they don’t. It can’t be a bit o

1. Do things with your children, not just for them. 2. Have children only if you are enthusiastic about spending enough quality time with them. 3. Encourage your child to have at least one creative hobby. 4. Ask your child for their opinion on things. It will help them grow in confidence and wisdom. 5. Love is the basic recipe for a happy home. 6. Don’t expect schools, TV or Smartphones to do for your children what you ought to be doing for them. 7. Clearly tell

· There is a transcendental purpose to our being in this earthly realm. · Our life on Earth is temporary, but it has a purpose that stretches into eternity. · Human beings are at best temporary custodians of Earth, certainly not its owners. · The Energy that drives us to act is the same Energy that is causing the already infinite universe to constantly further expand, and that, too, at an ever-increasing speed. · Birth and death, with just a few m

· If you have a grouse against someone, share it with them, instead of nursing it in your heart. · Non-human creatures have as much a right to live as humans do. · Have concern for the wellbeing of non-human creatures in your neighbourhood. · Ordinary conversations with people can be a great blessing—a mutual learning experience, an occasion of joy and sharing, a very fine way to spend time. · Spending quality time with a person can sometimes be

Have you ever felt time seeming to weigh heavily on you and wondering what to do with it? Have you ever been perplexed over what, really, our life here, on Planet Earth, is meant to be about and for? Have you ever agonized over the point of it all? Have you ever arrived at a corner where you had no clue what to do with yourself? You might possibly have. Faced with such situations such as these, people might come up with different answers to the basic, existential questions th

Things done with proper awareness are generally done better than if done without it, and this is true also for something as basic as walking. One can be aware of different things while walking. For me, it is to walk with the awareness that there might be tiny living creatures (insects, generally) on the way which I should avoid stepping on. Of course, out in the streets, or in a park, or even in the possibly more sanitized environs of one’s home, there are bound to be a great

I know but little about St. Francis of Assisi (though, of course, I could easily get to know a great deal more by the mere click of a few buttons on my phone). But what I do know about him is enough for me to regard him with love and respect—not just as a figure from the distant past but as someone whose spiritual vision is of immense contemporary relevance, for our times today. Among the few things I know about St. Francis are: that he was a man of God; that he loved animals

· We are here because God brought us here. God brought us here because He had a purpose for doing so. So, maybe all we need to do is simply observe God going about fulfilling the purpose for which He has brought us here. · By reflecting on the course of our life, we can learn what God has been doing in it. · If one is passionate about working for God, one may retain great enthusiasm to live right till the end of one’s stay on Earth. · Make yourse

· Don’t give in charity only things you don’t want. · Giving from out of one’s material wealth is only one form of charity and not always the most appropriate or important form. · Give gracefully, receive gratefully. · Short, inspiring sayings are encapsulated wisdom. In a line or two, they can convey what may sometimes be said in a page or two. · Some may believe the purpose of our being on Earth is to have as much fun as we can,

· Enjoy the products of other people’s creativity but also contribute to others through products of your own creativity. · We need to invest time, attention and emotions in a relationship if we want it to keep going. It’s like a plant that requires careful tending, being given regular and abundant sunshine, nutrients and water to grow. · A good measure of how much we truly value a person and our relationship with them is the amount of time, attention and emo

· The more unnecessarily we talk, the more tired we get. · Often, the eyes can tell what the tongue hesitates to. · How spontaneous and generous are we in our praise? · At the end of the day, bring to mind some of the things that happened for which you are happy or grateful. · If one’s passion becomes one’s profession, one might not have to ‘work’ a single day of one’s ‘working life’! · ‘Process’ your life by reflecting on your own experien

By Sr. Teresa Joseph fma Dedicated to the meek and the humble who thirst for God, for they are the Saints in the making Life and Spirituality of Mother Mazzarello Mary Dominica Mazzarello, the eldest of the thirteen children of Joseph Mazzarello and Maddalena Calcagno, was born on May 9, 1837, to a farming family in the rugged, mountainous region of Mornese, a small town in northern Italy. She was baptized in the parish church on the same day. Mary was a very f

· In giving in charity, be careful to respect the dignity of the recipient. Also, know that they are benefitting you by giving you an opportunity for doing good. · Reflect on your own day-to-day experiences to grow in the art of living. · As soon as possible, thank a person for a favour received. · If a home or school ignores the task of the ethical nurturing of a child, it has turned into a damaging place. · How easily we sometimes forget our ow

· We are here for God to fulfill His purpose(s) in putting us here. · Why do we exist? Because God wants us to. · Spend the first and the last portion of your waking hours each day communing with God. · All beings want to be happy. God has made them this way. · It is not enough to be ‘good’. What is also important is to be in communion with the Source of Goodness—that is, God. · This universe is an arena for God to play out His purposes. ·