A Life of Joy! (posted by Priya Deelchand)

My dearest friends,

Hope you are all doing great!

Here is a great lesson written by Steve Goodier that I would like to share with you.


Do you know how to have a life of joy?

A businessman on his deathbed called his friend and said, "Bill, I
want you to promise me that when I die you will have my remains
cremated." "And what," his friend asked, "do you want me to do with
your ashes?" The businessman said, "Just put them in an envelope and
mail them to the Internal Revenue Service and write on the envelope,
`NOW YOU HAVE EVERYTHING!'"

Paying taxes is not usually a joy. But GIVING can be joyful. We pay
the taxes because we have to. But when we CHOOSE to give time or
money, then giving can add to our overall happiness.

Mother Teresa teaches us an important lesson about happiness. She
was one of those people who emanated joy. Born in 1910 in Eastern
Europe, she felt called as a teenager to move to Calcutta, India. Some
months later she saw a sight that completely revolutionized her life.

Shortly after moving to Calcutta she spotted a homeless, dying woman
lying in the gutter, being eaten by rats. After seeing that,
compassion compelled her to beg an abandoned Hindu temple from the
government and convert it into a crude, make-shift hospital for the
dying. "Nobody should die alone" she would later say. Mother Teresa
went on to establish homes for the destitute dying in numerous cities.
But in spite of devoting her life to people in such dire straits, she
radiated joy and happiness.

This incredible woman was once interviewed by Malcolm Muggeridge from
the BBC News. He asked her an unusual question: "Mother Teresa, the
thing I noticed about you and the hundreds of sisters who now form
your team is that you all look so happy. Is that a put-on?"

Here was a woman who had none of the things we like to think of as
bringing happiness: a home, a family, prosperity… Rather, she lived in
near-poverty and spent her time wiping dirt and various body fluids
from half-dead cancer and leprosy victims…and appeared to be
blissfully happy. "Is that a put-on" she was asked?

She replied, "Oh no, not at all. Nothing makes you happier than when
you really reach out in mercy to someone who is badly hurt."

She would agree that happiness does not come from acquiring, but is a
by-product of giving: time, money, love. Do you want a life of joy?
Start with a lifestyle of giving!

Wish you all a life filled with joy!

Much Love,
Priya:))
Posted by Priya Deelchand