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Vol. 2 07 / 2001 |
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TIME WILL HEAL OUR
WOUNDS
By Ven. Sri Dhammananda
Trouble passes. What has caused you to burst into tears will
be soon forgotten. You may remember
that you cried but not why you did so!
As we grow up and go through life, we are often surprised at how we lie
awake at night brooding over something that has upset us during the day, or how
we nurse resentment against someone by letting the same thoughts run through
our minds concerning how to have our own back.
We may fall into a range at the spur of the moment over something, and
later wonder what it was we were so angry about, and be surprised to realize
what a waste of time and energy it had all been. We have deliberately gone on being unhappy when we could have
stopped being unhappy when we could have stopped being so and started thinking
about something else more wholesome.
Whatever our troubles are, and however aggrieved we may feel, time will
heal our wounds. But surely there must
be something we can do to prevent ourselves from being hurt in the first
place. Why should we allow others or
troubles to drain away our energy and make us unhappy? The answer is that they
do not. It is we who make ourselves
unhappy.
You may have some trouble in your
work place but you should not infect your home with a bad atmosphere. You should realize that there is an end to
those problems. The solutions could be
found in achieving freedom from our selfish desires by eradicating all forms of
confusion and ignorance.
Whenever we fail to find a
solution to a problem, we are inclined to find a scapegoat to vent our
frustration. We are not prepared to
admit our own shortcomings. It is
easier to put the blame on others. We
should do our utmost, pains-takingly and calmly, to resolve our own
problems. We must be prepared to face
up to any difficulties that we encounter.
ADJUST OURSELVES
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Customs and traditions are
important bonds for the learning and sharing of human experience in any
community. The dilemma we face in an
ever-changing world is whether to live with or break with the past. There will always be a “generation gap”
between the old and the young because of different perceptions of changing
circumstances and values. The old fear
the young may lose their heritage and the young worry that an ancient past
become a stumbling block in modern living.
Changes must be considered carefully. Popular culture creates momentary idols and
folk heroes who portray images of conflicting lifestyles. Mass media helps to reinforce this and young
mind are prone to accept everything they stand for. There may be political or social messages in such movements like
the Hippie or Yuppie movements but it is vital for the young to have the wisdom
of the old to separate the good from the bad.
Time tested and proven good old values do not change. Values like thrift, honesty, liberality, and
hard work for dignified living remain fresh in any community.
Every man is a creature of the
universe. So long as man is concerned
with humanizing society and the re-ordering of the world for the better, time
will always bridge the gap between the young and the old. Worry and fear over the direction of change
will lose their grip. The old only have
to remember how their own parents had objected to certain modern ways of living
prevalent at the time when they were young.
Tolerance for differences on an issue is a virtue. An open attitude can only be a happy one.