How can I find happiness in my life? (2)

Without complaining, he went to his job every day. At night he returned, his attitude as positive as if he had his old job. One night he got to talking enthusiastically about the fine art of digging ditches and how he was enjoying the opportunity of working outdoors and using his strength to accomplish a task. "I've never felt better in my life," he commented.

We boys were so fascinated by his enthusiasm that we went to watch him. Most of the men who worked with him were leaning on their shovels, looking miserable. Not our neighbor. When he saw us, he stopped to take us on a quick tour. He told us how to dig a ditch. Then he showed us his handiwork. His ditches were straight…uniformly deep - with firm sides. "Aren't they beautiful?" He was proud of his ditches.
One night, he announced that he had been made foreman. He was filled with compassion and pity for his men. They refused to accept their lot in life and spent the day moaning and complaining. Our neighbor now had a new zest for his job the challenge of lifting his men out of despondency and showing them how to be thankful they had some work to do.

As I watched this highly skilled craftsman who could find a challenge and satisfaction in anything he did, I realized he had mastered a pivotal principle: it was not the task that was important, but the spirit he brought to that task. He brought an undaunted spirit to every task and experience. As a result, he was happy and successful.

This man had a faith that sustained him. His faith could be summed up in these verses from the Bible:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight (Prov. 3:5-6). -Henry Brandt. Visit him at www.BiblicalCounselingInsight.com

Love is a Many-Leveled Thing – 2

We are soon left to wonder where the truth lies in all of this. When spiritual teachers used the word love, what kind of love are they talking about? Is eros (romantic love) really different from agape, so-called unconditional or spiritual love? Is devotional love, the same as compassion, or love for humanity? And how is it that some teachers goal, while others seem to ignore the subject altogether?

In spiritual life alone, the word love is used in at least three ways, and our experience and understanding of love will differ according to which aspect of it we are thinking about. For the sake of discussion, let’s refer to those there aspects of love as (1) Absolute Love, or the Great Love, which Ramakrishna, Rumi, and the teachers of the bhakti yoga and nondualist Tantra traditions tell us is ever-present, impersonal, and the very underpinning of the universe; (2) Our individual experience of love, which is quirky, personal, and usually directed at something or someone: and (3) love as sadhama (practice).