possesses. Perhaps this evening sitting alongside a former
millionaire-lawyer turned monk of the Himalayas was a sort of
wake-up call for me to start making the most of my life.
"But doing these exercises at the office, Julian?" I responded.
"My partners think I'm strange enough as it is."
"Yogi Raman and all the kind sages with whom he lived, often
used a saying that had been passed down to them through the
generations. It is my privilege to pass it on to you, on what has
become an important evening for both of us, if I may say so. The
words are as follows: 'There is nothing noble about being superior
to some other person. True nobility lies in being superior to your
former self.' All I'm really getting at is that if you want to improve
your life and live with all that you deserve you must run your own
race. It doesn't matter what other people say about you. What is
important is what you say to yourself. Do not be concerned with
the judgment of others as long as you know what you are doing is
right. You can do whatever you want to do as long as it is correct
according to your conscience and your heart. Never be ashamed of
doing that which is right; decide on what you think is good and
then stick to it. And for God's sake, never get into the petty habit
of measuring your self-worth against other people's net worth. As
Yogi Raman preached: 'Every second you spend thinking about
someone else's dreams you take time away from your own.'"
It was now seven minutes past midnight. Remarkably, I didn't
feel the least bit tired. When I shared this with Julian he smiled
once again. "You have learned yet another principle for
enlightened living. For the most part, fatigue is a creation of the
mind. Fatigue dominates the lives of those who are living without
direction and dreams. Let me give you an example. Have you ever
had an afternoon at the office where you were reading your dry
dana p.
(Dana P.)
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