MIND NEEDS CONSTANT CHALLENGES









Pic.: Azriel D'Souza
“Expect problems and eat them for breakfast.”
- Alfred A. Montapert

My problems keep my mind alert, agile and prepared. If I had no problems, my mind would have been dull, blunt and laid-back…

So, thank God, I have problems!

Mind needs constant challenges… My problems provide my mind with this…

But, like everyone else around me, my first reaction to any new problem of mine is: “Oh, not again!” Or, simply: “OMG!”

Yes, invariably, it is my first reaction. But, then, when my reaction ends, I realize, that, I cannot expect this journey called Life without the bumpy ride… Life has problems… In fact, Life needs them…

I, invariably, get this realization.

An hour ago, a dear friend of mine had come to meet me. We spent close to forty minutes catching up with some good-old times… Suddenly, a phone call came, and, Lo! I had a new problem – a new challenge in hand! I could to see the way my mind was working now… It was all geared up… It was on fight-mode… Though my initial reaction was, once again, was the familiar one – “Oh, not again” or “OMG”, it all turned quickly into a warlike situation…. My mind had become suddenly very, very alert, agile and ready to deal with the new problem I was faced with…

Was it stressful?

It was…

Was it good or bad?


My friend, Dr. Deepak, had told us this story in his blog, one day:

The fishermen in Japan go to deep seas to catch fish. To ensure that fish is brought ashore, alive, they build huge water-tanks aboard their boats. The fishermen do one more thing to ensure that the fish remain alive: they put some sharks into the water-tanks!

So, now, there is no way the fish can go off to sleep… The sharks keep them alert, agile and alive… Sharks keep them constantly prepared!

Every time I get bogged down by problems and tend to react “OMG”, my friend’s story brings a smile in my heart. “My friend, God has put those sharks in your tank,” I hear my friend’s counsel, “so that you come ashore alive!”


GERALD D’CUNHA

Comments

Hitesh Luthria said…
truly sir!!!! if we dont get problems in our life, we wont even move an inch to improve and move ahead in our life....
January 9, 2016 at 4:11 PM
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