|| Your Future Needs You ||

The best way to predict the future is to create it. You can create it only if you put forth the effort. Your future requires you, and your future requires your efforts now. King Shah Jahan desired to do something unusual and one-of-a-kind for his love, his wife. So he hired a large number of people to build it, and he poured his worth and all of his efforts into it, and it is now one of the world's seven wonders. King Shah Jahan was a normal human being like us, and he built the Taj Mahal for his love. There are numerous structures in our country that are distinctive because of the thoughts, hard work, and vision of a few dedicated and passionate individuals. Our deity, nature, and certain determined individuals such as King Shah Jahan and others have worked tirelessly to create a beautiful world around us. What would we have done if such inventive buildings or beauty had not been present? We literally wait a year to travel to such beautiful places. What if they weren't there? I believe that none of us enjoys a monotonous life. In order to escape the monotony, we must work so that our future is more creative.

There's a song written while thinking about Lord Krishna, and it had a significant impact on my life. It goes like this: "Dhwar daya ka jab tu khole, puncham sur me gunga bole, andha dekhe langda chal ke phoche kashi re." God has taken many diverse and natural births on this earth, and each time he has arrived with a purpose. When adharma reaches its zenith, he makes efforts to create change through determined individuals like Arjuna in the Krishna avatar or during Hanuman in the Ram avatar, among others. He has mentored them in making people understand what Dharma is. The lines that have influenced my life say that since the time of our forefathers, every birth of Lord Krishna has changed the lives of human beings, as hearing impaired people begin to talk like normal people, blind people regain their vision, and physically handicapped people reach their ultimate destination. These lines have a lot of depth to them.

For a brighter future, we must first understand who we are, where we are, what we need to accomplish, and how we can do it. According to a recent WHO report, we need to take care of our hearing, especially young people who use headphones all the time. Make Listening Safe has issued some precautionary warnings, including the need for a 60-60 rule. We must hear, but we must take a break after 60 minutes and hear at a volume of at least 60%. Similarly, we as individuals must take a break from our normal lives to assess ourselves and respond to the rule of raising positive ideas by 60% so that negative thoughts do not dominate and we may think more positively about our future. We must be cognizant of our future obligations. Our modest acts of awareness can have a huge impact on our future.

I recently read a story of a Philippine girl named Rhea Bullos who couldn't afford shoes to compete in interschool athletics, so she covered her feet with tape and drew a Nike symbol on them. With bandage shoes, she won three gold medals (400 m, 800 m, and 1500 m). She couldn't afford good shoes, so she used her weaknesses to her advantage. After becoming aware of ourselves, we must assess our strengths, which enable us to achieve whatever we do with determination. It is not only her story, but there are many more sports figures who have given their all to win, not only for themselves, but also for their country. Congratulations to them. Those dedicated leaders are ordinary people like us. We just need to understand our ability to shape a better future. It is not like God is endowing them with particular abilities. The only solution, in my opinion, is that they have learned the necessity of being there, fighting their problems, and that God is there to encourage them and help them to be unique and different. They are guided in the same way as Lord Krishna guided Arjuna before the Mahabharat. He stated that you must work hard in order to achieve good karma, even if your family is not listening to you. Dedication, hard work, good ideas, and good karma are the processes that will help you get closer to a brighter future.

Those small daily coins collected to fill our piggy banks, those small little medicines that cause so many changes in our bodies, those small little stories like "Thirsty Crow" and those small little stories heard in our childhood about winning against devils and the morals of different thought processes in life, those small little smiles we see on small children that brighten our day, those small little gestures done by our parents on our birthdays, and those small little donations with financial help with kindness can change so many lives. Small changes in timing, discipline, and values for others throughout life. Small little efforts to spend time with our beloved to provide comfort and warmth that you are there for him or her can influence your future.

Recently, a few parents were trying to gather fees for their children's better education. They were discussing their problems with someone when that person suddenly remembered my name and directed them to my residence. Those ladies were a little hesitant to come to my house without my permission, so they left all the applications with our watchman. They left their contact details. I received those applications, which were stamped and from several well-known schools. I did contact one of the parents to find out why and how they left those applications at my house. I initially questioned why I should make an effort since I didn't know them, but then I realised it was about children's education, so I phoned our lions office and inquired about financing for child education. Fortunately, it was doable, and all five children received a good amount for school fees. I contacted one parent and told them I had cheques ready, and they came running to meet me. I can't picture the joy on those mothers' faces. It felt like I relieved a lot of their burdens, and those smiles and blessings will not only improve their children's futures, but it will also give me a sense of accomplishment, and receiving blessings will help me have a brighter future, so kindness is also essential for our future.  

Many times, we visit a temple, church, or mosque to pray to God in our difficult times, asking God to please help us overcome our life's obstacles. We demand from God, but do we ever strive to give something from our side with a pure heart? God, you have given us birth; now let us do our best to do Karma for our better future. God simply shows us the true path so that we can do our part every day to make this universe a better place to live. Our confidence in God and our spiritual thoughts for creating good and beneficial changes will also improve our future.

Our future depends on our knowledge of ourselves and those around us. Our determination, hard work, discipline, small positive efforts every day, kindness, willingness to change, prayers, and spirituality will all work together to make our future brighter. It's time to realise that the future depends on you, and all you have to do is make an effort today. I've started doing my part, how about you?