Appreciating the Simple things of life

1 Posted by - December 7, 2013 - Radhanath Swami

 

Affection is a simple thing. Children, by nature being very simple, they just want to be loved, and they just want to love. These are simple gifts of life: doesn’t cost money, doesn’t need scientists to research, and doesn’t need all kinds of technological updates. And ultimately, through that love when we connect to God, and actually realize God’s love for us, there is nothing more satisfying; then in whatever situation we might be in, we will be happy.

Otherwise, we are agitated, lonely and bored from within, and to cope with that we need all kinds of distractions. Those distractions can divert our attention away from the emptiness within, but it can’t fill the need that we have, the need to love and be loved. The real need has to  affection, happy, agitated, lonely, bored, appreciation, gratitude, natural gifts, god, radhanath swami be understood, or else it’s a serious problem—when we are merely trying to find distractions, to somehow preoccupy our mind and life with things.

In an evolved human society, people love people, and they use things. But unfortunately, the way the world is today, all too often people love things and they use people to get them. Thus there is a very large crisis of trust in this world, and it creates so many problems in relationships. When our relationships are based upon values, we can trust each other. We can only be trusted when we are trustworthy—when we are faithful, when we have a higher integrity than what the mind and the senses are always demanding.

As technology is spinning us into higher and higher dimensions, we have to balance that with what is actually required to have quality in life; things alone cannot give us quality life; appreciation and gratitude for natural gifts, for each other, and for God’s grace—that gives quality life. When we use the incredible resources that are available in the world with that spirit, we can be instruments of enormously positive change within the world. And making that inner connection with the simple essence of life can actually be fulfilled by sincerely chanting God’s names.

–Radhanath Swami