Legend has it that Robert the Bruce of Scotland was losing the battle and he barely escaped with his life. His soldiers were hard pressed to keep up the fight as many were wounded and dying. The Bruce, tired, dismayed and broken-hearted found a hidden cave where he took refuge.

He threw down his sword and sat to rest a while. Gloomy thoughts filled his mind and he reflected on the insurmountability of the task he had tried to accomplish. Perhaps Scotland would never be free — at least not in his lifetime. Perhaps he should abandon all efforts, give it up and lead an obscure life as a fugitive.

As these thoughts raced through his mind, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a tiny spider trying to climb a strand of web that extended from the top of the cave almost to the floor. Up went the spider and just a few feet from the top, it slipped and fell all the way down.

Over and over again the spider repeated the process as the exhausted Bruce watched, fascinated by the perseverance of the little life form. Once again the spider climbed, this time almost reaching the top. Again it slipped and fell to the floor of the cave. Now with rapt attention, Robert the Bruce watched to see its next move. A few more tries and finally, with one quick dash, the spider reached the ceiling. The Bruce slowly got up, picked up his sword, cleared the depressing thoughts from his mind and went back into the battle, inspired by the strength, will and perseverance of such a tiny creature as a spider. The rest is history. The battle was won and the Bruce was, once more, the triumphant, gallant leader of his people.

There are times when everything in life seems dark and dreary. There are those times when we feel we are totally unable to take the next step or to even move one inch. These are precisely the times when we most need inspiration.

Why inspiration? It helps recharge our energy when all seems hopeless. It gives us encouragement when our “spiritual well has gone dry”.

The dictionary gives different meanings to the word, “inspiration”. But I think “inspiration” actually means divine messages from the Universe. There are many sources of inspiration and I want to list a few of them below.

1) Nature — In the middle of the worst crisis, we could take a few minutes to clear our minds and look up to the sky or the stars. A little walk in the park or in the woods will do wonders for the body, mind and spirit. Breathe in the fresh air, watch the ripples on a pond or river, get inspired by the sheer magnificence of Nature.

2) Music — Listen to some music you really like. The sound will take your mind to another place and you’ll find that miracles can occur.

3) Books and tapes — Spend a little time absorbed in a good book. And I don’t mean just self-help or spiritual books. It could be any book that engages your mind and thoughts. For example, when things seem really gloomy to me, I’d read one of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan tales. For me, that works. For you, it might mean a totally different type of book.

And audio tapes, CD’s, video tapes and DVD’s have been a wonderful gift from technology. Just the other day I watched the movie, Richard Bach’s “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” on my video player. Shortly thereafter, I watched the western movie, “They Call Me Trinity” on my DVD player. Talk about being recharged! I was able to face the seeming impossible and come out smiling.

4) Friends — We are fortunate if we have a few good friends. Somebody once asked me if I told my friends about something I was very involved with. I smiled and answered, “Yes, I told them all — both of them.” Real friends are few and far between, but they can be a tremendous help to you by just being there and listening.

There are other sources of inspiration and I am sure you can come up with your own list that works for you. For example, take a long drive, go fishing, bake some cookies, paint a picture or make some pottery. The point is simple. Use all the sources of inspiration available to get you through your tough times — to help you, not only to overcome but to prosper. Remember, the Universe is on your side. Just give it a chance to show its magnificence in your life. Happiness should always be our most important goal. All else is secondary. Lift up your eyes and look beyond your troubles. Perhaps you’ll see a whole new, beautiful day dawning for you. It’s there. Go for it.

In the United States, we just celebrated the “Thanksgiving” holiday. Many other countries have their
own versions of “Thanksgiving.” But thanksgiving is not something that should be celebrated on one
particular day of the year. It is good that a day has been chosen for this, but it is up to each and every one of us to be “giving thanks” all year long.

Sometimes we look around at our financial situation and think that there is nothing to be thankful for. Other times we glance at our relationship or health challenges and think that giving thanks borders on the absurd. Yet, if we look around us, we can see that we are not alone in our trials, that many others are having to face similar problems.

Being thankful for life itself is a way of making life better. When we look away from our problems, even for a short time, and generate joy in our hearts, we find that the world seems to change a bit. I do not know why this is so and I don’t really need to know. All I know is that the universe seems to respond quickly to a grateful heart.

A grateful heart is, perhaps, a heart full of “greatness.” Maybe, the way it works is that when we break focus with our problems and we take a break from being miserable, the River of Life flows more gently and more fully through our being.

Try it for yourself sometime. Stop what you’re doing for one or two minutes and quiet your mind. If you’re really frightened by appearances around you or if your problems seem insurmountable, you may find that stilling your mind becomes a very difficult task. But with a little practice, a minute or two at a time, it becomes easier to do.

During this minute or two, think of two or three things or events you are or should be grateful for. Feel how fortunate you are to have them. For example, I consider myself extremely blessed to have had my two children, Malika and Jonathan, grow up the way they have. True, there were times when I considered running away from home. And yes, there were moments of anxiety and concern when I thought to myself that children were created for the sole purpose of inflicting insanity on their parents. But don’t most of us feel that way once in a while?

Yet, with all the ups and downs of being a parent, I consider myself the most fortunate person on earth to have Malika and Jonathan as my children. They have taught me patience, unconditional love and much more than I can ever list here. I have learned from them. I could not be who I am without the experience of being their father. And for this, I’m grateful. I give thanks.

How about unfortunate situations. Am I happy or grateful that my wife died when she was only in her thirties? Should I be thankful that I was left with two young children to raise and an entire life to reorganize? Of course not! But I am grateful that she was my wife for the years we spent together. She was only nineteen when we were married. I am grateful for her love, for her kindness and compassion and for making it possible for me to be what I am today. We could all turn tragedy into triumph and disaster into divine outcomes if we maintain a spirit of gratitude and if we listen to our heart and soul. It is in our quiet times, in our “thanksgiving” moments that we can hear the universe sing to us. If we listen carefully, we can hear it say, “You are my child and I love you dearly. Look around you. All that I have is yours. Everything is yours. It always has been. Please unwrap your gifts.”

I first met Cindy during my second year of college. It was in the cafeteria where she bumped into me. Yes, she literally bumped into me and her food tray went crashing into everything. I heard her mutter under her breath, “What an idiot!”

“Pardon me,” I replied, not knowing what else to say, but definitely feeling that it was not my fault. “Oh no,” she said, “It’s always my fault. I am really so clumsy. I am very sorry.”

Then I realized that she was referring to herself when she had said, “What an idiot.” Over the months I got to know her a little better. Sometimes we’d sit at the same table in the cafeteria and other times I’d be sitting next to her in a class.

It never ceased to amaze me how often she repeated the phrase, “What an idiot”, at the smallest thing that happened. It was as if she had been programmed to respond to the slightest misfortune with self-blame. One day I finally asked her why she kept referring to herself as an idiot. Her eyes opened wide as she said that she was not aware that she did. She confessed that it was probably a habit and that she always felt that when anything bad happened, it was her fault. She told me that the voice in her head always told her that she was an idiot and pointed out that she was not as good as others. The constant, negative chatter in her mind had prevented her from achieving her greater potential.

Cindy managed to graduate and we eventually lost touch with each other. But I always wondered how she was doing. I always hoped that she was able to still the chatter in her mind and to change the programmed voice to a more positive self-image.

The matter of chatter is a very serious one. If we were to listen carefully to what we are saying to ourselves we would find very interesting conversations going on. If we are happy and fulfilled, these internal conversations would probably be positive. If we are constantly worried and depressed, we would probably have sad and confusing conversations.

We can literally change the outside world by first changing our inner world. Generally, it’s our inner conversations that determine what our outer world looks like. If we constantly think sad thoughts, then our self-talk will focus on sad things and the entire world will appear depressing.

If we always think angry thoughts, the world will appear angry. Even a beautiful sunset would appear to be filled with angry shades of red. But if we think peaceful and positive thoughts, the world will seem peaceful and positive to us.

So how do we silence the endless chatter in our heads? Here are a few tips:

* Try to find some quiet time each day and listen to what you are saying to yourself. Don’t be like Cindy who kept calling herself an idiot. Once in a while we all say terrible things about ourselves, but if we do it too often, it becomes a habit and we start believing those things.

* As you listen to the conversation in your head, do not follow them. Just observe them and let them go. If you start to focus on the thoughts, you’d get caught up in them and then get carried away by them.

* After observing your thoughts for a while, you’ll find that they move on and you are not trapped by them. Remember that your thoughts are not you. You only have them. Don’t even worry about replacing them with positive thoughts; that will come later.

Simple as the above exercise may seem, it will have the most profound effect on your life. Gradually, at first, and then faster, you’ll find that a greater calm comes over you.

Because you’ve let go of the chatter, the noise diminishes and you are now able to hear the voice of intuition, the voice of the universe seeking to guide and help you.

Yes, it’s a matter of chatter, clatter and clutter and if we turn the volume down, we will be able to hear the beautiful symphonies of life.