Mahatma Gandhi VS Ralph Waldo Emerson

Mahatma Gandhi [October, 2, 1869- January 3, 1948] once said, “Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behaviors. Keep your behaviors positive because your behaviors become your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.”

What can we learn from these wise remarks? Of course, we have to know that there are some stages in shaping our future. The stages which form the color of destiny we' will get next. These stages can be described as follow; our thoughts will produce the words we express. Then, our words produce the behaviours we act. These behaviors, next, will shape our habits. The habits then lead to our values in life, and finally these values will attract the color of destiny we've got.

What Mahatma Gandhi said above seems to get influence a lot from the ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson [May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882], similar with Gandhi’s remarks , Emerson adviced us, “Sow a thought and you reap an act; Sow an act and you reap a habit; Sow a habit and you reap a character; Sow a character and you reap a destiny.”

Very similar, aren’t they? No matter how similar their ideas are, what we should ponder here is that the thought should be well managed in order to enable it to work effectively for the sake of our goodness. How to keep it that way? I’m completely sure that everybody has known, or at least should have known how. There’s no other way as to keep a careful track of our all senses in order to absorb only the good and the positive things. Why? Since such things will automatically give positive influences to the way we think. At the end, the way we think eventually navigate the kinds of lives we will live. What kind of destiny are you gonna have in the future, my mate? It’s totally up to how well you use your brain to build up the state of your thoughts. If gold you put in it, then the gold you will take out from it . Any ideas?

Surat Untuk Tuhan,

Tuhanku, tiba-tiba aku merasa ada kesejukan merembesi hatiku,
Seperti kesejukan yang mungkin dirasakan oleh orang-orang yang Engkau kasihi,
Seperti rasa teduh yang dinikmati oleh para sufi,
Biarkan rasa ini terus mengalir di sanubariku, Tuhan..
Tuhanku, aku tak begitu kuat seperti para nabi,
aku tidak setegar para kiyai,
Aku tak setebal iman seperti umat-umatMu yang tekun memujaMu.
Meski aku sungguh pemujaMu, aku pengikut setiaMU, namun, Tuhan, aku masih lemah, masih amat tergantung padaMu!
Tuhanku, bimbing tanganku agar terus berjalan di garisMu,
Arahkan langkahku ketempat yang Engkau redhoi,
Tuhanku, aku sungguh takut pada azabMu,
Cuma itu yang aku tahu..
Tuhanku, apalah aku tanpa bimbinganMu. Apalah aku tanpa uluran rahmatMu, apalah aku tanpa rangkulan cintaMu, apalah aku tanpa belai kasihMu,
Tuhanku, tuhanku..
Jangan ciptakan aku bila hanya menjadi manusia yang tak berguna untuk Mu dan untuk sesama.
Ambil saja aku bila hanya menjadi duri bagi Mu dan bagi yang lain,
Tuhanku, aku sungguh merasakan betapa Engkau
selalu membimbing arahku,
Betapa diriMu selalu membisikkan semua kebenaranMu,
Terimakasih, Tuhan…
Teruslah berada didekatku…
Teruslah bimbing langkahku …
Tak ada apa pun dan siapa pun yang patut menerima syukurku,
Selain Engkau, Ya… Allah SWT, Sang Maha Pecinta!