Adriana’s friends know her as Miss Sentimentality because every little thing has a sentimental value to her. She gives nothing away so her house is filled with old magazines, every single greeting card she ever received, her projects and test scores from grade school,  even old clothes she had not worn in twenty years.

Her hoarding was now at a point where she lacked a functional living space. Labeled boxes of past memories surrounded the house. “You never know, what if I need them one day” was her usual response to her friend’s urge to get rid of the clutter. She often enjoyed indulging in reveries, re-reading letters and going over photographs from her teenage and young adult years. She so held on to these memories that there was no room for new ones. She was even blinded to the unlivable condition that her home had become for these items had become more important than all else.

One day in January rain fell, as was the norm this time of the year in São Paulo, but this time it lasted for seven straight days. Flooding became an issue causing a lot of residents to evacuate, including Adriana. Her strong emotional connection to her cherished possessions made the parting extremely difficult causing her serious anxiety and ultimately leading to her fainting. She was rushed to the hospital where she regained consciousness but it will be a long road to recovery for Adriana because she has no anchor from where to draw strength. She never made room for the things that matter most.

…….

How much of what we carry about (past disappointments, grudges, resentment, blame etc) is of any value ?  Every difficulty, could we but see, means progress. At the very least, it is an opportunity to develop an increased level of inner calmness and patience. Seeking faults in others, no matter how justified one thinks he is in doing so, is of no spiritual benefit and is therefore an inefficient use of one’s energy.  As with Adriana, carrying around all this baggage shrinks our functional living space thus preventing new light and power from penetrating and invigorating the spirit.

Inspired by the actions of Mother Teresa, business mogul Adetayo Williams formed “Rise Up Africa,” a nonprofit organization with the mission to end the cycle of poverty in Sub-Sahara Africa. He invested all his wealth and energy towards the realization of his vision of an Africa where every child has the resources to develop his or her innate talents, thereby making it possible for them to contribute to the prosperity of their society as adults.

Mr. Williams attracted like-minded people who contributed their various skills and resources to the project. Gradually “Rise Up Africa” grew to become one of the most respected nonprofit organizations in the world. By the time of Mr. Williams’ death, the organization had slashed poverty in Sub-Sahara Africa by thirty percent.

The new chief executive officer, John Akorie, sincerely wished to fulfill his duties in accord with Mr. Williams’ vision so he devoted the greater part of his energy to the financial security of the organization. “The more financially stable the organization is, the more we can continue on the path indicated to us by the great Adetayo Williams,” he often told his staff.

Years went by and slowly the quality of service to the children began to suffer. The greatest minds in education, medicine, arts and business development who had eagerly worked with “Rise Up Africa” were no longer assisting the organization because Adetayo Williams’ passion for the kids, which fueled their enthusiasm, was absent. Contributions dwindled and the once great organization became insignificant. John Akorie’s intention was respectable but he made one subtle but drastic mistake; he allowed the welfare of the organization take precedence over the children it was founded to serve.

…….

Over the course of history, the earth has been blessed with many great prophets who showed the path to Light and Truth. Soon after their departure from the earth man began distorting these teachings, although sometimes unintentional but nonetheless harmful. The reason for this was simply the shift of focus from the essence of the teaching to the maintenance of the organization or religion. Truth cannot be arranged, molded or classified, when an attempt is made to arrange truth, the truth becomes a lie.

“Fools and intelligent people are equally undamaging. Half-fools and half-sages, these are the most dangerous of all.”

~ Johann Wolfgang Von Geothe