A quote from slaughter house 5

I read this book some time back but this powerful quote will stay with me forever.

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom always to tell the difference.” 

This is something that us youngsters can put to use everyday. Identity your key areas of strength and deliver results in them instead of trying your hands in everything. Aiming for the sky is good but at one point we should take a step back and prioritise our goals. Recently one of our leaders was asked the key to his phenomenal rise within the company and what was the secret for his success. He gave a brilliant reply to it. He told he never aimed for this position. He just worked really hard in excelling the task at hand and gradually he was given more responsibility. Ultimately he is responsible for one of the most critical units of the organisation and still follows the same rule. He knew the things that he can change and he did change it.

Another simple interpretation of it is that you cannot change the past nor you can control the future. But the present is in your hands and do your best to fix that.

This quote was a prayer which was hung on the wall of the protagonist's office in the novel. It helped many of his patients to keep going in life. It does for me too.

You were looking for the key for years. But the door was always open.

Recently I was reading the book "The White Tiger". It gives true glimpses of the dark side of India and it also gives some nice quotes by top muslim poets. One of them really makes you think hard.

"You were looking for the key for years. But the door was always open.".

I looked for the actual urdu version of it but could not find it. I am sure that the urdu one would be even more beautiful.

Our entire life we strive to achieve happiness and everyone tries to find it from different sources. Some equate it with money, some with a big house, some with materials and some with the divine. But in this quest we forget to take a break and look around. Happiness is not a destination, it is your journey.

I go for a walk in the morning. That is happiness for me.
I can read everyday and finish at least one book a week. That is happiness for me.
Every evening I can sit and chat with my wife and laugh as we used to do when we were teenagers. That is happiness for me.
I can travel around and see new places every now and then. That is happiness for me.
By god's grace I have enough to fulfil my silly wants. That is happiness for me.

But if I just blindly work day and night to get the dream house or the dream salary and stop doing the above. Then will I be truly happy when I get those things? I don't think so. I will again change my goals and work tirelessly for that.

One simply quote but we can think about it for days and have so many interpretations about it.