A Hero’s Journey to Becoming a Diamond

 

You are the hero of your own life – always! Yet, at certain moments, we go beyond our personal needs and act selflessly for others. Then from hero we become a hira.

This is the story of a wealthy jeweler who chose exactly that path. Instead of living a comfortable retirement or a religious one, as was common in old India, Brahma Baba took up the mantle of being his own hero.

All of us play the role of hero in our lives, but not everyone realizes it. A hero navigates life boldly, discovering new inner lands, helping others with courage and shaping reality instead of waiting for it to change.

Brahma Baba was one of the few who recognized this. He founded an organization that today serves millions around the world. Rather than waiting for transformation in a harsh world, he planted a seed - and watched a garden grow.

He faced obstacles, even from those he wished to help. It was then the coal - the ordinary human striving to do good - underwent the final fire of transformation and became a hira, a shining diamond.

We too carry that potential within us. We can be our own heroes and, at times, heroes for others. But very few shine like Brahma - a hero for others, an angel for millions.

 

Today, I invite you to be your own hero.
Today, I invite you to begin becoming a hira.

Effects of a modern life: burnout

 

We live in a very modern world with so many facilities. Life in general is easier than 50 years ago… And so, why do we get stressed?

Some time ago, stress was the main enemy in the workplace and for society in general. In fact, many years ago, when I had to… eh… miss my job for one day, I went to a doctor who, without any real exam, gave me a note saying I was with stress… Yes, that was part of life and my boss accepted it without any argument.

Then, it seemed stress became a thing of the past or part of our normal, not sure which. People stopped talking about it and you wouldn’t see doctors referring to that anymore; instead, the new culprit was loneliness and social media.

My guess is that hyperconnectivity gave people a sensation stress was not a big thing by opening the door for multiple relaxation possibilities. After all, who can be stressed after watching a lovely video of a dog playing in the snow?

Present time: for some time now, stress is back to the headlines with many articles touching its extreme form: the burnout. It is that horrible sensation in which you are “burning”, or else your brain is getting hammered hardly. A person in that stage, and I have seen a few, cannot work properly or live a normal life.

In its extreme, burnout may even be lethal and its normalization will make people less aware and will not look for a solution. I hope this does not normalize or be forgotten… but the trend has been visible for years, it is destined...

What can we do to prevent burnout?

• Meditate a lot.
• Make space to process your emotions.
• Avoid shortcuts like addictions or constant distraction.
• Exercise and a good diet.
• Reduce unnecessary pressure.
• Limit time with people who drain or push you.
• Consider whether your work aligns with your wellbeing.
• Seek professional support when needed.
• Do things that nourish your happiness.
• Donate, be a volunteer, make other people happy, as giving heals.

And when the flags are all red and the signals are visible (burnout!), don’t wait. Look for medical help; your grandmother’s herb tea won’t work then…

I think we have all experienced stress and I don’t feel anybody is really free from burnout. Please, let’s not allow this to normalize or been forgotten. It is a reality and we must deal with it.

How can you like what is unlikeable?

 

I remember many years ago, someone cooked a sweet dish that I really didn’t like. In fact, it was horrible for my taste - and for a friend’s too. As he used to work in a food company, he immediately knew what to do: lots of chocolate over it! At last, we could eat it.
Many aspects of our lives seem to require lots of chocolate just to be livable.

Because the tendency is this: when we face something we don’t like, someone who doesn’t agree with us, or situations that are clearly not working as they “should”, we instinctively think that should change. The other person. The circumstances. Reality itself.

And yet, very often, that wish is unrealistic.

The reality is rather uncomfortable: we truly have control over just one thing in the whole universe - ourselves. And even that comes with effort, strength and a good dose of humility.

From an Eastern perspective, something quite radical is suggested: instead of fighting life, we endeavor to embrace it as it is. Not as resignation, but as clarity that is born from resilience. Seeing things clearly, without denial and an unnecessary drama.

If possible, of course, change the ingredients, adding a bit more of “chocolate” in whatever you are living. If needed, prepare for the future, taking some chocolate with you, just in case.

And always, cultivate flexibility - internally and externally - so that agreements, adjustments and new perspectives can emerge.

Sometimes there is no chocolate to pour on top. Sometimes the dish stays bitter. But the invitation from life is not to like everything, but to stop rejecting it so fiercely. To notice what is happening inside us. To soften. To learn. To grow.

Maybe liking the unlikeable is not about changing the taste of life, but about changing the way we meet it.

The New Year was knocking at her door...

 

“New... What is new, really?”

Her body was getting older and older. The same was true of her house, her shoes, her cell phone, and everything she owned.

The same for her relatives, neighbors, and everyone she knew.

Because everything and everyone felt old, new things no longer touched her heart or her mind. Not even the New Year... just something people fabricated.

For the past ten years, it had been the same - some kind of rejection. She had even thought of covering all the mirrors in her apartment so she would not have to see her ugly, old face. Of course, there were no calendars in the house either...

One day, as she was preparing herself to do a few tasks, the doorbell rang. Strange... for some time now, she had not received a visitor who hadn’t called beforehand.

“Who is there?”

No response.

Well, the easy solution was to avoid it, so she simply didn’t open the door.

As the New Year drew closer, she noticed that the knocking at her door was becoming more persistent, more frequent. She thought of calling the police - but what for?

Right at midnight... almost midnight... on the last day of the year, the knocking on the door came again - this time very forcefully. It sounded as if it were about to break down the door.

Scared, but determined not to lose her door, she went and opened it.

And there it was: a little girl, smiling sweetly at her.

“Hello!”

Well, after so much “drama,” a simple “hello” wouldn’t do.

“You have been knocking at my door all these days! What do you want, young lady?”

“Well, I had to, don’t you see? I am the New Year...”

A crazy girl...

“Come with me.” She extended her small, gentle hands toward the old lady. “Come to the New Year.”

She was really scared now.

“I know you are scared, and that is not my intention. But if anyone in the world refuses to enter the New Year, then it is my job to come and take them. That is why I am here.”

She moved her hand closer to the old lady...

“Listen, it will be beautiful - I know that... and terrifying too!” She giggled a little. “However, it is already like that for you, right? So the New Year will be just a change of a number. By accepting it in your heart, at least it will be accompanied by some hope.”

This time, the old woman listened more attentively. She saw that it was useless to resist, and at last she gave her hand to the little girl.

It felt like a whirlpool, and for a few moments she felt elated - so happy, like never before.

And then it was over.

The door was in its original position. There was no sign of the little girl.

After some time, she sat down and decided to celebrate quietly.

The New Year.

The end of the old year.

The beginning of hope.

Newness for an old tradition

 

The robot looks strangely at the object he had just assembled at the entrance of the beautiful house.

His daily work is vast, but he does not complain; it is not in its programming... It simply does what it has to do in the best possible way, with the precision of an advanced science.

Everyone praises the quality of its food, both in nutrition and taste. Everyone is surprised by the cleanliness of the house, the clothes so well ironed, the dishes washed and everything else that a home entails.

At night, it sleeps like everyone else, recharging the battery. The next day, it goes back to work based on what it is told.

Even this strange object...

A Christmas tree.

For the robot, it's like anything else, but it's the first time that the inhabitants of that house showed so much interest by participating along with it in the task of the tree. And while the robot watches, people keep placing packages under it. Why?

Using the fantastic artificial intelligence that distinguishes it, in a quick search, it shows that they are Christmas gifts, a way to exchange love... Ten months ago, when it went to serve this house, that word came up in the middle of many conversations, overheard by the robot, who could never understand it well.

The next day, after a lot of work, much more than usual, the robot prepares to go to sleep when its master calls it. He is happy, more than usual, he takes one of the packages under the tree and hands it to the robot. On a sign, the robot's internal system is able to discern a word: JUANCITO.

Consciously, the robot knows that this is its code for these people, how to recognize that they require something from it. After a few microseconds of processing, the robot manages to interpret what was happening.

This package has his name on it.

This package is therefore his.

According to what he researched, it is a sign of love...

For another microsecond, he feels something... As if something internally had changed.

Delicately, according to his programming, he takes the package and thanks.

He takes it to the station where he lives, right next to the washing machine, and as he prepares to recharge overnight, he opens the package, as delicately as he had taken it.

Searching the networks, he finds that he had been given a hat, something quite useless, not practical for his day to day. Still, without knowing why, he puts it on his head and goes to sleep...

For the next few days and months, the robot would wear his hat without fail. Questioned by the company about their performance, the owners of the house could not be happier with his services.

For years, no one would be able to explain the old-fashioned robot that continued to serve a certain family, and his strange hat, complemented by a scarf, a Hawaiian shirt - on which he placed a tie - and all sorts of other elements...

Nor would they be able to explain the number of electronic elements that the members of that house carried, all with a little word written – and hidden, as they had to find it: JUANCITO.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Novedades para una vieja tradición

 

El robot mira extrañado el objeto que recién armó a la entrada de la bella casa.

Su trabajo diario es vasto, pero no se queja; no está en su programación… Simplemente realiza lo que tiene que hacer de la mejor manera posible, con la precisión de una avanzada ciencia.

Todos elogian la calidad de su alimento, tanto en nutrición como en sabor. Todos se sorprenden con la limpieza de la casa, la ropa tan bien planchada, la loza lavada y todo lo demás que supone un hogar.

Por las noches, duerme como todos, recargando su batería. Al día siguiente, vuelve a trabajar con base en lo que le indiquen.

Incluso, este extraño objeto…

Un árbol de navidad.

Para el robot, es como cualquier cosa, pero es la primera vez que los habitantes de esa casa mostraron tanto interés que participaron con él de la tarea del árbol. Y mientras el robot mira, la gente sigue colocando paquetes debajo de él. ¿Por qué?

Una rápida búsqueda, usando la fantástica inteligencia artificial que le distingue, muestra que son regalos de navidad, una forma de intercambiar amor… hace diez meses, cuando pasó a servir a esta casa, esa palabra surgió en medio de muchas conversaciones, escuchadas por el robot, que nunca pudo entenderlo bien.

Al día siguiente, tras mucho trabajo, mucho más que lo normal, el robot se prepara para irse a dormir cuando su amo lo llama. Está feliz, más que lo normal, toma uno de los paquetes bajo el árbol y lo entrega al robot. En un rótulo, el sistema interno del robot es capaz de discernir una palabra: JUANCITO.

Conscientemente, el robot sabe que este es su código para estas personas, la forma cómo reconocer que requieren algo de él. Tras unos microsegundos de procesamiento, el robot logra interpretar lo que estaba pasando.

Este paquete tiene su nombre.

Este paquete es por lo tanto suyo.

Según lo que investigó, es una muestra de amor…

Por otros microsegundos, siente algo… Como si algo internamente hubiese cambiando.

Delicadamente, según su programación, toma el paquete y agradece.

Lo lleva a la estación en que vive, justo al lado de la lavadora, y mientras se prepara para recargarse durante la noche, abre el paquete, con la misma delicadeza que lo había tomado.

Buscando en las redes, encuentra que le habían entregado un sombrero, algo bastante inútil, nada práctico para su día a día. Así mismo, sin saber por qué, lo pone en su cabeza y va a dormir…

Por los próximos días y meses, el robot usaría su sombrero sin fallar. Cuestionados por la empresa sobre su desempeño, los dueños de la casa no podían estar más felices con sus servicios.

Por años, nadie lograría explicar el anticuado robot que seguía sirviendo a una cierta familia, y su extraño sombrero, al lado de una bufanda, camisa hawaiana - sobre la que colocó una corbata - y toda suerte de elementos…

Tampoco lograrían explicar la cantidad de elementos electrónicos que los miembros de aquella casa portaban, todos con una palabrita escrita – y escondida, la tenían que encontrar: JUANCITO.

What to do when the initial energy fades…

 

There is a moment, at the beginning of anything new, when life feels brighter. An idea appears, a project begins, a relationship opens its first doors, something inside awakens. Fresh energy moves the mind; clarity feels natural and enthusiasm flows almost without effort.

Then, quietly, the initial spark begins to weaken. Routine settles in, doubts appear and the shine of the beginning slowly turns into a memory. It happens at work, in relationships, in personal goals and even in spiritual practice.

This is not a failure. It is simply the rhythm of life reminding us that beginnings are gifts, but continuity requires effort. First, the gift is opened and enjoyed. After that, it needs to be sustained.

Sometimes, fading energy is a sign that the original intention needs to mature. A small inner realignment may be enough: Is this still what truly matters? The question may not feel small, but clarity often returns when attention is brought back to what is really happening in life. That realization works like fresh air.

At other times, it is a signal that the pace has been too fast for too long. In those moments, slowing down becomes essential. Pausing, meditating or allowing life to flow again can restore balance. The spark that returns may not feel like excitement, but like clarity - and clarity is far more sustainable.

One thing matters here: restarting energy is not about forcing motivation. That rarely works. What truly helps is returning to purpose. Why did this journey begin in the first place? Reconnecting with that initial intention can reawaken momentum, gently and without pressure.

There are also a few practical ways to support this process.

• Simplify. When there is too much detail, expectation or demand, energy leaks away. Reducing a task to its essence often brings the spark back. The same happens in relationships: when emotional noise quiets down, what was beautiful from the start becomes visible again.
• Pause. A conscious, gentle pause resets the mind, softens the heart and allows energy to rise naturally. This may happen through meditation, by easing the workload or by walking in nature. What returns may not be excitement, but clarity - and clarity sustains movement over time.

The essential thing is this: don’t stop abruptly. Try again. Adjust. Explore different tools and perspectives. With patience and honesty with yourself, the initial spark often returns - changed, perhaps quieter, but deeper and more real.