Two Drops Of Oil. (The Secret of Happiness). A Story by Paulo Coelho.

A merchant sent his son to learn the Secret of Happiness from the wisest of men. The young man wandered through the desert for forty days until he reached a beautiful castle at the top of a mountain.

There lived the sage that the young man was looking for. However, instead of finding a holy man, our hero entered a room and saw a great deal of activity; merchants coming and going, people chatting in the corners, a small orchestra playing sweet melodies, and there was a table laden with the most delectable dishes of that part of the world.

The wise man talked to everybody, and the young man had to wait for two hours until it was time for his audience. With considerable patience, he listened attentively to the reason for the boy's visit, but told him that at that moment he did not have the time to explain to him the Secret of Happiness. He suggested that the young man take a stroll around his palace and come back in two hours' time.

"However, I want to ask you a favor," he added, handing the boy a teaspoon, in which he poured two drops of oil. "While you walk, carry this spoon and don't let the oil spill." The young man began to climb up and down the palace staircases, always keeping his eyes fixed on the spoon. At the end of two hours he returned to the presence of the wise man.

"So," asked the sage, "did you see the Persian tapestries hanging in my dining room? Did you see the garden that the Master of Gardeners took ten years to create? Did you notice the beautiful parchments in my library?"

Embarrassed, the young man confessed that he had seen nothing. His only concern was not to spill the drops of oil that the wise man had entrusted to him.

"So, go back and see the wonders of my world," said the wise man. "You can't trust a man if you don't know his house."

Now more at ease, the young man took the spoon and strolled again through the palace, this time paying attention to all the works of art that hung from the ceiling and walls.

He saw the gardens, the mountains all around the palace, the delicacy of the flowers, the taste with which each work of art was placed in its niche.

Returning to the sage, he reported in detail all that he had seen. "But where are the two drops of oil that I entrusted to you?" asked the sage. Looking down at the spoon, the young man realized that he had spilled the oil.

"Well, that is the only advice I have to give you," said the sage of sages. "The Secret of Happiness lies in looking at all the wonders of the world and never forgetting the two drops of oil in the spoon."

Thanks for reading.
See you next time.
M.


www.MarkSparks.com
Instagram: @marksparksinc

"Hey Train Wreck, This Isn't Your Station."

We're not totally responsible for what we attract in life, but we are responsible for what we decide to entertain.

When people or situations (which are generally brought by people, so people) come into our lives that is when our choice begins - do we entertain what they are bringing or do we let it pass?

Do we hold onto the lessons they are teaching or do we let them pass?

One of the wisest pieces of advice I ever got was that just because a thing comes my way isn't a reason to engage it and that I don't need to engage everything that comes my way.

This decision to choose what I engage with, what I spend energy and other resources on, what I entertain in my life created a sense of peace and power that I was lacking before. Sure, I've got a ways to go and grow in order to really reap the benefits of the wisdom shared with me but being aware of this power alone makes me stronger.

We are not obligated to take on everything that comes our way. And it's okay to tell the train that we aren't their station.
M.

Thanks for reading.
See you next time.
M.



www.MarkSparks.com
Instagram: @marksparksinc

Once upon a time I knew this woman. She was quite incredible, in fact some would say a wonder of a woman.

The thing about this woman was that she didn't quite believe in her own powers.

This presented a few problems for her and for building us. One was that she didn't believe in herself and those powers and another was that she didn't quite believe me when I would show and share how clearly I could see them.

And I understood where she created her disbelief - in her life her heart had been abused and lied to and used and disregarded. It was not treated like the jewel it is. Heck, she was not treated like the jewel she was, so she began to believe that maybe she wasn't one.

Even still, her radiance shone through without question.

So this woman had a fear of being all in because, well, because experience is a hell of a teacher and pain can be one hell of a motivator. So she played both sides and kept a foot out the door, "just in case".

That's where things began to fall apart.

You see, when one person is all the way in, anything but all in seems like, at best, a desire to get out. And even the strongest person can't stand in the face of being with someone who is continually looking for other options and fostering other options - options kept in part because her past conditioning. Other options kept just in case things don't work, or worse, in case things go as they have before.

Like I said? Even the strongest most confident person would only be able to endure that for so long and I am far from being that strongest or most confident person. I needed reciprocity. I needed all of her.

Days became weeks and weeks became months and months became years and through all this time nothing really changed. She kept her plans a secret, she kept her moves a secret and she kept her secret admirers a secret... well she tried.

I saw message after message of her back and forth and was told time after time of her lunch and dinner rendezvous. The thing is, I didn't care. Because I thought that it, like all things, would pass.

It didn't. And neither did her making plans with other people or building life for herself. And, oddly, the hurt began to grow and my drive to go above and beyond for this Queen began to subside. And, eventually, I simply had to leave in order to stay whole.

When I left she accused me of not wanting her physically anymore because she'd changed - not realizing that I was never attracted to her because of what her body, though banging, looked like.

I loved her soul. Truth be told, I still do. But love, sometimes, isn't enough. Especially when it isn't reciprocated.

An excerpt from "Learning To Love" by me, Mark Sparks.

Thanks for reading.
See you next time.
M.



www.MarkSparks.com
Instagram: @marksparksinc

Truth Is The Only Safe Ground To Stand Up On...

Truth is the only safe ground to stand up on... and it is the only way we can be who we are in the moments where it is vital to be who we are - a lesson I've only recently been blessed to put words to. Thank you.

"Be who you are

in the moments you are called to be who you are

and allow yourself to receive

what you desire."

On our truth is the only safe place to build anything lasting.
To do this, we must embrace who we really are & all that comes with that in order to grow and live joyously.

Too often we hide ourselves because we yearn to hide our flaws. We mask and cover up parts of us over and over until we aren't even sure who we are.

We don't take the time to connect with ourselves, to truly see ourselves and embrace ourselves and then we wonder why we cannot connect, truly connect with another person.
I, Mark Sparks, am imperfect. I am flawed. I've been broken on more than a few occasions and I have much work to do to grow into being the person I most desire to be and fulfilling the goals I most desire to achieve. I take full responsibility for my growth, for reaching my goals and for habitually tuning my ability to truly see.

The beauty in the moment of this clip resonates so deeply with me because it's a moment of decision for both Kas and Noni. It's a moment of complete honesty with each other, but even more, with themselves to themselves. No pretense. No game. No hiding of flaws. A moment to see, to really see.

When we see more than only what our eyes take in, we unlock our ability to speak the true language of the Universe and when we do, we are able to find what is for us with ease and shed what is not without anxiety, fear or worry. When we build on our truth, we are assured a safe place to stand on and build from.
Thanks for reading, I appreciate it greatly.
M.
Instagram @marksparksinc


Ps - if you were looking for fitness and health stuff, head over to www.SPARKSconditioning.com and join me on instagram @sparksconditioning for that info.




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I am blessed. Or Happy Dedicated Canadian Gratitude Day!

Recently I had a conversation with someone whose work ethic and heart I admire. They were asking me about a particular accomplishment in my life. I ended the share with the result I was blessed to achieve - winning. He asked me why I said blessed instead of simply "I won." It was a great question because it brought me to a place of incredible gratitude.


I say I am blessed each day because I know how lucky I am to have the opportunities I have - and I don't mean the "spectacular ones" only - I'm talking about the simple things like being able to see, waking up with control of my arms and legs and the rest of my body. I'm blessed to be able to form thoughts, dream my dream and work towards it's birth in the physical realm.


I say I'm blessed because, unknown to many, I've lost so much in my life and on a couple occasions, almost lost life itself. Through very little on my behalf at times I have made it through. To take credit for that would be absurd.


Do I work hard? Yes. My faith would not be proven true otherwise. Do I hope to earn what I receive? Absolutely, though luck often plays a part in success. Do I watch my habits and my thoughts and aim to align them with my vision over and over and over? No doubt.


But, even so, I am blessed. In defeat to learn a lesson and in victory to savor and share its sweet taste.


Happy Dedicated Canadian Gratitude Day!
Hope it's a blessed one.
M.


Ps - if you were looking for fitness and health stuff, head over to www.SPARKSconditioning.com and join me on instagram @sparksconditioning

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It's Not In Our Heads. (Again and Again). A Poem.

Again and again it happens
yet folks still say it's in our heads
yet not even a few week have gone by
before there's another
innocent black man shot dead.
And this isn't just a problem
of them against we
but a problem that has roots
in our lack of unity.
And my heart goes out
to the new families that join the pack
of families who've lost a loved one
simply for being black.
Again and again it happens
yet folks still say it isn't a fact
that life is made more dangerous
when you're born in North America black.


M.


www.MarkSparks.com



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Do The Right Thing. (Grandma Says).

Adversity: Character Builder or Character Revealer?

Someone once told me that adversity builds character. What I've witnessed in my life thus far is that adversity, more often, reveals character.

Almost anyone can "do the right thing," when that thing doesn't present a challenge or is either easy or convenient or both but what we do when something is hard or when something isn't convenient - when things hit the fan - that reveals who we truly are.

My Grandma use to always caution me to be aware of my actions - and reactions - when the going got tough & when things aren't easy. She also taught me, by default, to pay attention to the habitual reactions of those around me. She would ask me if my actions in those hard moments were a reflection of the person I desired to be? She'd encourage me to evaluate my actions against the actions of the person I'd have to grow into in order to reach my goals? And then she taught me to challenge myself to change, to grow actually - and to hold myself accountable to a higher standard, not in the easy moments but in those tough ones. Of course she'd most often punctuate a lesson with a bible verse from memory as well.

"A Leopard Can't Change It's Spots."

But can we really change our habits? Can we really grow?  Can, as the saying goes, an old dog learn new tricks? Absolutely. But growth takes habitual work. It takes meticulous focus. It takes planning and execution to change a habit. It takes implementing systems and habitually measuring and managing progress within that system.

Put simply, growth takes work. Lots of work. Lots of work day in and day out.
But the rewards make it worth it. And, as time goes by, our reaction under fire will reveal the character that we've built with that work, the character of the person we all strive to be: our very best.
M.


If you came looking for fitness and health post, thank you and head over to www.SPARKSconditioning.com  and join me on instagram @sparksconditioning.




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