ASSUMPTA International Publications featured Joselyn Dumas in it weekly NewsLetter Magazine title:
ALWAYS WITH JOSELYN
A Voice of Courage and Hope to save the young generation of Ghanaians by creating awareness to remind them of their worth.
So optimism, after all, means more than just believing that things aren’t as bad as you imagined, it means having justified confidence that they will be getting even better soon.
Joselyn
Today, you are all shining like sunshine with hope brightly all over you illuminating all Ghanaian Societies. Today is the second episode starting with the paragraph: “So optimism, after all, means more than just believing that things aren’t as bad as you imagined, it means having justified confidence that they will be getting even better soon”
Young Children
Mmmmm, this would be very challenging.
Joselyn
I will tell you a story I adapted from sgi-president Ikeda’s guidance in the Wisdom for Creating Happiness and Peace, part 3,p.155-56.
The story is about a woman went to see Mahatma Gandhi to urge him to speak to her son. The boy, around 7 years old, was very fond of eating sweets and consumed them in great quantities, causing a rash all over his body.
No matter how his parents nagged him, he wouldn’t stop eating sweets. After hearing the mother’s story, Gandhi asked the woman to return with his son in 15 days and said he would speak to the boy.
When the woman returned to Gandhi with her son as Gandhi instructed. Gandhi spoke to the boy for less than a minute. From then on, the boy stopped eating sweets.
Puzzled, the mother returned to Gandhi a few days later to ask Gandhi what sort of miracle Gandhi had performed on her son. Gandhi replied that it was not a miracle. The reason I had asked you to return in 15 days was so that I Gandhi could also give up sweets myself before asking your child to do the same.
Gandhi did not only relay this to the boy but also he said he wouldn’t touch any sweets until the boy’s rash healed.
Young Children :
What was the secret to Gandhi’s success ?
Joselyn
Living by the creed ” Gandhi challenged himself, so please do the same too”. I will also emphasise the need for young people to become aware of the explanations you make for events, the unconscious dialogue you conduct within yourselves when you run up against some kind of problem.
Young Children
We tend not to notice the quirks in our own thinking because over the years we have become habitual.
Joselyn
What I will suggest is to becoming aware of these thoughts-habits is to write down what you are thinking to yourselves when you encounter some minor frustrating situation.
If you find that you tend to react to events pessimistically, then you can practice ( disputing ) your own negative beliefs to overcome that tendency.
Young Children p
For example, last weekend I rang a phone call and left a message for my friend to call me, but he didn’t return my call. And I thought to myself saying, “He must be ignoring me” or maybe he doesn’t call because I’m always selfish.” Would you say I am a pessimist or I have a pessimist thought?
Joselyn
If I heard you saying such things, I would be quick to point out to you that you are jumping to negative conclusions. But when the conversation is just between you and yourself, then you seem to be ready to believe the worst.
This is why the woman, after learning to objectively dispute her own negative beliefs, returned to Gandhi to ask what sort of miracle Gandhi had performed on her son. And Gandhi replied that it was no miracle. She could have thought Gandhi ignored her when he asked her to come after 15 days.
I hope young people will have big dreams and be bold and courageous. I also hope that you will help others before they help themselves, this is the path to personal growth.
Young Children
We also hope that Our president Nana Akuffo-Addo will visit us in our schools as he has been described as a good leader.
Joselyn
The answer lies in believing in the invitation by writing letters to the President through flagstaff House, or the Jubilee House, which is the President’s palace.
If there are other friends who want to join us in the next episode, let them join. Till now let’s end today’s episode. Thank you all.
