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Each opportunity is a possibility. If we can turn this possibility into reality then the whole life can be oriented towards a new direction and its present state can be completely altered. Opportunities are either veiled or manifest, but to recognize, accept and make best use of them is entirely dependent on an individual. Some opportunities are hidden and some others evident. Some of them knock at our doors and some have to be searched. Sometimes people need to seek opportunities, and sometimes opportunities search for the right people!

Opportunities can be ordinary or very special. It is possible to turn an ordinary occasion to a special one, but often special opportunities also look like ordinary to normal people. It completely depends on an individual how he uses the opportunities he is offered, what he does with them and how much he gets out of them. A stone may look ordinary to a common being, but to a jeweler or a connoisseur it could be a very high valued diamond. Till a person becomes wise enough to understand the importance of opportunities, he keeps wasting his life, regarding them as ordinary stones. In contrast, a wise person understands the value of even ordinary stones and knows how to make good use of them.

This life that is bestowed upon us by the Almighty is also a great opportunity for every human being. How one makes use of his life depends upon each individual. The action he performs today becomes the basis to determine what will be his future life.

Life as a compilation of moments of time is offered to every individual as a gift by the Creator. Utilizing this one person becomes a great ascetic, another becomes a famous business man, while another becomes just a commoner and yet another becomes a beggar who lives a life dependent on others. Making use of opportunities offered as time, some earn so much that they donate immense wealth in charity, while not making use of the opportunities some others become so poor and downtrodden that their arms are always raised to seek alms. Some become so strong and brave that none can rise to oppose them, while others become so timid that they are obliged to bow down before everyone.

Opportunities are always invaluable; their worth cannot be compared to anything else. By making a good use of these some reach great heights and become rich starting from being poor. Opportunities are like stairs that a person can use to climb and succeed. On the other hand, missing opportunities sometimes become like deep gorges, which push a person into depths that are difficult to scale.

Every moment of life brings with it a unique opportunity making best use of which one can become special from being a commoner. But sometimes there come some special opportunities that are capable of changing the entire orientation of life. Astrology indicates that there come special times which have a unique alignment of heavenly bodies. These times come rarely and persist for a short while, but when special spiritual practices are performed during these opportune moments, astonishing results are obtained. And when such moments have passed then the same spiritual practices do not produce the same kind of results. Likewise in life also opportunities lead to greater successes at some suitable times as compared to at other normal times. So these special moments are sought after and their importance is extolled everywhere.

To identify good opportunities one needs to acquire the keen eye akin to an experienced jeweler who can accurately differentiate between a precious and a normal stone. But such a knack does not get developed automatically. For this, a lot of effort has to be put in and the art needs to be perfected with practice. Similarly, every person must learn how to understand the importance of present situations. One must observe the drifts of time, recognize the directions in which the world is headed, and listen to the door-knocks of opportunities. Normal people cannot make good use of special opportunities because they lack the necessary expertise or capability to recognize their importance.

The only way to make good use of the special opportunities is to put in efforts to enhance our capabilities, develop acumen to overcome difficulties and hindrances, and instill courage to fight adversities. There is a rule of life that if a person’s mental balance gets disturbed when faced with ordinary difficulties, then he would never be able to recognize the great opportunities that present themselves before him.

If a person does not take steps forward towards his goal and makes good use of opportunities that come, he will continue to stay exactly where he was. Also if a person does not change his outlook with changing times he would not be able to grab good opportunities in unfamiliar circumstances. To identify good opportunities, one needs to have a keen eye, capability to fight adversities and ability to act differently from the normal people.

Benjamin Disraeli, the famous politician and novelist of England has said that the true secret of success is to be ever prepared for opportunities and whenever any opportunity comes by, grab it. Favorable opportunities knock at our doors only for a few moments. If we lose those moments, then we may end up wasting months or years to succeed. Inspirational author Swett Marden has said ‘Don’t wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them’. Wise people also say that people who wait for opportunities are only the ordinary beings. Extraordinary people create opportunities for themselves. So rather than searching for opportunities, we must regard each moment of life as invaluable and make a good use of it.

Better utilization of present circumstances helps create great opportunities. Good opportunities can lay hidden anywhere; to find them we must make good use of present circumstances and search for solutions of problems at hand. There is an interesting anecdote in this regard. A king once placed a large rock right in the middle of a path and hid himself behind the trees to observe people’s reactions. First he saw rich businessmen pass by. They cursed at the rock and maneuvered their carts around it and moved on. During the day a number of people passed by but none moved the rock. In the evening a farmer came. Seeing the rock obstructing the road he decided to move it off. After considerable effort he succeeded in doing it. There was a packet lying under the rock. In that there were gold coins and a letter written by the king that said – this is a prize for the person who removes the rock from the road. This anecdote tells us that efforts to overcome obstacles are also a gift like opportunity. If we focus not on the obstacles, but the opportunities that lie behind it, the way to reach our destination can be easily simplified.

Yugrishi Pandit Shriram Sharma Acharya says that a person must always work hard to enhance his capabilities and competence. This will help him in utilizing the opportunities well and identifying them easily. This way, life given to us in the form of time will be used well, special opportunities would come to us on their own and we will not have to go searching for them.

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