Once, three masons were busy building a Church. A passerby was astonished to see them working well into the night. He made bold to enquire into the matter.

"What are you doing at this hour?" He asked. He received three different answers. One said drowsily, "I am making a living." The second one blurted out, "Can't you see? I am chipping stone blocks." And the third mason, glowing with pride, replied, "I am building the house of God."

Although all three masons were doing the same job of building the church, only one was doing the work with great enthusiasm. To do any work, it is not enough to have experience. One must have enthusiasm, too. Enthusiasm, to put it in simple words, is putting one's heart into the work.

Food tastes delicious when it comes from our mother's kitchen. I often asked my mother, when I was pretty young, how she concocted such fantastic dishes. On all such occasions, it was my father who answered: "Your mother throws her heart into the dish... That's what makes it what it is." And the lesson I learnt from my parents: "Put your heart in whatever you do and feel the difference. "

Whether you are a servant or a sergeant, a physician or a butcher, a comedian or a hero, it all depends on your attitude. What you should put into your work is interest. That interest is known as enthusiasm. It is the divine fire that makes one above his routine chores.

Genuine enthusiasm is the beauty and the power of heroism. There is a vast difference between enthusiasm and excitement. Psychologists aver that while enthusiasm is grave, inward, and self-controlled, excitement is outward, fantastic, hysterical, and fleeting. That is to say, from one aim to its very opposite. This concept can be explained through a short and crisp poem:
The bull bellows loudest,
But it's the cow that gives the milk.
A butterfly is beautiful
But it's the worm that spins the silk.
The rooster does the crowing
But it is the hen that lays the egg.

What is said in the poem is true to the core. Some people show off their position, but what is it if they don't have a proper disposition? This focal point can be further illustrated through a branch story from The Mahabharata, to recognise the power and the beauty of enthusiasm.

A sage once visited the palace of Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna. Since both father and son were away at that time, Abhimanyu's wife, Uttara, gave them a royal welcome. The sage was so pleased with her hospitality that he presented her with an unheard-of magic mirror. The mirror was so special that it refused to show the onlooker's face. It displayed the mind of the one who looked into it. What? How can a mirror display one's mind? Yes... That was the speciality of the magic mirror.

Uttara looked into the mirror and saw not her face but her husband's. Immensely pleased, she showered the mirror with praise and wanted to show it to her husband, only to find out who was on his mind.

An hour or so later, Abhimanyu returned to his palace. His wife briefed him about the visit of the sage and his magic gift. She wanted him to hold the mirror in front of his face. He did. To his great surprise, the mirror beamed the face of Uttara. It made both very happy. They loved each Other all the more.

Precisely at that time, Abhimanyu's maternal uncle, Kannan (Lord Krishna), entered. He wanted to know the reason behind their jubilation. Abhimanyu told him about the gift his wife had received from the sage. Further, he said, "Look into this mirror, uncle. Let us see who among your two wives occupies your mind."

Kannan smiled, as usual, with a divine smile and stood before the magic mirror. Abhimanyu and Uttara had the shock of their lives when the mirror showed neither Rukmani nor Bama. It displayed the image of Shakuni, the motive hunting malignity.

"Can't believe this, uncle. How can Shakuni occupy a predominant place in your mind when your well wishers are so many here?" asked Abhimanyu.

Kannan guffawed before he replied: "People praise me and send their prayers to me only when their demands have to be fulfilled. And once they are satisfied, they forget all about me. But Shakuni is quite different. He is a scheming villain and cruel strategist. He always plans for my downfall. And I to have to find out the ruse to escape from him. No wonder that he is always on my mind".