life is fun

A famous writer was in his study room. He picked up his pen and started writing:

**Last year, I had a surgery and my gall bladder was removed. I had to stay stuck to the bed due to this surgery for a long time.

**The same year I reached the age of 60 years and had to give up my favourite job. I had spent 30 years of my life in this publishing company.

**The same year I experienced the sorrow of the death of my father.

**And in the same year my son failed in his medical exam because he had a car accident. He had to stay in bed at hospital with the cast on for several days. The destruction of car was another loss.

At the end he wrote: Alas! It was such bad year!!

When the writer's wife entered the room, she found he husband looking sad lost in his thoughts. From behind his back she read what was written on the paper. She left the room silently and came back with another paper and placed it on side of her husband's writing.

When the writer saw this paper, he found this written on it:

**Last year I finally got rid of my gall bladder due to which I had spent years in pain.

**I turned 60 with sound health and got retired from my job. Now I can utilize my time to write something better with more focus and peace.

**The same year my father, at the age of 95, without depending on anyone or without any critical condition met his Creator.

 **The same year, God blessed my son with a new life. My car was destroyed but my son stayed alive without getting any disability.

At the end she wrote:

This year was an immense blessing of God and it passed well!!

 See!!

The same incidents but different viewpoints. If we ponder with this viewpoint that what could have happened more, we would truly become thankful to the Almighty.

Moral : In daily lives we must see that its not happiness that makes us grateful but gratefulness that makes us happy.

There is always, always, always something to be thankful for.

Stay Blessed 😊

Good 

Circle of Love

It was over 20 years ago. I was holding my baby son in my arms while my two other children played under a big tree in the front yard of an old house. The house was also a local food bank and I was watching my children while my wife went in. I had been laid off work for a long time and we were out of food. I tried to laugh as my children chased each other around the tree but my heart was too heavy. Despair hung around me like a cloud. All I could feel was fear. Finally my wife came out holding a large bag of food and we smiled at each other. Thanks to the kindness of others our children would not go hungry that night.

It was yesterday. I found myself outside the doors of another food bank. Thanks to the kindness of a kindred spirit I had some extra money in my wallet and a longing to share this gift with others. I went to the local grocery store and bought what I could with what I had. Then I carried in the bags of food to help restock the food bank's sparse shelves. The people there thanked me several times, but I felt a little embarrassed as I accepted their gratitude. I was, after all, only completing a circle of kindness that began over twenty years ago.

This world is full of circles of love. Every smile we share, thing we give, and act of kindness we do flows out from us to touch others. Then it continues on going from heart to heart and soul to soul until it circles the world and returns to us again. I was just happy to take my place in one of those circles yesterday and to pass on the loving-kindness that had been shared with me.

Don't be afraid to take your own place in these circles of love. A kind word, a caring smile, a gentle touch, a helping hand, or a simple act of charity can change another's life and this world as well. Circle all of your days with love then. Love will warm your heart. Love will bring you joy. Love will spiral you to Heaven and always lead you back to God.

Tiny little hands

Every night, when i return home from work, travelling in a cab, my eyes automatically turn towards a temple that is enroute to my home.

The reason being, there is a woman with her 2 little daughters, sitting at the entrance of the temple, waiting for the passerby to offer them something. when i see the tiny one, she is may be 1 1/2 yrs old, with a scarf around her tiny head, in the cold night, sitting along with her mother, sometimes eating something, other times, just wandering at the gate. She has touched my heart so much that i thank my heavenly father, for giving me a home, parents, a kind husband who takes care and a tiny daughter of mine as well.

The tender girl at the temple not sure about what life is, keeps always smiling, no worries on her mind and always accompanying her mother, except when it rains. In the cold winds, with her tiny feet, i sometimes see her sleeping on her mother's lap comforted without realizing what time of the day it is and what is happening around her.

I only pray, some good soul, offers them a good home a roof to live under instead of the open sky near the temple and food to live on instead of begging. God bless that Mother and her Two lovely daughters at the temple.

Greatest Regret

A stranger has come to visit me. She says she is family, but I have no family. No wife, no children, no parents, no siblings. I've never laid eyes on her before. Nonetheless, I can't deny our connection. She has my clear grey eyes and ginger hair and the same distinctive jawline and cheekbones. And moreover, the tenderness with which she treats me in my fragile state, clinging to this world by a thread, says more than appearances ever could. She is sorry she never had the chance to see me before and she sheds a tear at seeing me in this state, and the gentle warmth of her hand round mine is all the comfort in the world.

She tells me about her life. Her happy family childhood back in my old home town, after I'd already left. The success she'd enjoyed at college, buoyed up by the support from her father telling her that hard work would bring such rewards. The hard lessons she'd learnt in love and the joy she'd won in return when she discovered what was right for her. Whatever my conservative views, I could feel her joy when she described falling in love with a woman for the first time and my antipathy towards that lifestyle was swept away by the smile on her face.

She asked me about my life. My sorry childhood didn't match up to hers, raised with the fear of hell and beatings that left me always battling to prove myself as an adult. When I left for university it was a weight released, but the discipline stood me in good stead. My self-control won me awards, a career that from the first day supported me, the girl I loved, our dream wedding and home and everything she and I wanted. But then my need to prove myself took everything away. When I was offered my dream job on the other coast, she wouldn't come. Her family and friends meant more to her than me. She wanted me to decline it, but I saw that as failure. She stayed and I went and we tossed our marriage away.

I threw myself into my career to numb the pain, and my success was tremendous, but with no one to make happy with it, the shine was gone. Woman after woman came into my life and left but I never found love again. Looking into this stranger's eyes, I can see my ex-wife's love for me shining through and what I've known for years comes flooding out in tears - I walked away from the best thing I could ever have had.

She cradles me close as the regret consumes me. I blink through my tears and ask her, what if? What if I'd stayed? I could've been so happy. I could've had the world. I wish I'd realized then what was of true value, as I do now. Here I am, alone, with only a stranger to see me through my darkest, final night.

She wipes away my tears with gentle fingers. The world, she whispers, and more. Your wife would have loved you more each day. And you could have had me, dad. You could have had me.

Dots of light

I was in my backyard the other night. The evening, Autumn air was blowing. It was fresh, clean and cool without being cold. My dogs were sitting on the freshly fallen leaves and looking up at me, wondering why we hadn't gone back inside yet. The reason was that I was taking some time to gaze at the stars. The sky was almost completely clear of clouds and the heavens were twinkling.

It had been too long since I last looked at the billion stars in the night sky. Those little dots of light felt so warm to my heart and inviting to my soul. They seemed to radiate peace, joy, and Heavenly love to all who watched them. Suddenly, one of the few clouds left in the night sky drifted over the large patch of stars I was pondering upon and they disappeared. I frowned as the sky grew a little darker and finally decided to go inside.

As I opened my backdoor I thought of how each one of those little dots of light was special. Each one of them made the night sky a little brighter. Each one of them made the heavens a little more beautiful. I thought too of each of our lives here and how much our light was needed as well.

Don't let the clouds of this world block out your light. Let it shine everyday for God and for yourself. Your light comes from love and love is brighter than a billion galaxies. Let your own love glow from your smile, your laugh, and your life. Let it blaze in your acts of goodness and kindness. Let it be a beacon to help others to share their light as well. Let it be so luminous that the angels sing and God smiles. You may think that you are just a little dot of light in this universe. But without you everything is darker. Share your light always then and bring brightness with you wherever you go.

Tracks we leave

When I was a boy I used to love walking in the woods around my home. My Mom warned me several times never to travel so far that I would lose sight of the house. Being a typical boy, however, I soon found myself hiking further and further away, testing just how far I could go into the woods without getting lost. After losing my way once for two hours, though, I decided that I had better leave a trail the next time I went for a walk.

The very next day I decided to try it. I walked into the woods until the house was out of sight. Then I broke a small branch on a young tree to mark my place. I wandered further in and broke another limb and then another. In a few spots where there was no limbs small enough I snapped the heads off Daises and Queen Anne's Lace that were growing where the sunlight broke through the trees. After a while I finally got tired and decided to head back. Turning around I easily found my tracks, but instead of being proud I felt sad. I could see the trail of destruction I had left in the woods going on and on. Looking at the broken limbs and dead flowers I wandered if God was disappointed in me and I vowed never to do that again. Instead, I started to cherish my times alone in the woods with God. I'd sit by the streams and listen to them sing. I'd watch the birds and squirrels. I'd bend down to smell the flowers. And I even buried an acorn or two hoping that one day an Oak might grow.

There is an old Native American Saying that goes "We will be known forever by the tracks we leave." As I have grown older and wiser I have done my best to never leave a trail of destruction in my life as I did in the woods that day. I have instead strived to leave tracks of love, kindness, goodness, and compassion and I have strived to show others that they can do the same. May you always leave tracks of joy as you follow your own trail of love to God.

Mom's Letter

Dear Son,

What do you tell to a son that is responsible, serious to a fault and sensitive? Let me begin by telling you of how proud I am of what you are. What you are is what you will be – this I truly believe looking at you. You have never caused me to worry and I always admire your focus to tasks at hand. At times you need prodding but this does not mean you have let go, simply a short break you would say. And this I respect.

Now is probably the best time to tell you about a little secret back when you were still in 1st grade, a time when you often asked if you will make it to school, if you can answer the exam, if you can memorize an assigned line. Do you recall the coin in your shoe and the red ribbon in your pocket? How you would have either of these things when you are into something? Do you remember me telling you that having either of these would draw powers that would allow you to make things happen? There was never any magic or power in the coin or on the ribbon. All along, it was always you, who believe that you can conquer any challenges thrown your way.

As you step into a new phase in your youth, I pray that you not lose the balance between what is good and not, to always look back at yourself and your family – your younger siblings most specially as you are to them there one and only kuya and hero. Nothing in this world is permanent but let your love for Ia and Wayne be as I and Dada to you. Never be afraid to commit mistakes and learn from it.

If all is unwell and you are bothered, let me be the first to console you and do let me remind you that a day always ends and as it does, all will always be well. If at times you feel tired, look back at us- your family and know we will always stand by you no matter what.

Your life is yours to lead. I am simply a mother who wishes you success in all your endeavours. The first time I laid my eyes on you, it was all so blurry. Groggy with anaesthesia, the only thing I remembered was counting your fingers and your toes – looking for marks in your body to ensure I would recognize you if in case we be parted. I am saying this to you so you would understand that even if I do trust you and would allow as much space to let you grow, I am simply a mother whose job includes worrying. I know I have no cause to worry as then again you have always shown high sense of responsibility and sensitivity.

May you continue to have the heart to inspire yourself and others. You never cease to amaze me when you prod your siblings to do more than mediocrity. Caution though my strong-willed son, responsible and serious you are, enjoy each moment, experience and challenge.

Savour all as much as you could without losing yourself in the process. Do not wait for the memory, make memories of your youth, enjoy your fun times with your close buddies and nurture your relationship with your family. To the last remaining days of your 6th grade, be excited as you step on the next level while thanking God for all the beautiful things He had graciously showered on you.

Continue to be the best of what you can be!

What makes us HAPPY ?

I have been practicing the art of happiness long before doing this research. The thing that helped me the most at becoming a happier person being appreciative of what I have. This single technique transformed me into a completely different person. Being appreciative also helped me rid of "If I X, I will be happy" thoughts. It is very important to understand that we are capable of being happy in the now.

What can we do to become happier?

- Forgive and forget. Don't hold grudges

- Create strong relationships with friends and family

- Have a passion and develop a skill

- Don't compare yourself selves to others. (Facebook)

- Love yourself. (compliment yourself. recognize your positive characteristics)

- Be appreciative and grateful for the big and little things in life. Create a list at least once a week of the things you are appreciate.

- Be optimistic

- Don't predict when you will happy/unhappy. We tend to overestimate when we will be happy/unhappy. Avoid phrases such as "I will be happy when X" and "I would be much happier if I was Xing".

Things that we think will attain us happiness, but does not

- Money. Money doesn't make you happy, but the lack of money makes you unhappy. (In other words, unless you are in poverty, money isn't very important)

- Fame

- Personal aesthetic (how great our hair looks, how great our outfit is today, etc.)

- Material possessions

- Power

Take everything in this post with a grain of salt. Most of the information provided is from scientific research, but I also took some notes from some less credible sites.

Stone Soup

There are many variations on the story of stone soup, but they all involve a traveler coming into a town beset by famine. The inhabitants try to discourage the traveler from staying, fearing he wants them to give him food. They tell him in no uncertain terms that there's no food anywhere to be found. The traveler explains that he doesn't need any food and that, in fact, he was planning to make a soup to share with all of them.

The villagers watch suspiciously as he builds a fire and fills a cauldron with water. With great ceremony, he pulls a stone from a bag, dropping the stone into the pot of water. He sniffs the brew extravagantly and exclaims how delicious stone soup is. As the villagers begin to show interest, he mentions how good the soup would be with just a little cabbage in it. A villager brings out a cabbage to share. This episode repeats itself until the soup has cabbage, carrots, onions, and beets-indeed, a substantial soup that feeds everyone in the village.

This story addresses the human tendency to hoard in times of deprivation. When resources are scarce, we pull back and put all of our energy into self-preservation. We isolate ourselves and shut out others. As the story of stone soup reveals, in doing so, we often deprive ourselves and everyone else of a feast.

This metaphor plays out beyond the realm of food. We hoard ideas, love, and energy, thinking we will be richer if we keep to them to ourselves, when in truth we make the world, and ourselves, poorer whenever we greedily stockpile our reserves. The traveler was able to see that the villagers were holding back, and he had the genius to draw them out and inspire them to give, thus creating a spread that none of them could have created alone.

Are you like one of the villagers, holding back? If you come forward and share your gifts, you will inspire others to do the same. The reward is a banquet that can nourish many.

One Eyed

My dad only had one eye. I hated him... He was such an embarrassment. . He cooked for students & teachers to support the family. There was this one day during elementary school where my dad came to Say hello to me. I was so embarrassed. How could he do this to me? I ignored him, threw him a hateful look and ran out. The next day at school one of my classmates said, "EEEE, your dad only Has one eye!" I wanted to bury myself I also wanted my dad to just disappear.. I confronted him that day and said, " If you're only gonna make me a Laughing stock, why don't you just die?"

My dad did not respond.... I didn't even stop to think for a second about what I had said, because I was full of anger. I was oblivious to his feelings. I wanted out of that house, and have nothing to do with him. So I studied real hard, got a chance to go abroad to study.

Then, I got married. I bought a house of my own. I had kids of my own. I was happy with my life, my kids and the comforts, Then one day, my father came to visit me. He hadn't seen me in years and he didn't even meet his Grandchildren. When he stood by the door, my children laughed at him, and I yelled at Him for coming over uninvited. I screamed at him, "How dare you come to my house and scare my Children!" GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!!!" And to this, my father quietly answered, "Oh, I'm so sorry. I may have Gotten the wrong address," And he disappeared out of sight.

One day, a letter regarding a school reunion came to my house.. So I lied to my wife that I was going on a business trip. After the reunion, I went to the old shack just out of curiosity. My neighbors said that he died. I did not shed a single tear. They handed me a letter that he had wanted me to have.

"My dearest son,

I think of you all the time. I'm sorry that I came to your house and Scared your children. I was so glad when I heard you were coming for the reunion. But I may not be able to even get out of bed to see you. I'm sorry that I was a constant embarrassment to you when you were Growing up. You see........when you were very little, you got into an accident, and Lost your eye. As a father, I couldn't stand watching you Having to grow up with one eye. So I gave you mine. I was so proud of my son who was seeing a whole new world for me, in my Place, with that eye.

With all my love to you, Your father.

Honest Lincoln

Lincoln was one of the few great men who really was great. Before he became president, Lincoln spent twenty years as an unsuccessful Illinois lawyer -- at least he was unsuccessful in financial terms. But when you measure the good he did, he was very rich indeed. Legends are often untrue, but Lincoln was the real thing. George Washington never chopped down a cherry tree, but Abraham Lincoln was honest. During his years as a lawyer, there were hundreds of documented examples of his honesty and decency.

For example, Lincoln did not like to charge people much who were as poor as he was. Once a man sent him twenty-five dollars, but Lincoln sent him back ten of it, saying he was being too generous.

He was known at times to convince his clients to settle their issue out of court, saving them a lot of money, and earning himself nothing.

An old woman in dire poverty, the widow of a Revolutionary soldier, was charged $200 for getting her $400 pension. Lincoln sued the pension agent and won the case for the old woman. He did not charge her for his services and, in fact, paid her hotel bill and gave her money to buy a ticket home!

He and his associate once prevented a con man from gaining possession of a tract of land owned by a mentally ill girl. The case took fifteen minutes. Lincoln's associate came to divide up their fee, but Lincoln reprimanded him. His associate argued that the girl's brother had agreed on the fee ahead of time, and he was completely satisfied.

"That may be," said Lincoln, "but I am not satisfied. That money comes out of the pocket of a poor, demented girl; and I would rather starve than swindle her in this manner. You return half the money at least, or I'll not take a cent of it as my share."

He was a fool, perhaps, by certain standards. He did not have much, and it was his own fault. But he was a good human being by anyone's standards and I'm glad we celebrate his birthday.

Honesty makes you feel good about yourself and creates trust in others. It improves your relationship with yourself and with others. It is not much in fashion these days to talk about the benefits of honesty and decency, but the benefits are there and they are valuable and worth the trouble. Honesty. It may be corny, but it is the finest force for good in the world, and it always will be.

Do some honest good in the world.

Don't feed , teach them to catch

Today I visited my bank in order to deposit a cheque for a due payment to a company. The procedure was quite simple but I thought of cross checking it with the teller so as to avoid cheque bounce back. The teller being a fresh employee (I judged it from the face look and the communication approach) wasn't sure about it. She called her manager for assistance. The manager, a nice ethical young man, elaborated the details about the form filling which I understood and thanked him for. However I noticed that while the manager was explaining to me, the teller got busy in something else and didn't pay attention to her manager nor the manager asked her to listen vigilantly to understand the procedure.

Well, I completed my work in bank and ponder that the manger had taken the corrective methodology instead of preventive methodology. Hence there is a big time chance that the teller would call her manager again in future and every time the manager will have to leave his desk, come to the teller point and explain the same procedure to more customers in future which he could have avoided by teaching the procedure to the 'right person', the teller. This extra work would cause disturbance in his routine work and waste his precious time to complete the jobs he has been primarily hired for !!!

This whole situation reminded me of a good quote which says, "Give a man a fish and you feed him for the day; Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a life time" And this is why I said earlier, that the teller will ask her manager again (asking for the fish)
because the manager didn't teach to'catch the fish'

So my friend this is where the power of being visionary and proactiveness come into play… that is to see the future now and make the right moves … and this is where Stephen Covey suggests us 'to begin with the end in mind'

Coffee

He met her at someone's wedding. He requested her to have coffee with him, she was surprised but due to being polite, she promised. They sat in a nice coffee shop, he was too nervous to say anything, she felt uncomfortable, and she thought to herself, "Please, let me go home..."

Suddenly he asked the waiter, "Would you please give me some salt? I'd like to put it in my coffee." Everybody stared at him, so strange! His face turned red but still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it. She asked him curiously, "Why you have this hobby?" He replied, "When I was a little boy, I lived near the sea, I liked playing in the sea, I could feel the taste of the sea, just like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I have the salty coffee, I always think of my childhood, think of my hometown, I miss my hometown so much, I miss my parents who are still living there." While saying that tears filled his eyes. She was deeply touched. That's his true feeling, from the bottom of his heart. A man who can tell out his homesickness, he must be a man who loves home, cares about home, has responsibility of home... Then she also started to speak, spoke about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family.

That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their story. They continued to date. She found that actually he was a man who meets all her demands; he had tolerance, was kind hearted, warm, careful. He was such a good person but she almost missed him! Thanks to his salty coffee! Then the story was just like every beautiful love story, the princess married to the prince, and then they were living the happy life... And, every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee, as she knew that's the way he liked it.

After 40 years, he passed away, left her a letter which said, "My dearest, please forgive me, forgive my whole life's lie. This was the only lie I said to you---the salty coffee. Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous at that time, actually I wanted some sugar, but I said salt. It was hard for me to change so I just went ahead. I never thought that could be the start of our communication! I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life, but I was too afraid to do that, as I have promised not to lie to you for anything... Now I'm dying, I afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth, I don't like the salty coffee, what a strange bad taste... But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life! Since I knew you, I never feel sorry for anything I do for you. Having you with me is my biggest happiness for my whole life. If I can live for the second time, still want to know you and have you for my whole life, even though I have to drink the salty coffee again."
Her tears made the letter totally wet. Someday, someone asked her, "What's the taste of salty coffee?" She replied, "It's sweet."
Its a lil bit unrealistic story but the moral and the message of the story is wonderful :)

Stop Judging People

Once upon a time a wealthy old man lived alone in a very big house. He was growing weak day by day and was unable to take care of himself and the big house, so he thought of hiring servants who could help with all the work of the house and also take care of him.


The old man appointed two servants Salim and Ahmed. Salim happened to be a handsome young man and Ahmed was an ugly looking chap. The old man asked Salim to go to the kitchen and make tea for him. After Salim had left, the old man turned to Ahmed and told, “Salim has given a very bad account of you. He says you are very bad guy and untrustworthy. Is this correct?”

Ahmed thought for a moment and told, “Salim is a very handsome guy. He has a beautiful outward appearance so this must be reflected by his inward beauty too”. Ahmed had the belief that such a handsome man could never tell a lie. He therefore told the old man, “If Salim has bad opinion about me, then there must be something wrong with me. I am afraid he must be correct”

The old man was very much impressed by the character of ugly looking Ahmed. Meanwhile, Salim returned with a cup of tea for his master.

The old man sent Ahmed to make breakfast for him and then turned to Salim and told, “Ahmed has given a bad account of you. What do you say about it?” On hearing this Salim became angry and started uttering bad remarks. He said that Ahmed was a liar and a scoundrel.

The Old man thus concluded that the man with a beautiful face had no inner beauty while the man looking ugly outward had tremendous inner beauty.

Moral of The Story

“Real beauty is not what the eyes can behold but what the heart can hold. What we see with our eyes will vanish someday, but what we store in our heart will forever stay…” – Unknown

Mobile Phone

An incident once took place when a student of Knowledge was taking a walk with his teachers in one of the gardens of their school. During this walk, the student decided to address a problem he was facing and seek its remedy from his teacher. He began to tell his teacher, ‘I have a spiritual ailment; I am habitual of talking ill of others and mentioning matters about them behind their backs.’
The teacher carried on walking for a moment and then asked him, ‘do you have a mobile phone?’ The student answered affirmatively and took out his phone to show his teacher. The phone was one of the latest models on the market and he had just purchased it recently.

Upon seeing the phone and the student’s attachment to it, he asked the student to throw the phone in a nearby mud patch and trample upon it. Whilst astonished by the teacher’s request, the student questioned, ‘how can I throw this phone on the floor? It has cost me a lot of money and is worth a lot to me.’

The teacher replied to him with the following words of wisdom, ‘So too is the respect and honour of your brother/friend as sanctified and valuable as this in the eyes of God. How can it be easy for you to trample upon this honour and respect with such ease?’

The student realised how he had never understood nor appreciated the true value of a human being; and from that day onwards he never failed to compare the respect of his brothers to all those items which were the most valuable to him.



Man in the pit

A man was caught and thrown into a pit (A big hole on earth) of about "40 feet" deep, just because he was a stranger. He struggled trying to get out of the pit,but the more he tried, the weaker his muscles became. He said to himself, "I don't know how to get myself out of this. Maybe I should just die instead of enduring these miserable struggles and pains."

Just then, he heard a voice screaming, "Help! Help!! Help!!!" The shouts were coming from another pit, which was 10 feet more deeper than the one he was in.

He thought to himself, "Wow, so there is somebody else like me trapped here too". Listening carefully, he heard some cracking and sand dropping from the wall of the pit of the other victim. Immediately he summed up his courage and with his last bit of strength, started crawling little by little until he made it out of his pit.

MORAL:

That pain you think you are passing through, there are people worst off than you. Always say something sweet to yourself. Always smile at your
pains. Let them be; they are just there for a while and also to challenge you. Today may be your darkest hour, but your joy will come in the morning. Try to encourage yourself. Look at yourself in the mirror, beat your chest and say, "I can make it and I can stand the test of time."

Always try to face your worst fear because nothing GOOD comes easy. You must be UNCOMFORTABLE to get to your COMFORT ZONE.

Parrot Story

There is an old story about a fellow who lived alone and went to a pet store to buy a parrot. He thought the bird might fill some of his lonely hours. The very next day, however, he came back to complain, "That bird doesn't talk."

The store owner asked if he had a mirror in its cage, and the man said he didn't. "Oh, parrots love mirrors," he explained. "When he sees his reflection in the mirror, he'll just start talking away." So he sold him a birdcage mirror.

The bird owner was back the next day to gripe that his parrot still hadn't said a word. "That's very peculiar," allowed the pet expert. "How about a swing? Birds really love these little swings, and a happy parrot is a talkative parrot." So the man bought a swing, took it home, and installed it in the cage.

But he was back the next day with the same story. "Does he have a ladder to climb?" the salesman asked. "That just has to be the problem. Once he has a ladder, he'll probably talk your ear off!" So the fellow bought a ladder.

The man was back at the pet store when it opened the next day. From the look on his face, the owner knew something was wrong. "Didn't your parrot like the ladder?" he asked. His repeat customer looked up and said, "The parrot died."

"I'm so sorry," the stunned businessman said. "Did he ever say anything?"

"Well, yes. He finally talked just before he died. In a weak little voice, he asked me, "Don't they sell any bird seed at that pet store?'"

Some of us have mistakenly thought that happiness consists of lining our cages with toys, gadgets, and other stuff. Excessive consumption has become the hallmark of our life. "Whoever has the most toys wins" seems to be the likely candidate to be the bumper sticker for an entire culture. But is it so?

There is a spiritual hunger in the human heart that can't be satisfied by seeing one's own image reflected back in vanity mirrors, playing with our grown-up toys, or climbing the corporate ladder. Our hearts need real nourishment.The love of family and friends,relationships over the pursuit of more things, personal integrity, a secure connection to God --these are the things that feed the soul.

Have you chosen a life course that leads to a destination that matters?



Dog in the well

In old times, there was a village having only one well for drinking water. One day a dog fell down in the well and died. The water became filthy and undrinkable. The worried villagers went to the old wise man for advice. They were told to take 100 buckets of water from the well so that clean water come to the surface of the well. The villagers took 100 buckets but water status was same. They went to the wise man again. He suggested to take another 100 buckets. The villagers did the same but to no avail. They villagers tried third time to take another 100 buckets as per the advice from the wise man but water was still impure. The wise said, How come the whole well is polluted even removing this much considerable amount of water. Did you remove the dog body prior to taking 300 buckets of water? The villagers said, "no sir, you only advised us to take water out, not the dog body !!!"

Reflection:

Several times in life we try to resolve our problems without considering the root cause of the problems. We believe that we are resolving the problem whereas in actual we are working on the side effects of problem not the problem itself. We don't see the big picture to understand the root of the issue. We take advice from our well wishers but do not use our own brain to think logically to analyze the advice and then decide, instead, we start acting blindly on the solutions suggested by others.

When Henry Ward Beecher was a young boy in school, he learned a lesson in self confidence which he never forgot.

He was called upon to recite in front of the class. He had hardly begun when the teacher interrupted with an emphatic, “No!”

He started over and again the teacher thundered, “No!”

Humiliated, Henry sat down.

The next boy rose to recite and had just begun when the teacher shouted, “No!”

This student, however, kept on with the recitation until he completed it. As he sat down, the teacher replied, “Very good!”

Henry was irritated. ”I recited just as he did,” he complained to the teacher.

But the instructor replied, “It is not enough to know your lesson, you must be sure. When you allowed me to stop you, it meant that you were uncertain. If the world says, ‘No!’ it is your business to say, ‘Yes!’ and prove it.

The world will say no in a thousand ways

‘No! You can’t do that.’

‘No! You are wrong.’

‘No! You are too old.’

‘No! You are too young.’

‘No! You are too weak.’

‘No! It will never work.’

‘No! You don’t have the education.’

‘No! You don’t have the background.’

‘No! You don’t have the money.’

‘No! It can’t be done.’

And each ‘No!’ you hear has the potential to erode your confidence bit by bit until you quit all together.

Though the world says, ‘No!’ to you today, you should be determined to say, ‘Yes!’ and prove it! ”

Failures

When somebody told me that he has failed in his exams, my question is, "Is it a law that you will pass everytime?"

 When someone told me that my boyfriend broke up with me, my question is, "Is it a rule that you will have successful relationship everywhere?"

 When somebody asked me why am I in depression, my question is, "Is it compulsory to have confidence at all the time?"

 When someone cried to me about his huge business loss due to his wrong decision, my question is, "Is it possible that you take all right decisions?"

 The fact is our expectation that life has to be perfect/permanent is the biggest reason of our unhappiness. One has to understand the law of impermanence of nature. 

 After each sunny day, there has to be a dark night, after each birth there has to be certain deaths, for full moon to come again it has to pass through no moon. In this imperfection of nature, there is perfection. 

 So stop taking your failures and bad part of your life soooo personally or intensely, even God does not like to give you pain but its the cycle through which you have to pass. Prepare yourself for one more fight after each fall because even failures cannot be permanent...!

Don't think to look much, enjoy life 

5 Minutes

Once a teacher took his class to a park and asked them to observe the park for a short span of time but all of them should not move from their location. After 5 minutes teacher asked each student to share what he/she has noticed. One student mentioned that he felt cool breeze which made him fresh and energetic. All students were cheered up by listening to this comment as they also started feeling the same. Another student said that green leaves and colorful flowers are an indication of life, hope and prosperity. All students felt optimist about this comment. Another student said that the silence in the surroundings and the yellow color of some of the leaves made him sad, lonely and pessimist about life. To this comment, all other students started yelling at him about being negative. The teacher asked the student stop criticizing their fellow being and stay silent.

The teacher then said to his students that each one of them was given the same kind of situation/circumstances however each student had different observation and feelings like being happy, sad, fresh, cheerful, pessimist, optimist etc however by logic no one was completely wrong. The Teacher further elaborated that each one of us is a unique personality. The observations and feelings of each individual can be unique however we must not disgrace anyone about what he has observed or felt. Our fellow beings can be slightly wrong, fully wrong or cent percent right at different moments in life. The uniqueness of each individual is as a result of his/her thought process, comprehension levels, mood swings, brought up, judgment style, vision & knowledge of the world,analytical skills and so on. However, the wisdom is to respect the feeling and actions of each individual as much as possible. And in case we want to correct someone, we must adapt a polite and decent approach and advice to the person should not be given in public rather in private. This is to ensure that respect and dignity of the person is not compromised.

Girl & Plant

The girl was fascinated by a plant full of fine and fragrant flowers. She went near the plant and enjoyed its beauty and the fragrance of its fine flowers. Suddenly she noted that the plant was growing in a heap of filth. She could not tolerate the presence of dirt at the bottom of the plant with such fantastic flowers.

She conceived a plan to clean the plant. She pulled the plant with all her might and uprooted it. She then carried it to the tap and washed the shoot and roots in running tap-water till all traces of dirt were washed away. She then placed the plant on a clean stone and went away, thinking that she had done a great deed indeed.

Later her father came to the garden and saw the uprooted plant. Its flowers and leaves had wilted and the plant had almost died in the scorching sun. His little daughter ran to him to exhibit her achievement. “I have cleaned it, Daddy”, she reported innocently. “It was placed in dirty soil. Now it is clean.”

The father showed her how her treatment had almost killed the plant. He told her that he had collected the filthy soil and placed it to cover the plant’s roots as it was the best medium to grow that plant. It could grow up healthily and produce fine flowers only if grown in filthy soil. She was sad that the plant had suffered and withered by her cleaning.

Flash:

Pain, poverty and illness may cause agony in our life. Sight of successful persons may make us depressed and envious. A great gardener mixes the right soil for each plant. In the same way God provides each of us with the best environment required for optimum spiritual growth. But it may appear to be unpleasant to us and we may even complain to God about our plight.

Microwave

Microwave ovens have become an essential part of our homes. Did you ever wonder how this easy and quick way of cooking started?


The microwave oven did not come about as a result of someone trying to find a better, faster way to cook. During World War II, Dr. Spencer noticed something very unusual. He was testing a new vacuum tube called a magnetron when he discovered that the candy bar in his pocket had melted.

This intrigued Dr. Spencer, so he tried another experiment. This time he placed some popcorn kernels near the tube and standing a little farther away, he watched the popcorn sputter, crack and pop all over his lab.


The next morning, Dr. Spencer decided to put the magnetron tube near an egg. He was joined by a curious colleague, and they both watched as the egg began to tremor and quake. The curious colleague moved in for a closer look just as the egg exploded and splattered hot yolk all over his amazed face.

The melted candy bar, the popcorn, and now the exploding egg....If an egg can be cooked that quickly, why not other foods? Experimentation began...

Initial reactions were unfavourable. Not surprisingly, many were highly reluctant about these first units, and so they found only limited acceptance.....but not for long. Further improvements and refinements produced a more reliable, lightweight and less expensive Microwave ovens. By 1975 sales of Microwave ovens exceeded that of Gas Ranges in US.

It is not necessary that someone always has to go the extra mile in search of new ideas. Ideas can "happen" as a by-product of something else. But what you choose to do with them may lead you to change many lives!!!

Rat and the Maze

In consulting with a large corporation several years ago, I had the opportunity to work and become freinds with a psychologist who was raised in New York. As we frequently presented to the same group on the same day, I often heard him tell the story of how he and his professional peers would work with rats in the mazes. They put the rat at one end of the maze and a poece of food at the other end, and watched the rat as he bumped around until he eventually found the food. The next time they put him in , he bumped a little less and got to the food a little faster. After a while , he got to where he would zip through the maze and have that tidbit in his teeth within a few seconds.

Then they took the food away. For a little while, each time he was put in, the rat kept making a beeline for the end of the maze. But it wasn't too long before he figured out the food wasn't going to be there and so he stopped going.

That's the difference between rats and people", my friend would say, "The rats stop!! ".

This story teaches us the lesson of consistency which means that we have to "keep our engine running"...

Thinking about this concept of 'Keeping the Engine Running', I believe that efforts to achieve any goals in your personal or professional life should not be stopped till the time we conquer. The momentum of things can be slow or fast at different phases of time but overall efforts should not be halted. When you have doubt of failure for a specific task, you can take next small step to determine if things are going in right direction. In case this small step is successful you can continue our journey towards the target. In case of failure you can take corrective action by moving one step back. This will give you the wisdom and experience not to repeat this mistake in next phases of your project. By the way, don't consider failure as opposite to success; consider it as part of your success because it is empowering your experience and wisdom to achieve the target with maximum perfection.

Your unstable behavior is polluting your success journey. Your success demands consistency in your deeds. Remember the fact that consistent actions become your habits, consistent habits define your character and a concrete character makes the foundation of your bright destiny. So keep the engine running, always!

Son & Icecream

Last week I took my children to a restaurant. My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace.
As we bowed our heads he said, "God is good. God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And Liberty and justice for all! Amen!"

Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby I heard a woman remark, "That's what's wrong with this country. Kids today don't even know how to pray. Asking God for ice-cream! Why, I never!"

Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, "Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?"
As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table. He winked at my son and said,
"I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer."
"Really?" my son asked.
"Cross my heart," the man replied.
Then in a theatrical whisper he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), "Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes."

Naturally, I bought my kids ice cream at the end of the meal. My son stared at his for a moment
and then did something I will remember the rest of my life. He picked up his sundae and without a word, walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her,
"Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes; and my soul is good already."

Frogs

A farmer came into chinese town and asked the owner of a restaurant if he could sell him a million frog legs. The restaurant owner was shocked and asked the man where he could get so many frog legs!

The farmer replied, "There is a pond near my house that is full of frogs - millions of them. They all croak all night long and they are about to make me crazy!" So the restaurant owner and the farmer made an agreement that the farmer would deliver frogs to the restaurant, five hundred at a time for the next several weeks.

The first week, the farmer returned to the restaurant looking rather sheepish, with two scrawny little frogs. The restaurant owner said, "Well... where are all the frogs?" The farmer said, "I was mistaken. There were only these two frogs in the pond. But they sure were making a lot of noise!"

1- Next time you hear somebody criticizing or making fun of you, remember, it's probably just a couple of noisy frogs.
2- Problems always seem bigger in the dark. Have you ever laid in your bed at night worrying about things which seem almost overwhelming like a million frogs croaking? Chances are pretty good that when the morning comes, and you take a closer look, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.

Old Age Home

After his Father's death Son decides to leave mom to old age home.
Would visit her on and off..
Once son receives call from old age home....
Mom very serious ...
please come to visit ..
Son comes and see mom very critical. . Dying..
Asks mom what can I do for you...Mom replies....
Please install fans in the old age home ....there are none...
Son, surprised ..questions....
All this while you were here you never complained
Now you have few hours left you are saying .....
Why?

Mom says ..... it's ok , I've managed with the heat.....

But when your children will send you here, I am afraid you will not be able to manage ....

Take care of your parents today before its too late !!!

WOW Approach

Last spring I was walking in a park. A short distance ahead of me was a mom and her three-year-old daughter. The little girl was holding on to a string that was attached to a helium balloon.


All of a sudden, a sharp gust of wind took the balloon from the little girl. I braced myself for some screaming and crying.

But, no! As the little girl turned to watch her balloon go skyward, she gleefully shouted out, "Wow!"


I didn't realize it at that moment, but that little girl taught me
something.

Later that day, I received a phone call from a person with news of an unexpected problem. I felt like responding with "Oh no, what should we do?" But remembering that little girl, I found myself saying, "Wow, that's interesting! How can I help you?"

One thing's for sure - life's always going to keep us off balance with its unexpected problems. That's a given. What's not preordained is our response. We can choose to be frustrated or fascinated.

No matter what the situation, a fascinated "Wow!" will always beat a frustrated "Oh, no."

So the next time you experience one of life's unexpected gusts, remember that little girl and make it a "Wow!" experience. The "Wow!" response always works

3 Wishes

There is very instructive incident involving the life of Alexander, the great Greek king.
Alexander, after conquering many kingdoms, was returning home. On the way, he fell ill and it took him to his death bed. With death staring him in his face, Alexander realized how his conquests, his great army, his sharp sword and all his wealth were of no consequence.

He now longed to reach home to see his mother's face and bid her his last adieu. But, he had to accept the fact that his sinking health would not permit Him to reach his distant homeland. So, the mighty conqueror lay prostrate and pale, helplessly waiting to breathe his last. He called his generals and said, "I will depart from this world soon; I have three wishes, please carry them out without fail." With tears flowing down their cheeks, the generals agreed to abide by their king's last wishes.
"My first desire is that," said Alexander, "My physicians alone must carry my coffin." After a pause, he continued,

"Secondly, I desire that when my coffin is being carried to the grave, the path leading to the graveyard be strewn with gold, silver and precious stones which I have collected in my treasury.
"
The king felt exhausted after saying this. He took a minute's rest and continued. "My third and last wish is that both my hands be kept dangling out of my coffin." The people who had gathered there wondered at the king's strange wishes. But no one dare bring the question to their lips. Alexander's favourite general kissed his hand and pressed them to his heart. "O king, we assure you that your wishes will all be fulfilled, but tell us why do you make such strange wishes?"

At this Alexander took a deep breath and said:
"I would like the world to know of the three lessons I have just learnt. I want my physicians to carry my coffin because people should realize that no doctor can really cure anybody. They are powerless and cannot save a person from the clutches of death. So let not people take life for granted.

The second wish of strewing gold, silver and other riches on the way to the graveyard is to tell people that not even a fraction of gold will come with me. I spent all my life earning riches but cannot take anything with me. Let people realize that it is a sheer waste of time to chase wealth.

And about my third wish of having my hands dangling out of the coffin, I wish people to know that I came empty handed into this world and empty handed I go out of this world."
With these words, the king closed his eyes. Soon he let death conquer him and breathed his last. . . .

Brother

I was born in a secluded village on a mountain. Day after day, my parents plowed the yellow dry soil with their backs towards the sky.
One day, I wanted to buy a handkerchief, which all girls around me seemed to have. So, one day I stole 50 cents from my father's drawer. Father discovered about the stolen money right away.


'Who stole the money?' he asked my brother and me.
I was stunned, too afraid to talk. Neither of us admitted to the fault, so he said, 'Fine, if nobody wants to admit, you both should be punished!' Suddenly, my younger brother gripped Father's hand and said, 'Dad, I was the one who did it!' He took the blame, and punishment, for me.


In the middle of the night, all of sudden, I cried out loudly. My brother covered my mouth with his little hand and said, 'Sis, now don't cry anymore. Everything has happened.' I will never forget my brother's expression when he protected me. That year, my brother was 6 years old and I was 11 years old. I still hate myself for not having enough courage to admit what I did. Years went by, but the incident still seemed like it just happened yesterday.


When my brother was in his last year of secondary school, he was accepted in an upper secondary school in the central part of town. At the same time, I was accepted into a university in the province.

That night, Father squatted in the yard, smoking packet by packet. I could hear him ask my mother, 'Both of our children, they have good results? Very good results?'
Mother wiped off her tears and sighed, 'What is the use? How can we possibly finance both of them?'
At that time, my brother walked out, he stood in front of Father and said, 'Dad, I don't want to continue my study anymore, I have read enough books.' Father became angry.
'Why do you have a spirit so weak? Even if it means I have to beg for money on the streets, I will send you two to school until you have both finished your studies!' And then, he started to knock on every house in the village to borrow money.


I told him, 'A boy has to continue his study. If not, he will not be able to overcome this poverty we are experiencing.' I, on the other hand, had decided not to further my study at the university.

Nobody knew that on the next day, before dawn, my brother left the house with a few pieces of worn-out clothes and a few dry beans. He sneaked to my side of the bed and left a note on my pillow; 'Sis, getting into a university is not easy. I will go find a job and I will send money to you.' I held the note while sitting on my bed, and cried until I lost my voice.


With the money father borrowed from the whole village, and the money my brother earned from carrying cement on his back at a construction site, finally, I managed to get to the third year of my study in the university. That year, my brother was 17 years old; I was 20 years old.

One day, while I was studying in my room, my roommate came in and told me, 'There's a villager waiting for you outside!' Why would there be a villager looking for me? I walked out, and I saw my brother from afar. His whole body was covered with dirt, dust, cement and sand. I asked him, 'Why did you not tell my roommate that you are my brother?'

He replied with a smile, 'Look at my appearance. What will they think if they would know that I am your brother? Won't they laugh at you?'
I felt so touched, and tears filled my eyes. And told him with a lump in my throat, 'I don't care what people would say! You are my brother no matter what your appearance.'
From his pocket, he took out a butterfly hair clip. He gave me and said, 'I saw all the girls in town are wearing it. I think you should also have one.' That year, my brother was 20 years old; I was 23 years old.


After I got married, I lived in the city. Many times my husband invited my parents to come and live with us, but they didn't want. They said once they left the village, they wouldn't know what to do. My brother agreed with them. He said, 'Sis, you just take care of your parents-in-law. I will take care of Mom and Dad here.'


My husband became the directors of his factory. We asked my brother to accept the offer of being the manager in the maintenance department. But my brother rejected the offer. He insisted on working as a repairman instead for a start.


One day, my brother was on the top of a ladder repairing a cable, when he got electrocuted, and was sent to the hospital. My husband and I visited him at the hospital. Looking at the plaster cast on his leg, I grumbled, 'Why did you reject the offer of being a manager? Managers won't do something dangerous like that. Now look at you – you are suffering a serious injury. Why didn't you just listen to us?'

With a serious expression on his face, he defended his decision, 'Think of your brother-in-law, he just became the director. If I, being uneducated, would become a manager, what kind of rumors would fly around?'
My husband's eyes filled up with tears, and then I said, 'But you lack in education only because of me!'
'Why do you talk about the past?' he said and then he held my hand. That year, he was 26 years old and I was 29 years old.

My brother was 30 years old when he married a farmer girl from the village. During the wedding reception, the master of ceremonies asked him, 'Who is the one person you respect and love the most?'

Without even taking a time to think, he answered,' My sister.' He continued by telling a story I could not even remember. 'When I was in primary school, the school was in a different village. Everyday, my sister and I would walk for 2 hours to school and back home. One day, I lost one of my gloves. My sister gave me one of hers. She wore only one glove and she had to walk far. When we got home, her hands were trembling because of the cold weather. She could not even hold her chopsticks. From that day on, I swore that as long as I lived, I would take care of my sister and would always be good to her.'

Applause filled up the room. All guests turned their attention to me. I found it hard to speak, 'In my whole life, the one I would like to thank most is my brother,' And in this happy occasion, in front of the crowd, tears were rolling down my face again.


Love and care for the one you love every single day of your life. You may think what you did is just a small deed, but to that someone, it may mean a lot.