Myriad people in our life

There was once a potter in a village. He was very well known for the exquisite pottery that he created. These pots had asymmetrical golden lines in them that added splendour to the pots. Each creation that way was exclusive one. Never similar! How did the potter create those exclusive golden lines? Apparently the potter broke the pots into pieces once they were done and then put it back together with gold filigree. And they turned out to be exclusive and exquisite creations!

In our daily life we come across myriad personalities. Hassled ones, angry ones, egoistic ones, always-with-sad-face ones, never smiling ones, confused ones, etc.....on the one side. Cool dudes, humble ones, cheerful ones, very clear and focussed ones, ever smiling ones, embodiments of serenity, loving ones, pious ones, etc..........on the other side.

Both lists go on.

Our life too is akin to the potter and his creations. The potter is the Creator and we are the pottery work created.

But there is one significant difference.

Here the potter himself breaks his creations. But in our life creator sends some people to break us. They are the former variety. They discourage and make us cynical at times. The latter ones are those that put us back again. But how? With golden filigree of their positivity that adds exquisiteness to our personalities. They turn our lives into unique creation. Yes, each of us is unique, exclusive and exquisite.

But the point here is that the Creator does not send the former range too for no reason. They are meant to teach us great lessons.

Hassled ones teach us to be patient,

Angry ones—to be cool and loving,

Egoistic ones—to be humble,

Never smiling ones—to be cheerful,

Confused ones—to be focussed.

So it turns out that all those myriad people in our life, both positive and negative ones, are meant to make us into masterpieces. We, the exclusive masterpieces, created by others in our life! How wonderful!

Let's be generous and give credit to all those who break us too. There are others who can put us back and give us a gorgeous face-lift! Ultimately we are the winners.

Isn’t that a splendid way of looking at life?

Sensible teamwork

Once there was a family of mother, father, their 4 sons and the 4 daughters-in law all living together.

All 4 daughters-in law were good but there was always clash--whose responsibility it is to do what house work.

One day the mother-in law decided to end this problem by assigning proper responsibilities. So she called all 4 of them and said:
“I know you are all very good and you don't shy from responsibilities; but since the responsibilities are not clear, you have misunderstanding. Lets now define the responsibilities.

One of you – will prepare the food
2nd one – will arrange the dining table
3rd one – will serve the food
4th one – will clean the utensils and dining table

When each one of you finished your job you will announce so that the next person will do the next job.

And every week we will rotate these responsibilities.”

All of them said it is good idea and agreed.

The next day :
The first daughter in law prepared the food and when she finished she informed, “food is prepared.”

The second daughter in law arranged the food in the table and announced, “food is arranged in table and everybody come to eat.”

The 3rd daughter in law started serving the food and she announced, "food is served.”

The 4th daughter in law collected all the plates and utensils from the table and cleaned them and said, “the utensils and dining table is cleared.”

The mother-in law was dumb stuck.

Though all of them performed their duties and responsibilities, the end result was no one ate anything and the food was a complete waste.

Lesson? It is not just adequate to divide the responsibilities but sensible teamwork is very important to make things work.

YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Dedicated to all teachers on this Teachers day in India, 5th Sept, 2014


Just when she was about to give up teaching profession because she thought her teaching wasn't even changing or helping even one child, her mind was completely changed one day.

When she went to school the next day, one of her first grader's parent came to her and just fell into her arms and cried out, "THANK YOU."

The mother explained that her child had ADHD (the teacher had already discovered that) and no one had the patience to teach or just love her for who she was. She told the teacher that she made a difference in her daughter's life, just by showing that she cared and for having patience with her. The child showed interest in studies when she was with her, but her other teachers constantly condemned her because they couldn't control her.

What a compliment!

Needless to say she is still continuing on with her teaching profession.

Dear teachers, sometimes it may seem like people have forgotten how important you really are.

For every child that says, “I’m not smart enough”, “I don’t get it”, “I can’t”…… there’s a teacher who says, “You can!”

For every child who needs basic skills, knowledge, someone to believe in him……….. there’s a teacher who will do whatever it takes to encourage, to motivate, to challenge, to engage, to inspire and instill a love for learning.

So for every teacher who works with the children building a better future for us, even when it feels like no one is watching or that people have forgotten just how special you teachers really are, I SALUTE YOU!

AND I THANK YOU for teaching each child to become the next great author, artist, scientist, architect, musician, doctor, engineer or teacher.

Never give up, if you teach from the heart, you may not realize it at that precise moment..........
BUT YOU ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN SOMEONE.

God's Family

By Steve Goodier www.LifeSupportSystem.com

An old story is told of two men who went fishing in a small boat. The day was uneventful until one of them hooked a huge fish, which, in the struggle, pulled him overboard. He couldn't swim and began to panic.

"Help!" he yelled. "Save me!"

The friend reached over and grabbed the man by the hair to pull him closer to the boat. But when he tugged, the man's toupee came off and he slipped down under the water again.

He came up shouting, "Hey, help me! I can't swim!"

So the friend reached down again and this time latched onto the struggling man's arm. But when he pulled, the arm came off! It was an artificial limb.

The drowning man continued to kick and thrash around and his friend reached out a third time. This time he grabbed a leg and pulled. You guessed it -- a wooden leg.

The man continued splashing and sputtering and calling out, "Help me!" until his friend finally called back in disgust, "How can I help you if you won't stick together?"

And that is a metaphor for each of us.

How can people in marriages and families stand a chance when they won't stick together?
How can religious communities, civic groups, schools and businesses get anywhere when they won't stick together?
And how can a nation or even our global village function well when it won't stick together?

Archbishop Desmond Tutu put it this way:
“We are made for goodness.
We are made for love.
We are made for friendliness.
We are made for togetherness.
We are made for all of the beautiful things that you and I know.
We are made to tell the world that there are no outsiders.
All are welcome: black, white, red, yellow,
rich, poor, educated, not educated,
male, female, all, all, all.
We all belong to this family, this human family, God's family.”

First secret of success--Believe in yourself

– by Steve Goodier, www.lifesupportsystem.com

Adam was ready to retire. His wife Anna, however, was less enthusiastic.

As she explained to a friend, "Adam has never done anything that required physical exertion. He never played golf, mowed the lawn or even washed the windows. When he retires, he will sit in his easy chair and expect me to bring him his food."

But to Anna's surprise, soon after her husband retired, he joined a health club. And one night, when Adam arrived home from exercise class, he announced, "I signed up for the wrestling tournament. I am going to wrestle Friday night."

Anna was shocked. "Please don't do it, Adam," she begged. "You're not in shape. You will be so beat up they will have to carry you home!"

However, he couldn't be dissuaded and she told him that if he went through with his "lame idea," she was not going to watch.

True to her word, she stayed away that Friday evening as Adam wrestled.

And just as she predicted, two men practically carried Adam home. He lay down on the couch, every muscle strained and bruised.

Before she could speak, he sputtered, "Don't say a word, Anna! This is not the worst of it. I won tonight. I have to wrestle again tomorrow night!"

As Dr. Norman Vincent Peale said, "People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success."

Words can hurt or heal

Sathya Sai Baba, My Dear Students, Vol 5, Ch 2, Mar 9, 1993.

You eat food daily, take in thousands of grains! Have you ever calculated how many rice grains you have consumed? However the moment one minute stone comes in the rice you eat, you are very unhappy that day and complain that your food has stones.

Similarly your life is three fourths happiness and one fourth sorrow. But you become a victim to sorrow. You choose to give more importance to sorrow than happiness. This is an animal quality (Pashu Lakshanam).

Teach your tongue not to lose its reputation by following the wrong path.

Your tongue is capable of raising you to Divine or droop to that of an animal.

If someone is good to you, the tongue praises them as God Himself. If someone harms you, the tongue then equates them to an animal. Teach your tongue to ever chant the Name of the Lord and never to criticize anybody!

Naxalites (terrorists) are not merely the people who hold guns and pistols. Anyone who hurts others in thoughts, words and deeds is a naxalite.

Three important things that all of you must pay attention to are your thoughts, words and deeds. When there is a thought, the word follows and then the body acts. In the arena of thoughts, never think evil of others.

Next is word. Never use harsh words, do not humiliate others and never try to deceive others with your words. If one is killed with a knife or a pistol, they die immediately. But if you hurt a person with words, he or she will be pained till their death.

Medicines exist for all external injuries, however no medicine or doctor can heal the wound or injury inflicted through words.

Therefore the harm done by words is more dangerous and takes a long time to heal. Spiritual ways alone can alter the harm done by thoughts, words and deeds

A rare conversation between Ramkrishna Paramahansa Swami Vivekanand

Author Unknown. Received in mailbox.

Swami Vivekanand:- I can’t find free time. Life has become hectic.

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you free.

______________________________________________________________________

Swami Vivekanand:- Why has life become complicated now?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Stop analyzing life.. It makes it complicated. Just live it.

______________________________________________________________________

Swami Vivekanand:- Why are we then constantly unhappy?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Worrying has become your habit. That’s why you are not happy.

______________________________________________________________________

Swami Vivekanand:- Why do good people always suffer?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don’t suffer.

With that experience their life becomes better, not bitter.

Swami Vivekanand:- You mean to say such experience is useful?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Yes. In every term, Experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test first and the lessons afterwards.

______________________________________________________________________

Swami Vivekanand:- In tough times, how do you stay motivated?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­______________________________________________________________________

Swami Vivekanand:- What surprises you about people?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- When they suffer they ask, “why me?” When they prosper, they never ask “Why me?”

______________________________________________________________________

Swami Vivekanand:- How can I get the best out of life?

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.

______________________________________________________________________

Swami Vivekanand:- One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.

Ramkrishna Paramahansa:- There are no unanswered prayers. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Life is a mystery to solve, not a problem to resolve. Trust me. Life is wonderful if you know how to live.

______________________________________________________________________

Author Unknown

He was a busy executive. In the rush of his busy life, he had even no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

One such busy day, he received a call from his mother, "Ramu Kaka died last night. The funeral is tomorrow."

He remained silent. Memories flashed through his mind as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days. After his father’s death, Ramu Kaka stepped in to make sure he had a man's influence in his life. "He's the one who taught me the basic things in life," he thought. "I wouldn't be in this position if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important.” He remembered that he loved that old house that kaka lived in.

But honestly he thought that Ramu kaka died years ago.

"Ramesh, did you hear me?"

"Oh sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry," he said.

"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd recollect about the old days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him.

“Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," he said.

As busy as he was, he kept his word. He caught the next flight to his hometown. Ramu kaka’s funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, he stopped by the old house next door one more time. The house was exactly as he remembered. He stopped suddenly.

"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was the thing he valued the most. The box is gone," he thought.

He figured someone from Kaka’s family had taken it.

"Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," he told himself.

Returning home one day he received a parcel by post.

He ripped open the parcel. There inside was the gold box that he was searching for in Ramu kaka’s house and an envelope.

The letter in the envelope was addressed to him. “It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, he carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful GOLD POCKET WATCH.

Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved:

"Ramesh, Thanks for your time! –Ramu Kaka."

"The thing he valued most...was...my time," he realized with shock.

He held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days. "Why?" his assistant Suzy asked.

"I need some time to spend with my wife and son," he said. "Oh, by the way Suzy... thanks for your time!"

Open the gates of Wisdom

There was a cowherd boy who took his cows to the meadows every morning and brought them back to the cowshed at the end of the day.

One evening, as he was tying the cows up for the night, the boy found that one of them was missing her rope. He feared that she might run away, but it was too late to go and buy a new rope. The boy didn't know what to do, so he went to a wise man who lived nearby and sought his advice.

The wise man told the boy to pretend to tie the cow, and make sure that the cow saw him doing it. The boy did as the wise man suggested and pretended to tie the cow.

The next morning the boy discovered that the cow had remained still throughout the night. He untied all the cows as usual, and they all went outside.

He was about to go to the meadows when he noticed that the cow with the missing rope was still in the cowshed. She was standing on the same spot where she had been all night. He tried to coax her to join the herd, but she wouldn't budge.

The boy was perplexed.

He went back to the wise man who said, "The cow still thinks she is tied up. Go back and pretend to untie her."

The boy did as he was told, and the cow happily left the cowshed.

Like the cow, due to our ignorance, we believe that we are bound by the ego when, in fact, we are completely free. We need to be convinced of this, however.

Laughter, an antidote to depression

Excerpts from Steve Goodier’s post in  www.LifeSupportSystem.com

There are many ways to respond when life takes a serious turn, but even then, perhaps especially then, one of the best is to find some humor.

Katie was a young woman with a great, big problem. She was a teenager dying of leukemia. Katie's mother wrote to tell how her daughter approached her disease. She told about a time, shortly after a bone marrow transplant, when Katie's head was “slickly bald,” as she put it.

One day Katie heard the doctor coming on rounds and ducked into the bathroom. Her mother heard her giggling and asked, "Katie, what is so funny?"

She put her finger to her lips, pulled a Nike ski cap onto her head and crawled into bed.

When the doctor came in, she said, "Well, Miss Katie! How are you feeling today?"

Katie frowned and said, "I am OK, I guess... but I just have this 'splitting' headache.”

She pulled off her ski cap and there on her bald head was a huge red crack, which she had drawn with a marker. As the doctor recovered from her initial shock, the room exploded in laughter.

Katie did not survive the cancer, but she conquered depression and despair and found an authentic way to live as fully as possible her last months of life.

“It DOES help!” Katie's mother asserted at the end of her letter.

Mark Twain says that the "human race has unquestionably one really effective weapon – laughter.”

Laughing at the twists and turns of life may not be your first response, but it can be one of the best. 

Be masters of mouths, not slaves of words

There was an old man who spread rumours about his neighbour that he was a thief. And the young man was arrested.

Days later the young man was proven innocent. After been released from the jail, he sued the old man for defamation.

In court, the old man told the judge, “They were just comments. Didn’t mean to harm anyone.”

The judge told the old man, “Write all the things you said on a piece of paper.” The old man wrote.

The judge asked him to cut them into pieces. The old man did.

The judge then said, “On the way home, throw the pieces of paper out. Come back tomorrow to hear the sentence.”

The next day, the judge told the old man, “Before hearing the sentence, please go out and gather all the pieces of paper that you threw out yesterday."

The old said, “How can I do that? The wind must’ve spread them and I wouldn’t know where to find them.”

The judge then replied, "The same way, simple comments may destroy the honour of a man to such an extent that one is not able to fix it. If you can’t speak well of someone, rather don’t say anything.”

Lets all be masters of our mouths and not slaves of our words.

Power of Prayer

There was no timetable nor a room designated for PRAYERS in the School. The School was ‘secular,’ hence prayers were not supposed to be allowed.

After being interviewed and accepted by the school administration, the eager teaching prospect said in protest:

“Let me see if I’ve got this right. You want me to go into that room with all those kids and fill their every waking moment with a love for learning.

And I’m supposed to instill a sense of pride in their ethnicity, modify their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse and even censor their T-shirt messages and dress habits.

You want me to wage a war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, check their backpacks for weapons of mass destruction, and raise their self-esteem.

You want me to teach them patriotism, good citizenship, sportsmanship, and fair play, how and where to register to vote, how to balance a checkbook, & how to apply for a job.

I am to check their heads for lice, maintain a safe environment, recognize signs of antisocial behavior, offer advice, write letters of recommendation for student employment and scholarships, and encourage respect for their elders and future employers.

And I am to communicate regularly with the parents by letter, telephone, newsletter, & report card.

All of this I am to do with just a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a few books, a bulletin board, and a big smile AND on a starting salary that qualifies my family for food stamps!

You want me to do all of this, and you expect me NOT TO PRAY?

You want me to do all of this and you expect me not to pray when SUCCESS of every one depends on Prayers?

Dear sir, since I am sure that I will not be able to fulfill your expectations, nor I will be successful in my career WITHOUT prayers, and so I resign willingly from the post.”

The Administrator looked down for a while then suddenly declared: “Young man, go ahead with your job. You have taught me a very important lesson today: Without prayers and help from God, no work is a success. We shall make special arrangements for prayers from today.”

Hearts of living

Once a saint saw a man with a bandage tied round his head. “Why have you tied the bandage?” he asked.
“Because my head aches,” the man replied.
“How old are you?” he demanded.
“Thirty,” he replied.
“Have you been in pain and anguish the greater part of your life?” he enquired.
“No,” the man answered.
“For thirty years you have enjoyed good health,” he remarked, “and you never tied
the bandage of thankfulness. Now because of this one night head ache, that you have, you tie the bandage of complaint!”

_________________________________________________________________

A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone & asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation.

The traveler left, rejoicing his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman.

“I’ve been thinking,” He said, “I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious: Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone.”

_________________________________________________________________


A person once heard a pious man say that “For the last thirty years I am repenting for a sin and I don’t know how God will deal with me regarding it?”

The listener asked: “What was your sin?”

The man said: “I used to have a shop in the Bazaar. One day I heard that the whole Bazaar was burning so I rushed to see my shop. When I reached there I saw that all the shops except my shop were razed to the ground. I said ‘Thank God!”, but immediately I realized my mistake. How can I call myself pious when I couldn’t feel the loss of my neighbors? That is why I am repenting for that lapse on my part for the last thirty years.”

_

Prayer should succeed Action

A man finds himself in dire trouble. His business has gone bust and he's in serious financial trouble. He's so desperate that he decides to ask God for help.

He begins to pray... "God, please help me. I've lost my business and if I don't get some money, I'm going to lose my house as well. Please let me win the lottery."

Lottery night comes and somebody else wins it.

He again prays..."God, please let me win the Lottery! I've lost my business, my house and I'm going to lose my car as well."

Lottery night comes and still he has no luck.

Once again, he prays..."My God, why have you forsaken me?? I've lost my business, my house and my car. My children are starving. I don't often ask you for help and I have always been a good servant to you. PLEASE just let me win the Lottery this one time so I can get my life back in order."

Suddenly there is a blinding flash of light as the heavens open and he is confronted by the voice of God Himself: "Hello, meet Me halfway on this. Buy a ticket first."

Somewhere along the way we forgot that critical step to achieving what we want in life-- first we must ACT!
Lets face it—God almighty is not going to strike a bolt of lightning through our Living Rooms with a little package containing what we asked for. No matter how positive our thoughts, first we must get out and take an action in order to make things happen in our life.

Greed makes you lose your sleep

There lived a King who always found himself wondering why he just never seemed content with his life, given all the riches and luxuries he had.

One day, the King had woken up earlier than usual to stroll around his palace. He saw that one of the servants was singing and had a very contented look on his face.

This fascinated the King and he summoned this man to his chambers and asked him why he was so happy.

To this the man replied: “Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but I make enough of a living to keep my wife and children happy. We don’t need too much, a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummy. My wife and children are my inspiration; they are content with whatever little I bring home. I am happy because my family is happy.”

The King dismissed the servant and summoned his Personal Assistant to his chambers.

The King related the story of the servant to his Personal Assistant, asked him to come up with some reasoning that why he who had everything he wished for at a snap of his fingers was not yet contented, whereas, his servant, having so little was extremely contented.

The Personal Assistant listened attentively and came to a conclusion. He said, “Your Majesty, I believe that the servant has not been made part of The 99 Club.”

“The 99 Club? And what exactly is that?” the King inquired.

To which the Assistant replied, “Your Majesty, to truly know what The 99 Club is, you will have to do the following... place 99 Gold coins in a bag and leave it at this servant’s doorstep, you will then understand what The 99 Club is.”

That very same evening, the King arranged for 99 Gold coins to be placed in a bag at the servant’s doorstep. Although he was slightly hesitant and he thought he should have put 100 Gold coins into the bag, but since his assistant had advised him to put 99 that is what he did.

The servant was just stepping out of his house when he saw a bag at his doorstep. Wondering about its contents, he took it into his house and opened the bag. When he opened the bag, he let out a great big shout of joy...Gold Coins... so many of them. He could hardly believe it. He called his wife to show her the coins.

He then took the bag to a table and emptied it out and began to count the coins. Doing so, he realized that there were 99 coins and he thought it was an odd number so he counted again, and again and again only to come to the same conclusion... 99 Gold Coins.

He began to wonder, what could have happened to that last one coin? For no one would leave 99 coins. He began to search his entire house, looked around his backyard for hours, not wanting to lose out on that one coin.

He got up the next morning, in an extremely horrible mood, shouting at the children and his wife for his delay. He went to work as usual - but not in his usual best mood, singing happily - but he grumpily did his daily errands.

Seeing the man’s attitude change so drastically, the King was puzzled. He could not believe that the servant who until yesterday had been singing away and was happy and content with his life had taken a sudden change of attitude, even though he should have been happier after receiving the gold coins.

He promptly summoned his assistant to his chambers and related his thoughts to him.

To this the assistant replied, “Ah! But your Majesty, the servant has now officially joined The 99 Club.”

He explained: “The 99 Club is just a name given to those people who have everything but yet are never contented, therefore they are always working hard and striving for that extra one to round it out to 100!
We have so much to be thankful for and we can live with very little in our lives, but the minute we are given something bigger and better, we want even more!
We are not the same happy contented person we used to be, we want more and more and by wanting more and more we don’t realize the price we pay for it.
We lose our sleep, our happiness; we hurt the people around us just as a price to pay for our growing needs and desires.
That is what joining The 99 Club is all about.”

Contentment is………when we start appreciating all the little things that we have in our life.

Things that feed the Soul

There was a man who lived alone. He thought a pet bird might fill some of his lonely hours and went to a pet store to buy a parrot.

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?'"

By seeing one's own image reflected back in vanity mirrors, playing with our grown-up toys, or climbing the corporate ladder, etc do not satisfy the spiritual hunger in the human heart. Some of us have mistakenly thought that happiness consists of lining our cages with toys, gadgets, and other stuff. But is it so?

Our hearts need real nourishment. The love of family and friends, personal integrity, a secure connection to God --these are the things that feed the soul.

Wisdom is organized life

Sufi Story

One day some wise men, who were going about the country trying to find answers to some of the great questions of their time, came to Nasruddin’s district and asked to see the wisest man in the place. Nasruddin was brought forward, and a big crowd gathered to listen.

The first wise man began by asking, “Where is the exact center of the world?”

“It is under my right heel,” answered Nasruddin.

“How can you prove that?” asked the first wise man.

“If you don’t believe me,” answered Nasruddin, “measure and see.”

The first wise man had nothing to answer to that, so the second wise man asked his question.

“How many stars are there in the sky?” he said.

“As many as there are hairs on my donkey,” answered Nasruddin.

“What proof have you got of that?” asked the second wise man.

“If you don’t believe me,” answered Nasruddin, “Count the hairs on my donkey and you will see.”

“That’s foolish talk,” said the other. “How can one count the hairs on a donkey?”

“Well,” answered Nasruddin, “How can one count the stars in the sky? If one is foolish talk, so is the other.”

The second wise man was silent.

The third wise man was becoming annoyed with Nasruddin and his answers, so he said, “You seem to know a lot about your donkey, so can you tell me how many hairs there are in its tail?”

“Yes,” answered Nasruddin. “There are exactly as many hairs in its tail as there are in your beard.”

“How can you prove that?” said the other.

“I can prove it very easily,” answered Nasruddin. “You can pull one hair out of my donkey’s tail for every one I pull out of your beard. If the hairs on my donkey’s tail do not come to an end at exactly
the same time as the hairs in your beard, I will admit that I was wrong.”

Of course, the third wise man was not willing to do this, so the crowd declared Nasruddin the winner of the day’s arguments.

Humility takes you far

On the first day, as President Abraham Lincoln entered to give his inaugural address, Just in the middle, one man stood up. He was a rich aristocrat.

He said, "Mr. Lincoln, you should not forget that your father used to make shoes for my family ."

And the whole Senate laughed; they thought they had made a fool of Abraham Lincoln.

But Lincoln and that type of people are made of a totally different mettle.

Lincoln looked at the man and said, "Sir I know that my father used to make shoes in your house for your family, and there will be many others here….
But the way he made shoes; nobody else can. He was a creator. His shoes were not just shoes; he poured his whole soul in it.
I want to ask you, have you any complaint? Because I know how to make shoes myself.
If you have any complaint, I can make another pair of shoes.
But as far as I know, nobody has ever complained about my father's shoes.
He was a genius, a great creator and I am proud of my father."

The whole Senate was struck dumb.

They could not understand what kind of Man Abraham Lincoln was.

It is not what happens to us that hurts us. It is our response that hurts us. Do not be embarrassed of your parents and what they used to do for a living. Be proud of them. Humility and respect for your parents will take you far.

Community Living

URGENTLY NEEDED...
Not Blood,
But

An ELECTRICIAN, to restore the current between people, who do not speak to each other anymore.

An OPTICIAN, to change the outlook of people.

An ARTIST, to draw a smile on everyone's face.

A CONSTRUCTION WORKER, to build a bridge between neighbours.

A GARDENER, to cultivate Good Thoughts.

A PLUMBER to clear the choked and blocked mindsets

A SCIENTIST to rediscover compassion

A LANGUAGE TEACHER for better communication with each other

Last but not the least A MATHS TEACHER, for all of us to relearn how to count on each other....

“Living without virtues is to live divorced & separated from the most important thing in life, COMMUNITY”

Live for this moment

A man died. When he realized it, he saw God coming closer with a suitcase in his hand.
God said, “Alright son. It’s time to go.”

Surprised the man responded, “Now? So soon? I had a lot of plans...”

“I'm sorry but its time to go,” said God

“What do you have in that suitcase?” the man asked.
“God answered, “Your belongings.”

“My belongings? You mean my things, my clothes, my money?”
“God answered, “Those things were not yours. They belonged to the earth.”

“Is it my memories?” the man asked.
“God answered, “Those never belonged to you. They belonged to Time.”

“Is it my talents?”
God answered, “Those were never yours. They belonged to the circumstances.”

“Is it my friends and family?”
God answered, “I'm sorry they were never yours. They belonged to the path.”

“Is it my wife and son?”
God answered, “They were never yours. They belonged to your heart.”

“Is it my body?”
God answered, “That was never yours. It belonged to the dust.”

“Is it my soul?”
God answered, “No, that is mine.”

Full of fear, the man took the suitcase from god and opened it just to find out the suitcase was empty.

With a tear coming down his cheek the man said, “I never had anything???”

God answered, “That is correct. Nothing belonged to you. Life is just a moment. Only the moments you lived were yours. Nothing else.”

So, Live for Now. Live your life. Don't forget to be happy. That is the only thing that matters. Material things and everything else that we fight for stay here.
WE CAN'T TAKE ANYTHING.

A call for compassion

Zen Story

One evening, Zen master Shichiri Kojun was reciting sutras when a thief entered his house with a sharp sword, demanding "money or life".

Without any fear, Shichiri said, "Don't disturb me! Help yourself with the money, it's in that drawer". And he resumed his recitation.

The thief was startled by this unexpected reaction, but he proceeded with his business anyway. While he was helping himself with the money, the master stopped and called, "Don't take all of it. Leave some for me to pay my taxes tomorrow".

The thief left some money behind and prepared to leave. Just before he left, the master suddenly shouted at him, "You took my money and you didn't even thank me?! That's not polite!".

This time, the thief was really shocked at such fearlessness. He thanked the master and ran away. The thief later told his friends that he had never been so frightened in his life.

A few days later, the thief was caught and confessed, among many others, his theft at Shichiri's house.

When the master was called as a witness, he said, "No, this man did not steal anything from me. I gave him the money. He even thanked me for it."

The thief was so touched that he decided to repent.

Upon his release from prison, he became a disciple of the master and many years later, he attained Enlightenment.