God Knows

~Author Unknown~

When you are tired and discouraged from fruitless efforts;
God knows how hard you have tried.
When you've cried so long and your heart is in anguish;
God has counted your tears.

If you feel that your life is on hold and time has passed you by;
God is waiting with you.
When you're lonely and your friends are too busy even for a phone call;
God is by your side.

When you think you've tried everything and don't know where to turn;
God has a solution.
When nothing makes sense and you are confused or frustrated;
God has the answer.

If suddenly your outlook is brighter and you find traces of hope;
God has whispered to you.
When things are going well and you have much to be thankful for;
God has blessed you.

When something joyful happens and you are filled with awe;
God has smiled upon you.
When you have a purpose to fulfill and a dream to follow;
God has opened your eyes and called you by name.

Remember that wherever you are or whatever you 're facing;

God Knows!!

Thank God for the trials & tribulations

Source: Unknown

A renowned Tennis Player, was stricken by HIV from a contaminated blood transfusion which he received during his heart bypass surgery.

He was a legendary player. People from all over the world were very sad to hear the news. He received millions of get well soon letters and cards from his fans all over the world.

One of the letters read: "It is very sad to know about your illness. Why did God let this happen to you?"

The Tennis Player wrote a reply to this fan saying: "Millions of children start playing tennis. Hundreds of thousands of them learn to play proper Tennis.
Tens of Thousands of them learn professional Tennis.
Thousands of them go to Tennis tournaments around the world. Some 5 thousand make it to Grand Slam and around 100 make it to Wimbledon.
Just 4 make it to Semi Finals and two to finals and only ONE wins. And I was that ONE out of millions of people around the world. 

When I was holding the Wimbledon Championship Trophy I never asked God "Why Me?" So I have no right to ask God "why me?" during my times of hardship."

Isn't it true that whenever a human being achieves something in his life he attributes it to himself, his hard work and support from his family and friends and forgets to thank God.

But what does the same person do when he is afflicted by a misfortune? The person who takes credit for every achievement of his now starts blaming God for his misfortune.

Lets not forget God in our good times. And if we are going through bad times, lets thank Him even more as the times could have been worse because God keeps reminding us of His existence by giving us trials and afflictions.

True Love

It is said that, a teacher of wisdom once asked his students how they could tell when the darkness of night had ended and the light of day was on its way back.

“Is it when you can see an animal in the distance, and can tell whether it is a sheep or a dog?”

“No,” answered the teacher.

“Is it when you can look at a tree in the distance and tell whether it is a fig or a peach tree?”

“No.”

“Well then,” the students demanded, “when is it?”

“It is when you can look on the face of another human being and see that he or she is your brother or sister. If you cannot do that, then no matter what time it is, the light has not yet arrived.”

Concentration

by Unknown

After winning several archery contests, the young and rather boastful champion challenged a Zen master who was renowned for his skill as an archer. The young man demonstrated remarkable technical proficiency when he hit a distant bull's eye on his first try, and then split that arrow with his second shot. "There," he said to the old man, "see if you can match that!"

Undisturbed, the master did not draw his bow, but rather motioned for the young archer to follow him up the mountain. Curious about the old fellow's intentions, the champion followed him high into the mountain until they reached a deep gap spanned by a rather flimsy and shaky log. 

Calmly stepping out onto the middle of the unsteady and certainly perilous bridge, the old master picked a far away tree as a target, drew his bow, and fired a clean, direct hit. 

"Now it is your turn," he said as he gracefully stepped back onto the safe ground. 

Staring with terror into the seemingly bottomless and beckoning abyss, the young man could not force himself to step out onto the log, no less shoot at a target.

"You have much skill with your bow," the master said, sensing his challenger's predicament, "but you have little skill with the mind that lets loose the shot."

Concentration and mental toughness are the margins of victory.

Need for everything

From Tales & Parables of  Ramakrishna

Wicked People are needed too.
At one time the tenants of an estate became unruly.The landlord had to send Golak Choudhury, who was a ruffian. He was such a hard administrator that the tenants trembled at the very mention of the name.

There is a need for everything.
Once Sita said to her husband: "Rama, it would be grand if every house in Ayodhya were a mansion! I find many houses are old and dilapidated." 

"But, my dear," said Rama, "If all the houses were beautiful ones, what would the masons do?" 

God has created all kinds of things. He has created good trees and poisonous plants and weeds as well. 

Among the animals there are good, bad, and all kinds of creatures - tigers, lions, snakes, and so on.

Eat only what you need

A mouse was having a very bad time. She could find no food at all. She looked here and there, but there was no food, and she grew very thin.

At last the mouse found a basket, full of corn. There was a small hole in the basket, and she crept in. She could just get through the hole.

Then she began to eat the corn. Being very hungry, she ate a great deal, and went on eating and eating. She had grown very fat before she felt that she had had enough.

When the mouse tried to climb out of the basket, she could not. She was too fat to pass through the hole.

"How shall I climb out?" said the mouse. "oh, how shall I climb out?"

Just then a rat came along, and he heard the mouse.

"Mouse," said the rat, "if you want to climb out of the basket, you must wait till you have grown as thin as you were when you went in." 

"Food is considered God, as it is the source of a person’s life, body, mind, and character. Eat only what you need. Do not be greedy and take more than you can eat. Wasting food is a great sin; your surplus can feed another stomach.Even a major part of the food you consume, the gross part, is thrown out as waste matter. A minute amount of the food, which is the subtle part, is assimilated by the body and flows as blood. And a minuscule amount, which is the subtlest part of the food, makes up your mind. Therefore mind is the reflection of the food consumed. When demonic tendencies arise in our minds, know that it is from the food we consume. To receive real nourishment, pay attention to the quality of food that you eat and let it be very pure, clean, sanctified, and Satwik." 

Sathya Sai Baba, 'My Dear Students', Vol 2, Ch 2.

A cup of Coffee from the wall

Author Unknown 

A man sat with his friend in a well-known coffee shop.

As they enjoyed their coffee, a man entered and sat at an empty table beside them. He called the waiter and placed his order saying, “Two cups of coffee, one of them there on the wall.”

They heard this order with rather interest and observed that he was served with one cup of coffee but he paid for two.

When he left, the waiter put a piece of paper on the wall saying “A Cup of Coffee”.

While they were still there, two other men entered and ordered three cups of coffee, two on the table and one on the wall. They had two cups of coffee but paid for three and left. This time also, the waiter did the same; he put a piece of paper on the wall saying, “A Cup of Coffee”.

It was something unique for them. They finished their coffee, paid the bill and left.

After a few days, they had a chance to go to this coffee shop again. While they were enjoying their coffee, a man poorly dressed entered. As he seated himself, he looked at the wall and said, “One cup of coffee from the wall.”

The waiter served coffee to this man with the customary respect and dignity. The man had his coffee and left without paying.

The waiter took off a piece of paper from the wall and threw it in the trash bin.

Now it was no surprise. The matter was very clear. The great respect for the needy shown by the inhabitants of this town in this manner.

Let us ponder upon the need of what this man wanted.

He enters the coffee shop without having to lower his self-esteem… 

he has no need to ask for a free cup of coffee… 

without asking or knowing about the one who is giving this cup of coffee to him… 

he only looked at the wall, placed an order for himself, enjoyed his coffee and left.

A truly beautiful thought. Probably the most beautiful wall you may ever see anywhere!

Mother's Love

When you were 1 year old, she fed you and bathed you.
- You thanked her by crying all the night.

When you were 2 years old, she taught you to walk.
- You thanked her by running away when she called.

When you were 3 years old, she made all your meals with love.
- You thanked her by tossing your plate on the floor.

When you were 4 years old, she gave you some crayons.
- You thanked her by coloring the dinning room table.

When you were 5 years old, she dressed you for the holidays.
- You thanked her by looping into the nearest pile of mud.

When you were 6 years old, she walked you into school.
- You thanked her by screaming, "I'M NOT GOING".

When you were 7 years old, she bought you a baseball.
- You thanked her by throwing it through the next-door-neighbor window.

When you were 8 years old, she handed you an ice cream.
- You thanked her by dripping it all over you lap.

When you were 9 years old, she paid for piano lessons.
- You thanked her by never even bothering to practice it.

When you were 10 years old, she drove you all day, from soccer to gymnastic to one birthday party after another.
- You thanked her by jumping out of the car and never looking back.

When you were 11 years old, she took you and your friends to the movies.
- You thanked her by asking to sit in the different row.

When you were 12 years old, she warned you not to watch certain TV shows.
- You thanked her by waiting until she left the house.

When you were 13, she suggested a haircut that was becoming.
- You thanked her by telling her she had no taste.

When you were 14, she paid for a month away at summer camp.
- You thanked her by forgetting to write a single letter.

When you were 15, she came home from work, looking for a hug.
- You thanked her by having your bedroom door locked.

When you were 16, she taught you how to drove her car.
- You thanked her by taking it every chance you could.

When you were 17, she was expecting an important call.
- You thanked her by being on the phone all night.

When you were 18, she cried at your school graduation.
- You thanked her by staying out partying until dawn.

When you were 19, she paid for your college tuition, drove you to campus, carried your bags.
- You thanked her by saying good-bye outside the dorm so you wouldn't be embarrassed in front of you friends.

When you were 20, she asked whether you were seeing anyone.
- You thanked her by saying "It's none of you business".

When you were 21, she suggested certain careers for your future.
- You thanked her by saying "I don't want to be like you".

When you were 22, she hugged you at your college graduation.
- You thanked her by asking whether she could pay for a trip to Europe.

When you were 23, she gave you furniture for your first apartment.
- You thanked her by telling your friend it was ugly.

When you were 24, she met your fiancee and asked about your plans for the future.
- You thanked her by glaring and growling, "Muuhh-ther, please!"

When you were 25, she helped to pay for your wedding, and she cried and told how deeply she loved you.
- You thanked her by moving halfway across the country.

When you were 30, she called with some advice on the baby.
- You thanked by telling her, "Things are different now."

When you were 40, she called to remind you of a relative's birthday.
- You thanked her by saying you were "really busy right now."

When you were 50, she fell ill and needed you to take care of her.
- You thanked her by reading about the burden parents become to their children.

And then, one day, she quietly died. And everything you never did, came crashing down like thunder on your heart.
If she's still around, never forget to love her more than ever. And if she's not, remember her unconditional love

Understanding others' sufferings

Unknown Author

One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.

He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview, made the last decision.

The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not score.

The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?"

The youth answered, "none".

The director asked, "Was it your father who paid for your school fees?"

The youth answered, "My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.”

The director asked, "Where did your mother work?"

The youth answered, "My mother worked as clothes cleaner.”

The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

The director asked, "Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?"

The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.”

The director said, "I have a request. When you go back today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.”

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.

The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.

After finishing the cleaning of his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked: "Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered, "I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes.”

The Director asked, "Please tell me your feelings."

The youth said, 

“1.I know now what appreciation is. Without my mother, there would not the successful me today.
2. By working together and helping my mother, only now I realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done.
3. I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship.”

The director said, "This is what I am looking for in my manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired.”

Covering the Sun With One's Hand

by Paulo Coelho

A disciple went to Rabbi Nachman of Bratslav:

"I shall not continue with my studies of sacred texts," he said. "I live in a small house with my brothers and parents, and never have the ideal conditions for concentrating on that which is important."

Nachman pointed to the sun and asked his disciple to place his hand over his face, in order to hide it. The disciple obeyed.

"Your hand is small, yet it can completely cover the power, light and majesty of the great sun. In the same way, the small problems manage to give you the excuse you need in order to hinder your progress along your spiritual journey."

"Just as your hand has the power to hide the sun, mediocrity has the power to hide your inner light. Do not blame others for your own incompetence."

Lessons from pencil

source: “Like the Flowing River” by Paulo Coelho

A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point he asked: ‘Are you writing a story about what we’ve done? Is it a story about me?’

His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson, "I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I’m using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up."

Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn’t seem very special. ‘But it’s just like any other pencil I’ve ever seen!’

‘That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.’

‘First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.’

‘Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpener. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he’s much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.

‘Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.’

‘Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.’

‘Finally, the pencil’s fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. in just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action’

Unconditional Love

by Unknown

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80's arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.

The nurse took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would be able to see him. She saw him looking at his watch and decided, since she was not busy with another patient, she would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so she talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, she asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry.

The gentleman told her no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. She inquired as to her health.

He told that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease.

As they talked, she asked if his wife would be upset if he was a bit late.

He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

She was surprised, and asked him, 'And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?'

He smiled as he patted her hand and said, "She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is."

The only way love can last a lifetime is if it's unconditional.

Do Not Question the Search

by Sri Ramakrishna

A man was about the cross a river, when master Bibhishana came over, wrote a name on a leaf, tied it to the man's back, and said: "Don't be afraid. Your faith will help you walk on the waters. But the minute you lose faith, you will drown."

The man trusted Bibhishana, and began to walk on the waters, without any difficulty.

At a certain point, he had an overwhelming desire to know what his master had written on the leaf tied to his back.

He took it and read what was written: "Oh god Rama, help this man to cross the river."

"Is that all?" thought the man. "And who is this god Rama, anyway?"

The moment this doubt became lodged in his mind, he was submerged and drowned in the strong current.

What We Have

Spiritual Story by Paulo Coelho

A wise man arrived at the village of Akbar and the people lent no importance to him. Except for a small group of young people, the wise man was of no interest to anyone; on the contrary, he became a object of irony for the inhabitants of the city.

One day he was walking down the main street with some of his disciples when a group of men and women began to insult him. The wise man went up to them and blessed them.

When they left, one of the disciples remarked: "They say terrible things, and you answer them with nice words."

And the wise man replied: "Each one of us can only offer what he has."

Never judge anyone

A doctor entered the hospital in hurry after being called in for an urgent surgery.

He answered the call immediately, changed his clothes & went directly to the surgery block. He found the boy’s father pacing in the hall waiting for the doctor. On seeing him, the dad yelled: “Why did you take all this time to come? Don’t you know that my son’s life is in danger? Don’t you have any sense of responsibility?”

The doctor smiled & said: “I am sorry, I wasn’t in the hospital & I came as fast as I could after receiving the call…… And now, I wish you’d calm down so that I can do my work”

“Calm down? What if your son was in this room right now, would you calm down? If your own son dies now what will you do?” said the father angrily.

The doctor smiled again & replied: “I will say what Job said in the Holy Book “From dust we came & to dust we return, blessed be the name of God”. Doctors cannot prolong lives. Go & intercede for your son, we will do our best by God’s grace”

“Giving advises when we’re not concerned is so easy,” murmured the father.

The surgery took some hours after which the doctor went out happy, “Thank goodness! Your son is saved!”

And without waiting for the father’s reply he carried on his way running. “If you have any questions, ask the nurse!!”

“Why is he so arrogant? He couldn’t wait some minutes so that I ask about my son’s state?” Commented the father when seeing the nurse minutes after the doctor left.

The nurse answered, tears coming down her face: “His son died yesterday in a road accident, he was at the burial when we called him for your son’s surgery. And now that he saved your son’s life, he left running to finish his son’s burial.”

Never judge anyone….. because you never know how their life is & what they’re going through.

Hard work or Smart work?

Two salesmen joined a wholesale company together just after graduation. Both worked very hard.

After few years, the boss promoted one of them but the other remained at the lower grade itself.

He could not take it anymore, tendered his resignation to the boss and complained to the boss that he did not value hard working staff, but only promoted those who flattered him.

The boss knew that this man also worked very hard for the years, but in order to help him realise the difference between him and his counterpart, the boss asked him to do the following.

"Go and find out if anyone selling water melon in the market?"

He returned and said yes.

The boss asked how much per kg?

He went back to the market to ask and returned to inform boss the Rs12 per kg.

Boss told him, “I will ask the same question to your friend, let me see how he fares.”

The other salesman went, returned and said,
“Boss, only one person is selling water melon.
Rs12 per kg and Rs100 for 10 kg.
He has inventory of 340 melons.
On the table there are 58 melons.
They are bought from a Farm two days ago, they are fresh and red, good quality.
Every melon weighs about 15 kg,”

The salesman realised the difference between himself and his counterpart.

Set your priorities

When the angel of death came to Joe Smith, to accompany him to his real home, Joe dismissively responded “I am not ready to die as I have so much left to do. Do you mind coming back later?”

The Angel replied, "sorry your time is up and we must leave now."

Joe enquired, “don’t you know who I am? I am Joe Smith, one of the richest men in the world."

The Angel nodded “I know all about you as I do everyone else; now hurry along, Let’s go.”

Joe pleaded; “if I were to give you 10% of my fortune, which is over a billion dollars, will you turn a blind eye and return a year later?”

The Angel shook his head and replied, “you don’t seem to understand Joe. It is time to go”

For the next few moments, Joe tried his best to negotiate with the angel giving away more of his fortune for lesser time. He finally succumbed and offered “if I were to give you all my fortune, which is 10 billion dollars, will you give me 5 minutes so that I can call my wife and children and tell them that I love them? I have never told them this and it is very important to me that they know how I feel about them. I also need to seek forgiveness from 2 people that I have hurt the most. All I ask is 5 minutes!”

The Angel paused and looked at Joe curiously and asked, “how long did it take you to make your 10 billion dollars?”

Joe replied, “30 years my friend – it took me a whole 30 years – it’s a great deal in exchange for 5 minutes, take it – you will never have to work another day in your life."

The Angel shook his head and said “I really do not understand you human beings! If you are willing to give up 30 years of your lives’ work for 5 minutes, then why did you not make the most of every minute while you had it? How did you value your time? Where were your priorities? Why did you not say or do the things that really mattered?”

The lights went off a second later, Joe was gone.

His 10 billion dollars could not buy him the time to do what really mattered.

Optimist & pessimist

Author Unknown

A family had twin boys whose only resemblance to each other was their looks. If one felt it was too hot, the other thought it was too cold. If one said the TV was too loud, the other claimed the volume needed to be turned up. Opposite in every way, one was an eternal optimist, the other a doom and gloom pessimist.

Just to see what would happen, on Christmas day their father loaded the pessimist's room with every imaginable toy and game. The optimist's room he loaded with horse manure.

That night the father passed by the pessimist's room and found him sitting amid his new gifts crying bitterly.

"Why are you crying?" the father asked.

"Because my friends will be jealous, I'll have to read all these instructions before I can do anything with this stuff, I'll constantly need batteries, and my toys will eventually get broken." answered the pessimist twin.

Passing the optimist twin's room, the father found him dancing for joy in the pile of manure. "What are you so happy about?" he asked.

To which his optimist twin replied, "There's got to be a pony in here somewhere!" 

Triple Unity

In all His Creations, only human beings are endowed with the ability to communicate through speech. But sadly, more often than not, this power is not utilized the way it was meant to be. Those are the times when our speech is not aligned with our thoughts. And when this happens it impinges on our actions too. The resulting factor is all the three faculties—thoughts, speech and actions are totally askew.

What we would like to communicate is formulated in our thoughts. Recognizing that we should only speak what is formulated in our thoughts is an important realization. Be it a parent, student, teacher, preacher, leader, etc— if we wish to play our roles successfully, then we need to ensure this fact.

“What you think, you should speak; what you speak, you must put into practice. That is real humanness. Unity does not mean gathering of all people at one place. What is needed is perfect harmony between thoughts, words and deeds.” Says Sathya Sai Baba. He calls this Triple Unity.

In 1931, Gandhi was invited to speak to the British Parliament.

Those were the days when Gandhi was one of the most vocal supporters of Indian independence. His visits were always viewed with suspicion and caution by the British Parliament.

Gandhi stood up to speak. He had no notes in his hands. He spoke for two hours with eloquence and passion. The audiences were astounded. They stood and applauded.

Later, an English journalist asked one of Gandhi’s assistants how he was able to stand with no notes and speak so brilliantly for such a long time.

The assistant smiled and is quoted as saying, “You don’t understand Gandhi. You see, what he thinks is what he feels. What he feels is what he says. What he says is what he does. What Gandhi feels, what he thinks, what he says, and what he does are all the same. He does not need notes.”

This Triple Unity is not a complex issue but it does require some behavioral changes. Every night, before going to bed, self-assessing our thoughts, words and actions throughout the day and consciously working towards correcting ourselves would take us a long way.

The goal is to be aware of our thoughts before we speak, express them without any distortion and translate them into actions without any twist.

Needle or Scissors?

There was a noble tailor, who had transformed into a great sage.

The king came to pay his obeisance. The king gifted him golden scissors, encrusted with diamonds.

But the sage refused to accept it. The king was worried that he was not able to help the sage.

So he asked him, ‘What can I give you that would be of use to you?’

The sage replied, ‘Give me a needle!’

The king at once arranged for a needle and presented it to the sage. Humbly he waited for the sage’s response.

The sage said, ‘The reason why I refused your gift of scissors is it cuts and divides. Our minds are like scissors that cut and divide. But the needle would stitch, it would join and unite! Our hearts are like needles which join and unite.’

Today humanity is in need of a needle and not scissors!

Everyone is Important

The lion king was busy appointing various animals at different posts.

The cheetah had been made the army commander because he was quick to think and the fastest runner. 

The wise elephant had been made the prime minister. 

The fox was made adviser to the King.

Time passed by and other animals also got their posts. 

In the end only the rabbit, the tortoise and the donkey were left.

At this, the animals started laughing. The zebra said, "The rabbit gets scared easily and the tortoise takes hours to move an inch. The donkey is a fool. They cannot get any post in the royal court."

But the lion king said, "No friends! Please don't tease them. All animals have different and unique qualities. The rabbit will be our messenger because he runs fast. The tortoise can hide and spy on the border posts. The loud voice of the donkey can be used as a bugle call. We must learn to respect everyone. "

Thus all the animals of the forest learnt a new lesson that day.

Happiness is relishing what we have

A story from Buddhism

A beautiful swan was sitting by a lake, fanning itself elegantly in the sunshine. Watching in the distance was a crow perched on a tree.

“What a contrast”, the crow thought in envy, comparing the Swan’s perfect white feathers to its own jet black ones. He hated being the color that he was and wanted nothing more than to be as white as the Swan.

Foolishly it thought that the reason the Swan got to be so beautifully white was because it spent all day in the water, so if he was to become the same as the swan, he would have start spending all his days in the water also.

So for many days and nights, he spent all his time soaking in the waters of the lake. Even when it got cold, he refused to get out, determined to stay in until his feathers turned white.

One moonlit night, an owl flew by and saw the crow shivering in the lake. “What are you doing?” the owl asked. 

“I want to be as white as a swan and so I have to sit here until my colour changes”. 

As soon as the owl heard, it burst into hysterical laughter, “You silly fool! You can sit there till you die you’ll never be as white as a swan! You are a crow and crows are black. You have got to accept what you are”

The crow contemplated for a while on the wise words of the owl. Looking down at his body, he could see that what the owl said was absolutely true. He had been sitting in the water for many days and yet his colour is just the same as it always was. Feeling very foolish, the crow realised that if the owl didn’t fly by that night, he might still be sitting in the water and die from either starvation or hypothermia.

“Happiness does not consist in things, but in the relish we have of them.” 

Do not educate children to be rich ; Educate them to be happy ; So that when they grow up they will know the value of things and not just the price.

A lesson from Giraffe

Baby giraffes never go to school. But they learn a very important lesson rather early in life. A lesson that all of us would do well to remember. The birth of a baby giraffe is quite an earth-shaking event. The baby falls from its mother's womb, some eight feet above the ground. It shrivels up and lies still, too weak to move. 

The mother giraffe lovingly lowers her neck to smooch the baby giraffe. And then something unbelievable happens. She lifts her long leg and kicks the baby giraffe, sending it flying up in the air and tumbling down on the ground. As the baby lies curled up, the mother kicks the baby again and again until the baby giraffe, still trembling and tired, pushes its limbs and for the first time learns to stand on its feet. 

Happy to see the baby standing on its own feet, the mother giraffe comes over and gives it yet another kick. The baby giraffe falls one more time, but now quickly recovers and stands up.

Mama Giraffe is delighted. She knows that her baby has learnt an important lesson: Never mind how hard you fall, always remember to pick yourself up and get back on your feet.

Why does the mother giraffe do this? She knows that lions and leopards love giraffe meat. So unless the baby giraffe quickly learns to stand and run with the pack it will have no chance of survival.

Most of us though are not quite as lucky as baby giraffes.

No one teaches us to stand up every time we fall. When we fail, when we are down, we just give up. No one kicks us out of our comfort zone to remind us that to survive and succeed, we need to learn to get back on our feet.

Life is a reality, accept it

In a mother's womb were two babies. 

One asked the other: "Do you believe in life after delivery?" 

The other replies, "why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later." 

"Nonsense," says the other. "There is no life after delivery. What would that life be?" 

"I don't know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths." 

 "This is absurd! Walking is impossible. And eat with our mouths? Ridiculous. The umbilical cord supplies nutrition. Life after delivery is to be excluded. The umbilical cord is too short." 

"I think there is something and maybe it's different than it is here," the other replies.

 "No one has ever come back from there. Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery it is nothing but darkness and anxiety and it takes us nowhere." 

"Well, I don't know," says the other, "but certainly we will see mother and she will take care of us." 

"Mother??" You believe in mother? Where is she now?" 

"She is all around us. It is in her that we live. Without her there would not be this world." 

"I don't see her, so it's only logical that she doesn't exist." 

To which the other replied, "sometimes when you're in silence you can hear her, you can perceive her. I believe there is a reality after delivery and we are here to prepare ourselves for that reality."

Special Teacher

Bits & Pieces - June 1995, Economics Press 

Years ago a John Hopkin's professor gave a group of graduate students this assignment: Go to the slums. Take 200 boys, between the ages of 12 and 16, and investigate their background and environment. Then predict their chances for the future.

The students, after consulting social statistics, talking to the boys, and compiling much data, concluded that 90 percent of the boys would spend some time in jail.

Twenty-five years later another group of graduate students was given the job of testing the prediction.

They went back to the same area. Some of the boys - by then men - were still there, a few had died, some had moved away, but they got in touch with 180 of the original 200. They found that only four of the group had ever been sent to jail.

Why was it that these men, who had lived in a breeding place of crime, had such a surprisingly good record? The researchers were continually told: "Well, there was a teacher..."

They pressed further, and found that in 75 percent of the cases it was the same woman. The researchers went to this teacher, now living in a home for retired teachers. How had she exerted this remarkable influence over that group of children? Could she give them any reason why these boys should have remembered her?

"No," she said, "no I really couldn't." And then, thinking back over the years, she said musingly, more to herself than to her questioners: "I just loved those boys...." 

 

Awakening

The renowned master, Hasan of Basra, teased a child who was lighting a candle. "Little one, tell me where did this magical flame come from?"

The child instantly blew out the candle and asked, "You tell me, where did the flame go?"

This awakened something deep in him.

The little child, he said, was a big teacher.

Joy & Sorrow

I have in my hands two boxes
Which God gave me to hold He said,
"Put all your sorrows in the black,
And all your joys in the gold."

I asked, "God, why give me the boxes,
Why the gold, and the black with the hole?"
"My child, the gold is for you to count your blessings,
The black is for you to let go."

I heeded his words, and in the two boxes
Both my joys and sorrows I store
But though the gold became heavier each day
The black was as light as before.

With curiosity, I opened the black
I wanted to find out why
And I saw, in the base of the box,
A hole which my sorrows had fallen out by.

I showed the hole to God, and mused aloud,
"I wonder where my sorrows could be."
He smiled a gentle smile at me.
"My child, they're all here with me."

Being Positive

Louise L. Hay in her book “You can Heal your Life”

Think for a moment of a healthy tomato plant with a hundred tomatoes on it. In order to get this, we need to start with a small dried seed. That seed doesn’t look like tomato plant and it sure doesn’t taste a tomato. If you don’t know for sure, you would not even believe it could be a tomato plant. However, lets say you plant this seed in fertile soil, you water it and let the sun shine on it.

When the first little tiny shoot comes up, you don’t stomp on it and say, “That’s not a tomato plant.” Rather, you look at it and say, “Oh boy! Here it comes” and you watch it grow with delight. In time if you continue to water it, give it lots of sunshine, pull away any weeds, and you might have a tomato plant with hundred luscious tomatoes. It all began with that one tiny seed.

It’s the same with creating a new experience for yourself.
The soil you plant is your subconscious mind.
The seed is the new affirmation. The whole new experience is in this tiny seed.
You water it with affirmations.
You let the sunshine of positive thought beam on it.
You weed the garden by pulling away the negative thoughts that come up.

And when you see the first tiniest little evidence, you don’t stomp on it and say, “that’s not enough!”. Instead you look at this first break through and exclaim with glee, “Oh boy! Here it comes! Its working!”
Then you watch it grow and become your desire in manifestation.

The true riches

The man was rich in almost every way. His estate was worth millions. He owned houses, land antiques and cattle. But though on the outside he had it all, he was very unhappy on the inside. His wife was growing old, and the couple was childless. He had always wanted a little boy to carry on the family legacy.

Miraculously, his wife became pregnant in her later years, and she gave birth to a little boy.

The boy was severely handicapped, but the man loved him with his whole heart.

When the boy was five, his mom died. The dad drew closer to his special son.

At age 13, the boy's birth defects cost him his life.

The father too died soon after from a broken heart.

The estate was auctioned before hundreds of bidders. The first item offered was a painting of the boy. No one bid. They waited like vultures for the riches.

Finally, the poor housemaid, who helped raise the boy and loved him, offered $5 for the painting and easily took the bid.

To everyone's shock, the auctioneer ripped a hand written will from the back of the picture.

This is what it said: "To the person who thinks enough of my son to buy this painting, to this person I give my entire estate."

The auction was over. The greedy crowd walked away in shock and dismay.

How many of us have sought after what we thought were true riches only to find out later that the Lord was prepared to give us His entire estate?

Service to humanity is service to God

Author Unknown

Ruth went to her mail box and there was only one letter. She picked it up and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the envelope again. There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address.

She read the letter: “Dear Ruth, I'm going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I would like to visit. Love Always, Lord”.

Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table. "Why would the Lord want to visit me? I'm nobody special. I don't have anything to offer."

With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets. "Oh my goodness, I really don't have anything to offer. I'll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner."

She reached for her purse and counted out it's contents. Five dollars and forty cents. "Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least."

She threw on her coat and hurried out the door. A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced fruits, and a carton of milk...leaving Ruth with grand total of twelve cents to last her until Monday. Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her meager offerings tucked under her arm.

"Hey lady, can you help us, lady?" Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans, she hadn't even noticed two figures huddled in the alleyway. A man and a woman, both of them dressed in little more than rags.

"Look lady, I haven't got a job, 'you know, and my wife and I have been living out here on the street, and, well, it's getting cold and we're getting hungry and, well, if you could help us, lady, we'd really appreciate it."

Ruth looked at them both. They were dirty, they smelled bad and frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they really wanted to.

"Sir, I'd like to help you, but I'm a poor woman myself. All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I'm having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him."

“Yeah, well, okay lady, I understand. Thanks anyway." The man put his arm around the woman's shoulders, turned and he headed back into the alley.

As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart. “Sir, wait!"

The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them. "Look, why don't you take this food. I'll figure out something else to serve my guest." She handed the man her grocery bag.

“Thank you lady. Thank you very much!" "Yes, thank you!" It was the man's wife, and Ruth could see now that she was shivering.

"You know, I've got another coat at home. Here, why don't you take this one." Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman's shoulders. Then smiling, she turned and walked back to the street... without her coat and with nothing to serve her guest.

"Thank you lady! Thank you very much!"

Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried too. The Lord was coming to visit and she didn't have anything to offer Him. She fumbled through her purse for the door key. But as she did, she noticed another envelope in her mailbox. "That's odd. The mailman doesn't usually come twice in one day." She took the envelope out of the box and opened it.

“Dear Ruth, It was so good to see you again. Thank you for the lovely meal. And thank you, too, for the beautiful coat. Love Always, Lord”

The air was still cold, but even without her coat, Ruth no longer noticed.

What goes around, comes around

Author Unknown

It was a rainy night.

At a bus station in the town,
I watched a young girl weeping
As her baggage was taken down.

It seems she'd lost her ticket
Changing buses in the night.
She begged them not to leave her there
With no sign of help in sight.

The bus driver had a face of stone
And his heart was surely the same.
"Losing your ticket's like losing cash money" he said,
And left her in the rain.

Then an old man stood up
And blocked the driver's way
And would not let him pass
Before he said what he had to say.

"How can you leave that girl out there?
Have you no God to fear?
You know she had a ticket.
You can't just leave her here.
You can't put her out in a city
Where she doesn't have a friend.
You will meet your schedule,
But she might meet her end."

The driver showed no sign
That he'd heard or even cared
About the young girl's problem
Or how her travels fared.

So the old gentleman said,
"For her fare I'll pay.
I'll give her a little money
to help her on her way."

He went and bought the ticket,
Helped her to her place
And helped her put her baggage
In the overhead luggage space.

"How can I repay," she said,

"the kindness you've shown tonight?
We're strangers who won't meet again.
A mere ' 'thank you ' doesn't seem right."

He said, "What goes around comes around.

This I've learned with time –
What you give, you always get back;
What you sow, you reap in kind.
Always be helpful to others.
And give what you can spare;
For by being kind to strangers,
We help angels unaware."

Do not quit

Unknown

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,

When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When he might have won had he stuck it out.

Don’t give up though the pace seems slow–

You may succeed with another blow,
Success is failure turned inside out–
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;

So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit–

It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

The Clay pot

Author Unknown 

 
The Master was searching for a vessel to use;
On the shelf there were many - which one would He choose?

"Take me", cried the gold one, "I'm shiny and bright,
I'm of great value and I do things just right.
My beauty and luster will outshine the rest
And for someone like You, Master, gold would be the best!"

The Master passed on with no word at all;
He looked at a silver urn, narrow and tall;
"I'll serve You, dear Master, I'll pour out Your drink, and
I'll be at Your table whenever You dine,
My lines are so graceful, my carvings so true,
And my silver will always compliment You."

Unheeding the Master passed on to the brass,
It was wide mouthed and shallow, and polished like glass.
"Here! Here!" cried the vessel, "I know I will do,
Place me on Your table for all men to view."
"Look at me", called the goblet of crystal so clear,
"My transparency shows my contents so dear,
Though fragile am I, I will serve You with pride,
And I'm sure I'll be happy in Your house to abide."

The Master came next to a vessel of wood,
Polished and carved, it solidly stood.
"You may use me, dear Master", the wooden bowl said,
"But I'd rather You used me for fruit, not for Bread!"
Then the Master looked down and saw a vessel of clay.
Empty and broken it helplessly lay.
No hope had the vessel that the Master might choose,
To cleanse and make whole, to fill and to use.

"Ah! This is the vessel I've been hoping to find,
I will mend and use it and make it all Mine."
"I need not the vessel with pride of its self;
Nor the one who is narrow to sit on the shelf;
Nor the one who is big mouthed and shallow and loud;
Nor one who displays his contents so proud;
Not the one who thinks he can do all things just right;
But this plain earthy vessel filled with My power and might."

Then gently He lifted the vessel of clay.
Mended and cleansed it and filled it that day.
Spoke to it kindly. "There's work you must do,
Just pour out to others as I pour into you."

Obituary of Someone Else

Author Unknown

I know that all of you were saddened to learn this week of the death of one of the most valuable members of our community-- Someone Else.

Someone's passing created a vacancy that will be difficult to fill.

Else has been with us for many years, and for every one of those years, Someone did far more than the normal person's share of the work. 

Whenever leadership was mentioned, this wonderful person was looked to for inspiration as well as results. "Someone Else can work with that group." 

Whenever there was a job to do, a class to teach, or a meeting to attend, one name was on everyone's lips, "Let Someone Else do it." 

It was common knowledge that Someone Else was among the largest givers in the community. Whenever there was a financial need, everyone just assumed that "Someone Else would make up the difference."

Someone Else was a wonderful person, sometimes appearing super-human, but a person can only do so much. 

Were the truth known, everyone expected too much of Someone Else. 

Now Someone Else is gone. 

We wonder what we are going to do. 

Someone Else left a wonderful example to follow, but who is going to follow it? 

Who is going to do the things Someone Else did? 

Remember, we can't depend on Someone Else anymore.

A thought worth pondering............

God calls at the right moment

Author Unknown

A young man who had been raised as an atheist was training to be an Olympic diver. The only religious influence in his life came from his outspoken Christian friend.

The young diver never really paid much attention to his friend's sermons, but he heard them often.

One night the diver went to the indoor pool at the college he attended. The lights were all off, but as the pool had big skylights and the moon was bright, there was plenty of light to practice by.

The young man climbed up to the highest diving board and as he turned his back to the pool on the edge of the board and extended his arms out, he saw his shadow on the wall.

The shadow of his body, was in the shape of a cross.

Instead of diving, he knelt down and finally asked God to come into his life.

As the young man stood, a maintenance man walked in and turned the lights on.

The pool had been drained for repairs !!!!!!!!

God Doesn’t Call the Qualified…God Qualifies the Called!

My Grandma

- Author Unknown -

The computer swallowed My grandma
Yes, honestly its true
I pressed 'control' and 'enter'
And she disappeared from view.

It devoured her completely
The thought just makes me squirm
She must have caught a 'virus'
Or been eaten by a 'worm.'

I've searched through the 'recycle bin'
And files of every kind
I've even used the 'Internet'
But nothing did I find.

In desperation, I asked Jeeves
My searches to refine
The reply from him was negative
Not a thing was found 'online.'

So if inside your 'Inbox'
My Grandma you should see
Please 'Copy,' 'Scan' and 'Paste' her
And send her back to me!

A lesson in dream

Author Unknown

A man had a little daughter -- an only and much-beloved child.

He lived for her -- she was his life. So when she became ill and her illness resisted the efforts of the best obtainable physicians, he became like a man possessed, moving heaven and earth to bring about her restoration to health.

His best efforts proved unavailing and the child died.

The father was totally irreconcilable. He became a bitter recluse, shutting himself away from his many friends and refusing every activity that might restore his poise and bring him back to his normal self.

But one night he had a dream. He was witnessing a grand pageant of the entire little child angels. They were marching in an apparently endless line past the Great White Throne. Every white-robed angelic child carried a candle. He noticed that one child's candle was not lighted.

Then he saw that the child with the dark candle was his own little girl.

Rushing to her, while the pageant faltered, he seized her in his arms, caressed her tenderly, and then asked: "How is it, darling that your candle alone is unlighted?”

“Father, they often re-light it, but your tears always put it out."

Just then he awoke from his dream. The lesson was crystal clear, and its effects were immediate.

From that hour on he was not a recluse, but mingled freely and cheerfully with his former friends and associates.

No longer would his darling's candle be extinguished by his useless tears. 

The Balloon game

A fourth grade class in which the teacher introduced a game called "balloon stomp." A balloon was tied to every child's leg, and the object of the game was to pop everyone else's balloon while protecting one's own. The last person with an intact balloon would win.

The fourth graders entered into the spirit of the game with vigor. Balloons were relentlessly targeted and destroyed.

The entire battle was over in a matter of seconds, leaving only one balloon inflated. Its owner was, of course, the most disliked kid in the class. 

It's hard to really win at a game like balloon stomp. In order to complete your mission, you have to be pushy, rude and offensive.

The same game was introduced to a class of mentally challenged children. 

They were given the same explanation as the first class, and the signal to begin was given. 

But the game proceeded very differently. Perhaps the instructions were given too quickly for children with learning disabilities to grasp them.

The one idea that got through was that the balloons were supposed to be popped. So it was the balloons, not the other players, that were viewed as enemies.

Instead of fighting each other, they began helping each other pop balloons. One little girl knelt down and held her balloon carefully in place, like a holder for a field goal kicker. A little boy stomped it flat. Then he knelt down and held his balloon for her. It went on like this for several minutes until all the balloons were vanquished, and everybody cheered. Everybody won.

Who got the game right, and who got the game wrong?

In our world, we tend to think of another person's success as one less opportunity for us to succeed. If we ever find ourselves in that enviable position, we will fight like mad to maintain our hold on it.

In life, the rules change. The Almighty gets top billing. We're just here to serve His purposes, and we do that most effectively by elevating others and humbling ourselves.

Birthday

A beautiful answer given by Dr Abdul Kalam to a question that was asked to him once

Q: Define Birthday

A: The only day in your life….that your mother smiled when you cried.

The Soul's journey

There was a man with four wives.

He loved his fourth wife the most and took a great care of her and gave her the best. He also loved his third wife and always wanted to show her off to his friends.

However, he always had a fear that she might runaway with some other man. He loved his second wife too. Whenever he faced some problems, he always turned to his second wife and she would always help him out.

He did not love his first wife though she loved him deeply, was very loyal to him and took great care of him. One day the man fell very ill and knew that he is going to die soon.

He told himself, "I have four wives with me. I will take one of them along with me when I die to keep company in my death."

Thus, he asked the fourth wife to die along with him and keep company. "No way!" she replied and walked away without another word.

He asked his third wife.She said "Life is so good over here. I'm going to remarry when you die".

He then asked his second wife. She said "I'm Sorry. I can't help you this time around. At the most I can only accompany you til your grave."

By now his heart sank and turned cold.

Then a voice called out: "I'll leave with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go." 

The man looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny, almost like she suffered from malnutrition. Greatly grieved, the man said, "I should have taken much better care of you while I could have!"

Actually, we all have four wives in our lives.

a. The fourth wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it'll leave us when we die.

b. The third wife is our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, they go to others.

c. The second wife is our family and friends. No matter how close they had been there for us when we're alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

d. The first wife is the our soul, neglected in our pursuit of material wealth and pleasure. It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go.

Letter by a Grandmother to her Grandchildren

To my beautiful grandchildren...

Our world is changing so fast and there are many things I wish for you...

I'd really like for you to know about hand-me-down clothes and homemade ice cream and leftover loaf sandwiches. I really would.

I hope you learn humility by being humiliated, and that you learn honesty by being cheated.

I hope you learn to make your own bed and mow the lawn and wash the car.

And I really hope nobody gives you a brand new car when you are sixteen.

I hope you get a black eye fighting for something you believe in.

I hope you have to share a bedroom with your younger brother or sister.

And it's all right if you have to draw a line down the middle of the room, but when they want to crawl under the covers with you because they're scared, I hope you let them.

When you want to see a movie and your little brother or sister wants to tag along, I hope you'll let them.

I hope you have to walk uphill to school with your friends and that you live in a town where you can do it safely.

If you want a slingshot, I hope your Dad teaches you how to make one instead of buying one.

I hope you learn to dig in the dirt and read books.

When you learn to use computers, I hope you also learn to add and subtract in your head.

May you skin your knee climbing a mountain, burn your hand on a stove and stick your tongue on a frozen flagpole.

I don't care if you try a beer once, but I hope you don't like it.

And if a friend offers you a cigarette, I hope you realize he is not your friend.

I sure hope you make time to sit on a porch with your grandparents and go fishing with your uncle.

These are just some of the things that I wish for you - tough times and disappointment, hard work and happiness. To me, it's the only way to appreciate life.

A Determined Spirit

This beautiful story is from a popular parable that originated with the Quechua (Incan) Indians of South America.

Once upon a time, a small bird named Tasoo lived in a vast jungle.

One hot summer day, a terrible wildfire erupted and the flames devoured many trees and animals living in the jungle.

Other birds flew high into the sky and far away to safety, but Tasoo couldn't bear to leave her precious jungle home to burn.

Day and night, she flew with all her might back and forth to the river, filling her tiny beak with water to drop on the raging fires.

Tasoo's rare heart of courage and unshakable determination moved the heavenly gods to shed tears, and a great rain poured down upon the jungle, extinguishing the flames.

And so it is that even the smallest actions of a determined spirit can change the world.