Hope sees the Invisible

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Dr. Frank Mayfield (1908-1991, a renowned Neurosurgeon in the US) was touring Tewksbury Institute when, on his way out, he accidentally collided with an elderly floor maid. To cover the awkward moment Dr. Mayfield started asking questions.

"How long have you worked here?"

"I've worked here almost since the place opened," the maid replied.

"What can you tell me about the history of this place?" he asked.

"I don't think I can tell you anything, but I could show you something."

With that, she took his hand and led him down to the basement under the oldest section of the building. She pointed to one of what looked like small prison cells, their iron bars rusted with age, and said, "That's the cage where they used to keep Annie Sullivan."

"Who's Annie?" the doctor asked.

Annie was a young girl who was brought in here because she was incorrigible—nobody could do anything with her. She'd bite and scream and throw her food at people. The doctors and nurses couldn't even examine her or anything. I'd see them trying with her spitting and scratching at them.

"I was only a few years younger than her myself and I used to think, 'I sure would hate to be locked up in a cage like that.' I wanted to help her, but I didn't have any idea what I could do. I mean, if the doctors and nurses couldn't help her, what could someone like me do?

"I didn't know what else to do, so I just baked her some brownies one night after work. The next day I brought them in. I walked carefully to her cage and said, 'Annie, I baked these brownies just for you. I'll put them right here on the floor and you can come and get them if you want.'

"Then I got out of there just as fast as I could because I was afraid she might throw them at me. But she didn't. She actually took the brownies and ate them. After that, she was just a little bit nicer to me when I was around. And sometimes I'd talk to her. Once, I even got her laughing.

One of the nurses noticed this and she told the doctor. They asked me if I'd help them with Annie. I said I would if I could. So that's how it came about that. Every time they wanted to see Annie or examine her, I went into the cage first and explained and calmed her down and held her hand.

This is how they discovered that Annie was almost blind."

After they'd been working with her for about a year—and it was tough sledding with Annie—the Perkins institute for the Blind opened its doors. They were able to help her and she went on to study and she became a teacher herself.

Annie came back to the Tewksbury Institute to visit, and to see what she could do to help out. At first, the Director didn't say anything and then he thought about a letter he'd just received. A man had written to him about his daughter. She was absolutely unruly—almost like an animal. She was blind and deaf as well as 'deranged.'

He was at his wit's end, but he didn't want to put her in an asylum. So he wrote the Institute to ask if they knew of anyone who would come to his house and work with his daughter.

And that is how Annie Sullivan became the lifelong companion of Helen Keller.

When Helen Keller received the Nobel Prize, she was asked who had the greatest impact on her life and she said, "Annie Sullivan."

But Annie said, "No Helen. The woman who had the greatest influence on both our lives was a floor maid at the Tewksbury Institute."

Do not Quit

Author Unknown

A dramatic ballad singer studied under a strict teacher who insisted that he rehearse day after day, month after month the same passage from the same song, without being permitted to go any further.

Finally, overwhelmed by frustration and despair, the young man ran off to find another profession.

One night, stopping at an inn, he stumbled upon a recitation contest. Having nothing to lose, he entered the competition and, of course, sang the one passage that he knew so well.

When he had finished, the sponsor of the contest highly praised his performance. Despite the student’s embarrassed objections, the sponsor refused to believe that he had just heard a beginner perform.

“Tell me,” the sponsor said, “who is your instructor? He must be a great master.” 

The student later became known as the great performer Koshiji.

Story Courtesy: https://academictips.org/blogs/practice-makes-perfect-dont-quit/

Education and Experience

Unknown Author

There is a difference between education and experience.

Education is what you get from reading the small print.

Experience is what you get from not reading it! 

But isn't it true that great learning comes from both education and experience? 

Let me tell you a parable:

A young school teacher had a dream that an angel appeared to him and said, "You will be given a child who will grow up to become a world leader. How will you prepare her so that she will realize her intelligence, grow in confidence, develop both her assertiveness and sensitivity, be open—minded, yet strong in character? In short, what kind of education will you provide that she can become one of the world's truly GREAT leaders?"

The young teacher awoke in a cold sweat. It had never occurred to him before —any ONE of his present or future students could be the person described in his dream. Was he preparing them to rise to ANY POSITION to which they may aspire? He thought, 'How might my teaching change if I KNEW that one of my students were this person?'  

He gradually began to formulate a plan in his mind:

·         This student would need experience as well as instruction.

·         She / he would need to know how to solve problems of various kinds.

·         She / he would need to grow in character as well as knowledge.

·         She / he would need self assurance as well as the ability to listen well and work with others.

·         She / he would need to understand and appreciate the past, yet feel optimistic about the future.

·         She / he would need to know the value of lifelong learning in order to keep a curious and active mind.

·         She / he would need to grow in understanding of others and become a student of the spirit.

·         She/ he would need to set high standards for herself and learn self discipline, yet  would also need love and encouragement, that they might be filled with love and goodness.

His teaching changed. Every young person who walked through his classroom became, for him, a future world leader. He saw each one, not as they were, but as they could be. He expected the best from his students, yet tempered it with compassion. He taught each one as if the future of the world depended on his instruction.

After many years, a woman he knew rose to a position of world prominence.  He realized that she must surely have been the girl described in his dream. 

It turned out she was not one of his students, but rather his daughter. For all the various teachers in her life, her father was the best. 

I've heard it said that "Children are living messages we send to a time and place we will never see." But this isn't simply a parable about an unnamed school teacher. It is a parable about you and me —whether or not we are parents or even teachers.

And the story, OUR story, actually begins like this:

"You will be given a child who will grow up to become...."  You finish the sentence.

If not a world leader, then a superb father?

An excellent teacher?

A gifted healer?

An innovative problem solver?

An inspiring artist?

A generous philanthropist?

Where and how you will encounter this child is a mystery. But believe that one child's future may depend upon influence only you can provide, and something remarkable will happen. For no young person will ever be ordinary to you again. And you will never be the same.

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?

Mountain moving Faith

Unknown Author

A small congregation built a new church on a piece of land willed to them by a church member.

Ten days before the new church was to open, the local building inspector informed the pastor that the parking lot was inadequate for the size of the building. Until the church doubled the size of the parking lot, they would not be able to use the new church.

Unfortunately, the church had used every inch of their land except for the mountain against which it had been built. In order to build more parking spaces, they would have to move the mountain out of the back yard.

Undaunted, the pastor announced the next Sunday morning that he would meet that evening with all members who had "mountain moving faith." They would hold a prayer session asking God to remove the mountain from the back yard and to somehow provide enough money to have it paved and painted before the scheduled opening dedication service the following week.

At the appointed time, 24 of the congregation's 300 members assembled for prayer. They prayed for nearly three hours. At ten o'clock the pastor said the final "Amen."

"We'll open next Sunday as scheduled," he assured everyone. "God has never let us down before, and I believe He will be faithful this time too."

The next morning as he was working in his study there came a loud knock at his door. When he called "come in," a rough looking construction foreman appeared, removing his hard hat as he entered.

"Excuse me, Reverend. I'm from a Construction Company in the next county. We're building a huge new shopping mall over there and we need some fill dirt. Would you be willing to sell us a chunk of that mountain behind the church? We'll pay you for the dirt we remove and pave all the exposed area free of charge, if we can have it right away. We can't do anything else until we get the dirt in and allow it to settle properly."

The little church was dedicated the next Sunday as originally planned and there were far more members with "mountain moving faith" on opening Sunday than there had been the previous week!

Faith is not believing that God can, its believing that He WILL.
Does ‘Faith comes from miracles’ or ‘Miracles come from faith’?

Hope, Faith, Peace & Love

Author Unknown

In a room there were four candles burning. The ambiance was so soft you could hear them talking.

The first one said, “I am PEACE, however nobody can keep me lit. I believe I will go out.” It’s flame rapidly diminishes and goes out completely.

The second one says, “I am FAITH. Most of all I am no longer indispensable, so it does not make any sense that I stay lit any longer.” When it finished talking a breeze softly blew on it putting it out.

Sadly, the third candle spoke in its turn. “I am LOVE. I have not gotten the strength to stay lit. People put me aside and don’t understand my importance. They even forget to love those who are nearest to them.” And waiting no longer it goes out.

Suddenly a child entered the room and saw three candles not burning. “Why are you not burning you are supposed to stay lit till the end.” Saying this the child began to cry.

Then the fourth candle said, “Don’t be afraid, while I am still burning we can re-light the other candles, I am HOPE.”

With shining eyes, the child took the candle of Hope and lit the other candles.

The flame of Hope should never go out from our life and that each of us can maintain HOPE, FAITH, PEACE and LOVE.

The fruits of faith

A widow from a poor village in Bengal did not have enough money to pay for her son's bus fare, and so when the boy started going to school, he would have to walk through the forest all on his own. In order to reassure him, she said: 'Don't be afraid of the forest, my son. Ask your God Krishna to go with you. He will hear your prayer.'

The boy followed his mother's suggestion, and Krishna duly appeared and from then on accompanied him to school every day.

When it was his teacher's birthday, the boy asked his mother for some money in order to buy him a present.
'We haven't any money, son. Ask your brother Krishna to get you a present.'

The following day, the boy explained his problem to Krishna, who gave him a jug of milk.

The boy proudly handed the milk to the teacher, but the other boys' presents were far superior and the teacher didn't even notice his.

'Take that jug of milk to the kitchen,' said the teacher to an assistant.

The assistant did as he was told. However, when he tried to empty the jug, he found that it immediately filled up again of its own accord. He immediately informed the teacher, who was amazed and asked the boy:  'Where did you get that jug and how does it manage to stay full all the time?'

'Krishna, the God of the forest, gave it to me.'

The teacher, the students and the assistant all burst out laughing.

'There are no gods in the forest, that's pure superstition,' said the teacher. 'If he exists, let's all go and see him.'

The whole group set off. The boy started calling for Krishna, but he did not appear. The boy made one last desperate appeal.

'Brother Krishna, my teacher wants to see you. Please show yourself!'

At that moment, a voice emerged from the forest and echoed through the city and was heard by everyone.

'How can he possibly want to see me, my son? He doesn't even believe I exist!'

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!!

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.

A child’s FAITH

Author Unknown

A pastor was on a long flight. The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign on the airplane flashed on: ‘Fasten your seat belts.’ Then, after a while, a calm voice said, ‘We shall not be serving the beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence. Please be sure your seat belt is fastened.’

As he looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming apprehensive. Later, the voice of the announcer said, ’we are so sorry that we are unable to serve the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us.’

And then the storm broke. The ominous cracks of thunder could be heard even above the roar of the engines. Lightening lit up the darkening skies, and within moments that great plane was like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean. One moment the airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if it were about to crash.

The pastor confessed that he shared the discomfort and fear of those around him. He said, ‘As I looked around the plane, I could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed. Some were praying. The future seemed ominous and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm.

And then, he suddenly saw a girl to whom the storm meant nothing. She had tucked her feet beneath her as she sat on her seat and was reading a book. Everything within her small world was calm and orderly. Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; then she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her world.

When the plane was being buffeted by the terrible storm, when it lurched this way and that, as it rose and fell with frightening severity, when all the adults were scared half to death, that marvelous child was completely composed and unafraid.

The minister could hardly believe his eyes.

It was not surprising therefore, that when the plane finally reached its destination safely and all the passengers were hurrying to disembark, he lingered to speak to the girl whom he had watched for such a long time.

Having commented about the storm and behavior of the plane, he asked why she had not been afraid.

The sweet child replied, ‘Sir, my Dad was the pilot, and he was taking me home.’