Learn the facts before you assume

Author Unknown, Found at http://academictips.org/blogs

When I was in elementary school, I got into a major argument with a boy in my class. I have forgotten what the argument was about, but I have never forgotten the lesson I learned that day.

I was convinced that “I” was right and “he” was wrong – and he was just as convinced that “I” was wrong and “he” was right. The teacher decided to teach us a very important lesson.

She brought us up to the front of the class and placed him on one side of her desk and me on the other. In the middle of her desk was a large, round object. I could clearly see that it was black. She asked the boy what color the object was. “White,” he answered.

I couldn’t believe he said the object was white, when it was obviously black! Another argument started between my classmate and me, this time about the color of the object.

The teacher told me to go stand where the boy was standing and told him to come stand where I had been. We changed places, and now she asked me what the color of the object was. I had to answer, “White.”

It was an object with two differently colored sides, and from his viewpoint it was white. Only from my side it was black.

Sometimes we need to look at the problem from the other person’s view in order to truly understand his/her perspective.

Focus on what you have to gain

Adapted from Paulo Coelho’s stories for parents, children & grandchildren

An old king of India condemned a man to the gallows. When the king had finished reading the sentence, the condemned man said: 'You are a wise man, Your Majesty, and curious about everything that your subjects do. You respect gurus, sages, snake-charmers and fakirs. Well, when I was a child, my grandfather taught me how to make a white horse fly. Since there is no one else in the whole kingdom who knows how to do this, my life should be spared.'

The king immediately ordered a white horse to be brought.

'I need to spend two years with this animal,' said the condemned man.

'All right, you will have two years,' replied the king, already somewhat suspicious. 'But if this horse does not learn to fly, you will be hanged.'

Overjoyed, the man left with the horse. When he reached his house, he found his whole family in tears.

'Are you mad?' they all cried. 'Since when has anyone in this house known how to make a horse fly?'

'Don't worry,' he said. 'First of all, no one has ever tried to teach a horse to fly, and the horse might well learn. Secondly, the king is already very old and he might die in the next two years. Thirdly, the horse might die and then I'll be given another two years to teach the new horse - not to mention the possibility of revolutions, coups d'état and general amnesties. And even if everything remains exactly as it is, I will still have gained two years of life with which I can do anything I like. Does that seem little to you?'

Occupying your mind with something before it actually happens is called pre-occupation. This is exactly what worrying is…. imagining that things, when they do happen, will always turn out for the worst.
Courage is…..trying to resolve problems that have not even had time to appear.

Look for your own path

Sufi Story

When Saadi of Shiraz was a child, he used to pray with his father, his uncles and his cousins. Every night they would gather together to listen to a passage from the Koran.

On one such night, while his uncle was reading a passage out loud, he noticed that most of the people were asleep.

He said to his father: "Not one of these dozy people is listening to the words of the Prophet. They'll never reach God."

And his father replied: "My dear son, look for your own path with faith and let others take care of themselves. Who knows, perhaps they are talking to God in their dreams. Believe me, I would much prefer you to be sleeping alongside them than to hear your harsh words of judgement and condemnation."'

The future lies before you

A man had invited his friends to supper and the lady of the house was cooking for them. Suddenly, she realised that she had run out of salt.

So she called to her son and said, 'Go to the village and buy some salt, but pay a fair price for it: neither too much nor too little.'

The son was surprised.

'I can understand why I shouldn’t pay too much for it mother, but if I can bargain them down, why not save a bit of money?'

The lady said, ‘The only reason a man would sell salt more cheaply than usual would be because he was desperate for money. And anyone who took advantage of that situation would be showing a lack of respect for the sweat and struggle of the man who labored to produce it. And it could destroy a small village like ours.'

'But such a small thing couldn't possibly destroy a village?' The son looked at her for more explanation.

The mother explained, 'In the beginning, there was only a small amount of injustice in the world, but everyone who came afterwards added their portion, always thinking that it was only very small and unimportant, and look where we have ended up today.'

Little drops of water, little grains of sand
Make the mighty ocean and the pleasant land
Little injustices, small though they be,
Make the mighty world dark and gloomy

What goes around comes around.

Author: Unknown

One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road with her Mercedes. He could see she needed help. His humble Pontiac was still sputtering when he got out of his car and approached her.

It was obvious that the lady was frightened on seeing him. Was he going to hurt her? He didn’t look safe; he looked poor and hungry.

He could see that she was frightened. He knew how she felt. He said, “I’m here to help you, ma’am. Why don’t you wait in the car where it’s warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.”

All she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, the lady couldn’t thank him enough for coming to her aid. Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her.

Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, “and think of me.”

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn’t erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan Anderson.

After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin.

There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: “You don’t owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I’m helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do, do not let this chain of love end with you.” Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.

Well……..the story doesn’t end here……

There were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. She was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard…

That night when she got home from work she saw how worried her husband was, and whispered soft and low to him, “Everything’s going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.”

Justice must be for both sides

Author unknown, received in mail box

An Indonesian judge by the name of Marzuki was sitting in judgment of an old lady who pleaded guilty of stealing some tapioca from a plantation.

In her defense, she admitted to the judge that she was indeed guilty of the crime because she was poor and her son was sick while her grandchild was hungry.

The plantation manager insisted that she be punished as a deterrent to others.

The judge going through the documents then looked up and said to the old lady, “I’m sorry but I cannot make any exception to the law and you must be punished.”

The old lady was fined Rupaiyah. 1 million (USD 100) and if she could not pay the fine then she will be jailed for 2 and a half years as demanded by the law. She wept as she could not pay the fine.

The judge then took off his hat and put in Rupaiyah. 1 million into the hat and said, “In the name of justice, I fine all who are in the court Rp. 50 thousand (USD 5.50) as dwellers of this city for letting a child starve until her grandmother has to steal to feed her grandchild. The registrar will now collect the fines from all present.”

The court managed to collect Rp 3.5 million (USD 350) whereby once the fine was paid off, the rest was given to the old lady … including the fine collected from the plantation manager.

“Justice cannot be for one side alone; but must be for both sides” Eleanor Roosevelt

Justice should prevail

Vikram and Betal story

Once there lived an old and pious man, renowned for his honesty.

One day his neighbor, a rich merchant came to him with a request.

The merchant was leaving on a voyage and wanted the old man to safeguard his wealth, until his return. The old man agreed and with God as witness, promises to protect and safeguard the merchant’s wealth.

The old man then entrusted the safe keep of the merchant’s wealth to his son, from whom he took an oath of propriety and honesty.

Slowly the son started dipping into the merchants wealth, people noticed this and warned the old man of the son’s misdeeds.

The old man called his son asks him to explain, he also reminded him of his oath on following the right path. The son rubbished the accusations as rumors and the idle gossip of jealous people, who could bear to see his prosperity. The old man accepted the son’s explanation and things go on as before.

The merchant returned and demanded his wealth. The old man called his son, who handed over a quarter of the merchant’s wealth saying that is all there was.

The merchant realizing that he had been cheated approached the King. The King listened to the merchant’s complaint and summoned the old man.

The old man came to the court with his son and handing him over to the King said, “your majesty, the merchant is right. My son has confessed to the crime. Please punish him.”

The king had the son flogged and imprisoned. He then praised the old man's honesty and dismissed the case.

But the merchant demanded punishment for the old man saying, “I have still not received justice. I had entrusted my wealth to the old man which he swore by God to safeguard. The old man’s integrity is intact, but what of me, I have been robbed of my life’s savings and made a pauper. It was the old man’s decision to entrust my wealth to his son for safekeeping. As far as I am concerned the old man is the culprit, and should be punished."

The old man, was neither a party to the theft nor did he benefit from it. In fact, he had sent his son to jail. Yet, the merchant was asking for the old man’s punishment.

The Betal asks Vikramaditya, “What should the King's decision be?”

Vikramaditya replied, “Though the old man is innocent of the actual theft, he is guilty of dereliction of duty. The son’s crime was a straight forward one, the old man’s was a graver crime. He did nothing to protect the merchant’s wealth. Far from being vigilant he failed to take action even when he was warned of his son’s misdeeds. Because of his laxity the merchant is condemned to a life of penury. He should be punished.”

It is justice, more than charity, that is wanting in the world today. Justice is a collective conscience of the whole humanity. Justice is in reality is a Truth in action. Where there is justice, there is peace. It lies in finding the right and upholding it against any odds. "Blessed are they who maintains Justice, who constantly do what is right" Psalm 106:3