The Journey is Short
(WhatsApp forward)

An elderly woman got on a bus and sat down. At the next stop, a strong, grumpy young woman climbed up and sat down beside the old woman, hitting her with her numerous bags.

When she saw that the elderly woman remained silent, the young woman asked her why she had not complained when she hit her with her bags?

The elderly woman replied with a Smile: "There is no need to be rude or discuss something so insignificant, as my trip next to you is so short, because I am going to get off at the next stop."

This answer deserves to be written in gold letters: "There is no need to discuss something so insignificant, because our journey together is too short."

Each of us must understand that our time in this world is so short, that darkening it with useless arguments, jealousy, not forgiving others, discontentment and bad attitudes are a ridiculous waste of time and energy.

Did someone break your heart? Stay calm.

The trip is too short.

Did someone betray you, intimidate, cheat or humiliate you? Relax - Don't be Stressed

The trip is too short.

Did someone insult you without reason? Stay calm. Ignore it.

The trip is too short.

Did a neighbour make a comment that you didn't like? Stay calm. Ignore him. Forgive that.

The trip is too short.

Whatever the problem someone has brought us, remember that our journey together is too short.

No one knows the length of our trip. Nobody knows when it will arrive at its stop.

Our trip together is too short.

Let us appreciate friends and family.

Let us be respectful, kind and forgiving,

Because we will be filled with gratitude and joy, after all

Our trip together is very short.

Share your smile to everyone....

Our trip is Very Short!

 Take time to care for yourself

(WhatsApp forward)

A cobbler lived in a large village and he was the only cobbler in town, so he was responsible for repairing the boots of everybody else.

However, he didn’t have time to repair his own boots.

This wasn’t a problem at first, but over time, his boots began to deteriorate and fall apart.

While he worked feverishly on the boots of everyone else, his feet got blisters and he started to limp.

His customers started to worry about him, but he reassured them that everything was alright.

However, after a few years, the cobbler’s feet were so injured that he could no longer work and no-one’s boots got repaired.

As a consequence, soon the entire town started to limp in pain, all because the cobbler never took the time to repair his own boots.

This simple principle is so often disregarded.

If you are in a responsible position and are one of the important links in the groups survival chain and if You do not look after yourself, after a while you’ll be no good to anyone else either.

Your best intentions will mean nothing and you’ll be unable to do what you’re meant to do.

This goes for leaders, social workers, teachers, even parents, breadwinners, homemakers and daughters-in-law. 

If you don’t take the time to care for yourself, no-one else will. So start taking care of your health both physical and mental health so that you can be happy and help others also.

Hope sees the Invisible

(WhatsApp Forward)

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."

 Choose your battles wisely

Source: WhatsApp sharing

An elephant took a bath in a river and was walking on the road. As it neared a bridge, it saw a pig fully soaked in mud coming from the opposite direction. The elephant quietly moved to one side, allowed the dirty pig to pass and then continued its onward journey.

The unclean pig later spoke to its friends in arrogance, “See how great I am; even the elephant was afraid of me and moved to one side to let me pass”.

On hearing this, some elephants questioned their friend, the reason for its action. Was it out of fear?

The elephant smiled and replied, “I could have easily crushed the pig under my leg, but I was clean and the pig was very dirty. By crushing it, my leg will become dirty and I wanted to avoid it. Hence, I moved aside.”

Realized souls will avoid contact with negativity not out of fear, but out of desire to keep away from impurity though they are strong enough to destroy the impurity. We need not react to every opinion, every comment, or every situation. We must choose our battles wisely… Not everything deserves our time and attention. Reacting or behaving in a same way will take away our peace of mind.

 

Start with yourself

 A Zen Story

One day one person climbed up a mountain where a hermit woman was meditating. She had taken refuge and was asked, “What are you doing here alone in such a solitude place?”

To which she replied:  “I have lots of work !”

“And how can you have so much work? I don't see anything around you here...?”

“I have to train two Hawks and two Eagles, assure two Rabbits, discipline one Snake , motivate a Donkey and tame a Lion .....”

“And, where have they gone that I don't see them?”

“I have them all inside here within me...!!

The Hawks stare on everything that is presented to me, good or bad, I have to work on them to see only good things. They are my Eyes.

The two Eagles with their claws hurt and destroy, I have to train them not to hurt. They are my hands.

Rabbits want to go where they want, at the same time they do not want to face difficult situations, I have to teach them to be calm even if there is suffering or stumbling.  They are my feet.

The Donkey is always tired, stubborn and does not want to carry the load each time I walk. That is my body!

The most difficult to tame is the "Snake."  Although it is locked in a strong cage with 32 bars , it is always ready to sting, bite and poison anyone nearby. I have to discipline it...  that's my tongue.

I also have One Lion. Oh, how proud, vain, he thinks that "he is the king." I have to tame him. And that's my EGO.

So you see, my friend, I have  lots of work."

Think & Reflect! We all may have the same. Lots to work on ourselves! So, Stop Criticising, Evaluating & Judging others!

Let’s First work on ourselves!

PEACE is a state of mind

Received in WhatsApp

Murugan, the proprietor of a coffee shop had been busy all day. Being Saturday, his shop was very crowded and the customers seemed unending.

He had been on his toes since morning. Towards the evening he felt a splitting headache surfacing.

As the clock ticked away, his headache worsened.

Unable to bear it, he stepped out of the shop leaving his staff to look after the sales.

He walked across the street to the Pharmacy to buy himself a painkiller to relieve his headache.

He swallowed the pill and felt relieved. He knew that in a few minutes he would feel better.

As he strolled out of the shop, he casually asked the salesgirl, "Where is Mr. Gopalan, the Chemist? He's not at the cash counter today!"

The girl replied, "Sir, Mr. Gopalan had a splitting headache and said he was going across to your coffee shop. He said a cup of hot coffee would relieve him of his headache."

The man's mouth went dry and he mumbled, "Oh! I see."

This is a typical case of looking outside ourselves for something that we have within us.

How strange, but true!

The Chemist relieves his headache by drinking coffee and the coffee shop owner finds relief in a pain-relieving pill!

Similarly, many of us travel across the lengths and breadths of the universe and also visit several shrines and ashrams to find peace. Eventually, we come to realize that real peace is within our own hearts.

PEACE is really a state of mind.🙏🏻

A Son teaches a lesson to all

A son took his old father to a restaurant for an evening dinner. 

His father, being very old and weak, while eating, dropped food on his shirt and pants. The mess that he made disgusted the other diners in the restaurant while his son remained calm.

After they were finished eating, the son, who was not embarrassed at all, quietly took him to the wash room, wiped off the food particles, removed the stains, combed his hair and fitted his glasses firmly, When they came out, the entire restaurant was watching them in dead silence, not able to grasp how someone could embarrass themselves publicly like that.

The son settled the bill and started to leave the eatery with his father.

At that time, an old man amongst the diners called out to the son and asked him, “Don’t you think you left something behind?”

The son replied, “No sir, I haven’t.”

The old man retorted, “Yes, you have! You have left a lesson for every son and hope for every father.”

The restaurant went silent.

It is said old age is another childhood. Parents take extreme care of their off springs, love them with all their heart and stand with them even when they start a family of their own. All one can do is to love them and take care of them in their second innings.   

What's in my cup?

Received in Social Media.

I love this analogy!

You are holding a cup of coffee when someone comes along and bumps into you or shakes your arm, making you spill your coffee everywhere.

Why did you spill the coffee?

"Well because someone bumped into me, of course!"

Wrong answer.

You spilled the coffee because there was coffee in your cup.

Had there been tea in the cup, you would have spilled tea.

Whatever is inside the cup, is what will spill out.

Therefore, when life comes along and shakes you (which WILL happen), whatever is inside you will come out. It's easy to fake it, until you get rattled.

So we have to ask ourselves... “what's in my cup?"

When life gets tough, what spills over?

Joy, gratefulness, peace and humility?

Or anger, bitterness, harsh words and reactions?

You choose!

My thoughts: As I write this now in Sept 2020, the entire world is going through a strange phase for the past six months. A lot has been happening which we had never faced before and which we never thought in the wildest of our dreams. Covid is shaking us all making us spill what is inside us. What we carry within, is what we toss around when shaken. Today let's fill ourselves with gratitude, forgiveness, joy, words of affirmation; and kindness, gentleness and love for others.

Be the one to win the race

A Zen master was given a beautifully crafted crystal cup. It was a gift from a former student.

He was very grateful. Every day, he enjoyed drinking out of his glass. He would show it to visitors and tell them about the kindness of his student. 

But every morning, he held the cup in his hand for a few seconds and reminded himself: “This glass is already broken.”

One day, a clumsy visitor toppled the glass on its shelf. The cup fell down. When it hit the floor, it was smashed into thousands of tiny pieces.

The other visitors gasped in shock, but the Zen master remained calm. Looking at the mess in front of his feet, he said: “Ah. Yes. Let’s begin.”

He picked up a broom and started sweeping.

My thoughts: Happiness quotient of our life takes the shape of our emotions. When we accept the fact that we may not have certain things in our lives for some reasons beyond our control, we gain fifty percent of happiness. And when we accept the fact that one day or the other we may lose what we have as well, the balance fifty percent of happiness is achieved. 

When you are grateful for your possessions, you are second in the race for happiness. But when you accept that you may lose whatever you possess too any day, you are ahead of everyone in the race.

Be the one to win the race.

Rise above storm

Author unknown. Received in social media. If you are author of this, please contact.

I just had to share this because I really liked this analogy:

If you put a buzzard in a pen six or eight feet square and entirely open at the top, the bird, in spite of his ability to fly, will be an absolute prisoner.

The reason is that a buzzard always begins a flight from the ground with a run of ten or twelve feet.

Without space to run, as is his habit, he will not even attempt to fly, but will remain a prisoner for life in a small space with no top.

The ordinary bat that flies around at night, a remarkable nimble creature in the air, cannot take off from a level place.

If it is placed on the floor or flat ground, all it can do is shuffle about helplessly and, no doubt, painfully, until it reaches some slight elevation from which it can throw itself into the air. Then, at once, it takes off like a flash.

A Bumblebee if dropped into an open tumbler will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom.

It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself.

In many ways, we are a lot like the buzzard, the bat and the bee.

We are struggling about with all our problems and frustrations, not realizing that the answer is right there above us.

Rise above the problem for the solution.

This too shall pass.

Rise above the storm, find the sunshine and stay blessed forever.

My thoughts:At a time when the whole world is going through this crisis of Corona virus, let's find a silver lining in the dark clouds and discover the sun that shines brightly over there.