Hearts of living

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

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

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

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

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

The listener asked: “What was your sin?”

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

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Prayer should succeed Action

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

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

Lottery night comes and somebody else wins it.

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

Lottery night comes and still he has no luck.

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

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

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

Greed makes you lose your sleep

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Things that feed the Soul

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

The very next day, however, he came back to complain, "That bird doesn't talk."

The store owner asked if he had a mirror in its cage, and the man said he didn't. "Oh, parrots love mirrors," he explained. "When he sees his reflection in the mirror, he'll just start talking away." So he sold him a birdcage mirror.

The bird owner was back the next day to gripe that his parrot still hadn't said a word. "That's very peculiar," allowed the pet expert. "How about a swing? Birds really love these little swings, and a happy parrot is a talkative parrot." So the man bought a swing, took it home, and installed it in the cage.

But he was back the next day with the same story. "Does he have a ladder to climb?" the salesman asked. "That just has to be the problem. Once he has a ladder, he'll probably talk your ear off!" So the fellow bought a ladder.

The man was back at the pet store when it opened the next day. From the look on his face, the owner knew something was wrong.

"Didn't your parrot like the ladder?" he asked.

His repeat customer looked up and said, "The parrot died."

"I'm so sorry," the stunned businessman said. "Did he ever say anything?"

"Well, yes. He finally talked just before he died. In a weak little voice, he asked me, "Don't they sell any bird seed at that pet store?'"

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

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

Wisdom is organized life

Sufi Story

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The second wise man was silent.

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

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

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

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

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

Humility takes you far

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

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

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

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

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

The whole Senate was struck dumb.

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

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

Community Living

URGENTLY NEEDED...
Not Blood,
But

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

An OPTICIAN, to change the outlook of people.

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

A CONSTRUCTION WORKER, to build a bridge between neighbours.

A GARDENER, to cultivate Good Thoughts.

A PLUMBER to clear the choked and blocked mindsets

A SCIENTIST to rediscover compassion

A LANGUAGE TEACHER for better communication with each other

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

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

Live for this moment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A call for compassion

Zen Story

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The thief was so touched that he decided to repent.

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

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.