Patience

Patience: It can be learnt from Butterflies. Though they have less sense than us, they live a life of Patience. 

Once a little boy was playing outdoors and found a fascinating caterpillar. He carefully picked it up and took it home to show his mother. He asked his mother if he could keep it, and she said he could if he would take good care of it. 

The little boy got a large jar from his mother and put plants to eat, and a stick to climb on, in the jar. Every day he watched the caterpillar and brought it new plants to eat. 

One day the caterpillar climbed up the stick and started acting strangely. The boy worriedly called his mother who came and understood that the caterpillar was creating a cocoon. The mother explained to the boy how the caterpillar was going to go through a metamorphosis and become a butterfly. 

The little boy was thrilled to hear about the changes his caterpillar would go through. He watched every day, waiting for the butterfly to emerge. One day it happened, a small hole appeared in the cocoon and the butterfly started to struggle to come out. 

At first the boy was excited, but soon he became concerned. The butterfly was struggling so hard to get out! It looked like it couldn’t break free! It looked desperate! It looked like it was making no progress!

The boy was so concerned he decided to help. He ran to get scissors, and then walked back (because he had learned not to run with scissors…). He snipped the cocoon to make the hole bigger and the butterfly quickly emerged! As the butterfly came out the boy was surprised. It had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. He continued to watch the butterfly expecting that, at any moment, the wings would dry out, enlarge and expand to support the swollen body. He knew that in time the body would shrink and the butterfly’s wings would expand. But neither happened! The butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly…

As the boy tried to figure out what had gone wrong his mother took him to talk to a scientist from a local college. He learned that the butterfly was SUPPOSED TO BE PATIENT WHILE STRUGGLING. In fact, the butterfly’s struggle to push its way through the tiny opening of the cocoon pushes the fluid out of its body and into its wings. Without the struggle, the butterfly would never, ever fly. As you go through school, college or in any status of life, keep in mind that struggling is an important part of any growth experience. In fact, it is the struggle that causes you to develop your ability to fly. So be Patient, to receive the fruits of life.

Wrong Conclusions

An old man was traveling with his 25 yr old son in the train. Train is about to leave the station. All passengers are settling down in their seats. As train started young man was filled with lot of joy and curiosity. He was sitting on the window side feeling the passing air in his hands. He shouted, "Papa, see all trees are going behind". Old man smiled and admired his son's feelings.

Beside the young man a couple was sitting and listing all the conversion between the father and son. They felt little awkward with the attitude of 25 yr old man behaving like a small child. Suddenly the young man again shouted, "Papa, see the pond and animals. Clouds are moving with train". Now its start raining and some of water drops touches the young man's hand. He filled with joy and he closed the eyes. He shouted again, "Papa it's raining, water is touching me, see papa". Father was happy. 

The couple couldn't help themselves and ask the old man, "Why don't you visit the Doctor and get treatment for your son?'. Old man said, "Yes, we are coming from the hospital; my son was born blind and today only he got the eye sight for the first time".

Moral: Don't draw conclusions until you know all the facts. We cannot understand other's feelings unless we wear their shoes.

Don't be a football

A young man and his old father were traveling to the nearby town with their donkey. On their way, they met some laborers. One of the laborers remarked “What fools these two are. In spite of having a donkey, they are both walking”. Hearing them, the old man asked his son to ride on the donkey.

In another 10 minutes, they passed a tea shop. The owner of the shop blurted out “Such an uncaring son - look at him making his father walk while he himself is comfortably sitting on the donkey." The son upon hearing this comment, got down from the donkey and asked his father to ride on it.

As they carried on their journey, they met a couple of men on the road. One of them remarked to the other “Look at the selfish old man riding on the donkey, while making the poor boy walk”. The father became very uncomfortable with the comment, and asked his son to also sit on the donkey.

Further along, they met a group of women washing clothes. One of the women said “How cruel these men are. Look at the poor donkey bearing the weight of two men. It would be better if these two people carried the donkey for a change”. Eager to please, the men found a bamboo stick, tied the donkey’s legs on it and carried the donkey on their shoulders.

As they passed over a bridge, they met a few children playing. Upon seeing the sight of the men carrying the donkey, the children bursted in laughter, and said “Haha - Look at these fools! Carrying the donkey on their shoulders!”. At this time the donkey got restless being carried upside down. The poor donkey jumped and fell down the bridge and died!

The moral of the story is that other people will always have an opinion about what you should do and not do. It is impossible to satisfy everyone. In trying to constantly yield to other people’s opinions, we give up our own best interests and become losers.

Here are some ways we seek approval, that Dr Wayne Dyer mentions in his book “Your erroneous zones”:

• Changing a position, or altering what you believe because someone shows signs of disapproval.

• Sugar coating a statement to avoid the reaction of displeasure.

• Feeling depressed or anxious when someone disagrees with you.

• Feeling insulted or put-down when someone states a contrary sentiment to your own.

• Being excessively agreeable and head nodding, even when you don’t agree at all with what is being said.

• Performing chores for someone and feeling resentful about not being able to say no.

• Being intimated by a sharp salesperson and buying something you don’t want.

• Saying things you don’t mean just to avoid being disliked.

• Trying to impress others with your knowledge of something that you know nothing about by “faking it”

• Begging for compliments by setting yourself up for approval, and then feeling bad when they don’t come.

Many wise men have spoken on about this need in us to seek approval from others, in their own way. (E.g.)

Self-actualized people are independent of the good opinion of others.-Abraham Maslow

Do not be a football of other people’s opinions.-Sri Sri Ravishankar

I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.-Bill Cosby

-Inspirations by Sudhir Krishnan

Nothing is lost until you say it is.

Two frogs accidentally fell into a huge, tall bowl of cream that was kept in the floor of a restaurant. For a long time, the frogs tried helplessly jumping out of the bowl, however it was impossible for them to jump that high while swimming in the viscous, slippery cream.

Finally, the first frog said "I have tried enough. I have thought about the situation - there is no way out. We are going to die. I am going to stop struggling as it of no use. I suggest you give up too.” It gave up the struggle, became fully submerged in the cream, and soon died.

The second frog said "I cannot see a way out of this this moment. I am however going to attempt getting out until I exhaust the last ounce of energy in my body". The second frog kept on paddling and trying to jump out of the bowl of cream.

After a couple of hours, the cream started to solidify, and it became easier and easier for the frog to swim in it. The frog's continuos paddling was starting to churn the cream into butter!! With little more effort, the frog was able to jump out, while sitting on the butter that had now completely solidified!

Moral:

1) Your future may not appear bright today. You may not be able to see the light in the end of your tunnel yet. Don't lose hope too soon. Things will change for the better.

2) Give up your anxiety, fear and worry, and stay positive. Put your 100% attention to the tasks that you have currently undertaken. Things will work itself out.

3) Do not listen to the people who ask you to give up on your dreams. Listen to your inner voice instead.

4) You may be very close to success and yet not know it. Don't give up.

5) Nothing is lost until you say it is.

-Inspirations by Sudhir Krishnan

Neither judge nor condemn

Imagine pure water bottled up in three transparent glass containers- a short red container, a medium blue container, and a long yellow container, all with different shapes. People who have no idea as to what is inside the bottle may refer to the contents as “short liquid”, “medium liquid”, “long liquid”, “red liquid”, “blue liquid”, “yellow liquid” etc. Due to their ignorance of the contents inside, they identify with the external qualities and develop either attachment or aversion to different types of containers depending on whether they like or dislike short bottles, medium size bottles, long bottles, red bottles, blue bottles, yellow bottles and different shapes.

On the other hand, a person who knows that the contents of what is inside all the bottles is pure water develops neither an attachment nor an aversion to either of the three bottles. If he is thirsty, he will open up any container and drink, as it contains the same pure water inside. He is not fooled by the container, as he knows that the contents of all the three containers are the same pure water in different external physical forms.

Just like the colored water bottles, people also come in different shapes, color, sizes, and temperaments. Most of us, who are ignorant of the divinity within each one of us, identify and judge others in terms of their shapes, colors, sizes, temperaments, religious views, nationality, and various other attributes. We develop attachment to some, and aversion to others, based on our own personal preferences and experiences.

Just like the colored water bottles, we should not judge or condemn or identify anyone by seeing the container, but should appreciate the contents inside. This self knowledge helps us to develop neither clinging attachment to some, nor deep aversion to others. Identified with the divinity within each one of us, we should be able to love everyone, irrespective of external differences.

Difficulties - Your stepping stones

Difficulties in life makes us stronger and makes our life more beautiful.

Once there was a potter who took some clay and started squashing it. He kept squashing the clay for a long time and the whole time the clay kept yelling “Please stop it, stop it!” Maybe he was being mean to the clay! Then the potter took the clay and put it on a wheel. He started spinning the clay. The clay said “Please stop it, I'm getting dizzy, I beg you stop!” but the potter continued spinning and spinning the clay until it came in to the shape of a cup.

Now the potter very gently took the cup. He handled it with great care and put the cup in a kiln. The cup was having a hard time understanding how the potter was being so kind and caring this moment, and just a bit ago

he was hurting him and also making him dizzy. Inside the kiln huge flames rose up from everywhere. The cup started screaming “Please stop it, let me out of here, I'm burning, I beg you stop it!!!” The potter just looked at him and smiled and said “No, no, not yet.” After the flames went out, the potter very gently took the cup out of the kiln.

Now he lovingly put the cup on a table. Then he got out his paint set. He started stroking the cup with his brush. Now the cup started laughing “Hahahaha, stop it, that tickles! Stop it, stop it!” But the potter just said “No, no, no, not yet,” and continued painting for a while longer.

 Now the potter brought the cup to the fires of the kiln again. Again the cup yelled “Stop it, please stop it, I'm burning again, I beg you, stop it!” and again the potter said “No, no, no, not yet.” After a long while the flames stopped and the potter gently took the cup out of the kiln. He placed the cup on the table in front of a mirror. When the cup saw the mirror he said “Wow that’s beautiful!!”

  

The potter said “Yes it is beautiful, it’s you. I made you beautiful.” The potter explained to the cup that if he had listened to his cries of “Stop it, that hurts,” when he was kneading the clay, the clay wouldn't be able to go on the spinning wheel. People would just see a hard clump of clay and throw it in the trash. If he had stopped when the clay said, "Stop it, I'm dizzy!", the soft clay wouldn't have ever been shaped in to a cup. People would see some unshaped clay and throw it in the trash. If he had listened when the cup said, "Stop, I'm burning!" from the fire in the kiln the first time, no one would ever be able to use the cup. He would've just been an unfinished cup with a bunch of cracks. People would just pick up the cracked cup and throw him in the trash. When the cup said, "Stop, it tickles," if the potter stopped painting him, he would have an unfinished design on him. People would see the cup with only some art on it and they would throw it away. If he had stopped from putting him in the kiln the second time, the paint wouldn't have stuck. When people would wash the cup, all the paint would come off, then they’d throw the cup with no paint in the trash. But now the cup went through everything and was finished.

Now the only thing that anyone can say is “Wow, how beautiful it is!"

Yes, dear friends, all the problems that comes on our way, are to help us grow strong and beautifull. If we take up each of our difficulties as a challenge and face it, our life will sure become perfect and meaningful. Take all your failures, disappointments, pains, problems and emptiness as a stepping stone for your success.

You are Worth!

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?".  Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?". Still the hands were up in the air.

"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up again which is crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?", he asked.

Still the hands went into the air.

He said: "My friends, now you all have learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It still worth $20".

In our lives, we too are dropped, crumpled, crushed and ground into the dirt by the decisions/choices we make and by the circumstances that come on our way. And we feel as though we are hopeless/worthless. But no matter what has happened or happening or will happen, you will never lose your value.

Never give up. You can, if you think you can. Even a small piece of grass can serve as a sword, for the people who believe 'I CAN'. Being a Looser or Winner is not important. But how you play the game of life, by rising up again and again, is important. Don't quit.

You are Worth, Special and Unique, however and wherever you are- Keep this in mind always!

Slow down

About ten years ago, a young and very successful executive named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his sleek, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old.

He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child darted out, but a brick sailed out and - Whump! - it smashed Into the Jag's shiny black side door! Screeeeech..!!!! Brakes slammed! Gears ground into reverse, and tires madly spun the Jaguar back to the spot from where the brick had been thrown. Josh jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?!" Building up a head of steam, he went on. "That's my new Jag, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?"

"Please, mister, please. . . I'm sorry! I didn't know what else to do!" Pleaded the youngster. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop!" Tears were dripping down the boy's chin as he pointed around the parked car. "It's my brother, mister," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Sobbing, the boy asked the executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."

Moved beyond words, the young executive tried desperately to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young boy back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapes and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be ok. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long walk back to the sleek, black, shinning, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE -a long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. . .

Be alert when bricks fall at you in life. May be it is a warning or a lesson to slow down. When being fast, you will, not only miss the beauties of life, but also fail to realise where you go in life and why and with whom. So slow down and show your kindness to the needy, for you may not travel that way again.

"...How long is the life for you? As you have come into this world, leave some mark behind. Otherwise where is the difference between you and the trees and stone? They, too, come into existence, decay and die". - Swami Vivekanand.

I'm sorry.

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence.

Over the next few weeks as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily, gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one.”

You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say 'I’m sorry', the wound is still there. At times, 'Sorry' becomes meaningless, when it cannot give back what is lost. Though 'Sorry' can join two pieces, it cannot mend the crack/scar as it was earlier.

So make sure you control your temper the next time you are tempted to say something, for what you will regret later.

Shake it off and Step up!

This parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer’s well. The farmer heard the mule praying or whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together, told them what had happened, and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.

Initially the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, he would Shake it off and step up!!

This he did, blow after blow. “Shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up!”. He repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or how distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought panic and just kept right on Shaking it off and stepping up!!

It wasn’t long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well! What seemed like it would bury him actually helped him . All because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.

That's Life! If we face our problems and respond to them positively, by refusing to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity, for sure success is ours. 

A successful person is one who lays a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him/her. -David Brinkley

Remember: SHAKE IT OFF and STEP UP.

Butterfly!

A man found a cocoon of a Butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.

So the man decided to help the Butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need, to make us learn certain things in life. Unless we fall down, we will never learn how to get up in life.

A positive and a negative patient

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man  was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour a day to drain the fluids from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and   families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military  service, where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the  man in the bed next to the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed would live for those one-hour periods where  his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activities and  colors of the outside world. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake, the man had said. Ducks and swans played on the water while  children sailed their model boats. Lovers walked arm in arm amid flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite  detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by.  Although the other man could not hear the band, he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive  words. Unexpectedly, an alien thought entered his head: Why should he have all the pleasure of seeing everything while I never get to see  anything? It didn't seem fair. As the thought fermented, the man felt  ashamed at first. But as the days passed and he missed seeing more sights, his envy eroded into resentment and soon turned him sour. He began to brood and found himself unable to sleep. He should be by that window - and that thought now controlled his life.

Late one night, as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the window  began to cough. He was choking on the fluid in his lungs. The other man watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the window groped for the button to call for help. Listening from across the room, he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have brought the nurse running. In less than five minutes, the coughing and choking stopped, along with the sound of breathing. Now, there was only silence--deathly silence.

The following morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths. When she found the lifeless body of the man by the window, she was saddened and called the hospital attendant to take it away--no  words, no fuss. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the man asked if he  could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his   first look. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.

Moral of the story:

The pursuit of happiness is a matter of choice...it is a positive attitude we consciously choose to express. It is not a gift that gets delivered to our doorstep each morning, nor does it come through the window. And I am certain that our circumstances are just a small part of what makes us joyful. If we wait for them to get just right, we will never find lasting joy.

The pursuit of happiness is an inward journey. Our minds are like programs, awaiting the code that will determine behaviors; like bank vaults awaiting our deposits. If we regularly deposit positive, encouraging, and uplifting thoughts, if we continue to bite our lips  just before we begin to grumble and complain, if we shoot down that seemingly harmless negative thought as it germinates, we will find that there is much to rejoice about.

An act of kindness

One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door, to pay his school fees. On the way through school,he realised that he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a glass of water. She thought, that he looked hungry, and so she brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?” “You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “My mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.” He said, “Then I thank you from my heart.”

As he left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God increased. 

Year’s later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She began to read the following words:

“Paid in full with one glass of milk”

Signed, Dr. Howard Kelly.

Yes, dear friends - Whatever we sow today, for sure we'll reap it some other day. Even a small act of kindness that we show today, will be rewarded at any time in our life. It is really true!!!

A Saint

Anastasius was an abbot of a monastery in Egypt. The monastery had a large collection of books, one among them being a rare volume, worth a fortune.

One day a visiting monk chanced upon the book and succumbing to temptation walked away with it. The theft was discovered the same day and it was not hard to guess who the culprit was but Anastasius refused to send anyone after the monk for fear that he might say he had not taken it and add the sin of perjury to that of theft. 

The monk meanwhile was trying to sell the book and eventually found a buyer, a rich man who asked him to leave the book with him for a day so that he could get it evaluated.

When the monk had gone, the man hastened to the monastery and showed the book to Anastasius. The abbot recognized it instantly but did not say anything.

“A monk wants to sell it to me,” said his visitor. “He’s asking for a gold sovereign. You are knowledgeable about books. Is this book worth that much?”

“It’s worth much much more than a sovereign,” said the abbot. “It’s a valuable book.”

The man thanked the abbot and left. The next day when the monk came, he informed him that he would like to buy the book and was prepared to pay the price he had mentioned. The monk was overjoyed.

“Whom did you show it to?” he asked.

“Anastasius, the abbot.”

His visitor turned pale. “A-And what did he say?” 

“He said the book was worth a sovereign.”

“And what else?”

“Nothing.”

The monk was both amazed and touched. He realized that the abbot had refused to reclaim his lost treasure so that he, the thief would not get into trouble. Nobody had ever shown him such love; nobody had ever behaved so nobly towards him.

“I’ve changed my mind, I don’t want to sell it,” he said and took the book from the man.

“I’ll give you two sovereigns,” said the customer.

The monk walked away without answering. He went directly to the monastery and handed the book to the abbot, tears brimming in his eyes.

“Keep it,” said Anastasius. “When I learnt you had borrowed it I decided to give it to you.”

“Please take it back,” pleaded the monk, “but let me stay here and learn wisdom from you.”

His wish was granted. He spent the rest of his years in the monastery modelling his life after that of the saintly Anastasius.

Friends, some times we preach a lot to our friends and neighbours,but we fail to follow what we preach. Our actions speaks louder than our words. Here, Anastasius had no conversation with the monk, but his actions spoke, how good and holy he was.

A Simple Sweet Smile

Once when I was waiting for a particular train at late night, an incident that happened amazed me. I saw a weary old father, walking cheerfully with heavy bundles on his head, holding his little daughter. He lifted the things down on a stone bench and looked very pathetic. In a few seconds I saw him smiling sincerely at someone, which made me curious to know who is at the other end. It was his elder daughter who came towards him smiling and kissing her sleepy younger sister whom she was carrying in her left arms and a bundle in her right shoulder. When the father and his daughters were exchanging their love, again I saw a little girl walking slowly towards them, with eyelids half closed in drowsiness, stumbling both the sides, dragging a small bundle. When the elder sister saw that her little sister coming towards them with drowsing heavy-eyes, she rushed to her aid, embraced her, hold her in her arms and showered her with kisses. After a few steps, it also astonished me to see, that the little bud, opened her eyes widely, hold on her elder sister's neck tightly with a smile and kissed her in turn of the warm affection that she received from her. Finally they all came together and sat down for their supper with full blooming face.

My dear sisters and brothers, this may an event in our day to day life. But it taught me some values in my life, which no one can teach in words. Though they were burdened the whole day, it was their affectionate love for one another that kept them moving on. Many times when others smile at us, it has brought some changes in our life, which we have never realized because we have taken them for granted.

An honest smile makes others to forget their hard times in life. Our smile is enough to encourage the down trodden and to let the captives free. God never asked any great things or miracles from us. He said just to love our neighbours as He loves us. Our genuine Smile of today can change the life of someone tomorrow. Our heart felt smile has the power to heal the wounds and to break the stony hearts. Look around us, where people struggle due to various reasons which we never thought of, in our lives. You and I cannot go and aid them individually. So let us just give a blessing of smile and see what happens in our life and theirs too.

A Smile costs nothing, but does many things in life. It can do miracles. So my dear friends carry the medicine SMILE with you, wherever you go and heal the wounded souls. SMILE begets SMILE.

Now SMILE please. Thanks, cos ur smile is valuable for me too.

Let your obstacles be a stepping stone in life

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the King’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

The peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition. Unless we fall down, we cannot rise up. Every fall is an opputunity to arise.A day cannot be completed without dark night.

Gratitude is the best attitude

One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those

conflict-filled 1960s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man’s door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A

special note was attached. It read: “Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway  the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to

make it to my dying Husband’s’ bedside just before he passed away… God Bless You for helping me and unselfishly serving others.”

Sincerely,

Mrs. Nat King Cole.

Yes, Gratitude is the best attitude. Am I grateful who everyone who does miracles in my life-To my  partner, my parents, my children, my friends, my neighbours, my driver, my servant maid, my doctor, my teacher, my priests, my counsellors......and everyone whom I come across in my day today life?

I love me, as I am.

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master's house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection,  and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.

"I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."

"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"

"I have been able, for these past two years,to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts", the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some.

But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path,  but not on the other pot's side?  That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it.

I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table.

Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

Yes, dear friends! Sometimes we too feel unnecessary over guilty of our weaknesses, forgetting how we are a blessing/grace in other's life. So lets love ourself and accept ourself as we are.

Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?

There is a Chinese story of an old farmer who had an old horse for tilling his fields. One day the horse escaped into the hills and, when all the farmer's neighbours sympathised with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, 'Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?'

A week later the horse returned with a herd of wild horses from the hills and this time the neighbours congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, 'Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?'.

Then, when the farmer's son was attempted to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, 'Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?'.

Some weeks later the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer's son with his broken leg they let him off. Now, Was that good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?

There is nothing like Good Luck or Bad Luck. It is all our Choices and Decisions that we make, which creates our Destiny in life. It is all about the Positive and Negative ways in which we accept things in life. So it is not a matter of Luck, but a matter of our Choice.

Stop being a glass

Once an unhappy young man came to an old master and told he was very sad and asked for a solution.

The old Master instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then to drink it. "How does it taste?" the Master asked. "Awful," spat the apprentice. The Master chuckled and then asked the young man to take another handful of salt and put it in the lake. The two walked in silence to the nearby lake and when the apprentice swirled his handful of salt into the lake, the old man said, "Now drink from the lake."

As the water dripped down the young man's chin, the Master asked, "How does it taste?" "Good!" remarked the apprentice. "Do you taste the salt?" asked the Master. "No," said the young man. The Master sat beside this troubled young man, took his hands, and said,

"The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains the same, exactly the same. But the amount we taste the 'pain' depends on the container we put it into. So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things ..... Stop being a glass. Become a lake.