The Old Mule

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.




When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.When life kicks us,let it kick us forward.
THAT’S LIFE! If we face our problems and respond to them positively, we may be able to overcome the problems instead of feeling bitter or self pity.

The Chicken

Once upon a time, there was a large mountainside, where an eagle's nest rested. The eagle's nest contained four large eagle eggs. One day an earthquake rocked the mountain, causing one of the eggs to roll down the mountain to a chicken farm located in the valley below. The chickens knew that they must protect and care for the eagle's egg, so an old hen volunteered to nurture and raise the large egg.
One day, the egg hatched and a beautiful eagle was born. Sadly, however, the eagle was raised to be a chicken. Soon, the eagle believed he was nothing more than a chicken. The eagle loved his home and family, but his spirit cried out for more. While playing a game on the farm one day, the eagle looked to the skies above and noticed a group of mighty eagles soaring in the skies. "Oh," the eagle cried, "I wish I could soar like those birds."

The chickens roared with laughter, "You cannot soar with those birds. You are a chicken and chickens do not soar."
The eagle continued staring at his real family up above, dreaming that he could be with them. Each time the eagle would let his dreams be known, he was told it couldn't be done. That is what the eagle learned to believe. The eagle, after time, stopped dreaming and continued to live his life like a chicken. Finally, after a long life as a chicken, the eagle passed away.



We always act out the kind of person that we believe ourselves to be.Our beliefs are usually being shaped by our perception of past experiences,success and failures.Our self image is not who we are but rather what we think we are.If we ever dream of becoming an eagle,follow our dreams and not the words of a chicken.Until we paint a bigger picture of ourselves,we will only grow as big as our limits.

True Love

One day, a young guy and a young girl fell in love.But the guy came from a poor family. The girl’s parents weren’t too happy.So the young man decided not only to court the girl but to court her parents as well. In time, the parents saw that he was a good man and was worthy of their daughter’s hand.
But there was another problem: The man was a soldier. Soon, war broke out and he was being sent overseas for a year. The week before he left, the man knelt on his knee and asked his lady love, “Will you marry me?” She wiped a tear, said yes, and they were engaged. They agreed that when he got back in one year, they would get married.
But tragedy struck. A few days after he left, the girl had a major vehicular accident. It was a head-on collision.When she woke up in the hospital, she saw her father and mother crying. Immediately, she knew there was something wrong.
She later found out that she suffered brain injury. The part of her brain that controlled her face muscles was damaged. Her once lovely face was now disfigured. She cried as she saw herself in the mirror. “Yesterday, I was beautiful. Today, I’m a monster.” Her body was also covered with so many ugly wounds.
Right there and then, she decided to release her fiancé from their promise. She knew he wouldn’t want her anymore. She would forget about him and never see him again.For one year, the soldier wrote many letters—but she wouldn’t answer. He phoned her many times but she wouldn’t return her calls.But after one year, the mother walked into her room and announced, “He’s back from the war.”
The girl shouted, “No! Please don’t tell him about me. Don’t tell him I’m here!”
The mother said, “He’s getting married,” and handed her a wedding invitation.The girl’s heart sank. She knew she still loved him—but she had to forget him now.With great sadness, she opened the wedding invitation.And then she saw her name on it!
Confused, she asked, “What is this?”
That was when the young man entered her room with a bouquet of flowers. He knelt beside her and asked, “Will you marry me?”The girl covered her face with her hands and said, “I’m ugly!”
The man said, “Without your permission, your mother sent me your photos. When I saw your photos, I realized that nothing has changed. You’re still the person I fell in love. You’re still as beautiful as ever. Because I love you!”.

 

 

 

 

 

True Happiness

The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home.
 

Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.

After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.

As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, a nurse provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. "I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

"Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room .... just wait."
 

"That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged, it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away, just for this time in my life."
 

She went on to explain, "Old age is like a bank account, you withdraw from what you've put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing."




Happiness doesn't depend on any external conditions,it is governed by our mental attitude.If we are determine to be happy,even the simplest thing can give us happiness.

 

 

A Taste of Wisdom

An aging Hindu master grew tired of his apprentice complaining and so, one morning, sent him for some salt. When the apprentice returned, the 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. "Bitter," spit the apprentice. The master chuckled and then asked the young man to take the same handful of salt and put it in the lake.

The two walked in silence to the nearby lake and once the apprentice swirled his handful of salt in the water, 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?" "Fresh," remarked the apprentice. "Do you taste the salt?" asked the master. "No," said the young man. At this the master sat beside this serious young man, who so reminded him of himself, and took his hands, offering: "The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains exactly the same. However, the amount of bitterness we taste depends on the container we put the pain in. 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."

Blessing In Disguise

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.
Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements, and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this to me!" he cried.
Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied. It is easy to get discouraged when things are going bad. But we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering.



All things happen for a reason,although we may not understand why.Sometimes what looks like a tragedy or a hopeless situation may turn up to be a blessing. Do not give up hope too easily.

The Black Dot

A small town chamber of commerce invited a speaker to address its annual dinner. The community’s economy was bad, people were discouraged, and they wanted this motivational speaker to give them a boost.
During her presentation, the speaker took a large piece of white paper and made a small black dot in the centre of it with a marking pen. Then she held the paper up before the group and ask them what they saw. One person quickly replied, “I see a black dot.” “Okay, what else do you see?” Others joined in agreement : “A black dot.” “Don’t you see anything besides the dot?” she asked. A resounding “No” came from the audience.
“What about the sheet of paper?” asked the speaker. “I am sure you have all seen it”, she said, “But you have chosen to overlook it.” “In life, we also tend to overlook and take for granted many wonderful things that we have or happen around us and focus our attention and energy on small, dotlike failures and disappointments.
The so called ‘problems’ that we have are usually like the black dot on the paper. They are small and insignificant if we can widen our horizon and look at the whole picture.”
Are you one of the person who focus your attention and energy on dot-like problems?

The Horse that Wanted Perfection

A cosmic god had a horse. The horse was beautiful and also it had many good qualities. But it wanted to be more perfect in every way. It especially wanted to become beauty unparalleled.

One day the horse said to the cosmic god, “0 Lord, you have given me beauty. You have given me other good qualities. I am so grateful to you. But how I wish you could make me more beautiful. I would be extremely, extremely grateful if you could make me more beautiful.” The cosmic god said, “I am more than ready to make you more beautiful. Tell me in what way you want to be changed.”
The horse said, “It seems to me that I am not well proportioned. My neck is too short. If you can make my neck a little longer, my upper body will be infinitely more beautiful. And if you can make my legs much longer and thinner, then I will look infinitely more beautiful in my lower body.” The cosmic god said, “Amen!”

 Then immediately he made a camel appear in place of the horse. The horse was so disheartened that it started to cry, “0 Lord, I wanted to become more beautiful. In what way is this kind of outer form more beautiful?” The cosmic god said, “This is exactly what you asked for. You have become a camel.” The horse cried, “Oh no, I do not want to become a camel I wish to remain a horse. As a horse, everybody appreciated my good qualities. Nobody will appreciate me as a camel.”

The cosmic god said, “Never try to achieve or receive more than I have given you. If you want to lead a desire-life, then at every moment you will want more and more. But you have no idea what the outcome will be. If you cry for a longer neck and legs, this is what will happen. Each thing in my creation has its own good qualities. The camel is not as beautiful as you are, but it carries heavy loads and has a tremendous sense of responsibility.



We cannot expect to have all the best things in this world and to become perfect.We must learn how to be contented and utilise our own abilities to become successful rather than clamouring against our shortcomings.

The Butterfly Cocoon

A man was regularly observing a butterfly cocoon lying on his window sill. One day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force it's 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 farther. 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. He continued to watch the butterfly, because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of it's life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly.

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





All life demands struggle.Where there is no struggle,there is no strength.If everything is given to us in the easy way,we will become selfish,weak and insensitive to the real values of life.

Obstacles In Our Path

Once upon a time,there was a King who intentionally 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. On 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.As 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 others never understand.



Obstacles are often unrecognised opportunity.The weak see obstacles as stumbling blocks but the strong see them as stepping stone.Inorder to reach the next stage of joy and success, we have to embrace obstacles along our pathway.Obstacles will look large or small according to whether we are large or small.

Live Your Own Life

Your presence is a present to the world.
You are unique and one of a kind.
Your life can be what you want it to be.
Take the days just one at a time. Count your blessings, not your troubles.
You will make it through whatever comes along. Within you are so many answers.
Understand, have courage, be strong.
Do not put limits on yourself.
So many dreams are waiting to be realized.
Decisions are too important to leave to chance.
Reach for your peak, your goal and you prize.
Nothing wastes more energy than worrying. The longer one carries a problem the heavier it gets.
Do not take things too seriously.
Live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets.
Remember that a little love goes a long way.
Remember that a lot … goes forever.
Remember that friendship is a wise investment.
Life’s treasure are people together.
Realize that it is never too late.
Do ordinary things in an extraordinary way.
Have hearth and hope and happiness.
Take the time to wish upon a start.

AND DO NOT EVER FORGET …. FOR EVEN A DAY HOW VERY SPECIAL YOU ARE !

To Let Go

To let go does not mean to stop caring, it means I can't do it for someone else.

To let go is not to cut myself off, it's the realization that I can't control another.

To let go is not to enable,but to allow learning from natural consequences.

To let go is to admit powerlessness,which means the outcome is not in my hands.

To let go is not to try to change or blame another,it's to make the most of myself.

To let go is not to care for,but to care about.

To let go is not to fix,but to be supportive.

To let go is not to judge,but to allow another to be a human being.

To let go is not to be in the middle arranging all the outcomes, but to allow others to affect their own destinies.

To let go is not to be protective, it's to permit another to face reality.

To let go is not to criticize, or regulate anyone, but to try to become what I dream I can do.

To let go is to fear less, and to love more.

The Weaver Woman

Once a woman went to see her weaver friend.The weaver, who had been spinning different kinds of silk thread, was very happy to see her friend and said to her: " Friend, I can't tell you how happy I am to see you.Let me get you some refreshments". She left the room.

The woman looked at the threads of different colours and was tempted.She hid a bundle of thread under one arm.The weaver returned with the refreshments and began to feed her guest with great enthusiasm.But, looking at the thread,she realized that her friend had taken a bundle.

Hitting upon a plan to get it back,she said: "Friend,it is so long since I had seen you and this is a day of great joy for me. I feel very much like asking you to dance with me".
The friend said,"Sister,I am feeling very happy too".
So the two friends begin to dance together.When the weaver saw that her friend danced without raising her hands, she said: "Let us dance with both hand raised to show our happiness".
But the guest pressed one arm to her side and danced raising only the other.The weaver said: "How is this, friend? Why should you dance with only one hand raised? Come and dance with me raising both hands.Look at me,see how I dance with both hand raised?"
But the guest still pressed one arm to her side.She danced with the other hand raised and said with a smile, " This is all I know about dancing".



When we have done nothing against our conscience,we need not have to fear of anything.Only when we feel guilty of wrong doing,we feel uncomfortable with our actions and behaviours.

The Man, The Boy and The Donkey

A Man and his son were once going with their Donkey to market. As they were walking along by its side a countryman passed them and said: "You fools, what is a Donkey for but to ride upon?"

So the Man put the Boy on the Donkey and they went on their way. But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said: "See that lazy youngster, he lets his father walk while he rides."

And thus the Man ordered his Boy to get off, and got on himself. But they hadn't gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other: "Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along."

Well, the Man didn't know what to do, but at last he took his Boy up before him on the Donkey. By this time they had come to the town, and the passers-by began to jeer and point at them. The Man stopped and asked what they were scoffing at. The men said: "Aren't you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor donkey of yoursu and your hulking son?"

The Man and Boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought and they thought, till at last they cut down a pole, tied the donkey's feet to it, and raised the pole and the donkey to their shoulders. They went along amid the laughter of all who met them till they came to Market Bridge, when the Donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out and caused the Boy to drop his end of the pole. In the struggle the Donkey fell over the bridge, and his fore-feet being tied together he was drowned. "That will teach you," said an old man who had followed them:

"Please all, and you will please none."




Everybody has different opinion on things and we must not simply listen to them just for the sake of making them happy.We cannot please all the people all the time.

Grow Great by Dreams

The question was once asked of a highly successful businessman: "How have you done so much in your lifetime?"
 He replied, "I have dreamed. I have turned my mind loose to imagine what I wanted to do.
Then I have gone to bed and thought about my dreams. In the night I dreamt about my dreams. And when I awoke in the morning, I saw the way to make my dreams real. While other people were saying, 'You can't do that, it isn't possible,' I was well on my way to achieving what I wanted.
 As Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the U.S., said: "We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers." They see things in the soft haze of a spring day, or in the red fire on a long winter's evening.
 Some of us let these great dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nourish them through bad days until they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true."
We may need to go through bumpy roads and obstacles in the pursuit of our dreams but don't let anyone
 steal our dreams, or try to tell us they are too impossible.

Carrot, Egg or Coffee?

A daughter complained to her father about life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of struggling. It seemed that as soon as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and the last he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.

The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. In about twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a
bowl.Turning to her he asked. "What do you see?" "Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.
He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. She smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. She said, "What's the point?" He explained that each of the items had faced the same adversity - boiling water - but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong and hard. But after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" he asked his daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?"




When the going gets tough, it is always important to remember that what really matters is what happens "in" us, not to us. George Bernard Shaw onced said " Be the creator of circumstances but not the creature of circumstances". If we don't take control of a situation, we will become a victim of the situation.

The Neglected Temple

Once, three monks gathered at an unattented lonely temples. "Why is this temple so unattended?", nobody knew who started the conversation, but then, "Must be because the monks do not have the sincerity in doing the prayers and rituals that the deities did not showed them their miraculous powers.", answered the first monk. "Must be that the monks here are not hardworking enough that the temple was left unattended," explained second monk. "Must be because of the monks living here do not respect one another that the followers grew few," added the third monk.

Three of them argued...until that they decided to live in that temple to see who was the truest. The first monk do prayers, ceremonies, rituals sincerely, the second monk fixed and renovated the temple, and the third monk went preaching out to the public. Time passed and the temple became a very crowded well known temple.

"This all happened because of my sincerity in prayers that the deities decided to help and grant me miracles," said the first monk. "No, because of my hardwork working on the temple that it looked so magnificent and beautiful," replied the second monk. "Of course because of me who goes out teaching truths and preaching that our followers grow even larger everyday," the third monk explained.
Day and night they kept arguing, and cared less of the temple condition. They did not realized that they began to neglect the temple's prosperity and was more concerned with their egoistic pride. Time passed again and the temple returned to its former condition, it was then as unattented as it once was before.

The three monks left the temple, they realized and concluded that the temple was unattented not because of anything, but because there was lack of harmony within the people inside.





Unity is strength.The best teamwork always come from people who are working indepedently towards one goal in unison.When there is a lack of collaboration,and when people starts to fight for credit, nothing can be achieved.We must learn to accept responsibilty for our actions but not the credit for the achievement.

Yesterday and Tomorrow

There are two days in every week about which we should not worry, two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension.

One of these days is Yesterday with all its mistakes and cares,its faults and blunders, its aches and pains.Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control.All the money in the world cannot bring back Yesterday.

We cannot undo a single act we performed; we cannot erase a single word we said.Yesterday is gone forever.
The other day we should not worry about is Tomorrow with all its possible adversities, its burdens,
its large promise and its poor performance; Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control.
Tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendour or behind a mask of clouds, but it will rise.Until it does,we have no stake in Tomorrow, for it is yet to be born.

This leaves only one day, Today. Any person can fight the battle of just one day.It is when you and I add the burdens of Yesterday and Tomorrow that we break down.
It is not the experience of Today that drives a person mad,it is the remorse or bitterness of something which happened Yesterday and the dread of what Tomorrow may bring.
Let us, therefore, Live but one day at a time.

The King and his Leather Shoe

A King decided to walk around his kingdom to see how his people were doing. Just a few steps out of his castle, his foot was injured by a stone lying unseen on the road. He thought, "So the road in my kingdom is this bad. I have got to get it fixed."

The King then summoned all his ministers. He ordered to have all the road in his kingdom be layered with the best of leathers. As soon as it was ordered, the ministers started getting the things ready, they gathered the cows from the whole country of the kingdom only to be made into leather.

The Ministers were surprised with the King's order and have no choice but to follow.Then along  came a wise and brave man who said to the King, "O the Powerful One, why would you have to make so much leather just to cover the whole roads spreading throughout the country when actually what you really need is just two pieces of leather to cover your soles?

The King was surprised, but he agreed to the wise man's suggestion to make a shoe for himself.




A wise man do not force the circumstances to adapt to himself, instead he adapts himself to the circumstances as water shaped itself to the vessel that contains it.

The Jumping Squirrel

Two man, one old and the other young, were sitting on a park bench watching a squirrel attempting to jump from one high tree to another.The squirrel appeared to be aiming for a limb so far out of reach that the leap look like suicide.The squirrel jumped but it missed it's target and it landed safely on another branch below.It then slowly climbed to it's intended place and appeared satisfied.

The old man remarked to the young one, " I have seen lots of squirrels jump like that, especially if predators are around, and they don't ever hit the ground. A lot of them miss the limb they are aiming for, but I never seen any get hurt in trying".
Then he laughed and continued, " I guess they have got to atleast take a risk or they would remain in one tree all their lives.When we need to choose between risking a new situation or hanging back, think of the squirrel".

The young man nodded his head in agreement.




We always feel comfortable when we are in a rut, because it is predictable, stable and secure.If we do not want to take risks we will always remain the same as we were before.The courage to take calculated risks can take us to a higher level of achievement.

The Land of Fools

Once upon a time there was a man who strayed from his own country into the world known as the Land of Fools. He soon saw a number of people flying in terror from a field where they had been trying to reap wheat. "There is a monster in that field," they told him. He looked, and saw that the "monster" was merely a watermelon.

He offered to kill the "monster" for them. When he had cut the melon from its stalk, he took a slice and began to eat it. The people became even more terrified of him than they had been of the melon. They drove him away with pitchforks, crying, "He will kill us next, unless we get rid of him."

It so happened that shortly afterward another man also strayed into the Land of Fools. But instead of offering to help the people with the "monster," he agreed with them that it must be dangerous, and by tiptoeing away from it with them he gained their confidence. He spent a long time with them in their homes until he could teach them, little by little, the basic facts which would enable them not only to lose their fear of melons, but eventually to cultivate melons themselves.

The only way in which we can properly attempt to influence others is by encouraging them to think for themselves, instead of forcing to instill ready made opinions into their head.

Time to Learn

A young but earnest Zen student approached his teacher, and asked the Zen Master:
"If I work very hard and diligent how long will it take for me to find Zen." The Master thought about this, then replied, "Ten years."

The student then said, "But what if I work very, very hard and really apply myself to learn fast -- How long then ?" Replied the Master, "Well, twenty years."   "But, if I really, really work at it. How long then ?" asked the student. "Thirty years," replied the Master. "But, I do not understand," said the disappointed student. "At each time that I say I will work harder, you say it will take me longer. Why do you say that ?" Replied the Master," When you have one eye on the goal, you only have one eye on the path."




We need to have patience inorder to stay focus on what we want to do.There is no short cut to it.We don't get the chicken by smashing the eggs, they need to be hatched.

The Old Farm

There was onced a farmer who lived on an old broken down farm all his life.The rain had washed gullies all through it, the trees were of little value for pulpwood, the farmhouse and the barn looked like shacks, and the whole mess was located several miles from the main highway.So he decided to sell it all.

He got in his old pick-up truck and drove to the newspaper office. He went in and told the secretary he wanted to run an advertisement in the paper to sell his place.She sent the farmer to talk to the copywriter, who listened to him very carefully and then wrote the advertisement. It emphasized the beautiful rolling hills and the bubbling brooks and not the gullies. It spoke of the variety of trees that enhanced the landscape and the possibilities of restoring the home according to one's own personal taste.And it talked about the secluded location where one could enjoy hearing the birds and the serenity of the surrounding.The advertisement didn't mention the desolate location.

The copywriter read the advertisement to the farmer. He said, "Would you please read it to me again?". And he asked for still another reading.After hearing it a third time, the farmer walked over, picked up the piece of paper and said, " Now you look here fellow, this farm ain't for sale.That's exactly the kind of place I've been wanting all my life.





When we change the way we look at things, the things that we looked at also changes.It is all a matter of attitude and positive thinking

The Two Brothers

Two brothers worked together on the family farm.One was married and had a large family.The other was single.At the day's end, the brothers shared everything equally, produce and profit.
Then one day the single brother said to himself, "It is not right that we should share equally the produce and the profit, I'm alone and my needs are simple". So each night he took a sack of grains from his bin and crept across the field between their houses, dumping it into his brother's bin.

Meanwhile, the married brother said to himself. " It's not fair that we should share the produce and the profit equally. After all, I'm married and I have my wife and my children to look after me in years to come.My brother has no one, and no one to take care of his future". So each night, he took a sack of grain and dumped it into his single brother's bin.

Both man were puzzled for years because their supply of grain never dwindled. Then one dark night the two brothers bumped into each other.Slowly it dawned on them what was happening. They dropped their sacks and embraced one another.



There is no bond stronger than family relationship.Blood is thicker than water as the proverb says.

" THERE'S NO OTHER LOVE LIKE THE LOVE FOR A BROTHER.THERE'S NO OTHER LOVE LIKE THE LOVE FROM A BROTHER"................ASTRID ALAUDA

 

Growing Good Corn

There once was a farmer who grew award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won a blue ribbon.

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors

"How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked.

"Why sir," said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn."




We all live in a world where we are all connected.We do not lose anything by helping others but the good deeds that we had done will come back to us someday.We reaped whatever we sowed.The more 'credit' we give away, the more will come back to us.

The Woodcutter and The Mine Of Dreams.

Once there was a woodcutter who used to cut wood from forest and sell it in the market to earn his living. Every day he used to come across a sage meditating in the forest. He used to feel some kind of attraction towards that sage but sage never used to talk to any one.

One day he decided to take blessings from the Sage. So he went to the sage for his blessings. Sage just said “go deep into the forest” and closed his eyes in meditation. That day Woodcutter went deep inside the forest and to his surprise he found big sandal wood trees. That day he made lot of money enough for one week. Now he only need to cut sandalwood once in a week.

After some days he felt he should go deeper inside the forest and to his surprise he found the silver mine just ahead of the place where he had stopped last time. Now he was very happy and almost on the 7th heaven. He came back and thanked the Sage but sage repeated his words “go deep into the forest” and he went still further inside the forest.

To his surprise he found Gold mine there. For a while he thought it’s a dream. Then he thought why not go still further.

So the Woodcutter went very deep inside the forest. Path was not easy and there was danger of wild animals also. But some voice was constantly asking him keep on moving inside the forest. At times he was scared also and wanted to turn back and enjoy the luxurious life by selling Gold.

Any other day he would have stopped and turn back but today some inner voice was pushing him towards the forest. At last he came across a diamond mines. He was literally shocked. It was too much. He sat under the tree and remembers his past. Few weeks ago he was a poor Woodcutter earning every day just enough to feed his family and today he is the richest person in the whole country.

Long time he sat under a tree and then he realized its all because of the blessings of that sage. And there must be some thing better than this Diamond mines that’s why sage is not after these diamonds.

He came back to seek the advice of the sage and asked for his blessings again.
Sage took him up by arms and said “all the while I was waiting for you only. Now go deep inside your heart. You will come across many beautiful experiences; many spiritual powers will come to you. But don’t stop there. Just keep on moving inside until you found yourself.”




Abundance is not what we acquire. It is something we tune to and something that we can feel comfortable with.It is not what we have, but what we enjoy that constitutes our abundance.We can have a lot of wealth but if we can't find peace of mind and inner awareness it can only bring us miseries.

Making A Difference

A guest at a beach hotel was strolling along the beach when, in the distance, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. Intrigued,he decided to investigate. As he got closer, he saw that it was a young boy, and the young boy wasn't dancing. Instead, he was reaching down to the shore, picking up a starfish, and very gently throwing it into the ocean.

Thousands of starfish had been washed ashore by the low tide." Why are you doing this?" the hotel guest asked the boy.
The boy replied: "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If i don't throw them in they'll die."
"But there are miles and miles of beach, and tens of thousands of starfish here. You can't possibly make a difference," the hotel guest said.
The young boy listened politely. Then he bent down, picked up another starfish, and as he was throwing it back into the ocean, said: "It makes a difference to this one."




Never underestimate kindness or good deeds no matter how small there are.Great acts are made up of small deeds.We may not make any difference to the world today but it sure has the power to shape the future.

Rich or Poor?

One day a rich father took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose to show him how poor people can be. They spent a day and a night on the farm of a very poor family.

When they got back from their trip the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"

"Very good Dad!"

"Did you see how poor people can be?" the father asked.

"Yeah!"

"And what did you learn?"

The son answered, "I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden, they have a creek that has no end.We have imported
lamps in the garden, they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard, they have a whole horizon."

When the little boy was finishing, his father was speechless.

His son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how rich they are!"

Author Unknown


" THE WEALTH OF THE MIND IS THE ONLY TRUE WEALTH".........HESOID.

Enjoy Your Coffee

A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor.
Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups – porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite – telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said:
“If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.
Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.

What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups… And then you began eyeing each other’s cups.



Sometimes we focus too much on materialism that we often neglect the basic things in life.We wanted to have the best of everything and obsessed with gratifications and pleasures that does not add values or quality to our life.The happiest people does not have the best of everything but they just make the best of what they have.

The Bridge Builder

Once upon a time, two brothers who lived on adjoining farms fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in 40 years of farming side-by-side, sharing machinery and trading labor and goods as needed without a hitch.

Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major difference and finally, it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence.

One morning there was a knock on John's door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter's toolbox. "I'm looking for a few days' work," he said. "Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there I could help with? Could I help you?"

"Yes," said the older brother. "I do have a job for you. Look across the creek at that farm. That's my neighbor. In fact, it's my younger brother! Last week there was a meadow between us. He recently took his bulldozer to the river levee and now there is a creek between us. Well, he may have done this to spite me, but I'll do him one better. See that pile of lumber by the barn? I want you to build me a fence an 8-foot fence -- so I won't need to see his place or his face anymore."

The carpenter said, "I think I understand the situation. Show me the nails and the post-hole digger and I'll be able to do a job that pleases you."

The older brother had to go to town, so he helped the carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day. The carpenter worked hard all that day -- measuring, sawing and nailing. About sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job.

The farmer's eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped. There was no fence there at all.

It was a bridge .. A bridge that stretched from one side of the creek to the other! A fine piece of work, handrails and all! And the neighbor, his younger brother, was coming toward them, his hand outstretched.

"You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all I've said and done."

The two brothers stood at each end of the bridge, and then they met in middle, taking each other's hand. They turned to see the carpenter hoist his toolbox onto his shoulder.

"No, wait! Stay a few days. I've a lot of other projects for you," said the older brother.

"I'd love to stay on," the carpenter said, "but I have many more bridges to build."

--- Author Unknown ---

If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.

The Marble Tile and The Marble Statue

There was this museum laid with beautiful tiles,with a huge marble statue displayed in the middle of the lobby.Many people came from all over the world just to admire this beautiful marble statue.

One night the marble tiles started talking to the marble statue.
Marble tile: "Marble statue, it's just not fair! Why does everybody from all over the world come all the way here just to step on me while admiring you? This is not fair!"
Marble statue: " My dear friend marble tile. Do you still remember that we actually from the same cave? "
Marble tile: "Yeah! That's why I feel it is even more unfair.We were born from the same cave and yet we receive different treatment now. Not fair!" he cried again.
Marble statue: " Then do you still remember the day when the designer tried to work on you,but you resisted the tools?"
Marble tile: " Yes,of course I remember.I hate that guy! How could he use those tools on me, it hurts so badly".
Marble statue: " That's right! He couldn't work on you at all as you resisted being worked on so he started working on me instead.When he did so, I knew at once that I would be something different after his efforts.I did not resist his tools, instead I bore all the painful tools he used on me".
Marble tile was quiet for a while and marble statue continue saying " My friend, there is a price to everything in life.Since you decided to give up halfway, you can't blame anybody who steps on you now".

--Author unknown.



Too often, we choose to stay in our comfort zone and resist changes.Though we always feel uncomfortable and painful with change, we must remember that this is the only way to grow and progress to a higher level.

The Boy and the Wooden Fence

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 back of the wooden 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 he was able to hold his temper.The day 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.It won't matter how many times you say I am sorry, the damaged has already been done and often unrepairable".


" KEEP YOUR TEMPER. A DECISION MADE IN ANGER IS NEVER SOUND"..........FORD FRICK

The Four Seasons

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.

The Real Meaning of Peace

There once was a king who offered a prize to the artist
who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The king looked at all the pictures. But there were only two he really liked, and he had to choose  between them.

One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky, from which rain fell and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all.

But when the king looked closely, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest - in perfect peace.

 The king chose the second picture as it reflects the true meaning of peace.

We cannot find peace by avoiding life.True peace does not mean the absence of activities or distractions but rather how we control our mind to maintain calmness in facing those situations.            
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Letting Go

There was once a lonely girl who longed desperately for love. One day while she was walking in the woods she found two starving song birds. She took them home and put them in a small glided cage. She nurtured them with love and the birds grew strong. Every morning they greeted her with a marvellous song. The girl felt great love for the birds. She wanted their singing to last forever.

One day the girl left the door to the cage open. The larger and stronger of the two birds flew from the cage. The girl watched anxiously as he circled high above her. She was so frightened that he would fly away and she would never see him again that as he flew close, she grasped at him wildly. She caught him in her fist. She clutched him tightly within her hand. She was relieved at her sucess in capturing him. Suddenly she felt the bird go limp. She opened her hand stared in horror at the dead bird. Her desperate clutching love had killed him. 

She noticed the other bird teetering on the edge of the cage. She could feel his great need for freedom. His need to soar into the clear, blue sky. She lifted him from the cage and tossed him softly into the air. The bird circled once, twice, three times.

The girl watched delightfully at the bird's enjoyment. Her heart was no longer concerned with her loss. She wanted the bird to be happy. Suddenly the bird flew closer and landed softly on her shoulder. It sang the sweetest melody, she had ever heard.





We must not be too possessive or overly attached to something or someone we love.We can appreciate and care for them but it will usually bring us miseries and grievances if we do not learn how to let go sometimes.Over attachment causes illusions and we live in reality only when we are detached.

The Flower Garden

A young man named Nashruddin planted a flower garden, but when the flowers came up so did a great crop of dandelions among them. Wishing to eliminate the unwanted 'guests', Nashruddin consulted with gardeners near and far, but none of their solutions worked.

Finally, Nashruddin traveled to the palace of the sheik to seek the wisdom of the royal gardener himself. But alas, Nashruddin had already tried all the methods the kind old man recommended to him for eradicating such troublesome plants.

Silently they sat together for a good long time. At last, the royal gardener looked at Nashruddin and said, "Well, then, the only thing I can suggest is that you learn to love them."




We have to accept certain limitations or imperfections at times, no matter what we are doing.We can change whatever that is changeable but whatever that cannot be change,we have to accept and live with it.

The Emperor's Seed

An emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his children, he decided something different.
He called young people in the kingdom together one day. He said, “It is time for me to step down and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you.”
The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. “I am going to give each one of you a seed today, one very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!”

One boy named Ling was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully.
Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about 3 weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks went by. Still nothing.
By now, others were talking about their plants but Ling didn’t have a plant, and he felt like a failure. 6 months went by; still nothing in Ling’s pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing.

Ling didn’t say anything to his friends. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow. A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection.
Ling told his mother that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot but his Mother said he must be honest about what happened. Ling felt sick to his stomach, but he knew his Mother was right.
He took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other youths. They were beautiful, in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kinds laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, “Hey nice try.”
When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. “My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown,” said the emperor. “Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!”
All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. “The emperor knows I’m a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!”

When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. “My name is Ling,” he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down.
He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, “Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!” Ling couldn’t believe it. Ling couldn’t even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor?
Then the emperor said, “One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds, which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you.
Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!”

(Author Unknown)


We must have the courage to face the truth and do the right thing because it is right.We should not compromise our integrity for the sake of achieving what we want. People of integrity will always triumph in the end.

Habits

If we continously perform certain actions a sufficient number of times,it will eventually become a habitual pattern, and will become a part of us.I remembered when I was a secondary school student, our teacher used to tell us why it was so hard to break a habit.He said , "Habit is spell H,A,B,I,T.If we remove the H, we still have "ABIT".Try getting rid of the A,we still have "BIT".Take away the B, we still have "IT"".

It is always difficult to get rid of an old habit,because the more you think about not doing it,the more it stays in your mind.The best approach to break the habit is to 'replace' it with a new habit.For example, if you are trying to quit smoking, take up chewing sugarless gum.If you want to stop consuming alcohol, drink herbal tea instead.Once we start acting on the new habits and do it consistently and frequently enough, it will eventually form a new behavioural pattern, replacing the old one.

It takes a lot of will power and discipline to do this, but as long as the negative habit is replaced with a positive one, there is always motivation and a sense of achievement.


"HABIT IS A CABLE; WE WEAVE A THREAD OF IT EVERDAY, AND AT LAST WE CANNOT BREAK IT ".............HORACE

Think Win-Win

In a school east of America, there was a very reputated school. To enter the school, one need to have almost perfect mark, and the school fees can be compared to be as much to a living expense of a simple family for a whole month. However, the school had been facing a big trouble, beside the school were a group of mischievous harmful teenagers of the poor families. It was too often that they destroy the school facilities such as window glasses, students cars and they keep annoying the students when they are out of their school.

"Why our top well-known most reputated school has such an evil neighbour?", the school principal was very mad at a meeting among the commitee. "Drive them out of our land! It is easy! We shall purchase all of their land, and convert the land to our school garden with our annual budget."
The school garden was getting larger, but the situation got worse. The poors did move out, but they rebuild again their new homes near the garden. The security got looser than before due to the very spacious garden.

The school commitee had no more idea, they reported this condition to the police. "When we can't communicate with our neighbours, the best way is not by driving them out or create impenetrable wall upon ourselves. Instead, we should try to understand and communicate with them. Then we EDUCATE them," explained one of the officer.
All the teachers dropped to their silence, as teachers, as educators, they had forgotten their function and their ability to educate others.
In the end, the school established a tuition school for them with very affordable price. They invited the poors around them to visit and give them textbooks and educational books to them for free. The school garden was changed to a sportground, so that the students and the youngsters can get along better. In several years to come, the school had been completely free of any disturbance. And of course the poors have better brighter future lies ahead of them.



The Win-Win approach requires us to find out more about the situation first and explore the options before thinking about the final solution.


"THERE ARE NO PROBLEMS WE CANNOT SOLVE TOGETHER,AND VERY FEW THAT WE CAN SOLVE BY OURSELVES"...........LYNDON  B.JOHNSON

The Real Talent

After winning several archery contests, the young and rather boastful champion challenged a Zen master who was renowned for his skill as an archer. The young man demonstrated remarkable technical proficiency when he hit a distant bull's eye on his first try, and then split that arrow with his second shot.

"There," he said to the old man, "see if you can match that!" Undisturbed, the master did not draw his bow, but rather motioned for the young archer to follow him up the mountain. Curious about the old fellow's intentions, the champion followed him high into the mountain until they reached a deep chasm spanned by a rather flimsy and shaky log.

Calmly stepping out onto the middle of the unsteady and certainly perilous bridge, the old master picked a far away tree as a target, drew his bow, and fired a clean, direct hit. "Now it is your turn," he said as he gracefully stepped back onto the safe ground.

Staring with terror into the seemingly bottomless and beckoning abyss, the young man could not force himself to step out onto the log, no less shoot at a target.

"You have much skill with your bow," the master said, sensing his challenger's predicament, "but you have little skill with the mind that lets loose the shot."



The real talent is being able to apply your skills even in the most adverse situation,without fear, hesitation or doubt.

"REAL TALENT WILL GET YOUR THROUGH WHAEVER THE OBSTACLES ARE"
..............KIM WILDE