Wednesday 27 June 2012

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

Monday 25 June 2012

Self Esteem

A group of vendors,artists and musicians were setting up their little shops on the sidewalk at a tourist attraction area.There was a large crowd gathering to observe the skill of a talented artist doing the painting of tourist portraits.A beggar saw this as an opportunity to attract the attention of a few sympathetic visitors.The beggar spent the day shaking the coins in his tin cup.

As the night was approaching,the artist started cleaning his brushes and storing his supplies.The beggars saw the tourist crowds dwindling and decided it was time for him to leave also.The beggar walked towards the artist's little stand.As he passed by, he stopped to glance at some of the portraits the artist had painted that day.

The beggard saw a portrait of a healthy, successful looking man.He looked at the artist and asked, "Who is that person?".The artist replied with an amused smile, " That is the you I see". The beggar was shocked.He stood there for a few minutes staring at the portrait. Then he said to the artist, "If you can see me that way,then that's the me I can become". The beggar raised his head high,threw his shoulder back, smiled and walked away, never to return as a beggar again at that area.




The mental picture we paint on own self can be a barrier standing between what we can accomplish and what we don't.Unless we change this mental image of ourselves, we will remain what we think we are and will only grow as big as the limits we set on ourselves.


"THE ONLY LIMIT IN OUR LIVE ARE THOSE WE IMPOSE ON OURSELVES"........
   BOB PROCTER

Friday 22 June 2012

Anger and Shouting

A Hindu Saint who was visiting river Ganges to take bath found a group of family members on the banks, shouting in anger at each other. He turned to his disciples and asked smilingly "Why do people in anger shout at each other?". His disciples thought for a while, one of them said, ‘Because we lose our calm, we shout.’ "But, why should you shout when the other person is just next to you? ". "You can as well tell him what you have to say in a soft manner", replied the Saint.

 The Saint then explained,  "When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other". "The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other to cover that great distance".

"What happens when two people fall in love? They don’t shout at each other but talk softly, Because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is either nonexistent or very small", the Saint continued, "When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, but only whisper and they get even closer to each other in their love. They may not  even need not whisper, they only look at each other and that’s all. That is how close two people are when they love each other".

He looked at his disciples and said. "So when you argue do not let your hearts get distant, Do not say words that distance each other more, Or else there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return".




"WHATEVER WORDS WE UTTER SHOULD BE CHOSEN WITH CARE FOR PEOPLE WILL HEAR THEM AND BE INFLUENCED BY THEM FOR GOOD OR ILL " ..............BUDDHA.








Wednesday 20 June 2012

Never Give Up

Two young frogs fell into a bucket of milk. Both tried to jump to freedom, but the sides of the bucket were steep and no foundation was to be had on the surface of the liquid.
Seeing little chance of escape, the first frog soon despaired and stopped jumping. After a short while he sunk to the bottom of the bucket and drowned.

The second frog also saw no likelihood of success, but he never stopped trying. Even though each jump seemed to reach the same inadequate height, he kept on struggling. Eventually, his persistent efforts churned some milk into butter. From the now hardened surface of the milk, he managed to leap out of the bucket.


We always face problems and struggles in life, sometimes may be too difficult to handle to the extend we may even lost hope.Regardless of the circumstances we are in, we must not give up too easily.When we have perseverance, there is always a way out in the end.


Monday 18 June 2012

Building Your House

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business to live a more leisurely life with his wife and enjoy his extended family. He would miss the paycheck each week, but he wanted to retire. They could get by.

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go & asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but over time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.

When the carpenter finished his work, his employer came to inspect the house. Then he handed the front-door key to the carpenter and said, "This is your house... my gift to you."
The carpenter was shocked!

If he had only known he was building the house for his own,he would have done it all differently.




We must be consistent with our values and always give the best in everything we do.We must not have different standards of doing things for ourselves and for others.



"THE MOMENT YOU PUT VALUE ON VALUES YOU'VE LOST VALUES"........SHIV KHERA


Saturday 16 June 2012

Procrastination

A flock of geese were heading South to avoid the cold winter snows.After a few days of flying,they landed on a farm and ate a great deal of corn.When the flock started to fly off the next morning,one goose decided to stay a little longer to enjoy the delicious free corn.The goose planned to leave the next morning,but the corn still looked good.It gave the same reason for staying the next several days and it fully intended to fly South soon.But it keep on procrastinating.
Then,cold weather hit the area.The goose either had to fly to South immediately or freeze to death.It started running across the field to build up enough speed to fly,but had one problem;it was too fat to fly.Finally it was frozen to death.


Procrastination creats a habitual pattern.It is very common for people to procrastinate and people do it for different reasons.Depending on the circumstances, sometimes procrastination can cost us dearly.

"PROCRASTINATION IS LIKE A CREDIT CARD: IT'S A LOT OF FUN UNTIL YOU GET THE BILL"................CHRISTOPHER PARKER.






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Thursday 14 June 2012

Learning To Be Silent

The pupils of the Tendai school used to study meditation before Zen entered Japan. Four of them who were very close friends promised one another to observe seven days of silence.
On first day all were silent. Their meditation had begun auspiciously, but when night came and the oil lamps were growing dim one of the pupils couldn't help exclaiming to a servant: "Fix the lamps." The second pupil was surprised to hear the first one talk. "We are not supposed to say a word," he remarked.
"You two are stupid. Why did you talk?" asked the third.
"I am the only one who has not talked," concluded the fourth pupil.


When we start to find fault with others action or behaviour, it will reflect on our own weakness also.Silence is a virtue.In silence we can hear others imperfections and conceal our own.

"SILENCE AT THE PROPER SEASON IS WISDOM,AND BETTER THAN ANY SPEECH"......

.....PLUTARCH.








Tuesday 12 June 2012

The Waitress' Tip

When an ice cream sundae cost much less, a boy entered a coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae?"

"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it. "How much is a dish of plain ice cream?" he inquired.

Some people were now waiting for a table, and the waitress was impatient. "Thirty-five cents," she said angrily.

The little boy again counted the coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream."

The waitress brought the ice cream and walked away. The boy finished, paid the cashier, and departed.

When the waitress came back, she swallowed hard at what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies ( Fifteen cents)- her tip.

Author Unknown



Too often we look at people from the surface only and we formed the wrong impressions on them.We may have easily misunderstood someone else intentions just because we always wanted to be right and perfect all the time and expect others to understand our situation but we failed to understand theirs.We judged others too easily and sometimes too unneccessarily.
When we start making judgement on others ,we do not define who they are but instead exposed our true self and character.

"EVERYTHING HAS BEAUTY,BUT NOT EVERYONE SEES IT".............CONFUCIUS























Sunday 10 June 2012

The Poison

After marrying with the man she loves dearly, a young beautiful woman lived together with her mother in law. In just a short time, she realized that there were clashes and differences between them. The mother in law always managed to find flaws in almost everything that her daughter in law did.  Arguements almost took place everyday. Unfortunately, the husband could not do much to improve the situation.
The daugher in law had reached her patience limit. Day by day, revenge and anger poisoned her mind and thoughts. Thus, she went to his father's best friend who was a medicine man. She told him all about her sadness and grieved in tears. She desired him to prescribe a strong dose of poison so that she can revenge her mother in law. After a careful deep thought, the uncle smiled wisely, "I will give you the poisonous powder but you have to do it precisely as i instructed you to." The woman agreed and was willing to do anything to get her revenge.

"My dear, i wont let you use a quick reactive poison. People around you will be very suspicious of you with her sudden dying. Mix a little bit by bit into her meals. And do not forget, you have to cook the meal yourself. Just to make sure nobody will suspect you later on, you must treat your mother in law better in days to come. Treat her with love, respect and show your big heart by not arguing, just give in to her. Treat your mother in law as if she were your own mother."
The woman went home, obeyed and just like what the uncle instructed. Everyday, she spoilt her mother in law by cooking all her favorite dishes and served her with all respect and compassion. Without realizing it, four months had passed, and a big change took place. Being treated with such respect and affection, the mother in law was touched and changed her behaviour towards her. Things turned around, she started to treat her daughter in law as her own one and loved her more and more each day.

Seeing the changes in her mother in law, the daughter rushed to see the uncle, "Please uncle, give me the antidote to the poison that you gave me sometime ago. After doing what you told me, now my mother in law has treated me so well and full of love. I also start loving her. I dont want her to die from the poison that i gave her everyday."
The uncle just smiled and answered, "My dear, don't worry. The powder that i gave you was not poison at all. It actually was tonic to enhance body strength instead." She was dumb founded. "So the real poison actually is what dwells in your head, your attitudes towards your mother in law. And now all of those poisons have been wiped away by love and affection that you have showered her."

Author Unknown



When we start to be tolerant with those who don't always agree with us, and when we start to show love and kindness to those whom we don't always admire, we will start to see changes in them.They will eventually understand us and reciprocate with the same treatment we give them.When we shower seeds of love and kindness, we will reap love and kindness in return.To be happy in life, we should cultivate  the habit of seeing the good instead of the bad in others.We have to weed out all our negative thoughts of hatred,jealousy or revenge before they poison our mind.

"IF YOU DON'T LIKE SOMETHING,CHANGE IT.IF YOU CAN'T CHANGE IT,CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE".............MAYA ANGELOU.






Friday 8 June 2012

The Way Out

Have you ever seen a bee or a bird caught inside your room? They flew inside the room from an open door or window and yet they couldn't find their way out.They tried in vain through the wall,the ceiling and almost knocking every corners of the room but still failed to find their way out, although the same door or window which they came in from is still wide open.Then they become desperate and frustrated after many 'blind attempts' and lose their cool and started to feel panicky and scared.
Our human mind faces the same kind of situation like this at times.We are often caught in a certain tight situation or disturbing thought but we failed to see or think in a rational way how we first landed up in such predicaments.We start to get emotional and desperate and become lost just like the trapped bird or bee inside a room.
There is always a cause for every problem and the approach is always to understand and find out how and why it arises;how did it enter our mind and how we get so hooked up with it.If we can find the 'entrance' to the problem,the same 'door' will be the exit for that particular problem.No other door is needed and there is no need to be like the bird or the bee flying and knocking blindly onto walls and ceilings instead of the way out. 

"MOST PEOPLE SPEND MORE TIME AND ENERGY GOING AROUND PROBLEMS THAN IN TRYING TO SOLVE THEM"............HENRY FORD.









Wednesday 6 June 2012

Three Old Men

Once three old man came to a house and told the house lady that they are hungry. The House lady asked them to come inside the house and eat the food.

They refused saying “we three have an agreement between us. Only one of us can go inside the house”. The woman was surprised to hear their reply and asked about the reason.  They replied “We three are wealth, success and love. You can invite any one among us”.

The woman asked them to wait as she wanted to consult her husband. Woman went inside the house and consulted his husband. They decided to invite the Love as Love can fill their house.

So the Woman went outside and asked love to come inside the house. The old man who was love got up and walked towards the house.

Other two old men also got up and started following love. Surprised, the woman asked “I only invited Love, why both of you are coming now.”

The old men replied together “if you would have invited wealth or success, other two would have stayed outside. But where ever love goes, we also go with him.”





Love is THE PATH to success and wealth.Where there is love,we find strength,courage,hope and many other positive attributes in life, that can bring the best out of us.We know there are people to comfort and encourage us and we know they will stand by us in the best and worst of time.These are all the forces or catalysts that drive a person to become successful in life.When we find success in what we do, we will start to attract wealth.


"BEING DEEPLY LOVED BY SOMEONE GIVES YOU STRENGTH, WHILE LOVING SOMEONE   DEEPLY GIVES YOU COURAGE"............ LAO TZU.



 


Monday 4 June 2012

A Story of Hope

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid 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 by 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 began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst 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 couldn't hear the band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Days and weeks passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other 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 at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself.

He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."



Author Unknown





Despite whatever situation we are in,we can make others happy by saying kind and positive words of encouragement no matter who they are.We might not change their life immediately by doing so, but it definitely uplift their spirits and give them motivation, strength and courage to face the day.
A simple thank you to the postman for delivering our letters, a warm and friendly smile to the waiters or waitresses for serving us and genuine praises and appreciations to our staff for jobs done well can have deep and positive impact on them.When people hear positive words of encouragement, they feel happy with what they are doing.When they feel happy, we feel happy too.


" SHARED JOY IS A DOUBLE JOY.SHARED SORROW IS HALF A SORROW".  
     SWEDISH PROVERB





Saturday 2 June 2012

Cracked Pots

A water man in India had two big water pots, each of the pot hanging on each end of his yoke, which he carried around across his shoulder. One of the pot was cracked, but the other pot was not. While the good water pot can bring back home a full pot of water from the far natural water spring, the cracked water pot could only bring back half pot of water. For two years, this happens everyday.

The water man could always been able to bring only one and half pot of water to his master's residence. Of course the good water pot felt proud of his achievement as it was able to fulfill its duty perfectly. But the poor cracked water pot felt very embarassed and sad of its imperfection for it could only store half of the portion it was supposed to.

For after two years being stressed by such failure, the cracked water pot said to the water man, "I am so embarrassed with myself, and i again want to apologize you." "Why?" asked the water man. "Why do you are you embarrassed of yourself?" "For these two years, i could only bring half portion of a full jug as i have a crack on my side that made the water i brought in drip little by little along the way to master's house. For my defect, i had brought you disadvantages", said the water pot.

The water man felt sorry for how the cracked water pot felt, and in his compassion, he told the water pot, "Tomorrow when we return back to our master house, i'd like you to take notice of beautiful flowers along the way." Right, when they climbed up the hill, the cracked water pot looked around and just realized that there are many beautiful flowers along the way, and seeing them did console him a bit. But on the end of the journey, it returned feeling sad again as it had lost half of the water it carried with, and again it apologized to the water man.
The water man said to the water pot, "Did you realize that there were flowers along the way of your side but there was none along the other pot's side? It was because i have always been aware of your flaw and i took use of it. I had planted flower seeds along the way on your side, and everyday when we walked home from the spring, you water them. For these two years i have been able to pick up those beautiful flowers to decorate our master's table. Without you as who you are, our master's house wouldnt be as beautiful as it is now."




Everyone of us is a "cracked pot" in his or her life and no one is perfect.We do have our own weaknesses but we must know how to accept these shortfalls and turn them to our advantage.There is no use comparing with others and feel miserable or inferior; instead we should focus on our own abilities.We can be successful in whatever we do,if we can realise our own potential and have self confidence in our abilities despite working under whatever adverse conditions.

" GROWTH BEGINS WHEN WE BEGIN TO ACCEPT OUR OWN WEAKNESS".....JEAN VANIER