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.