A Gift Of Existence

There lived a Sadhu who regularly used to give discourses. One day at the end of the discourse he was talking of being grateful to existence. "Operate from a space of gratitude. This will allow us to expand.'' A beggar was sitting in a corner and listening to the discourse; he came up to the Sadhu and said, "Maharaj, your talk was great. But one thing I am not able to understand. You said to be grateful to the existence because it has always showered benediction on you. Sorry! But, existence has not given me anything. I am struggling even for one roti''.
The Sadhu said, "I agree with you, I will give you two lakhs, right here, will you be grateful?' The beggar was thrilled.
"But I want something in return from you'', said the Sadhu. “I do not have anything, what can I give you? If I have something I will definitely give you.'' said the beggar.
"I won't ask you anything that you do not have'', said the Sadhu. The agreement was made. The Sadhu said, "I will make arrangements for the two lakhs; but then in return you have to give me both your eyes."
The beggar was astonished. "What will I do with this money without my eyes? I don't agree to the deal,'' he said. "I prefer my two eyes instead of two lakhs''.
The Sadhu said, "but you said you don't have anything and were cursing existence."
For the beggar, money was very important. That we can see is such a great gift of existence. He had two eyes, two hands, two legs, stomach etc., He is already a multi-millionaire. But we do not see all these gifts .We can hear. We can walk. All are great gifts. If you say you are unhappy, it is ridiculous. In fact we should dance and celebrate Our Existence.
We are normally focused on what is missing in life. The moment you start operating from what you don't have, whatever you have also go into darkness.

Acceptance of Life

It was a busy morning, about 8:30 am, when an elderly gentleman in his 80’s, arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. The doctor took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would be able to see him. The doctor saw him looking at his watch and decided, since he was not busy with another patient, he would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so the doctor talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.
While taking care of his wound, the doctor asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife.
Doctor inquired as to her health. He told that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer’s disease. As they talked, doctor asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late.
He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.
Doctor was surprised, and asked him, “And you still go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?”
He smiled as he patted his hand and said,
“She doesn’t know me, but “I still know who she is.”
The doctor had to hold back his tears as he left, and thought,
“That is the kind of love I want in my life.”
True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

Silence of the Mind!!

There once was a farmer who discovered that he had lost his watch in the barn. It was no ordinary watch because it had sentimental value for him. After searching high and low among the hay for a long while; he gave up and enlisted the help of a group of children playing outside the barn. He promised them that the person who found it would be rewarded.
Hearing this, the children hurried inside the barn, went through and around the entire stack of hay but still could not find the watch.
Just when the farmer was about to give up looking for his watch, a little boy went up to him and asked to be given another chance. The farmer looked at him and thought, "Why not? After all, this kid looks sincere enough. So the farmer sent the little boy back in the barn.
After a while the little boy came out with the watch in his hand! The farmer was both happy and surprised and so he asked the boy how he succeeded where the rest had failed.
The boy replied, "I did nothing but sit on the ground and listen. In the silence, I heard the ticking of the watch and just looked for it in that direction.
MORAL:
A peaceful mind can think well than a worked up mind. Allow a few minutes of silence to your mind every day, and see, how sharply it helps you to set your life the way you expect it to be...!

Motivational Story

A father was reading a magazine and his little daughter every now and then distracted him.
Trying to keep her busy, he tore out one page on which was printed the map of the world. He then tore the page into pieces and asked her to go to her room and put them together to make the map again.
He was sure she would take the whole day to get it done. But the little one came back within minutes with the perfect map…
When he asked how she could do it so quickly, she said, “Oh… Dad, there is a man’s face on the other side of the paper… I made the face perfect to get the map right.” She ran outside to play leaving the father surprised.
Reflection:
There is always the other side to whatever you experience in this world. This story indirectly teaches a lesson. i.e. whenever we come across a challenge or a puzzling situation, look at the other side… You will be surprised to see an easy way to tackle the problem.

Friend in deed

Horror gripped the heart of the World War I soldier as he saw his lifelong friend fall in battle. Caught in a trench with continuous gunfire whizzing over his head, the soldier asked his lieutenant if he might go out into the “no man’s land” between the trenches to bring his fallen comrade back.
“You can go,” said the lieutenant, “but i don’t think it will be worth it. Your friend is probably dead and you may throw your life away.” The lieutenant’s advice didn’t matter, and the soldier went anyway. Miraculously he managed to reach his friend, hoist him onto his shoulder and bring him back to their company’s trench. As the two of them tumbled in together to the bottom of the trench, the officer checked the wounded soldier, and then looked kindly at his friend.
“I told you it wouldn’t be worth it,” he said. “Your friend is dead and you are mortally wounded.”
“It was worth it, though, sir,” said the soldier.
“What do you mean; worth it?” responded the Lieutenant. “Your friend is dead.”
“Yes, Sir” the private answered. “But it was worth it because when I got to him, he was still alive and I had the satisfaction of hearing him saying, “Jim… I knew you’d come.”
Many times in life, whether a thing is worth doing or not, really depends on how you look at it. Take up all your courage and do something your heart tells you to do so that you may not regret not doing it later in your life.

The story of the pencil

A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point he asked:
‘Are you writing a story about what we’ve done? Is it a story about me?’ His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson: I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I’m using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.’
Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn’t seem very special. ‘But it’s just like any other pencil I’ve ever seen!’
‘That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.’ ‘First quality: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone's hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.’ ‘Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpner. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, it’s much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.
‘Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.’
‘Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.’
‘Finally, the pencil’s fifth quality: it always leaves a mark when you write something on the paper. in just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action’

The man who sold very good hot dogs

There was once a man who lived by the side of the road and sold hot dogs. He was hard of hearing so he had no radio - he had trouble with his eyes, so he read no newspapers and of course he didn't look at television. But he sold very good hot dogs. He put up signs on the highway telling everyone how good they were, he stood on the side of the road and cried out to all that past 'buy a hot dog, they are the best in town'.

 And people bought his hot dogs and he increased his meat and bun orders. He bought a bigger stove to take care of all the extra business. He finally got his son to come and help him out with his business.

But then something happen, his son who had been well educated said . . . ' Father, haven't you been listening to the radio or reading the newspapers or watching television? There's a big recession happening right now. The current business situation is terrible in this country - we have problems with unemployment, high living costs, strikes, pollution, the influence of minorities and majorities, the rich, the poor, drugs, alcohol, capitalism and communism '.
Where upon his father thought, ' well my son's been well educated, he reads the papers, listens to the radio and watches television, so he ought to know '.
So his father cut down on his meat and bun orders, took down all his advertising signs and no longer bothered to stand by the side of the road to promote and sell his hot dogs, . . . .
and his hot dog sales fell almost overnight.
 'You're right, son' the father said 'we certainly are in the middle of a recession'

Thank God

One day a construction supervisor from 6th floor of building was calling a worker working on the ground floor.
Because of construction notice, the worker on ground floor did not hear his supervisor calling. Then, to draw the attention of worker, the supervisor threw a 10 rupee note from up which fell right around in front of the worker.
The worker picked up the 10 rupee note, put it in his pocket & continued with his work.
Again to draw the attention of worker, the supervisor now threw 500 rupee note & the worker did the same, picked 500 rupee note, put it in his pocket & started doing his job.
Now to draw attention of the worker, the supervisor picked a small stone & threw on worker. The stone hit exactly the worker head. This time the worker looked up & the supervisor communicated with the worker. This story is same as of our life.
Lord from up wants to communicate with us, but we are busy doing our worldly jobs. Then God gives us small gifts & we just keep it without seeing from where we got it. Then God gives us amounts (gifts) & we are the same. Just keep the gifts without seeing from where it came & without thanking God. We just say we are LUCKY. Then when we are hit with a small stone, which we call problems, then we look up & we communicate with God. So every time we get gifts, we should thank God immediately, and not wait till we are hit by a small stone, and then communicate with God.

The Path of Love

One day Buddha was walking through a village. A very angry and rude young man came up and began insulting him. "You have no right teaching others," he shouted. "You are as stupid as everyone else. You are nothing but a fake."
Buddha was not upset by these insults. Instead he asked the young man "Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belongs?"
The man was surprised to be asked such a strange question and answered, "It would belong to me, because I bought the gift."
The Buddha smiled and said, "That is correct. And it is exactly the same with your anger.
If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you.
You are then the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself."
"If you want to stop hurting yourself, you must get rid of your anger and become loving instead. When you hate others, you yourself become unhappy. But when you love others, everyone is happy."
The young man listened closely to these wise words of the Buddha. "You are right, o Enlightened One, "he said. "Please teach me the path of love. I wish to become your follower."
The Buddha answered kindly, "Of course. I teach anyone who truly wants to learn. Come with me."

LOGIC of LIFE!

A man with four wives, Died giving Logic of Life...

He loved his fourth wife the most and took a great care of her and gave her the best. He also loved his third wife and always wanted to show her off to his friends. However, he always had a fear that she might run away with some other man.

He loved his second wife too. Whenever he faced some problems, he always turned to his second wife and she would always help him out.

He did not love his first wife though she loved him deeply, was very loyal to him and took great care of him. One day the man fell very ill and knew that he is going to die soon. He told himself, "I have four wives with me. I will take one of them along with me when I die to keep company in my death."

Thus, he asked the fourth wife to die along with him and keep company. "No way!" she replied and walked away without another word. He asked his third wife. She said "Life is so good over here. I'm going to remarry when you die". He then asked his second wife. She said "I'm Sorry. I can't help you this time around. At the most I can only accompany you till your grave." By now his heart sank and turned cold.

Then a voice called out: "I'll leave with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go." the man looked up and there was his first wife. She was so skinny, almost like she suffered from malnutrition. Greatly grieved, the man said, "I should have taken much better care of you while I could have!"

Actually, we all have four wives in our lives.

a. The fourth wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it'll leave us when we die.

b. The third wife is our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, they go to others.

c. the second wife is our family and friends. No matter how close they had been there for us when we're alive, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave.

d. the first wife is our soul, neglected in our pursuit of material wealth and pleasure. It is actually the only thing that follows us wherever we go.

TWO SEEDS

Two seeds lay side by side in the fertile soil. The first seed said, "I want to grow! I want to send my roots deep into the soil beneath me, and thrust my sprouts through the earth's crust above me ... I want to unfurl my tender buds like banners to announce the arrival of spring ... I want to feel the warmth of the sun on my face and the blessing of the morning dew on my petals!" And so she grew...

The second seed said, "Hmmmm. If I send my roots into the ground below, I don't know what I will encounter in the dark. If I push my way through the hard soil above me I may damage my delicate sprouts ... what if I let my buds open and a snail tries to eat them? And if I were to open my blossoms, a small child may pull me from the ground. No, it is much better for me to wait until it is safe." And so she waited... 

A yard hen scratching around in the early spring ground for food found the waiting seed and promptly ate it.

Never look for comfort, never wait for something to happen, instead be brave and face every obstacle that comes in your path and one day you will become successful.

Price of Love

A little boy came up to his mother in the kitchen one evening while she was fixing supper, and handed her a piece of paper that he had been writing on. After his Mom dried her hands on an apron, she read it, and this is what it said:

For cutting the grass: $5.00 For cleaning up my room this week: $1.00 For going to the store for you: $.50 Baby-sitting my kid brother while you went shopping: $.25 Taking out the garbage: $1.00 For getting a good report card: $5.00 For cleaning up and raking the yard: $2.00 Total owed: $14.75 Well, his mother looked at him standing there, and the boy could see the memories flashing through her mind.

She picked up the pen, turned over the paper he'd written on, and this is what she wrote: For the nine months I carried you while you were growing inside me: No Charge For all the nights that I've sat up with you doctored and prayed for you: No Charge For all the trying times, and all the tears that you've caused through the years: No Charge For all the nights that were filled with dread, and for the worries I knew were ahead: No Charge For the toys, food, clothes, and even wiping your nose: No Charge Son, when you add it up, the cost of my love is: No Charge. When the boy finished reading what his mother had written, there were big tears in his eyes, and he looked straight at his mother and said, Mom, I sure do love you. And then he took the pen and in great big letters he wrote: PAID IN FULL.

Lesson from the Above Inspiring Story: 1) You will never know how much your parents worth till you become a Parent. 2) Be a giver not an asker, especially with your parents. There is a lot to give, besides money.

The Window

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Moral of the story:

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

Story of Hell or Heaven after death

There was a man who had a strong belief as there should be something after everyone’s death either Hell or Heaven, so he was good to himself and to his surroundings. When time came for him to say Goodbye to the world he was brought before the GOD. He was very curious to know where he will be send. He asked GOD “Is there really a Hell & Heaven, if so where I will be send?” .On hearing it GOD gave a big smile and he gave him a Choice to choose, he showed two houses one on his right hand side & another on his left hand side and asked him to choose. On over curiosity he said he needs to look on both the houses & then only he will decide. He assumes those two houses as one to be hell & another to be heaven in his mind.

First he went to Hell house, it was really amazing neatly furnished, with lots and lots of different variety of food items & many people were around it. The thing he noted is all the food items are kept in separate gatherings in separate tables with one person on each table. But NO ONE IS EATING, no one is happy, no one is healthy everybody was weak in that house.

Secondly he went to heaven house, it was too really amazing neatly furnished with lots of food items & many people were around it. Here all the food items are placed in a common table and all the people are together eating, singing & enjoying. Everybody looked healthy & happy in that house.

This Guy came to the GOD as he was little confused since everything was same between the two houses but in one house people was weak , sad , no one was eating or chatting but in another people where happier , healthier , eating , chatting & enjoying together .He asked the reason to GOD. For that GOD replied.

Son, you have not clearly noticed them. All those people in both the houses were tied with a 4 feet spoon & fork to their hands. In One House, people are so selfish that they want to have those food themselves so they separated, discriminated & named even the tables as their property. They tried to intake those food themselves since they can’t they are not able to eat and they were weak.

But in the another house people loved each other , so they were together .They helped the person next to him to feed hence they were eating and they were healthy, happy & enjoying .

GOD said him that HELL & HEAVEN is not something which is away from Earth .Its only up to us how we behave with our surroundings either to make your place as HELL or HEAVEN .

Strength of Group Work

Once a US president went out to see the situation of the city. Somewhere a group of soldiers was trying to lift a large branch of a tree from their way.

The Corporal was standing by their side instructing them to work harder, but they were unable to move it.

A stranger was riding on his horse and he observed what was going on. He said to the Corporal – “if you help them they will be able to move it. Why don’t you help them? ”

The Corporal replied – “That is not my job, I am the Corporal. It is their work, they should do it.”

The stranger did not hesitate a moment, immediately he dismounted from his horse, and helped the group of the soldiers to move that log.

This additional strength helped them to move the log. After moving it, the stranger mounted his horse and said to the Corporal – “Next time you need to move some heavy thing and you need a help, call for the Commander-in Chief” and went away his way.

It was then that the men realized that the stranger was none other than George Washington – the first President of the United States, the Commander-in-Chief of the army.

“Only by binding together as a single force will we remain strong and unconquerable.”

Goals provide that Challenge

If there is power in your tomorrow there will be strength in your today. That powerful tomorrow is created by the power of the goals you set today.

The story goes … When it was still a common sight to see people travel in chariots pulled by horses, out there in a city, Joe was working in his fields. One day, as he was digging his soil out came oil. The poor, good-hearted farmer became a millionaire overnight. With prosperity flowing in, obviously, his lifestyle changed. He started wearing the best of clothing, he bought himself a villa, many people came to work for him and he also got himself a Rolls-Royce car. Externally though his lifestyle had completely changed, internally he still remained the good-hearted human being he always was. So, as he would travel in his Rolls-Royce through the town, he would wish whoever passed by his car. He will turn to his left and say, “Hi John! What’s up? And then to his right and enquire, “Hello Mary! How is your health?” And sometimes even completely turn around and continue his conversation, “Happy Morning Peter! It is long time since you came home. How about dinner this Saturday?” and while all these conservations were on, the car was still moving. Ironically, the car never met an accident. Wondering how? Oh, there were two horses that were pulling the car in front. Though Joe had become very rich and also bought himself the best automobile, he hadn’t learnt how to start the car. He didn’t know how to drive the powerful automobile. So, he continued to rely on the two horses that used to pull his chariot. Internally there were hundreds of horsepower sleeping inside the bonnet of that car-raring to go-wanting to be ignited, but Joe was still relying on the two external horsepower.

And this is not the story of just one Joe, but also the story of so many of us. Thousands of horsepower is sleeping inside each one of us-raring to go-wanting to be ignited… endowed with the seeds of greatness and engineered for very very big things in life. And, it is the power of our goals that will awaken the sleeping potential within each one of us and give it a direction. Goals are the accelerations of growth.

We have to realize.. What we get by achieving our goal is insignificant compared to what we will become in achieving our goal. When you go about achieving a goal, it is true that it gives you many things materialistically from assets to money to reputation to identity, but the person you get molded into the process of achieving the goal is most significant. We do not know what ‘we can’ until we are challenged.

Goals provide that challenge. The magnificence of goals is that it brings a lot of wonderful people and process together.

Facing adversity positively

There was man who used to live with his family and a dog. The dog had been with the family for quite a long time and had grown old. With age the family had slowly began to realize that the dog was becoming useless and they now required a new dog who could serve them better.

One day the man took his dog for a walk, the street was deserted and it was getting dark. Suddenly the dog fell into an old well and started howling for help. The man looked around him and found no help. Soon enough the man realized that the dog was not worth the trouble of saving. So instead of saving the he decided to bury the dog in the well and put him out of his misery.

The man found a shovel nearby, he used it to dig dirt and throw them into the well. Initially the dog started panicking and howling even more, but sooner he realized that it was of no use. Once the dog regained its calmness a thought suddenly struck him. If only he could use the situation to his advantage he would get out of the well safe. He realized that he has to just shake of the mud over him and step on the accumulated dirt to rise up slowly.

For the whole night the man shoved mud into the well and the dog just shook them and stood on a pile of dirt. Finally at dawn break when the whole of well was covered in mud, the old dog found himself out of the well safe. Seeing his brilliance the man burst into tears and hugged the old friend.

This is life and how we face our problem and deal with it positively. No matter how much worse the situation is, being calm and having a positive attitude will ensure that we emerge victorious.

Fruit of your Deeds

A young boy, travelled far from his home to study under a great teacher. When he met the wise old man, his first question was ‘How long will it take me before I am as wise as you?’

The response came swiftly, ‘Five years’.

‘This is a very long time’ the boy replied. ‘How about if I work twice as hard’?

‘Then it will take ten’, said the master

That’s far too long. How about if I studied all day and well into the night, every night’?

‘Fifteen years’ said the sage.

“I don’t understand” replied the boy. ‘Every time I promise to devote more energy to my goal, you tell me that it will take longer, why?’

‘The answer is simple. With one eye fixed on the destination, there is only one left to guide you along the journey’

‘Be patient and live with the knowledge that all you are searching for is certain to come if you prepare for it and expect it’

God resides in the heart of those who work without any expectation. He will only give you the fruit of your deeds.

The Cost of a Miracle

A little girl, Tess went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet.

She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes.

Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door. She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment. Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter. That did it!

'And what do you want?' the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages,' he said without waiting for a reply to his question.

'Well, I want to talk to you about my brother,' Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. 'He's really; really sick....and I want to buy a miracle.

''I beg your pardon?' said the pharmacist.

'His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?'

'We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry but I can't help you,' the pharmacist said, softening a little. 'Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs.' The pharmacist's brother was a well-dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, 'What kind of a miracle does your brother need?'

'I don't know, 'Tess replied with her eyes welling up I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money.’

'How much do you have?' asked the man from Chicago.

'One dollar and eleven cents,’ Tess answered barely audible.

'And it's all the money I have, but I can get some more if I need to.'

'Well, what a coincidence,' smiled the man. 'A dollar and eleven cents-the exact price of a miracle for little brothers.'

He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said 'Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the miracle you need.'

That well-dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well.

Mom and Dad were happily talking about the chain of events that had led them to this place.

'That surgery,' her Mom whispered. 'Was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost.'

Tess smiled. She knew exactly how much a miracle cost.....one dollar and eleven cents...plus the faith of a little child.

Be Deaf

Once upon a time there was a bunch of tiny frogs.... who arrranged a running competition.

The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower.

A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants....

The race began....

Honestly: No one in crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower.

You heard statements such as:

"Oh, WAY too difficult!!"

 "They will NEVER make it to the top."

"Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!"

The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one....

Except for those, who in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher....

The crowd continued to yell, "It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!"

More tiny frogs got tired and gave up....

But ONE continued higher and higher and higher....

This one wouldn't give up!

At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top!

THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it?

A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal?

It turned out....

That the winner was DEAF !!!!

The wisdom of this story is: Never listen to other people's tendencies to be negative or pessimistic.... because they take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you -- the ones you have in your heart!

Always think of the power words have.

Because everything you hear and read will affect your actions!

Therefore: ALWAYS be.... POSITIVE!

And above all: 

Be DEAF when people tell YOU that you cannot fulfill your dream!!!!!!

Mr.Wise

There lived two trees – Palm and Oak. It was a bright sunny day and the two friends started the day off by talking about their old memories.

Oak: In these 100 years of your life, what is the first thing that comes to your mind going down your memory lane?

Palm: Hmm... I can never forget Mr. Wise as I call him and the great lesson learnt from his life.

Oak: That is interesting. What is it?

Palm: Mr. Wise as I call him is a bee who used to collect honey from the flowers and save it in a comb built on one of my branches. As soon as the comb is full of honey, there will be a farmer who will be waiting for the bee to leave for the day‟s work and soon the honey comb will be vanished. This had become the habit of the farmer over a period of time wherein he will take away all the honey collected by the bee and he (the bee) will again start collecting the honey.

I was astonished at the way the bee reacted and asked him – “Aren‟t you tired and irritated of collecting honey with all your effort, and the benefits been taken away easily by the farmer always?” The bee smiled at me and replied – “The man can only steal honey but he can never take away the knowledge I have gained through collecting the best honey and the skill behind building a comb to preserve the honey, that‟s why he is after my comb however high my nest is.”

Oak: No wonder why you call him „Mr. Wise‟ now. What name can be more apt than „wise‟ for his sagacious act.

Moral: Sometimes, the benefits of your hard work may not be reaped, but the experience you possess can never be stolen by anyone. Never give up, keep going ahead!!

Value of Knowledge

A giant ship engine failed. The ship’s owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure out how to fix the engine. Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.

Two of the ship’s owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do.

After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed!

A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars. “What?!” the owners exclaimed. “He hardly did anything!” So they wrote to the old man saying, “Please send us an itemized bill.”

The man sent a bill that read:

Tapping with a hammer…… …… ……… $ 2.00

Knowing where to tap……… …… ……… $ 9,998.00

Moral :- Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort makes all the difference!

Learn And Earn

Chuan and Jing joined a wholesale company together just after graduation. Both worked very hard. After several years, the boss promoted Jing to sales executive but Chuan remained a sales rep. One day Chuan could not take it anymore, tender resignation to the boss and complained the boss did not value hard working staff, but only promoted those who flattered him. The boss knew that Chuan worked very hard for the years, but in order to help Chuan realise the difference between him and Jing, the boss asked Chuan to do the following. Go and find out anyone selling water melon in the market? Chuan returned and said yes. The boss asked how much per kg? Chuan went back to the market to ask and returned to inform boss the $12 per kg.

Boss told Chuan, I will ask Jing the same question? Jing went, returned and said, boss, only one person selling water melon. $12 per kg, $100 for 10 kg, he has inventory of 340 melons. On the table 58 melons, every melon weighs about 15 kg, bought from the South two days ago, they are fresh and red, good quality. Chuan was very impressed and realised the difference between himself and Jing. He decided not to resign but to learn from Jing.

Moral: My dear friends, a more successful person is more observant, think more and understand in depth. For the same matter, a more successful person sees several years ahead, while you see only tomorrow. The difference between a year and a day is 365 times, how could you win? Think! how far have you seen ahead in your life? How thoughtful in depth are you?

Be +Ve

One teacher had two disciples. One of them had an auspicious positive vision and he always sought out good points from anything he observed while the other one had an inauspicious vision and always found out some negative or faults from his observations.

One day, the teacher went out to a park with both the disciples and while wandering in the garden, they came across a mango tree from which some ripe and juicy mangoes were hanging. On seeing this, the teacher thought to test both of his students. Therefore, he called them beside him and asked them to observe the tree full of mangoes very carefully. Then, he asked the first one, "My dear child, what do you think of this mango tree?"

The disciple answered instantly, "Teacher, in spite of people hitting this tree with stones, it gives us sweet and juicy mangoes. It feels hurt but still it gives us fruits. I wish all human beings learn this important message from the mango tree - to share their belongings even if they have to suffer for this."

After that, the teacher asked the same question to the other disciple, "My dear child, what do you think of this mango tree?" The student aggressively answered, "Teacher, this mango tree is no good and will not give mangoes by itself but only when we hit it with stones and sticks. Therefore, we should hit it hard to get sweet mangoes from it. That is the only way to get these mangoes. It is also clear from this tree that in order to get good fruits from others, we need to be violent and only when we become violent, then and only then will we get happiness."

Teacher was delighted with the answer given by the first student because he had an admirable vision and appreciated the tree with positive vision while on the other hand the second student's answer dissatisfied him because he saw the tree with negative vision and insisted on learning the wrong way of getting fruits in life. He showered his blessings on the first disciple whole-heartedly.

Even though the situation is same, it still depends on how we interpret it, which shows our mental status and the way we think of others.

DEVELOP A POSITIVE VISION AND ALWAYS FIND OUT SOMETHING GOOD FROM EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE.

Moral: Positivity is the biggest strength in life. Success follows who are positive in all situations. Many great celebrities had one or more weaknesses but they were always positive for self, others and situations and hence became successful by overcoming all sorts of obstacles. A little poison of negativity about others in our mind can destroy our relationships with them. Everybody has definitely something that can be appreciated, we only need to apply positive vision and appreciate others.

The Story of the Golden Buddha

In the early 19th century, the King of Thailand decreed that all the images of Buddha residing in abandoned, ruined temples be gathered and brought to his new capitol in Bangkok. From all over the countryside all manner of statues were rescued, including one giant painted statue made of mud. The statue had lain forgotten and neglected in a ruined temple of a kingdom that had been destroyed some fifty years ago. The twelve foot tall statue, although beautiful, was generally considered valueless and it was moved to a minor temple in Bangkok where it sat for over a hundred years.

Plans to expand the temple were made in the 1950’s. In order to construct the new addition, the statue needed to be moved. As the heavy statue was lifted from its resting place it began to rain heavily. Worried about the rain damaging the statue, the crew began to rush. The situation grew worse when a rope broke. The Buddha fell into the mud. The construction crew decided to wait until the next day to try moving the heavy statue again and covered the plaster statue with a tarp.

A monk volunteered to keep watch over the fallen Buddha to ensure that the tarp did not blow away in the rain and wind. But the monk was so tired he slept through the rain, dreaming as he lay at the base of the Buddha. He dreamed that the Buddha was divine, that it was very precious. The dream was so vivid and profound that he awoke with a start. The monk was panicked to discover that while he lay dreaming, the tarp had blown off exposing the statue to the driving rain. The monk became distraught, realizing that he had fallen asleep on his watch and therefore was responsible for the ruin of the divine statue.

As he stood helplessly watching the rain wash away the paint, a stroke of lighting lit up the night sky. In that moment the monk saw a brilliant yellow glint shine from beneath the mud. Peering closer he saw that when the Buddha had fallen, the plaster had cracked. The rain had been washing over the split, widening the crack along the surface. The monk began to push away the mud, revealing a miraculous sight. Under the painted mud was the gleam of gold! He ran to wake the other monks and soon they set to clearing the mud from the statue. Under the plaster they found a massive solid gold statue of Buddha!

It seems that when the fallen Kingdom was facing destruction they had saved their most precious icon by covering it up with mud. As years passed, the memory of the golden Buddha had faded. Over the years more mud was added, more paint applied until to all it seemed a crude and worthless object. Today, the Golden Buddha sits in the temple of Wat Traimit in Bangkok, Thailand. It is the largest solid gold statue in the world! What sometimes appears without value on the surface can be solid gold underneath.

How does the Golden Buddha apply to our lives? There is a Golden Buddha inside each of us. Hidden away and covered with layers and layers of clay. We start out life as a true Golden Buddha. Then life pulls us away from our true self. In an effort to fit in we start hiding our authentic self for fear of not being enough, for shame of how we might be perceived or for a misplaced desire to please.

Revel in your untapped potential! Resolve to present your true self to the world! Be bold and Present your glorious golden face to the world! We will all reap the rewards…