The Brick

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and drove the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car, shouting, "What was that all about and who are you?
Just what the heck are you doing?
That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money.
Why did you do it?"
The young boy was apologetic. "Please mister ... please, I'm sorry... I didn't know what else to do," he pleaded.
"I threw the brick because no one else would stop..."
With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car.
"It's my brother," he said.
"He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up.
"Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."
Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat.
He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay. "Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger.
Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the little boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar.
The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door.
He kept the dent there to remind him of this message: Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention! God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts.
Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It's our choice: Listen to the whisper ... or wait for the brick!

The Peaceful Picture

Once upon a time, a king offered a wonderful prize to the artist who could paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried and the king received thousands of paintings. He studied each one very carefully and finally decided upon two that he really liked. He now had to choose between the two.
The first was a painting of a beautiful, calm lake, with crystal-clear water, surrounded by green, leafy forests and majestic mountains towering in the background. Overhead, the sky was a brilliant blue with scattered, fluffy, white clouds. All the king’s advisers agreed that this painting clearly showed a place of perfect peace.
The other painting had mountains too, but these were rugged and bare. Above them, was an angry sky from which heavy rain fell and lightning danced. A foaming waterfall tumbled down one side of the mountain. At first glance, the painting did not seem peaceful at all.
However, when the king looked more closely, he noticed a tiny bush growing behind the waterfall. There, in the small bush, a mother bird had built her nest. In the midst of the rush of angry water, in the wind and the noise and the cold and the damp, the mother bird sat perfectly still on her nest – in perfect peace.
The king chose this painting as the one showing peace. When asked why, he replied: “Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, discomfort, trouble or hard work. Peace means to be in the middle of all of these things and yet, to find calm and quiet and gentleness in your heart and to carry on with your life – this is the real meaning of peace.”
Moral: We can find peace inside us even when everything around us seems to be chaotic.

The Intelligent Bird

Chang was a very rich man in Thailand, yet he wanted to become richer and earn more money. One day he was walking in his garden. He saw a strange bird in a bush. It was very small. But it had very beautiful and colorful features. The Birds voice was also very sweet. Chang had never seen such a bird in his life. He slowly went near the bush unseen and caught the bird. The bird started to speak with Chang:
Why have you caught me? the bird asked. I want to make money. I can sell you for a big amount, replied Chang.
You are already rich. Why do you want more? asked the bird. Because I want to become richer and richer, replied Chang.
But do not dream of making money through me! said the bird. It further added, “You cannot sell me. Nobody will buy me, because, in imprisonment, I lose my beauty and my sweet voice.” Then it slowly turned into a black bird. The beautiful features were now looking like the feathers of a crow.
Chang’s wish of making money was shattered. He said angrily, “I will kill you, and I will eat your meat.” Eat me! I am so small. You will not get any meat out of me,” replied the bird.
Chang could not answer. The bird then suggested, “Well set me free. In return I shall teach you three simple but useful rules.” What is the use of these rules? I want only money,” said Chang. He was irritated. “But these rules can profit you greatly,” said the bird. Profit me! Really? Then I shall set you free. But how can I trust you? You may fly away,” said Chang.
“I give you my word. And I always keep my word,” said the bird.
Chang wanted to take a chance. He released the bird. It flew up at once. Then it sat on the branch of a tree. Its color started changing. It became beautiful again. Chang asked, “Now teach me the rules.”
“Certainly,” said the bird.
Then the Bird continued, the first rule is “Never Believe everything others say”; the second rule is “Never be sad about something you do not have”; the third rule is “Never throw away what you have in your hand.”
You silly bird, shouted Chang, these three rules are known to everyone. You have cheated me.
But the bird said, “Chang, just sit down for a while. Think about all your actions of today. You had me in your hands, but you threw me away (released me). You believed all that I said. And you are sad about not having me. The rules are simple. But you never followed them. Now do you see the value of the rules?” saying this bird flew away and disappeared from his sight.
So Always Remember- These three Rules in your Life and they will profit you greatly!!!

Having a Best Friend

Two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.
The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand “Today my best friend slapped me in the face”.
They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone “Today my best friend saved my life”.
The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?” The other friend replied “When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.” Moral: Do not value the things you have in your life. But value who you have in your life.

Learn How To Sharpen Your ‘Axe’

Once upon a time a very strong woodcutter asked for a job to a timber merchant, and he got it. The pay was really good and so were the working conditions. For that reason, the woodcutter was determined to do his best.
His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he was supposed to work. The first day, the woodcutter brought 18 trees "Congratulations," the boss said. "Carry on that way!". Very motivated with the boss's words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he could bring only 15 trees.
The third day he tried even harder, but could bring 10 trees only. Day after day he was bringing less and less trees. "I must be losing my strength", the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on. "When was the last time you sharpened your axe?" the boss asked. "Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut more trees for you.
Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we don't take time to "sharpen the axe". In today's world, it seems that everyone is busier than ever, but less happy than ever. Why is that? Could it be that we have forgotten how to stay sharp? There's nothing wrong with activity and hard work. But it doesn't mean that we get so busy that we neglect the truly important things in life, like taking time to read, to exercise, to care for personal life, to pray etc.
We all need time to relax, to think and meditate, to learn and grow. If we don't take time to "sharpen our axe", then we will all become dull and lose our effectiveness.
So start today, think about the ways by which you could do your job more effectively and add a lot of value to it. And remember anything which is stagnated would get rotten, would smell badly - be it air or water or even a professional.

NEED WASHING??

A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in a Store. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence.. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Store. We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day. The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in 'Mom let's run through the rain,' she said. 'What?' Mom asked. 'Let's run through the rain!' She repeated 'No, honey. We'll wait until it slows down a bit,' Mom replied. This young child waited about another minute and repeated: 'Mom, let's run through the rain,' 'We'll get soaked if we do,' Mom said.. 'No, we won't, Mom.. That's not what you said this morning,' the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom's arm. This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet? 'Don't you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, 'If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!' The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn't hear anything
but the rain.. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child's life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith. 'Honey, you are absolutely right. Let's run through the rain. If GOD lets us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing,' Mom said. Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars. And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing. Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories...So, don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories every day. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven. I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN. They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them. Take the time to live!!! Keep in touch with your friends, you never know when you'll need each other -- and don't forget to run in the rain

THE HAPPY PEASANT

A king once set out in disguise to discover for himself the happiest man in his kingdom. Having met hundreds of people, at long last he came across a poor peasant, singing happily as he tilled the soil. There was such a radiant joy on his face that the king was drawn irresistibly towards him. “Dear friend,” he said to the peasant. “Tell me the secret of your joy.” “It’s very simple, really,” said the peasant. “One-fourth of what I earn, I repay as the debt I owe; one-fourth, I invest in the future; one-fourth, I give away in charity and one-fourth, I spend on my duty.” The king was thoroughly bewildered. He begged the peasant to explain further. “My parents gave me the great gift of life, and I owe them a deep debt of gratitude. I now cherish them and look after them in their old age. One fourth of my income is thus spent in repaying this debt.” “My children represent the future. I spend one-fourth of my income on feeding, clothing and educating them. This is my investment in the future.” “Poor though I am, there are people worse off than me. I help them as much as I can, and one-fourth of my income is spent on charity.” “My wife has placed her trust in me. It is my duty to love and protect her till the end of my life. One-fourth of my income is spent on giving her a good home. “This is the secret of my happiness!” Moral: True happiness comes from discharging your obligations and duties towards God, family and others and not on wealth, name and fame!

Salt, Glass of Water& the lake

Once an unhappy young man came to an old master and told he had a very sad life and asked for a solution
The old Master instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then to drink it
“How does it taste?” – The Master asked.
“Terrible.” – spat the apprentice
The Master chuckled and then asked the young man to take another handful of salt and put it in the lake. The two walked in silence to the nearby lake and when the apprentice swirled his handful of salt into the lake.
The old man said, “Now drink from the lake.”
As the water dripped down the young man’s chin, the Master asked, “How does it taste?”
“Good!” – remarked the apprentice
“Do you taste the salt?” – asked the Master.
“No.” – said the young man.
The Master sat beside this troubled young man, took his hands, and said, “The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains the same, exactly the same. But the amount we taste the „pain‟ depends on the container we put it into. So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things. Stop being a glass. Become a lake.”

The Cookie Thief

A woman was waiting at an airport one night, with several long hours before her flight. She hunted for a book in the airport shops, bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.
She was engrossed in her book but happened to see, that the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be. . .grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between, which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene.
So she munched the cookies and watched the clock, as the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock. She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by, thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I would blacken his eye.”
With each cookie she took, he took one too, when only one was left, she wondered what he would do. With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh, he took the last cookie and broke it in half.
He offered her half, as he ate the other; she snatched it from him and thought… oooh, brother. This guy has some nerve and he’s also rude, why he didn’t even show any gratitude!
She had never known when she had been so galled and sighed with relief when her flight was called. She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate, refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate.
She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat, then she sought her book, which was almost complete. As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise, there was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.
If mine are here, she moaned in despair, the others were his, and he tried to share. Too late to apologize, she realized with grief, that she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.

“The Turtle and The Rabbit”

We all know the good old “The Turtle and The Rabbit” story and its moral “Slow and steady wins the race”. But the story doesn’t end there!
Race 2:
The rabbit was disappointed at losing the race and he did some soul-searching. He realized that he'd lost the race only because he had been overconfident, careless and lax. There was no way the turtle could have beaten him, if he had not taken things for granted.
So he challenged the turtle to another race. The turtle agreed. This time, the rabbit went all out and ran without stopping from start to finish and He won by several miles!
The moral of the story is that… Fast and consistent will always beat the slow and steady!
It's good to be slow and steady; but it's better to be fast and reliable!
Race 3:
The Turtle did some thinking this time, and realized that there's no way he can beat the rabbit in a race the way it was currently formatted. He thought for a while, and then challenged the rabbit to another race, but on a slightly different route. The rabbit agreed.
They started off. In keeping with his self- made commitment to be consistently fast, the rabbit took off and ran at top speed until he came to a broad river. The finishing line was a couple of kilometers on the other side of the river. The rabbit sat there wondering what to do. In the meantime the Turtle trundled along, got into the river, swam to the opposite bank, Continued walking and finished the race!!!
The moral of the story is that… First identify your core competency and then change the playing field to suit your core competency.
But the story still hasn’t ended, it continues.
Race 4:
The Rabbit and the Turtle, by this time, had become pretty good friends and they did some thinking together. Both realized that the last race could have been run much better. So they decided to do the last race again, but to run as a team this time!
They started off, and this time the rabbit carried the turtle till the riverbank. There, the turtle took over and swam across with the rabbit on his back. On the opposite bank, the rabbit again carried the turtle and… They reached the Finishing Line together!!!
The moral of the story is that… It's good to be individually brilliant and to have strong core competencies, but unless you're able to work in a team and harness each other's core competencies, you'll always perform below par because there will always be situations at which you'll do poorly and someone else does well.
Teamwork is mainly about situational leadership, letting the person with the relevant core competency for a situation take leadership!!!
Another important lesson we learn here is that you will perform better when you stop competing with a rival and start competing against the situation you face!

Sally and the Duck

There was a little boy visiting his grandparents on their farm. He was given a slingshot to play with, out in the woods. He practiced in the woods, but he could never hit the target. Getting A little discouraged, he headed back for dinner. As he was walking back he saw Grandma's pet duck. Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly, hit the duck Square in the head, and killed it. He was shocked and grieved.
In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the wood pile, only to see. His sister watching! Sally had seen it all, but she said nothing. After lunch the next day Grandma said, "Sally, let's wash the Dishes." But Sally said, "Grandma, Johnny told me he wanted to help in the kitchen." Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck?" So Johnny did the dishes.
Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go Fishing and Grandma said, "I'm sorry but I need Sally to help make Supper." Sally just smiled and said," Well that's all right because Johnny
told me he wanted to help." She whispered again, "Remember the duck?" So Sally Went fishing and Johnny stayed to help. After several days of Johnny doing both his chores and Sally's, He finally couldn't stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck. Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug, and said, "Sweetheart, I know. You see, I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing, but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Sally make a slave of you.
Whatever is in your past, whatever you have done. And the devil Keeps throwing it up in your face (lying, cheating, debt, fear, bad Habits, hatred, anger, bitterness, etc.) .Whatever it is....You need to know that God was standing at the window and He saw the whole thing. He has seen your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven.
He's just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you. The great thing about God is that when you ask for forgiveness, He Not only forgives you, but He forgets. It is by God's grace and Mercy that we are saved.

The Red Ribbon

Everyone wants a blue ribbon. Blue. First place. The best. Even kindergarteners want that blue ribbon. In sports, I was never a blue-ribbon person. In a race I was always last. In baseball I was as likely to get hit on the head as to drop the ball. In basketball I was fine as long as there weren't nine other players on the court with me. Where I got my horrible sports ability, I don't know, but I got it. And I got it early.
During the spring of my kindergarten year, our class had a field trip to a park in a town about 20 miles away. Making that drive now is no big deal, but when you're six and you've lived in a town of 300 all your life, going to a town of a couple thousand is a very big deal. Nonetheless, looking back now, I don't remember much of that day. I'm sure we ate our little sack lunches, played on the swings, slid down the slide, typical six-year-old stuff. Then it was time for the races. However, these were no ordinary races. Some parent had come up with the idea to have the picnic kind of races, like pass the potato under your neck and hold an egg on a spoon while you run to the other side. I don't remember too much about these, but there was one race that will forever be lodged in my memory, the three-legged race. The parents decided not to use potato sacks for this particular race. Instead, they tied our feet together. One lucky little boy got me for a partner. Now what you have to know about this little boy is that he was the second most athletic boy in our class. I'm sure he knew he was in trouble the second they laced his foot to mine. As for me, I was mortified. This guy was a winner. He almost always won, and I knew that, with me, he didn't have a chance. Apparently he didn't realize that as deeply as I did at the time. He laced his arm with mine, the gun sounded, and we were off to the other side. Couples were falling and stumbling all around us, but we stayed on our feet and made it to the other side. Unbelievably when we turned around and headed back for home, we were in the lead! Only one other couple even had a chance, and they were a good several yards behind us. Then only feet from the finish line, disaster struck. I tripped and fell. We were close enough that my partner could have easily dragged me across the finish line and won. He could have, but he didn't. Instead, he stopped, reached down, and helped me up, just as the other couple crossed the finish line. I still remember that moment, and I still have that little red ribbon.
When we graduated 13 years later, I stood on that stage and gave the Valedictory address to that same group of students, none of whom even remembered that moment anymore. So, I told them about that little boy who had made a split-second decision that helping a friend up was more important than winning a blue ribbon. In my speech I told them that I wouldn't tell which of the guys sitting there on that stage was the little boy although he was up there with me. I wouldn't tell because in truth at one time or another all of them had been that little boy, helping me up when I fell, taking time out from their pursuit of their own goals to help a fellow person in need. I told them why I've kept that ribbon. You see to me, that ribbon is a reminder that you don't have to be a winner in the eyes of the world to be a winner to those closest to you. The world may judge you a failure or a success, but those closest to you will know the truth. That's important to remember as we travel through this life. You may not have a red ribbon to prove it, but I sincerely hope you have at least a few friends who remember you for taking time out from your pursuit of that blue ribbon to help them. I'm thinking those will be the ones that really count. I know it's the one that counted the most to me.

Important things in life-, love, friendship & freedom

There was a boy, whose family was very wealthy. One day his father took him on a trip to the country, where he aimed to show his son, how poor people live. So they arrived to a farm of a very poor family, as he considered. They spend there several days. On their return, the father asked his son, did he like the trip.
„Oh, it was great, dad“– the boy replied. „Did you notice, how poor people live? “. „Yeah, I did“– said the bay. The father asked his son to tell in more details about his impressions from their trip“.
„Well, we have only one dog, and they have four of them. In our garden there is a pool, while they have a river, that has no end. We‘ve got expensive lanterns, but they have stars above their heads at night. We have the patio, and they have the whole horizon. We have only a small piece of land, while they have the endless fields. We buy food, but they grow it. We have high fence for protection of our property, and they don‘t need it, as their friends protect them. “
The father was stunned; he could not say a word.
Then the boy added: „Thank you, dad, for letting me see how poor we are.”
This story shows that the true wealth as well as happiness are not measured by materials things. Love, friendship and freedom are far more valuable.

Peace of Mind

Once Buddha was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples, ‘“I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there.”’
The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that some people were washing clothes in the water and, right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, ‘“How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink!”’. So he came back and told Buddha, “The water in there is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink.”
After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple thought for a second why to go once again to the same muddy lake but the disciple obediently went back. This time he found that the lake had absolutely clear water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.
Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said, “See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be … and the mud settled down on its own – and you got clear water… Your mind is also like that. When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless.”

“Positives in Negatives”

A young woman was sitting at her dining table, worried about taxes to be paid, house-work to be done and to top it all, her family was coming over for Thanks giving the next day. She was not feeling very thankful at that time.
As she turned her gaze sideways, she noticed her young daughter scribbling furiously into her notebook.
My teacher asked us to write a paragraph on “Negative Thanks giving” for homework today, said the daughter.
She asked us to write down things that we are thankful for, things that make us feel not so good in the beginning, but turn out to be good after all.
With curiosity, the mother peeked into the book. This is what her daughter wrote:
1. I’m thankful for Final Exams, because that means school is almost over.
2. I’m thankful for bad-tasting medicine, because it helps me feel better.
3. I’m thankful for waking up to alarm clocks, because it means I’m still alive.
It then dawned on the mother, that she had a lot of things to be thankful for!
She thought again….
She had to pay taxes but that meant she was fortunate to be employed. She had house-work to do but that meant she had her own home to live in. She had to cook for her family for Thanks giving but that meant she had a family with whom she could celebrate.
Moral: We generally complain about the negative things in life but we fail to look at the positive side of it.

The beauty of the plants

A little girl was enjoying the beauty of the garden in her home. Her father had a good collection of rare and exotic plants. He grew them with tender care. The girl was fascinated by a plant full of fine and fragrant flowers. She went near the plant and enjoyed its beauty and the fragrance of its fine flowers. Suddenly she noted that the plant was growing in a heap of filth. She could not tolerate the presence of dirt at the bottom of the plant with such fantastic flowers.
She conceived a plan to clean the plant. She pulled the plant with all her might and uprooted it. She then carried it to the tap and washed the shoot and roots in running tap-water till all traces of dirt were washed away. She then placed the plant on a clean stone and went away, thinking that she had done a great deed indeed. Later her father came to the garden and saw the uprooted plant. Its flowers and leaves had wilted and the plant had almost died in the scorching sun. His little daughter ran to him to exhibit her achievement. 'I have cleaned it, Daddy, she reported innocently. It was placed in dirty soil. Now it is clean. The father showed her how her treatment had almost killed the plant. He told her that he had collected the filthy soil and placed it to cover the plant's roots as it was the best medium to grow that plant. It could grow up healthily and produce fine flowers only if grown in filthy soil. She was sad that the plant had suffered and withered by her cleaning.
Moral: A great gardener mixes the right soil for each of his plant. In the same way God provides each of us with the best environment required for optimum growth though it might appear unpleasant at times.

Why No Experience could be really be a bad experience

A student at IIT Kharagpur received his first interview call, from Siemens. The interview was scheduled for March 30, 1971 in the company’s office in Baroda (now Vadodara). He was naturally thrilled, and booked his travel by the Howrah-Bombay Mail passing through Kharagpur. In Bombay, he had to catch another train to reach Baroda.
He was running high temperature on the day of his departure. His friends suggested him to give up on travel, but he did not want to miss his first job interview.
The train journey over two days and nights aggravated his condition and he was very weak when he reached Baroda in the early hours on the day of the interview. He checked into a lodge near the railway station & attended the interview; but his performance did not satisfy even himself. He could hardly concentrate on the questions or comprehend what the interviewer, Dr. K.G. Desai, Senior Engineer (R&D), was asking.
It was a relief to return to the comfort of the room after the interview. As he was to catch a late-night train, he went to sleep. When he woke up it was 3 a.m., and he realised with a start that he had missed the train. He had in fact missed more than that —wallet, cash and the train tickets for his return journey. Someone had entered the room when he was asleep — maybe he had not secured the door — and decamped with them. It was a frightening experience to get stranded in an unfamiliar city with no money.
The hotel receptionist was not much of help, nor was the police inspector with whom he lodged a complaint about the theft. Meanwhile, he was increasingly feeling weak, sick and unwell. He told himself he had to find a solution.
The help had to come from outside; but contact with the outside was not easy — there was no long-distance dialing facility available in those days.
The solution
Finally he arrived at a possible solution. He decided to approach the only person he knew in Baroda — Dr. Desai, who had interviewed him the previous day — and seek monetary help to buy tickets for his return journey.
To his good fortune, there was a one rupee coin lodged in his trouser pocket, which he used to buy a bus ticket to reach the Siemens office. Dr. Desai was there.
He listened to his account. Immediately he rang up his wife and asked her to bring the family car and took him to their house. In no time he was in the house of the Desais. Soon a doctor arrived to find out what his health problem was. Tests showed he had paratyphoid. He was told to stay in bed for the next 10 days. Medicines were to be taken every six hours.
Dr. and Mrs. Desai took excellent care of him. Sensing his discomfort as a recipient of such magnanimity, they would often remark that he was like a son to them and that they were doing nothing extraordinary.
He became quite fit within 10 days and was ready to get back. Dr. Desai bought him his return train ticket and also gave him a sum of Rs. 250, equal to his monthly scholarship amount, with the strict instruction that the amount need be returned only after he got a job.
They became good friends and were in touch until, years later, Dr. Desai and Mrs. Desai passed away.
Lessons
Though his first interview did not get him a job, it was memorable for two reasons. He learnt the valuable lesson that there was always a solution for any problem; one has to only look for it. Secondly, there is never a bad experience in life — all experiences are good as long as we learn lessons from them.

How High Can You Jump

You train fleas by putting them in a jar with a top on it. Fleas jump, so they will jump up and hit
the top over and over again. As you watch them jump and hit the top, you will notice
something interesting.
The fleas continue to jump, but they are no longer jumping high enough to hit the top.
Then, and it's a matter of record, you can take the top off and though the fleas continue to jump,
they won't jump out of the jar. I repeat, they won't jump out because they can't.
The reason is simple. They have conditioned themselves to jump just so high. Once they have
conditioned themselves to jump just so high, that's all they can do.
Many times, people do the same thing. They restrict themselves and never reach their potential.
Just like the fleas, they fail to jump higher, thinking they are doing all they can do.
Life is not about to limit ourselves. We should try our best continuously to achieve our goals.
“You can't always get what you want,
but if you try sometimes, you will find, you get what you need”

Happiness

This story is about a beautiful, expensively dressed lady who complained to her psychiatrist that
she felt that her whole life was empty, it had no meaning.
So, the lady went to visit a counselor to seek out happiness. The counselor called over the old
lady who cleaned the office floors. The counselor then said to the rich lady "I'm going to ask
Mary here to tell u how she found happiness. All I want u to do is listen to her."
So the old lady put down her broom and sat on a chair and told her story:
"Well, my husband died of malaria and three months later my only son was killed by a car.
I had nobody... I had nothing left. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I never smiled at anyone, I even
thought of taking my own life.
Then one evening a little kitten followed me home from work, somehow I felt sorry for that
kitten. It was cold outside, so I decided to let the kitten in. I got it some milk, and the kitten
licked the plate clean. Then it purred and rubbed against my leg and, for the first time in months,
I smiled.
Then I stopped to think, if helping a little kitten could make me smile, maybe doing something
for people could make me happy.
So the next day I baked some biscuits and took them to a neighbor who was sick in bed.
Every day I tried to do something nice for someone. It made me so happy to see them happy.
Today, I don't know of anybody who sleeps and eats better than I do. I've found happiness, by
giving it to others."
When she heard that the rich lady cried. She had everything that money could buy, but she had
lost the things which money cannot buy.
The beauty of life does not depend on how happy you are; but on how happy others can be
because of you.
Happiness is not a destination, it's a journey.
Happiness is not tomorrow, it is now.
Happiness is not a dependency, it is a decision.
Happiness is what you are, not what you have!

Made to Fly

Once there was a king who received a gift of two magnificent falcons from Arabia. They were
peregrine falcons, the most beautiful birds he had ever seen. He gave the precious birds to his
head falconer to be trained. Months passed and one day the head falconer informed the king
that though one of the falcons was flying majestically, soaring high in the sky, the other bird had
not moved from its branch since the day it had arrived.
The king summoned healers and sorcerers from all the land to tend to the falcon, but no one
could make the bird fly. He presented the task to the member of his court, but the next day, the
king saw through the palace window that the bird had still not moved from its perch. Having
tried everything else, the king thought to himself, "May be I need someone more familiar with the
countryside to understand the nature of this problem." So he cried out to his court, "Go and get
a farmer."
In the morning, the king was thrilled to see the falcon soaring high above the palace gardens.
He said to his court, "Bring me the doer of this miracle." The court quickly located the farmer, who
came and stood before the king. The king asked him, "How did you make the falcon fly?"
With his head bowed, the farmer said to the king, " It was very easy, your highness. I simply cut
the branch where the bird was sitting."
Moral: We are all made to fly- to realize our incredible potential as human beings. But instead of
doing that, we sit on our branches, clinging to the things that are familiar to us. The possibilities
are endless, but for most of us, they remain undiscovered. We conform to the familiar, the
comfortable, and the mundane. So for the most part, our lives are mediocre instead of exciting,
thrilling and fulfilling.
_

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND...

One day a man saw an old lady, stranded on the side of the road, but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her. Even with the smile on his face, she looked worried. No one had stopped to help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry. He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold. He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fears can put in you. He said, 'I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson.' Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt. As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid. Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty, who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way. He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, 'And think of me.' He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight. A few miles down the road the lady saw a small café. She went in to grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. She had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered

how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan. After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill. The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin. There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: 'You don't owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If youreally want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you.' Under the napkin was four more $100.

Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard... She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to her, she whispered soft and low, 'Everything's going to be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson.' There is an old saying. 'What goes around comes around.' God works in mysterious ways and sometimes puts people in our lives for a reason.

The Painting

There was a king who was a great admirer of art. He encouraged artists from all over his country and gave them valuable gifts.
One day an artist came and said to the king, "Oh King! Give me a blank wall in your palace and let me paint a picture on it. It will be more beautiful than anything you have ever seen before. I promise you shall not be disappointed." Now, the king happened to be constructing a big hall at the rear end of the palace. So he said, "All right you may work on one of the walls in the new hall."
So the artist was given the job and he was very pleased indeed. Just then, another young man said, "Oh King! Please allow me to work on the opposite wall. I too am an artist."
The king said, "What would you like to make?"
The man said, "My Lord, I shall make exactly what that man will make on the opposite wall. Moreover, I shall do so, without looking at his work. I would even request you to have a thick curtain put up between the two walls so that either of us cannot see the other." Now, that was a tall statement. Everyone in the king's court, including the king and the first artist were intrigued. But the king loved surprises and he decided to give the young fellow a chance.The following day a thick curtain was put into place and both the artists got to work. The first artist brought in a regular supply of paint, oil, water etc. The second one would come with a cloth and a bucket of water every day.
After a month the first artist told the king that his work was complete and he would like to show it to the king.The king sent for the second artist and asked him, "Young man, when would your work be ready? I am coming to see the first wall this evening."
The man said, "My Lord, my wall is ready too!"
The king went to see the first artist's wall. He was very, very impressed with the painting and gave a hefty sum as a reward to the artist. He then asked for the curtain to be opened up
Lo and behold! The same painting was to be seen on the opposite wall too!
Amazing! But true! Each line, each minor detail was exactly as it was on the first wall. But this man had not been seeing what was going on, on the other side of the curtain. So how had he done it? The king wanted to know the secret.
He gave a double reward to the fellow. Then he said, "Young man, I am indeed very happy with your work. But you must tell me; how did you do it?"
The lad said simply, "It's very easy! I just polished the wall every day!"
It was a wall made of white marble! The fellow polished it till it appeared like a mirror. The reflection of the painting across the room, showed up in it!
Moral: That is what it means to polish you. For when we polish our hearts and souls, we see God's reflection within.
It is said that the world is a reflection of you. Whatever you are, the world will seem to be that too. If you are sad, jealous, dejected, angry, restless ... That is what the world will seem to be!
If you are happy, the world will seem to be paradise.
You decide how you want your world to look...

Love is the greatest gift

A woman came out of her house and saw 3 old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them.
She said, “I don’t think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat.”
“Is the man of the house home?”, they asked. “No”, she said. “He’s out.”
“Then we cannot come in”, they replied. In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened.
“Go tell them I am home and invite them in!” The woman went out and invited the men in. “We do not go into a House together,” they replied.
“Why is that?” she wanted to know. One of the old men explained: “His name is Wealth,” he said pointing to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one, “He is Success, and I am Love.” Then he added, “Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home.”
The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed. “How nice!!”, he said. “Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!”
His wife disagreed. “My dear, why don’t we invite Success?”
Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house. She jumped in with her own suggestion: “Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!”
“Let us heed our daughter-in-law’s advice,” said the husband to his wife. “Go out and invite Love to be our guest.”
The woman went out and asked the 3 old men, “Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest.” Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other 2 also got up and followed him. Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: “I only invited Love, Why are you coming in?”
The old men replied together: “If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would’ve stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him.
“Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!”

Dining in the dark

A man was invited to one Friday evening event by one of MNC Vendor organization who had organized the event to raise funds for the visually handicapped people.
Since it was a Friday evening, he first thought to skip the event considering it could be a bit boring. But being alone and to kill time, he thought to accept the invitation
When he went there, there were approx. 40 people from various industries invited for that event. Initially they were shown a video about the visually handicapped center.
After the video, they all gathered in a hall and were briefed about next event. The theme of the next event was "Dining in the Dark".
What was meant was that all the 40+ people were going to have Dinner in a pitch Dark room!!!!
The next 2 hours was completely planned, organized, directed and executed by three blind youths.
The blind leader first gave them tips for dining (These were ACTUAL STANDARDS THE BLIND PEOPLE FOLLOW IN ORDER TO MAKE THEIR LIFE EASIER)
1. When you sit at your table the things will be placed as follows :at 3 o clock of your dish : You will find a spoon at 9 o clock : Fork;12 o clock : spoon.2 o clock : Empty Glass Dish at the center with Paper napkin tucked at 6 o clock.
2. There will be two large Jugs circulated to you. The Jug with plain walls will have water and the Jug with curved wall will have orange juice.
3. When you get your Jug based on your choice you have to pour it in your glass. You have to dip your forefinger in the glass so that when you fill it and the liquid touches your finger, you have to stop pouring.
The Leader asked whether everyone had understood. All said yes but everyone was confused and trying to remember what he had said and confirming with each other.
All the 40 people were taken in groups in the dark hall.
Each one was directed by blind person till he/she sits on a chair
They were Served full five course dinner by this team of three blind people- Welcome drinks,
appetizers, starters, main course and desserts.
The amazing thing was that the team of three blind people were serving exactly vegetarian dishes to
vegetarian people who were sitting randomly in the room!
While registering on line they were asked question to choose from "Vegetarian" or "Non vegetarian".
The people were so nicely hosted that they did not have to wait in between serves. As they were
ending finishing one dish, they were served with next without any delays.
After approx. 1 and half hours of Dining in the dark, the leader asked whether everyone had finished
eating.
After confirmation she switched on the lights of the dining room.
The people left the Dining room with tears in their eyes.
They realized how lucky they were and how they had been gifted with beautiful eyes to see the
beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Adore whatever you have in life. You may try for whatever you don't have but never feel
sad about it.

CLUB 99

Once upon a time, there lived a king who despite his luxurious lifestyle. Was neither happy nor content. One day, the king came upon a servant who was singing happily while he worked. This fascinated the king: “Why was he , the supreme ruler of the land, unhappy and gloomy, while a lowly servant had so much joy.

The king asked the servant : “Why are you so Happy?”

The man replied, ”Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but my family and I don’t need too much- just a roof over our heads and a warm food to fill our

tummies.”

The king was not satisfied with that reply. Later in the day, he sought the advice of his most trusted adviser, after hearing the kings woes and the servants story, the advisor said, “your majesty, I believe the servant has not been made part of the 99 Club”.

“The 99 Club? And what exactly is that?” the king inquired.

The Advisor replied, “Your Majesty, to truly know what the 99 club is,  place 99 Gold coins in a bag and leave it at the servant’s door step.” The King did as told. When the servant saw the bag, He took it into his house and opened it. He let out a load shout of joy after seeing so many gold coins!!!

He began to count them. After several counts, he was at last convinced that there were 99 coins. He wondered: ”What could’ve  happened to that last gold coin? Surely no one would have 99 coins”

He looked everywhere he could, but that final coin was elusive. Finally, exhausted he decided he was going to have to work harder than ever to earn that gold coin and complete the collection.

From that day the servants life was changed. He was overworked, horrible, grumpy, and castigated his family for not helping him make that 100^th gold coin. He stopped singing while he worked.

Witnessing this drastic transformation, the king was puzzled. When he sought his advisors help, he said,” your Majesty, the servant has now officially joined the 99 Club”.

He continued.” The 99 Club is a name given to those people who have enough to be happy but are never contented, because they are always yearning and striving for that extra 1, saying to themselves,” let me get that one final thing and I will be happy for life.” We can be happy, even with very little in our lives, but the minute we are given something bigger and better, we want even more! We lose our sleep, Our happiness, we hurt the people around us: all these as a price for our growing needs and desires.”

That’s the “Club 99” Are you a member of that club? … Have a simple and contended day

A Dish of Ice-cream

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10 year old boy entered a hotel 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?”
“50 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 a bit impatient.
“35 cents,” she said roughly.
The little boy again counted the coins. “I’ll have the plain ice cream,” he said.
The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and departed.
When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were 15 cents – her tip
Despite his desire to eat an ice cream sundae, he wanted to make allowance for the harsh waitress
Be Kind to everyone you meet. They are all fighting a battle you know nothing about…

GIFT CALLED PRESENT

It will take just 60 seconds to read this and change your thinking..

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..

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 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 details, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine this 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.

Days, weeks and months 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 real world outside. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window besides 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.'

Epilogue:

There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.

'Today is a gift that is why it is called The Present.’