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!”