The Hermit Eagle –Ruler of the Skies

When God created birds, it gave them a king. It was called the “Hermit Eagle”.
Befitting for a king, God gave the Hermit Eagle a majestic crown, mighty wings for a high flight and sharp eyesight with capability to spot even an ant from up high in the air.
But the eagle was not satisfied and also wished for a long life, a wish which God granted.
The eagle soared high and ruled the sky for many years. When other birds sought shelter from a storm, the eagle soared above the clouds! It was the undisputed king of the skies. But by the time it was 40 years old, its long and flexible talons had become twisted so it could no longer grab a prey. Its sharp beak got bent over the years. Its feathers got thick so the wings got heavy and made it difficult to fly making it lose many a prey. Having grown weaker, the eagle flew high up in the mountains and built a new nest. There the eagle with only a few moth flies to eat, kept knocking its beak against a rock to sharpen it back but sadly it broke off. Dejected, the eagle kept praying to God to show it the right path. After 7 days and 7 nights, it noticed that a new beak started to grow back. In 2 months the new beak was fully grown. The eagle decided that it had to bear more pain before it could rule the skies again. So it plucked out the old and twisted talons. When its talons grew back, the eagle plucked out the thick feathers one by one - bearing the dreadful pain! And after this life of a hermit for 5 months, the eagle took the flight of rebirth and ruled the skies for 40 more years, after which it had to return to its nest and the cycle continues to this day. It is said, that the Hermit Eagle is spotted high up in the mountains of South America surveying the jungles, young and alert as ever.
Like the hermit eagle made a lifesaving and life changing decision so can we when the time demands. But before setting of on this new journey, we need to let go of our negative beliefs. We need to open up our minds and fly high like the eagle!
Like the hermit eagle we too can reinvigorate our thirst for knowledge; and reinvest time in mastering new technologies, techniques and tools. Thus we too can be prepared for the next big recession that economists keep warning us about. Although painful, this is the true way to growth. Moral: Having success now is no guarantee of eternal success. Change is inevitable after our skills are no longer as relevant as earlier or our knowledge is not as sharp. In order to survive and prosper we too have to undergo the process of change. Although painful, we also need to get rid of the unpleasant old memories, negative habits and our fixed mind set to do that.
Once we are freed from the past burdens, only then can we take advantage of the present with the right skills and more importantly the right attitude.

The Story of Clay Balls

A man was exploring caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man so he took the bag out of the cave with him.
As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could. He thought little about it until he dropped one of the balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone.
Excited the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure.
He found thousands of dollars’ worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left. Then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he just threw it away.
It's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling so we discount it. We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy. But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person by God.
There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.
May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay.
May we see the people in our world as God sees them.

14 Short Stories worth reading

1. Fall and Rise

Today, when I slipped on the wet tile floor a boy in a wheelchair caught me before I slammed my head on the ground.  He said, “Believe it or not, that’s almost exactly how I injured my back 3 years ago .

2. A father's advice

Today, my father told me, “Just go for it and give it a try!  You don’t have to be a professional to build a successful product.  Amateurs started Google and Apple.  Professionals built the Titanic

3. The power of uniqueness.

Today, I asked my mentor – a very successful business man in his 70’s – what his top 3 tips are for success.  He smiled and said, “Read something no one else is reading, think something no one else is thinking, and do something no one else is doing.

4. Looking Back

Today, I interviewed my grandmother for part of a research paper I’m working on for my Psychology class.  When I asked her to define success in her own words, she said, “Success is when you look back at your life and the memories make you smile.

5. Try and U shall know

I am blind by birth. When I was 8 years old, I wanted to play baseball. I asked my father- "Dad, can I play baseball?" He said "You'll never know until you try." When I was a teenager, I asked him, - "Dad Can I become a surgeon?". He replied "Son, you'll never know until you try." Today I am a Surgeon, just because I tried!

6. GOODNESS & GRATITUDE

Today, after a 72 hour shift at the fire station, a woman ran up to me at the grocery store and gave me a hug.  When I tensed up, she realized I didn’t recognize her.  She let go with tears of joy in her eyes and the most sincere smile and said, “On 9-11-2001, you carried me out of the World Trade Center.”

7. LOVE CONQUERS PAIN

Today, after I watched my dog get run over by a car, I sat on the side of the road holding him and crying.  And just before he died, he licked the tears off my face.

8. A DOOR CLOSES TO OPEN ANOTHER

Today at 7AM, I woke up feeling ill, but decided I needed the money, so I went into work. At 3PM I got laid off. On my drive home I got a flat tire. When I went into the trunk for the spare, it was flat too. A man in a BMW pulled over, gave me a ride, we chatted, and then he offered me a job.  I start tomorrow.

9. LOOKING BACK

Today, as my father, three brothers, and two sisters stood around my mother’s hospital bed, my mother uttered her last coherent words before she died. She simply said, “I feel so loved right now. We should have gotten together like this more often.”

10. AFFECTION

Today, I kissed my dad on the forehead as he passed away in a small hospital bed.  About 5 seconds after he passed, I realized it was the first time I had given him a kiss since I was a little boy.

11. INNOCENCE

Today, in the cutest voice, my 8-year-old daughter asked me to start recycling. I chuckled and asked, “Why?” She replied, “So you can help me save the planet.”  I chuckled again and asked, “And why do you want to save the planet?” “Because that’s where I keep all my stuff,” she said.

12. JOY

Today, when I witnessed a 27-year-old breast cancer patient laughing hysterically at her 2-year-old daughter’s antics, I suddenly realized that I need to stop complaining about my life and start celebrating it again.

13. KINDNESS

Today, a boy in a wheelchair saw me desperately struggling on crutches with my broken leg and offered to carry my backpack and books for me.  He helped me all the way across campus to my class and as he was leaving he said, “I hope you feel better soon.”.

14. SHARING

Today, I was traveling in Kenya and I met a refugee from Zimbabwe.  He said he hadn’t eaten anything in over 3 days and looked extremely skinny and unhealthy.  Then my friend offered him the rest of the sandwich he was eating.  The first thing the man said was, “We can share it.”

Cheers to life.😃😊😊