THE ELEPHANT ROPE As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these

huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not. He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. ell,! trainer said, when they are very young and much smaller we use the same si"e rope to tie them and, at that age, it#s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. $hey believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.! $he man was ama"ed. $hese animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn#t, they were stuck right where they were. %ike the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before& Failure is part of learning; we should never give up the struggle in life.

THE BLA ! "OT

A small town chamber of commerce invited a speaker to address its annual dinner. $he community#s economy was bad, people were discouraged, and they wanted this motivational speaker to give them a boost. 'uring her presentation, the speaker took a large piece of white paper and made a small black dot in the centre of it with a marking pen. $hen she held the paper up before the group and ask them what they saw. (ne person )uickly replied, I see a black dot.! (kay, what else do you see&! (thers joined in agreement * A black dot.! 'on#t you see anything besides the dot&! she asked. A resounding No! came from the audience. hat about the sheet of paper&! asked the speaker. I am sure you have all seen it!, she said, +ut you have chosen to overlook it.! In life, we also tend to overlook and take for granted many wonderful things that we have or happen around us and focus our attention and energy on small, dotlike failures and disappointments. $he so called ,problems# that we have are usually like the black dot on the paper. $hey are small and insignificant if we can widen our hori"on and look at the whole picture.! Are you one of the person who focus your attention and energy on dot-like problems&

TH#N$% ARE NOT AL&A'% A% THE' APPEAR

$here was once a man who was ship-wrecked and stranded on an island. .very day he prayed asking /od to send someone to rescue him, but to his disappointment, no one ever came. 0onths passed and this man learned how to survive on the island. 'uring this time, he accumulated things from the island and stored them in a hut that he constructed. (ne day after hunting for food and returning back to his hut, much to his dismay he saw that his hut was on fire along with everything else he owned1 All of his possessions were going up in smoke1 $he only thing he had left were the clothes on his back. Initially he was in shock, and then he was consumed with anger and rage1 In his fury he threw a fist into the air and began cursing /od and yelling, /od, how could you let this happen to me& I#ve been praying everyday for months about being rescued and no one has come, and now everything that I have is on fire1 How could you do to this to me1 hy did you let this happen&!

%ater the man was on his hands and knees weeping heavily when he happened to look up and catch sight of a ship coming in his direction. $he man was rescued and as they were heading back to civili"ation the man asked the captain, How were you able to find me&! $he captain responded, e were voyaging across the ocean when we noticed on the hori"on a column of smoke going up. we did, that#s when we found you1! In life we are going to be confronted with challenges, problems, and disasters. +ut keep in mind that what the devil has meant for bad, /od can transform into your e decided to go check it out and when

good1

hat is a catastrophe can sometimes be a blessing in disguise. $he righteous

cry out, and the %ord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. $he %ord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. 0any are the afflictions of the righteous, but the %ord delivers him out of them all.!

THE %TOR' OF AN EA$LE L#(#N$ &#TH H# !EN%

(nce upon a time, at a large mountainside there was an eagle nest with 2 large eagle eggs inside. (ne day, an earth)uake rocked the mountain causing one of the eggs to roll down to a chicken farm, located in the valley below. $he chickens knew that they must protect the eagle egg. .ventually, the eagle egg hatched and a beautiful eagle was born. +eing chickens, the chickens raised the eagle to be a chicken. $he eagle loved his home and family but it seemed his spirit cried out for more. (ne day, the eagle looked to the skies above and noticed a group of mighty eagles soaring. !(h,! the eagle cried, I wish I could soar like those birds.! $he chickens roared with laughter, 3ou cannot soar like those. 3ou are a chicken and chickens do not soar.! $he eagle continued staring at his real family up above, dreaming that he could be like them. .ach time the eagle talked about his dreams, he was told it couldn#t be done. $hat was what the eagle learned to believe. After time, the eagle stopped dreaming and continued to live his life as a chicken. 4inally, after a long life as a chicken, the eagle passed away. 0oral* 3ou become what you believe you are. If you ever dream to become an eagle, follow your dreams, not the words of chickens.

THE %EE" OF HONE%T'

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. Instead of choosing one of his 'irectors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young e5ecutives in his company together. He said, It is time for me to step down and choose the ne5t 6.(. I have decided to choose one of you.! $he young e5ecutives were shocked, but the boss continued. I am going to give each one of you a 7..' today 8 one very special 7..'. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the ne5t 6.(.! (ne man, named 9im, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and e5citedly, told his wife the story. 7he helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. .veryday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other e5ecutives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. 9im kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. $hree weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. +y now, others were talking about their plants, but 9im didn#t have a plant and he felt like a failure. 7i5 months went by : still nothing in 9im#s pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. .veryone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. 9im didn#t say anything to

his colleagues, however; He just kept watering and fertili"ing the soil 8 He so wanted the seed to grow. A year finally went by and all the young e5ecutives of the company brought their plants to the 6.( for inspection. 9im told his wife that he wasn#t going to take an empty pot. +ut she asked him to be honest about what happened. 9im felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot to the board room. and si"es. 9im put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him1 hen the 6.( arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young e5ecutives. 9im just tried to hide in the back. 0y, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown,! said the 6.(. $oday one of you will be appointed the ne5t 6.(1! All of a sudden, the 6.( spotted 9im at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the 4inancial 'irector to bring him to the front. 9im was terrified. He thought, $he 6.( knows I#m a failure1 0aybe he will have me fired1! hen 9im got to the front, the 6.( asked him what had happened to his seed 8 9im told him the story. hen 9im arrived, he was ama"ed at the

variety of plants grown by the other e5ecutives. $hey were beautiful : in all shapes

$he 6.( asked everyone to sit down e5cept 9im. He looked at 9im, and then announced to the young e5ecutives, +ehold your ne5t 6hief .5ecutive (fficer1 His name is 9im1! 9im couldn#t believe it. 9im couldn#t even grow his seed. How could he be the new 6.(&! the others said. $hen the 6.( said, (ne year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. +ut I gave you all boiled seeds< they were dead 8 it was not possible for them to grow. All of you, e5cept 9im, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. hen you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. 9im was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. $herefore, he is the one who will be the new 6hief .5ecutive (fficer1! = If you plant honesty, you will reap trust. = If you plant goodness, you will reap friends. = If you plant humility, you will reap greatness. = If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment. = If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective. = If you plant hard work, you will reap success. = If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation. = If you plant faith in /od , you will reap a harvest. %o) *e +areful what ,ou plant now; it will deter-ine what ,ou will reap later.. .&hatever 'ou $ive To Life) Life $ives 'ou Ba+/0

ARROT%) E$$%) AN" OFFEE

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. 7he did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. 7he was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as when one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. 7he filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. 7oon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. 7he let them sit and boil< without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. 7he fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. 7he pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. $hen she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. $urning to her daughter, she asked, $ell me what you see.! 6arrots, eggs, and coffee,! she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. 7he did and noted that they were soft. $he mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. 4inally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. $he daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. $he daughter then asked, hat does it mean, mother&! Her mother e5plained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity* boiling water. .ach reacted differently. $he carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. $he egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its li)uid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

However, the ground coffee beans were uni)ue. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water. hich are you&! she asked her daughter. hen adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond& Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean& $hink of this* hich am I&

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength& Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat& 'id I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff& 'oes my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart& (r am I like the coffee bean& $he bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. hen the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level& How do you handle adversity& Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean& hen the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance

H12AN (AL1E
%ife is full of ups and downs. It is easy to lose hope and confidence. $his little story helps us to reali"e that no matter what happens, we remain valuable as individuals. A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a >??? rupee note. In the room of @??, he asked, ho would like to have this >??? rupee note&! Hands started going up. He said, I am going to give this >??? rupee note to one of you but first, let me do this.! He proceeded to crumple the >??? rupee note. He then asked, ho still wants it&! 7till the hands were up in the air. ell,! he replied, hat if I do this&! And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. Now who still wants it&! 7till the hands went into the air. 0y friends, no matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth `.>???A-. 0any times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. e feel as though we are worthless. +ut no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. 3ou are special 8 'on#t ever forget it1!

1N#31E H12AN FLA&%

An elderly asian woman had two large pots, each hung on the end of a pole, which she carried across her neck. (ne of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. 4or two years, this went on daily with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. $he perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. $he poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do. After @ years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman* I am ashamed of myself because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way to your house.! $he old woman smiled, 'id you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot#s side&! $hat#s because I have always known about your flaw so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. 4or two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. ithout you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.! 0oral* %ike the pots, we all have our own uni)ue flaws. +ut it#s the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

THE %E RET OF %1

E%%4

A young man asked 7ocrates, an ancient /reek philosopher, the secret of 7uccess. 7ocrates told the young man to meet him near the river the ne5t morning. $hey met. 7ocrates asked the young man to walk with him toward the river. hen the water got up to their necks, 7ocrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water. $he man struggled to get out but 7ocrates was strong and kept him under water until he started turning blue. $he young man struggled hard and finally managed to get up. $he first thing he did was to gasp and take a deep breath. 7ocrates asked, hat did you want the most when you were under the water&! $he man replied Air!. 7ocrates said* $hat#s the most secret to success. hen you want success as badly as

you want air, you will get it. $here is no other secret!. A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishments. 9ust like a small fire cannot give much heat, a weak desire cannot produce great results;

The greatest gift is Love

A woman came out of her house and saw B old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. 7he did not recogni"e them. 7he said, I don#t think I know you, but you must be hungry. Clease come in and have something to eat.! Is the man of the house home&!, they asked. No!, she said. He#s out.! $hen we cannot come in!, they replied. In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened. /o tell them I am home and invite them in1! $he woman went out and invited the men in. e do not go into a House together,! they replied. hy is that&! she wanted to know. (ne of the old men e5plained* His name is ealth,! he said pointing to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one, He is 7uccess, and I am %ove.! $hen he added, Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home.! $he woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed. How nice11!, he said. 7ince that is the case, let us invite ealth. %et him come and fill our home with wealth1! His wife disagreed. 0y dear, why don#t we invite 7uccess&! $heir daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house. 7he jumped in with her own suggestion* ould it not be better to invite %ove& (ur home will then be filled with love1! %et us heed our daughter-in-law#s advice,! said the husband to his wife. /o out and invite %ove to be our guest.! $he woman went out and asked the B old men, hich one of you is %ove& Clease come in and be our guest.! %ove got up and started walking toward the house. $he other @ also got up and followed him. 7urprised, the lady asked ealth and 7uccess* I only invited %ove, hy are you coming in&! $he old men replied together* If you had invited ealth or 7uccess, the other two of us would#ve stayed out, but since you invited %ove, wherever He goes, we go with him. herever there is %ove, there is also ealth and 7uccess1!

THE (AL1E OF T#2E

Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with `.DE,2??AIt carries over no balance from day to day. .very evening deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. hat would you do& 'raw out every singe rupee, of course111 .ach of us has such a bank. Its name is $I0.. .very morning, it credits you with DE,2?? seconds. .very night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. .ach day it opens a new account for you. .ach night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day#s deposits, the loss is yours. $here is no going back. $here is no drawing against the tomorrow!. 3ou must live in the present on today#s deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success1 $he clock is running. 0ake the most of today. $o reali"e the value of one year, ask a student who has failed his final e5am. $o reali"e the value of one month, ask the parent of a premature baby. $o reali"e the value of one week, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper. $o reali"e the value of one day, ask a daily wage laborer who has a large family to feed. $o reali"e the value of one hour, ask lovers who are waiting to meet.

$o reali"e the value of one minute, ask a person who has missed the train, the bus, or a plane. $o reali"e the value of one second, ask a person who has survived an accident. $o reali"e the value of one millisecond, ask the person who has won a silver medal at the (lympics. $reasure every moment that you have1 And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time. And remember that time waits for no one.

TO LO(E AN" TO BE LO(E"

(nce upon a time ;. A very poor man lived with his wife. (ne day, his wife, who had very long hair asked him to buy her a comb for her hair to grow well and to be well-groomed. $he man felt very sorry and said no. He e5plained that he did not even have enough money to fi5 the strap of his watch he had just broken. 7he did not insist on her re)uest. $he man went to work and passed by a watch shop, sold his damaged watch at a low price and went to buy a comb for his wife. He came home in the evening with the comb in his hand ready to give to his wife. He was surprised when he saw his wife with a very short hair cut. 7he had sold her hair and was holding a new watch band. $ears flowed simultaneously from their eyes, not for the futility of their actions, but for the reciprocity of their love. 0oral of the story* $o love is nothing, to be loved is something but to love and to be loved by the one you love, that is everything.

THE (AL1E OF !NO&LE"$E

A giant ship engine failed. $he ship#s owners tried one e5pert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fi5 the engine. $hen they brought in an old man who had been fi5ing 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. $wo 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. $he engine was fi5ed1 A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for one lakh rupees. hat&1! the owners e5claimed. He hardly did anything1! 7o they wrote the old man a note saying, Clease send us an itemi"ed bill.! $he man sent a bill that read* $apping with a hammer;; ;; ;;; >??.?? Fnowing where to tap;;; ;; ;;; GG,G??.?? .ffort is important, but knowing where to make an effort makes all the difference1

THE #2PORTANT TH#N$% #N L#FE

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him. hen the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about @ inches in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full. $hey agreed that it was. 7o the professor then picked up a bo5 of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. $he pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. $hey agreed it was. $he professor picked up a bo5 of sand and poured it into the jar. (f course, the sand filled up everything else. He then asked once more if the jar was full. $he students responded with a unanimous 3es.! Now,! said the professor, I want you to recogni"e that this jar represents your life. $he rocks are the important things 8 your family, your partner, your health, your children 8 things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. $he pebbles are the other things that matter 8 like your job, your house, your car. $he sand is everything else. $he small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first,! he continued there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. $he same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Cay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Clay with your children. $ake your partner out. $here will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fi5 the disposal. $ake care of the rocks first 8 the things that really matter. 7et your priorities. $he rest is just sand.!

%TOP &A#T#N$555
e convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. $hen we are frustrated that the kids aren#t old enough and we#ll be more content when they are. After that, we#re frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. e will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. e tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire. $he truth is, there#s no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when& (ur life will always be filled with challenges. It#s best to admit this to ourself and decide to be happy anyway. (ne of my favourite )uotes comes from Alfred '. 7ouse. He said, 4or a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin 8 real life. +ut there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. $hen life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life!. $his perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. 7o, treasure every moment that we have and treasure it more because we shared it with someone special, special enough to spend our time; and remember that time waits for no one. 7o, stop waiting; 8 until you finish school, 8 until you go back to school, 8 until you lose ten pounds, 8 until you gain ten pounds, 8 until you have kids, 8 until your kids leave the house, 8 until you start work, 8 until you retire, 8 until you get married, 8 until you get divorced, 8 until 4riday night, 8 until 7unday morning, 8 until you get a new carAhome, 8 until your car or home is paid off, 8 until spring, until summer, 8 until fall, until winter, 8 until you are off welfare, 8 until the first or fifteenth, 8 until your song comes on, 8 until you#ve had a drink, 8 until you#ve sobered up,

8 until you die, 8 until you are born again; ;to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination. +y 6rystal +oyd 7o; ork like you don#t need money, love like you#ve never been hurt and dance like no one is watching.! H Iandall / %eighton 8 %ife %essons

$#(E 'O1R BE%T TO RELAT#ON%H#P%

A boy and a girl were playing together. $he boy had a collection of marbles. $he girl had some sweets with her. $he boy told the girl that he will give her all his marbles in e5change for her sweets. $he girl agreed. $he boy kept the biggest and the most beautiful marble aside and gave the rest to the girl. $he girl gave him all her sweets as she had promised. $hat night, the girl slept peacefully. +ut the boy couldn#t sleep as he kept wondering if the girl had hidden some sweets from him the way he had hidden his best marble. 0oral of the story* If you don#t give your hundred percent in a relationship, you#ll always keep doubting if the other person has given hisAher hundred percent.. $his is applicable for any relationship like love, employer-employee relationship etc. /ive your hundred percent to everything you do and sleep peacefully.

A %2#LE
A smile costs nothing, but gives much. It enriches those who receive, without making poorer those who give. It takes a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he can get along without it, and none is so poor, but that he can be made rich by it. A smile creates happiness in the home, fosters good will in business, and is the countersign of friendship. It brings rest to the weary, cheer to the discouraged, sunshine to the sad, and it is nature#s best antidote for trouble. 3et it cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone, until it is given away. 7ome people are too tired to give you a smile< /ive them one of yours, as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give.

How *ig is One6

As a man walked a desolate beach one cold, gray morning he began to see another figure, far in the distance. 7lowly the two approached each other, and he could make out a local native who kept leaning down, picking something up and throwing it out into the water. $ime and again he hurled things into the ocean. As the distance between them continued to narrow, the man could see that the native was picking up starfish that had been washed upon the beach and, one at a time, was throwing them back into the water. Cu""led, the man approached the native and asked what he was doing. I#m throwing these starfish back into the ocean. 3ou see, it#s low tide right now and all of these starfish have been washed up onto the shore. If I don#t throw them back into the sea, they#ll die up here from lack of o5ygen.! +ut there must be thousands of starfish on this beach,! the man replied. 3ou can#t possibly get to all of them. $here are just too many. And this same thing is probably happening on hundreds of beaches all up and down this coast. 6an#t you see that you can#t possibly make a difference&! $he local native smiled, bent down and picked up another starfish, and as he threw it back into the sea he replied, 0ade a difference to that one1!

How the poor live

(ne day, a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. $hey spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. (n their return from their trip, the father asked his son, How was the trip&! It was great, 'ad.! 'id you see how poor people live&! the father asked. (h yeah,! said the son. 7o, tell me, what did you learn from the trip&! asked the father. $he son answered, I saw that we have one dog and they had four. e have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden, and they have a creek that has no end. e have imported lanterns in our garden, and they have the stars at night. (ur patio reaches to the front yard, and they have the whole hori"on. e have a small piece of land to live on, and they have fields that go beyond our sight. e have servants who serve us, but they serve others. e buy our food, but they grow theirs. e have walls around our property to protect us< they have friends to protect them.! $he boy#s father was speechless. $hen his son added, $hanks, 'ad, for showing me how poor we are.!

A *o7 of /isses
7ome time ago, a man punished his B-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. 0oney was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a bo5 to put under the 6hristmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the ne5t morning and said, $his is for you, 'addy.! He was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found the bo5 was empty. He yelled at her, 'on#t you know that when you give someone a present, there#s supposed to be something inside it&! $he little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said,!(h, 'addy, it is not empty. I blew kisses into the bo5. All for you, 'addy.! $he father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness. It is told that the man kept that gold bo5 by his bed for years and whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there. In a very real sense, each of us as humans have been given a gold container filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, friends, family and /od. $here is no more precious possession anyone could hold.

The stor, of a wood+utter

(nce upon a time, a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant and he got it. $he pay was really good and so was the work condition. 4or those reasons, the woodcutter was determined to do his best. His boss gave him an a5e and showed him the area where he supposed to work. $he first day, the woodcutter brought >D trees. 6ongratulations,! the boss said. /o on that way1! Jery motivated by the boss words, the woodcutter tried harder the ne5t day, but he could only bring >K trees. $he third day he tried even harder, but he could only bring >? trees. 'ay after day he was bringing less and less trees. I must be losing my strength!, the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologi"ed, saying that he could not understand what was going on. hen was the last time you sharpened your a5e&! the boss asked. 7harpen& I had no time to sharpen my a5e. I have been very busy trying to cut trees;!

Ieflection* (ur lives are like that. e sometimes get so busy that we don#t take time to sharpen the a5e!. In today#s world, it seems that everyone is busier than ever, but less happy that ever. hy is that& 6ould it be that we have forgotten how to stay sharp!& $here#s nothing wrong with activity and hard work. +ut we should not get so busy that we neglect the truly important things in life, like our personal life, taking time to get close to our 6reator, giving more time for our family, taking time to read etc. e all need time to rela5, to think and meditate, to learn and grow. If we don#t take the time to sharpen the a5e!, we will become dull and lose our effectiveness.

En8o, ,our life at ever, -o-ent

(nce a fisherman was sitting near seashore, under the shadow of a tree smoking his beedi. 7uddenly a rich businessman passing by approached him and en)uired as to why he was sitting under a tree smoking and not working. $o this the poor fisherman replied that he had caught enough fishes for the day. Hearing this the rich man got angry and said* hy don#t you catch more fishes instead of sitting in shadow wasting your time& 4isherman asked* hat would I do by catching more fishes& +usinessman* 3ou could catch more fishes, sell them and earn more money, and buy a bigger boat. 4isherman* hat would I do then& +usinessman* 3ou could go fishing in deep waters and catch even more fishes and earn even more money. 4isherman* hat would I do then& +usinessman* 3ou could buy many boats and employ many people to work for you and earn even more money. 4isherman* hat would I do then& +usinessman* 3ou could become a rich businessman like me. 4isherman* hat would I do then& +usinessman* 3ou could then enjoy your life peacefully. 4isherman* hat do you think I#m doing right now& 0(IA% 8 3ou don#t need to wait for tomorrow to be happy and enjoy your life. 3ou don#t even need to be more rich, more powerful to enjoy life. %I4. is at this moment, enjoy it fully. As some great men have said 0y riches consist not in e5tent of my possessions but in the fewness of my wants!.

Let go of ,our %tresses

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone e5pected they#d be asked the half empty or half full! )uestion. Instead, with a smile on her face, she in)uired* !How heavy is this glass of water&! Answers called out ranged from D o". to @? o". 7he replied, $he absolute weight doesn#t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it#s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I#ll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paraly"ed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn#t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.! 7he continued, $he stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. $hink about them for a while and nothing happens. $hink about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paraly"ed 8 incapable of doing anything.! It#s important to remember to let go of your stresses. As early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. 'on#t carry them through the evening and into the night. Iemember to put the glass down1

&hat9s for "inner6

A man feared his wife wasn#t hearing as well as she used to and he thought she might need a hearing aid. Not )uite sure how to approach her, he called the family 'octor to discuss the problem. $he 'octor told him there is a simple informal test the husband could perform to give the 'octor a better idea about her hearing loss. Here#s what you do,! said the 'octor, stand about 2? feet away from her, and in a normal conversational speaking tone see if she hears you. If not, go to B? feet, then @? feet, and s o on until you get a response.! $hat evening, the wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he was in the den. He says to himself, I#m about 2? feet away, let#s see what happens.! $hen in a normal tone he asks, ,Honey, what#s for dinner&! No response. 7o the husband moves to closer to the kitchen, about B? feet from his wife and repeats, Honey, what#s for dinner&! 7till no response. Ne5t he moves into the dining room where he is about @? feet from his wife and asks, Honey, what#s for dinner&! Again he gets no response so, He walks up to the kitchen door, about >? feet away. Honey, what#s for dinner&! Again there is no response. 7o he walks right up behind her. Honey, what#s for dinner&! 9ames, for the 4I4$H time I#ve said, 6HI6F.N1! $he problem may not be with the other one as we always think, could be very much within us..1

HELP
An old man lived alone wanted to spade his potato garden, but it was very hard work. His only son, who would have helped him, was in prison. $he old man wrote a letter to his son and mentioned his situation* 'ear 7on, I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won#t be able to plant my potato garden this year. I hate to miss doing the garden because your mother always loved planting time. I#m just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me, if you weren#t in prison. %ove, 'ad

7hortly, the old man received this telegram* ,4or Heaven#s sake, 'ad, don#t dig up the garden11 $hat#s where I buried the /LN711# At 2 a.m. the ne5t morning, local police officers showed up and dug up the entire garden without finding any guns. 6onfused, the old man wrote another note to his son telling him what had happened, and asked him what to do ne5t. His son#s reply was* ,/o ahead and plant your potatoes, 'ad. It#s the best I could do for you, from here.# N( 0A$$.I H.I. 3(L AI. IN $H. (I%', I4 3(L HAJ. '.6I'.' $( '( 7(0.$HIN/ '..C 4I(0 3(LI H.AI$, 3(L 6AN '( I$. I$ I7 $H. $H(L/H$ $HA$ 0A$$.I7, N($ H.I. 3(L AI. (I H.I. $H. C.I7(N I7.

FA E "#FF# 1LT#E% PO%#T#(EL'

$here was a farmer who owned an old mule. $he mule fell into the farmer#s well. $he farmer heard the mule praying or whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathi"ed with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together, told them what had happened, and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery. Initially the old mule was hysterical1 +ut as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, H. (L%' 7HAF. I$ (44 AN' 7$.C LC1 $his he did, blow after blow. 7hake it off and step up;shake it off and step up; shake it off and step up1! He repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or how distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought panic and just kept right on 7HAFIN/ I$ (44 AN' 7$.CCIN/ LC1 It wasn#t long before the old mule, battered and e5hausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well1 hat seemed like it would bury him actually helped him . . . all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity. $HA$#7 %I4.1 If we face our problems and respond to them positively, we can lead happy and peaceful life.

B1'#N$ AN HO1R OF "A""'9% T#2E

$he man came home from work late again, tired and irritated, to find his K year old son waiting for him at the door. 'addy, may I ask you a )uestion& 3eah, sure, what is it&! 8 replied the man. 'addy, how much money do you make an hour&! $hat#s none of your business1 angrily. hat makes you ask such a thing&! 8 the man said

I just want to know. Clease tell me, how much do you make an hour&! 8 pleaded the little boy. If you must know, I make M@? an hour.! (h,! the little boy replied, head bowed. %ooking up, he said, 'addy, may I borrow M>? please&! $he father was furious. If the only reason you wanted to know how much money I make is just so you can borrow some to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. $hink about why you#re being so selfish. I work long, hard hours everyday and don#t have time for such childish games.! $he little boy )uietly went to his room and shut the door. $he man sat down and started to get even madder about the little boy#s )uestioning. How dare he ask such )uestions only to get some money. After an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think he may have been a little hard on his son. 0aybe there was something he really needed to buy with that M>? and he really didn#t ask for money very often. $he man went to the door of the little boy#s room and opened the door. Are you asleep son&! 8 he asked No daddy, I#m awake.! 8 replied the boy I#ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier.! 8 said the man. It#s been a long day and I took my aggravation out on you. Here#s that M>? you asked for.! $he little boy sat straight up, beaming. (h, thank you daddy1! 8 he yelled. $hen, reaching under his pillow, he pulled out some more crumpled up bills. $he man, seeing the boy already had money, started to get angry again. $he little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at the man.

 hy did you want more money if you already had some&! 8 the father grumbled. +ecause I didn#t have enough, but now I do.! 8 the little boy replied. 'addy, I have M@? now. 6an I buy an hour of your time& Clease come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you.! $he father was crushed and he put his arms around his little son.

APPRE #ATE L#FE9% ANNO'#N$ L#TTLE TH#N$% %essons from GA>>, the annoying little things* As you might know, the head of a major company survived the tragedy of GA>>! in New 3ork because his son started kindergarten. Another fellow was alive because it was his turn to bring donuts. (ne woman was late because her alarm clock didn#t go off in time. (ne was late because of being stuck on the N9 $urnpike because of an auto accident. (ne of them missed his bus. (ne spilled food on her clothes and had to take time to change. (ne#s car wouldn#t start. (ne went back to answer the telephone. (ne had a child that dawdled and didn#t get ready as soon as he should have. (ne couldn#t get a ta5i. $he one that struck me was the man who put on a new pair of shoes that morning, took the various means to get to work but before he got there, he developed a blister on his foot. He stopped at a drugstore to buy a +and-Aid. $hat is why he is alive today. Now when I am stuck in traffic; 8 miss an elevator; 8 turn back to answer a ringing telephone; 8 all the little things that annoy me; 8 I think to myself; this is e5actly where /od wants me to be at this very moment. $he ne5t time your morning seems to be going wrong, 8 the children are slow getting dressed, 8 you can#t seem to find the car keys, 8 you hit every traffic light; 8 don#t get mad or frustrated< /od is at work watching over you. 0ay /od continue to bless you with all those annoying little things 8 and may you remember and appreciate their possible purpose.

AN$ER) EN(' : #N%1LT%

A great 7amurai at his old age was teaching Nen +uddhism to young people. (ne afternoon, a warrior arrived there. $he young and impatient warrior had never lost a fight. Hearing of the 7amurai#s reputation, he had come to defeat him, and increase his fame. All the students were against the idea, but the old man accepted the challenge. All gathered on the town s)uare, and the young man started insulting the old master. He threw a few rocks in his direction, spat in his face, shouted every insult under the sun 8 he even insulted his ancestors. 4or hours, he did everything to provoke him, but the old man remained calm. At the end of the afternoon, by now feeling e5hausted and humiliated, the impetuous warrior left. 'isappointed by the fact that the master had received so many insults and provocations, the students asked* How could you bear such indignity& hy didn#t you use your sword, even knowing you might lose the fight, instead of displaying your cowardice in front of us all&! If someone comes to you with a gift, and you do not accept it, who does the gift belong to&! 8 asked the old 7amurai. He who tried to deliver it.! 8 replied one of his disciples. $he same goes for envy, anger and insults.! 8 said the master. hen they are not accepted, they continue to belong to the one who carried them.!

#2PRO(E %ELF ONF#"EN E

A boy named Henry in a classroom was called upon to recite in front of the class. He had hardly begun when the teacher interrupted with an emphatic, No1! He started over and again the teacher thundered, No1! Humiliated, the boy sat down. $he ne5t boy named 9ack rose to recite and had just begun when the teacher shouted, No1! $his student, however, kept on with the recitation until he completed it. As he sat down, the teacher replied, Jery good1! Henry was irritated. !I recited just as he did,! he complained to the teacher. +ut the instructor replied, It is not enough to know your lesson, you must be sure. hen you allowed me to stop you, it meant that you were uncertain. If the world says, ,No1# it is your business to say, ,3es1# and prove it. $he world will say, ,No1# in a thousand ways. ,No1 3ou can#t do that.# ,No1 3ou are wrong.# ,No1 3ou are too old.# ,No1 3ou are too young.# ,No1 3ou are too weak.# ,No1 It will never work.# ,No1 3ou don#t have the education.# ,No1 3ou don#t have the background.# ,No1 3ou don#t have the money.# ,No1 It can#t be done.# And each ,No1# you hear has the potential to erode your confidence bit by bit until you )uit all together. $hough the world says, ,No1# to you today, you should be determined to say, ,3es1# and prove it1

THE 2#%%#N$ &AT H

$here once was a farmer who 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. 9ust 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. $he farmer looked at him and thought, hy not& After all, this kid looks sincere enough.! 7o the farmer sent the little boy back in the barn. After a while the little boy came out with the watch in his hand1 $he farmer was both happy and surprised and so he asked the boy how he succeeded where the rest had failed. $he 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.! A peaceful mind can think better 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!

 6 ! " 6
>. # @. $%!&'( B. " 2. )! K. * E. +* O. ' D. ,'( G. -. /0 >?.&1"2

3 455'! 6
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

>3 455'! 6
>. 2C 6<; * "81! 6"0/ "8%":. @. ;>: / )14#%":. B. '! 8%" /. 2. * *! 8%":. K. ,* " 4 . E. J.383 6M8%!' . O. "0%"< +B :; -3!.

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

*H2 ! 6

! R3 ; *HB:" $# %4: !. H2 %4:A 1"1" *H2 " H2 %4: 2B 6# "%" 9 ! A 79EH2. 75 60 G5%4 /0 02=H2. >. 699 # 3 *2. @. $##5 - &. B. 6*5 '0% "":. 2. #7"' ;. K. $#*#5 . E. $#5 O! $#5 6 .4:;. O. ;;' ;. D. $#5 ;>: 75 "4:;. G. #145 . >?. #2B += +2 3 0@ %":. >>. (4 /0 = $%!&'( ;;. >@. . ( . >B. $#5 (9' D":. >2. KG;B #": .

%! .3B2 ;
>. 6( <%!H2. 6 .H2. @. +5%!3 64 :3 #(H2. B.: -H2. PP, P!P 5%"B% "5%4H2. 2. 5B 4, 8" (& 0 2=H2. K. S%!3 DD' :H2. E. '! D" ., 7B %! 8 , /%!3 "C'A DH2. O. ?0 2= ' %!3 75 B 6;. ' %!H2. D. TH D, 5, ", /, . %": +0A 3'79EH2.

G.$U#*E U (!'(! NC: =H2. >?.VW, 5 '9%" *E 5%" %4*%4: 4'73L52. >: :NB 3'79'. 0@ .9' 79'1