Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed that the boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all of the books he was carrying, along with two sweaters, a baseball bat, a glove and a small tape recorder. Mark knelt down and helped the boy pick up the scattered articles. Since they were going the same way, he helped to carry part of the burden. As they walked Mark discovered the boy’s name was Bill, that he loved video games, baseball and history, and that he was having lots of trouble with his other subjects and that he had just lost his parents in an car accident. They arrived at Bill’s home first and Mark was invited in for a Coke and to watch some television.
The afternoon passed pleasantly with a few laughs and some shared small talk, then Mark went home. They continued to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, then both graduated from junior high school. They ended up in the same high school where they had brief contacts over the years. Finally the long awaited senior year came and three weeks before graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk.
Bill reminded him of the day years ago when they had first met. “Did you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?” asked Bill. “You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn’t want to leave a mess for anyone else. I had stored away some of my mothers sleeping pills and I was going home to commit suicide. But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, I realized that if I had killed myself, I would have missed that wonderful time and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up those books that day, you did a lot more, you saved my life.
Lessons to Learn from This Story:
A helping hand can create magic to others life.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
“Punctuality”
A Priest was being honored at his retirement dinner after 25 years in the parish. A leading local politician and member of the congregation was chosen to make the presentation and to give a little speech at the dinner.
However, he was delayed, so the Priest was asked to say a few words in the meanwhile. Not being prepared to speak then, he wondered for a minute and then decided to share his experience on the first day in the parish to highlight how one should not rush to conclusions.
'I got my first impression of the parish from the first confession I heard here. I thought I had been assigned to a terrible place. The very first person who entered my confessional told me he had stolen a television set and, when questioned by the police, was able to lie his way out of it. He had stolen money from his parents, embezzled from his employer, had cheated his wife and taken illegal drugs. I was appalled.
But as the days went on I learned that my people were not all like that and I had, indeed, come to a fine parish full of good and loving people.'....
Just as the Priest finished his talk, the politician arrived full of apologies at being late. He immediately began to make the presentation and gave his talk: 'I'll never forget the first day our parish Priest arrived,' said the politician. 'In fact, I had the honor of being the first person to go to him for confession.'
Moral : Never, Never, Never Be Late!
However, he was delayed, so the Priest was asked to say a few words in the meanwhile. Not being prepared to speak then, he wondered for a minute and then decided to share his experience on the first day in the parish to highlight how one should not rush to conclusions.
'I got my first impression of the parish from the first confession I heard here. I thought I had been assigned to a terrible place. The very first person who entered my confessional told me he had stolen a television set and, when questioned by the police, was able to lie his way out of it. He had stolen money from his parents, embezzled from his employer, had cheated his wife and taken illegal drugs. I was appalled.
But as the days went on I learned that my people were not all like that and I had, indeed, come to a fine parish full of good and loving people.'....
Just as the Priest finished his talk, the politician arrived full of apologies at being late. He immediately began to make the presentation and gave his talk: 'I'll never forget the first day our parish Priest arrived,' said the politician. 'In fact, I had the honor of being the first person to go to him for confession.'
Moral : Never, Never, Never Be Late!
“Keep positive thoughts and skip negative thinking”
Once Gautama Buddha and his student Ram went to a small village to preach religious teachings. Since they walked a long distance, they felt thirsty. They went towards a small house and asked the woman inside for some water. The woman came out and started scolding as she thought they were beggars, but Buddha smiled and moved to the next house.
The student got confused with Buddha’s calm behavior and got angry with the lady. Buddha noticed his student’s facial expression and understood him. He called him and told "Ram keep this Gold Coin with you and give it to me when I ask for it". The student accepted and got the coin. Still the student had the confusion in his mind about the incident.
Hours passed, they were done with their work and started their journey towards their place. Ram was still puzzled by the incident and his swamiji's strange behavior. Now Buddha asked his student "Ram! Can you please give me the gold coin?” The student gave the coin and Buddha received it with a smile. Now Buddha appreciated his student for his extra efforts towards the preaching for the day and rewarded the same gold coin to Ram and he received it with a smile.
Before going to bed, Ram came to Buddha’s place and wanted to talk to him. Buddha took him to the garden and listened. "Swamiji! That lady scolded us in the morning but you were so silent; I’m upset. But you seem to not be affected by it! How is this possible? Buddha now had the same smile and replied "Ram, this morning I had given you that gold coin for you to keep for a while. Now tell me to whom did that coin belong at that instance?" Ram replied quickly "it was yours because you told me to keep it just for some time".
Buddha : "That's right, now can you tell me to whom this coin belongs, after I gave it to you the second time?"
Ram: "This coin now belongs to me as you have gifted it to me for my work and I accepted it"
Buddha now held Ram's hand and said "This can be applied to our life also. The lady scolded me but I did not accept anything and so those words do not belong to me !”
The Student got his doubts clarified and then worshipped his guru for his precious words.
The Moral of the story: Keep positive thoughts and skip the negative ones, develop a positive attitude and diminish pessimism.
The student got confused with Buddha’s calm behavior and got angry with the lady. Buddha noticed his student’s facial expression and understood him. He called him and told "Ram keep this Gold Coin with you and give it to me when I ask for it". The student accepted and got the coin. Still the student had the confusion in his mind about the incident.
Hours passed, they were done with their work and started their journey towards their place. Ram was still puzzled by the incident and his swamiji's strange behavior. Now Buddha asked his student "Ram! Can you please give me the gold coin?” The student gave the coin and Buddha received it with a smile. Now Buddha appreciated his student for his extra efforts towards the preaching for the day and rewarded the same gold coin to Ram and he received it with a smile.
Before going to bed, Ram came to Buddha’s place and wanted to talk to him. Buddha took him to the garden and listened. "Swamiji! That lady scolded us in the morning but you were so silent; I’m upset. But you seem to not be affected by it! How is this possible? Buddha now had the same smile and replied "Ram, this morning I had given you that gold coin for you to keep for a while. Now tell me to whom did that coin belong at that instance?" Ram replied quickly "it was yours because you told me to keep it just for some time".
Buddha : "That's right, now can you tell me to whom this coin belongs, after I gave it to you the second time?"
Ram: "This coin now belongs to me as you have gifted it to me for my work and I accepted it"
Buddha now held Ram's hand and said "This can be applied to our life also. The lady scolded me but I did not accept anything and so those words do not belong to me !”
The Student got his doubts clarified and then worshipped his guru for his precious words.
The Moral of the story: Keep positive thoughts and skip the negative ones, develop a positive attitude and diminish pessimism.
“A cockroach story”
Three women met. Yeah you can guess; exchange of news, views and loads of information! One particular part of their discussions caught my attention. One of the ladies, with a lot interest, was sharing some interesting facts about cockroach. With a lot of amazement she was telling how a cockroach can run three miles in an hour and can change directions 25 times in a second. A cockroach could live a long time, perhaps a week without its head. There was non-stop excitement in her voice as she continued saying, “a cockroach has amazing adaptability. It can survive in any climate, in any house condition, inside any crack, etc. Its antennae, which rivals NASA’s Global Positioning System, helps it to locate other cockroaches with state of the art precision. Cockroaches could be used to place surveillance devices in military installations. In fact a cockroach can survive even an atomic explosion.”
Suddenly, a cockroach flew from nowhere and sat on her. I wondered if this was the cockroach’s response to all the glory that was spoken about it! She started screaming out of fear. With panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started doing stationary jumping , with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach. Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group got cranky to what was happening. The lady finally managed to push the cockroach to another lady in the group. Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama. The waiter rushed forward to their rescue. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter. The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough, he grabbed and threw it out with his fingers.
Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, “was the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behavior? If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed? He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos. It is not the cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed the ladies.”
I realized even in my case then , it is not the shouting of my father or my boss that disturbs me, but it’s my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me. It’s not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me. More than the problem, it’s my reaction to the problem that hurts me.
Lessons learnt from the story:
I understood, “I should not react in life. I should always respond. ” The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded. Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always intellectual.
Suddenly, a cockroach flew from nowhere and sat on her. I wondered if this was the cockroach’s response to all the glory that was spoken about it! She started screaming out of fear. With panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started doing stationary jumping , with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach. Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group got cranky to what was happening. The lady finally managed to push the cockroach to another lady in the group. Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama. The waiter rushed forward to their rescue. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter. The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough, he grabbed and threw it out with his fingers.
Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, “was the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behavior? If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed? He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos. It is not the cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed the ladies.”
I realized even in my case then , it is not the shouting of my father or my boss that disturbs me, but it’s my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me. It’s not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me. More than the problem, it’s my reaction to the problem that hurts me.
Lessons learnt from the story:
I understood, “I should not react in life. I should always respond. ” The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded. Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always intellectual.
“The King and the peace contest”
There once was a king who wanted to offer a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. A peace contest was soon conducted in that Kingdom. Many artists tried and submitted their work. The king looked at all the pictures. There were only two he really liked, and he had to choose between them.
One picture was of a calm lake, perfectly mirroring the peaceful, towering mountains all around it. Overhead was the blue sky with fluffy, white clouds. It was the favorite of all who saw it. Truly, they thought, it was the perfect picture of peace.
The other picture had mountains, too, but these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell and in which lightening played. Down the side of one mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. At first sight, there was no sight of peace; only anger and destruction was prominent from this picture. But when the king looked closely, he saw beside the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of the angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest in perfect peace.
Which picture would you have selected? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why?
“Because,” explained the king, “peace does not mean to be in a beautiful place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all these things and still be calm in your heart. This is the real meaning of peace.”
Lesson learnt from this story: Real peace is in your heart, deep within you!
One picture was of a calm lake, perfectly mirroring the peaceful, towering mountains all around it. Overhead was the blue sky with fluffy, white clouds. It was the favorite of all who saw it. Truly, they thought, it was the perfect picture of peace.
The other picture had mountains, too, but these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell and in which lightening played. Down the side of one mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. At first sight, there was no sight of peace; only anger and destruction was prominent from this picture. But when the king looked closely, he saw beside the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of the angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest in perfect peace.
Which picture would you have selected? The king chose the second picture. Do you know why?
“Because,” explained the king, “peace does not mean to be in a beautiful place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all these things and still be calm in your heart. This is the real meaning of peace.”
Lesson learnt from this story: Real peace is in your heart, deep within you!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
