Learn to move on

A wise man once sat in the audience & cracked a joke. All laughed like crazy. 

After a moment he cracked the same joke again and a little less people laughed this time. 

He cracked the same joke again & again, when there was no laughter in the crowd,  he smiled and said,

"When u can't laugh on the same joke again & again, then why do u keep crying over the same thing over and over again” 


Source: Mail

Excellence

A German once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby. Surprised, he asked the sculptor, "Do you need two statues of the same idol?" "No," said the sculptor without looking up, "We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage." The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage. "Where is the damage?" he asked. "There is a scratch on the nose of the idol." said the sculptor, still busy with his work. "Where are you going to install the idol?" 
The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high. "If the idol is that far, who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose?" the gentleman asked. The sculptor stopped his work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said, "I will know it."

The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates it or not. "Excellence" is a drive from inside, not outside. Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction and efficiency...

Conquer Your Weakness

This is a story of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move. "Sensei," the boy finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?"

"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the Sensei replied. Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.

Several months later, the Sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the Sensei intervened. "No," the Sensei insisted, "Let him continue."

Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.

On the way home, the boy and Sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind. "Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"

"You won for two reasons," the Sensei answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defence for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm."

The boy's greatest weakness had become his greatest strength.


Received on mail

Four Candles

Four candles slowly burned, the ambiance was so soft one could almost hear them talking...

The first candle said " I am peace. The world is full of anger and fighting, nobody can keep me lit". Then the flame of peace went out completely"

The second candle said " I am faith. I am no longer indispensable, it does not make sense that I stay lit another moment ". Just then a breeze softly blew Faith's flame.

Sadly the third candle began to speak: " I am love, people don't understand my importance so they simply put me aside.They even forget to love those who are nearest to them". And waiting no longer Love's flame went out.

Suddenly a child entered the room and saw the three unlit candles " why aren't you burning? You are supposed to stay still lit till the end". Saying this the child began to cry.

Then the fourth candle answered: " Don't be afraid. I am hope. While I am still burning we can re-lit the other candles". With shining eye the child took the candle and lit other candles.

The greatest of these is LOVE.....but the flame of HOPE should never go out of your life. With hope each of us can live with Peace, Faith and Love.

Prayer:

Dear GOD,

You are light and salvation. You are my hope, please come into my heart , forgive all my wrongs, lead me to the right path. Help me be an instrument of Your love and cause Your light to shine others through me.

GOD bless All
--author unknown

Swallows

Here his wife is injured and the condition is fatal. She was hit by a car as she swooped low across the road. 

He brought her food and attended to her with love  and compassion.

He brought her food again but was shocked to find her dead.  He tried to move her....a rarely-seen effort for swallows!

Aware that his sweetheart is dead and will never come back to him again, he cries with adoring love.

He stood beside her, saddened of her death.

Finally aware that she would never return to him,he stood beside her body with sadness and sorrow.

Millions of people cried after watching this picture in America, Europe and in Asia . It is said that the  photographer sold these pictures for a nominal fee to the  most famous newspaper in France . All copies of that
newspaper were sold out on the day these pictures were published.   

 And many people think animals don't have a brain or feelings?????

The Big Rocks

An expert on the subject of time management was speaking to a group of business students. He stood in front of these high-powered overachievers, pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed Mason jar, and set it on a table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar.

When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked " Is this jar full?"

Everyone in the class said, "Yes".

Then he said , "Really?"

He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar, causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?"

By this time the class was on to him. " Probably not," one of them answered.

"Good!" he replied.

He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel.

Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?"

"No!" the class shouted.

Once again he said,"Good!"

Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the class and asked.

"What is the point of this illustration?"

One of them raised his hand and said," The point is, no matter how much full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fill some more things into it!"

" No," the speaker replied," that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is this

" If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all."


What are the big rocks in your life?

Are you putting them in first?

Life is not just eating, work and sleep.There is so much to life.

First things first!

Pray to the almighty GOD your Creator. Meditate daily, keep some time for yourself, spend time in silence.

Work towards realization of Self and realization of GOD.

                                          
                                                     Lord Shiva in Meditation posture

Reaction / Response

Suddenly, a cockroach flew from somewhere 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 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 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 its my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me. Its 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, its 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

Unclear cleared

A little boy was doing his maths homework.He said to himself, "Two plus six, that son of a bitch is eight. Three plus four, that son of a bitch is seven...."


His mother heard what he was saying and gasped, "What are you doing?"


The little boy answered, "I'm doing my maths homework, Mom.
"And this is how your teacher taught you to do it?" the mother asked.


"Yes," he answered.


Infuriated, the mother asked the teacher the next day, "What are you teaching my son in maths?"


The teacher replied, "Right now, we are learning addition."


The mother asked, "And are you teaching them to say two plus two, that son of a bitch is four?"


After the teacher stopped laughing, she answered, "What I taught them was, two plus two, THE SUM OF WHICH, is four."


Moral
“Things are not always as they seem”

Mexican Fisher Men

A boat docked in a tiny Mexican fishing village. 

A tourist complimented the local fishermen on the quality of their fish and asked how long it took him to catch them.

   "Not very long." they answered in unison.

"Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more?"

The fishermen explained that their small catches were sufficient to meet their needs and those of their families.

"But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

"We sleep late, fish a little, play with our children, and take siestas with our wives. In the evenings, we go into the village to see our friends, have a few drinks, play the guitar, and sing a few songs.

We have a full life."

                                                                                                 

The tourist interrupted, 

"I have an MBA from Harvard and I can help you!
You should start by fishing longer every day.
You can then sell the extra fish you catch.
With the extra revenue, you can buy a bigger boat." 

"And after that?"

"With the extra money the larger boat will bring, you can buy a second one and a third one and so on until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middle man, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. 

You can then leave this little village and move to   Mexico City , Los Angeles , or even   New York City !

From there you can direct your huge new enterprise."


"How long would that take?"

"Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years." replied the tourist.

  

"And after that?"

"Afterwards? Well my friend, that's when it gets really interesting, " answered the tourist, laughing. "When your business gets really big, you can start buying and selling stocks and make millions!"  

 "Millions? Really? And after that?" asked the fishermen.. 

"After that you'll be able to retire,
live in a tiny village near the coast,
sleep late, play with your children,
catch a few fish, take a siesta with your wife and spend your evenings drinking and enjoying your friends." 

"With all due respect sir, but that's exactly what we are doing now. So what's the point wasting twenty-five years?" asked the Mexicans.   

And the moral of this story is:

Know where you're going in life.... you may already be there!!    

Alexander the Great's Last Words: 3 Wishes

"A man's errors are his portals of discovery"

--James Joyce

There is always so much to learn from great people who have walked before us on this earth.

Alexander the Great's Last Words!  

Alexander, after conquering many kingdoms, was returning home. On the way, he fell ill and it took him to his death bed. With death staring him in his face, Alexander realized how his conquests, his great army, his sharp sword and all his wealth were of no consequence. He now longed to reach home to see his mother's face and bid her his last adieu. But, he had to accept the fact that his sinking health would not permit him to reach his distant homeland. So, the mighty conqueror lay prostrate and pale, helplessly waiting to breathe his last. He called his generals and said, "I will depart from this world soon, I have three wishes, please carry them out without fail."   With tears flowing down their cheeks, the generals agreed to abide by their king's last wishes.

"My first desire is that", said Alexander, "My physicians alone must carry my coffin." After a pause, he continued, "Secondly, I desire that when my coffin is being carried to the grave, the path leading to the graveyard be strewn with gold, silver and precious stones which I have collected in my treasury". The king felt exhausted after saying this. He took a minute's rest and continued. "My third and last wish is that both my hands be kept dangling out of my coffin".

The people who had gathered there wondered at the king's strange wishes. But no one dared bring the question to their lips. Alexander's favorite general kissed his hand and pressed them to his heart. "O king, we

assure you that your wishes will all be fulfilled. But tell us why do you make such strange wishes?". At this Alexander took a deep breath and said: "I would like the world to know of the three lessons I have just learnt. 

Lessons to learn from last 3 wishes of King Alexander...

1. I want my physicians to carry my coffin because people should realize that no doctor can really cure

anybody. They are powerless and cannot save a person from the clutches of death. So let not people take life for granted. 

2. The second wish of strewing gold, silver and other riches on the way to the graveyard is to tell people that not even a fraction of gold will come with me. I spent all my life earning riches but cannot take anything with me. Let people realize that it is a sheer waste of time to chase wealth.

3. And about my third wish of having my hands dangling out of the coffin, I wish people to know that I came empty handed into this world and empty handed I go out of this world".

With these words, the king closed his eyes. Soon he let death conquer him.

This existence is a gift of life. Its very precious, its sheer waste to waste it.So make the best use of it and make this world a beautiful place to live. Each person should strive for knowledge. Only knowledge can destroy the veil of ignorance."Knowledge is the food of the soul"--plato

And Self Knowledge is the highest knowledge of all. So strive for it.