Sunday, 30 October 2011

Right Speech!!

There is a Chinese saying which carries the meaning that "A speech will either prosper or ruin a nation." Many relationships break off because of wrong speech. When a couple is too close with each other,we always forget mutual respect and courtesy. We may say anything without considering if it would hurt the other party.
 

A friend and her millionaire husband visited their construction site. A worker who wore a helmet saw her and shouted,"Hi, Emily! Remember me? We used to date in the secondary school." On the way home, her millionaire husband teased her, "Luckily you married me.Otherwise you will be the wife of a construction worker." She answered ,"You should appreciate that you married me. Otherwise, he will be the millionaire and not you."

 
Frequently exchanging these remarks, plants the seed for a bad relationship. It's like a broken egg - cannot be reversed.

Monday, 24 October 2011

Decision Making!!!

A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in use while the other disused. Only one child played on the disused track, the  rest on the operational track.

 

The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange.

You can make the train change its course to the disused track and save most of the kids.

 
However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way?


Just think what kind of decision we would make........ ...... 

Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one child. Because to save most of the children at the expense of only one child was rational decision most people would make, morally and emotionally. But, have you ever thought that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place?
Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was.
 
This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday. In the office, community, in politics and especially in a democratic society, the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are. The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined. And in the case he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for him.

 

The great critic Leo Velski Julian who told the story, said he would not try to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids playing on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in use, and that they should have run away if they heard the train's sirens.

 
If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to that track!


Moreover, that track was not in use probably because the track was not safe. If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake! And in the attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids. 
 

While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made, we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right one. 

Wednesday, 19 October 2011

A Blind Beggar

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: 'I am blind, please help.'
 
 
There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words.
 
He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.
 
Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, 'Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?'
The man said, 'I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way.' What he had written was: 'Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it.'
 
Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing?
 
Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?
Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have.
                                     Be creative...
                                     Be innovative.. .
                                     Think differently and positively.
 
Invite others towards good with wisdom. Live life with no excuse and love with no regrets. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence.. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear.
 
Great men say, 'Life has to be an incessant process of repair and reconstruction, of discarding evil and developing goodness.... In the journey of life, if you want to travel without fear, you must have the ticket of a good conscience.'

Sunday, 16 October 2011

A Donkey in the Well

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried
piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be
covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He
invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They each grabbed
a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.

At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly.
Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer looked down the well, and was
astonished at what he saw. As every shovel of dirt hit his back, the
donkey did something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step
up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal,
he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was
amazed, as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off.

The Moral:

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to
getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our
troubles a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not
stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!

Saturday, 1 October 2011

Life is about Correcting Mistakes...Nice One!!

Monica married Hitesh this day. At the end of the wedding party, Monica's
mother gave her a newly opened bank saving passbook. With Rs.1000 deposit
amount.

Mother: 'Monica, take this passbook. Keep it as a record of your marriage
life. When there's something happy and memorable happened in your new
life, put some money in. Write down what it's about next to the line.

The more memorable the event is, the more money you can put in. I've done
the first one for you today. Do the others with Hitesh.When you look back
after years, you can know how much happiness you've had.'

Monica shared this with Hitesh when getting home. They both thought it was
a great idea and were anxious to know when the second deposit can be made.

This was what they did after certain time:
- 7 Feb: Rs.100, first birthday celebration for Hitesh after marriage
- 1 Mar: Rs.300, salary raise for Monica
- 20 Mar: Rs.200, vacation trip to Bali
- 15 Apr: Rs.2000, Monica got pregnant
- 1 Jun: Rs.1000, Hitesh got promoted
..... and so on...

However, after years, they started fighting and arguing for trivial
things.They didn't talk much. They regretted that they had married the
most nasty people in the world.... no more love...Kind of typical
nowadays, huh?
One day Monica talked to her Mother:

'Mom, we can't stand it anymore. We agree to divorce. I can't imagine how
I decided to marry this guy!!!'

Mother: 'Sure, girl, that's no big deal. Just do whatever you want if you
really can't stand it. But before that, do one thing first. Remember the
saving passbook I gave you on your wedding day? Take out all money and
spend it first. You shouldn't keep any record of such a poor marriage.'

Monica thought it was true. So she went to the bank, waiting at the queue
and planning to cancel the account.

While she was waiting, she took a look at the passbook record. She looked,
and looked, and looked. Then the memory of all the previous joy and
happiness just came up her mind. Her eyes were then filled with tears. She
left and went home.

When she was home, she handed the passbook to Hitesh, asked him to spend
the money before getting divorce.

The next day, Hitesh gave the passbook back to Monica. She found a new
deposit of Rs.5000.

And a line next to the record: 'This is the day I notice how much I've
loved you thru out all these years. How much happiness you've brought me.'

They hugged and cried, putting the passbook back to the safe.
I don't know how much they saved .I believe the money did not matter any
more after they had gone thru all the good years in their life.

"When you fall, in any way, Don't see the place where you fell, Instead
see the place from where you slipped. Life is about correcting mistakes."