Don’t Waste Time Hating Anyone!

Two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the Journey they had an Argument, & one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand:

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire & started drowning, but the friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone:

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.

The friend who had slapped & saved his best friend asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand & now, you write on a stone, why?” The other friend replied “When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”

LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND & TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE!

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them.

“Happiness is not something you find, it’s something you create.”

‘Life Is Too Short To Waste Time Hating Anyone’

ENJOY every MOMENT OF LIFE!

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How To Develop Our Personality ?

SUPERB MESSAGE : Do read the entire message...

Someone asked Sri Sri Ravi Shankar how to develop our personality ?

Sri Sri Ravi Sankar said : you have to spend five days to have these five experiences to really blossom in your life. You can develop your personality with these five experiences. You have to play SINCERELY these five roles:

1. The first role which I would recommend to you is to be a *School Teacher.*

Being a nursery or primary school teacher, even for one day, you will see how you have to increase your patience.

2. Be a *Gardener* or spend a day with a Farmer.

You will value food and you will not waste food. You know, what we do?

3. You should spend a day in the *mental hospital*.

Whatever people talk in the mental hospital, you don’t mind. If they scold you, if they blame you,

if they curse you, will you mind?

You don’t mind because you are aware that this person is mentally sick.

You know that many people are outside the hospital, but that does not mean they are mentally well.

So, in life, you come across people who blame you for nothing, who are jealous or angry, who say things that make no sense. Then, you know, you will have the patience to deal with them with a smile.

4. One day you must go to a *prison*. Maybe it is shocking to you.

You don’t have to do a wrong thing to go to a prison. Just go visit a prison, spend a little time with the prisoners. You will understand what compassion is. What helplessness is. Those people did a mistake without awareness. So you will know how you must have a say on your emotions.

5. There are terminally ill people in the *hospital*

One day with them, and you will realize how precious life is. And you will start valuing health.

You will eat better, you will exercise. You will do all that is needed to be more vibrant in your life.

With these five days what would be the outcome? I guess from these five days you will become More Vibrant, More Alive, More Loving, Compassionate and Active.

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Love resides in heart!

Once upon a time, when God had finished making the world, he wanted to leave behind a piece of His own divinity, a spark of His essence, a promise to man of what he could become, with effort. He looked for a place to hide this precious gift and He explained why?Because what a man could find too easily would never be valued by him.

"Then you must hide this gift on the highest mountain peak on earth," said one of His counselors.

God shook His head, "No, for man is an adventuresome creature and he will soon enough learn to climb the highest mountain peaks."

"Hide it then, My Lord, in the depths of the earth."

"I think not," said God. "for man will one day discover that he can dig into the deepest parts of the earth."

"In the middle of the ocean then, God?"

God shook His head. "I've given man a brain, you see, and one day he'll learn to build ships and cross the mightiest oceans."

"Where then, My Lord?" cried His counselors.

God smiled, "I'll hide it where every man and woman will be able to find  it if they look sincerely and deeply enough. I'll hide it in their heart, because that's the place where LOVE resides..."

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Ugly mind is a seat of Devil !

It was a crowded flight & a beautiful lady aged around 40 years boarded the flight as the passenger. She searched for her seat & found her seat was next to a black man.

She showed that she wasn’t in a hurry to take her seat as she found it too hard & awkward to sit next to a black man.

Feeling disgusted, the beautiful lady called the air hostess and asked her to change her seat.

The air hostess requested for a reason why she would like to change the seat. She replied, “It is impossible for me to sit next to a black man, I hate it!

The air hostess was shocked to hear these hard words from the one who looked so dignified and composed.

She again demanded her to get her a new seat. The air-hostess said she would do so & requested her to wait for a few minutes.

The air hostess went in search of an empty seat for the lady. The air hostess told the lady, ‘I’m afraid Madam, there is no vacant seat in the economy class and the flight is almost full! However, we do follow the policy to fulfill the desires of our passengers to the maximum extent possible. So, give me a minute, I will check with my captain & get back to you, as we feel it is not fair to force a passenger to have an unpleasant seat!’

The lady waited for a couple of minutes and the air hostess came.

The latter replied, ‘Madam, sorry for this inconvenience. We don’t want to make your journey unpleasant by making you sit next to someone with whom you aren’t comfortable. There is one seat available in the First Class. Although we don’t allow any passenger to move from economy class to first class, to make you a happy customer, we are doing this for the first time in our company’s history. Our captain agreed to shift from economy class to first class.!’

Just before the lady said any word as a reply, the air hostess humbly requested the black man and told him, ‘Dear sir, would you please shift your seat to first class? Please retrieve all your personal items from your seat & our captain would like to move you to first class as we don’t really want to have an uncomfortable journey sitting next an unpleasant person, with an ugly mind!‘

The lady was quiet and frozen!  A few of the fellow passengers were happy and gave huge applause for the flight crew!

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In search of Five Idiots!

Akbar asked Birbal to look for five most idiots in his state and produce them in his court within a month.

After a month's extensive search operations, Birbal brought to the court only two persons. "But I asked for five", Akbar angrily asked.

"Give me a chance to present them one by one", Birbal pleaded & went on to present his idiots:

"Maharaj, this man, while traveling in a bullock cart, was keeping his luggage on his head so as not to hurt the bullocks. He is the first idiot.

Pointing to the second man Birbal continued, "And this man here is the second idiot. Some grass grew on the roof of his thatched house and he was trying to force his cow climb up a ladder to graze on them."

Birbal continued, "Maharaj, there were a lot of important jobs for me to do in the state, but I ignored them & wasted a precious month in searching for idiots. According to me I am the third idiot."

Birbal paused here for a moment.

"Who are the fourth and fifth idiots?", Akbar thundered.

"Beg your pardon, Maharaj", Birbal continued, "You are the king & are responsible for the well being of the entire state & its people. You need wise persons to help you oversee the state affairs. Instead of looking for wise people you engaged me to look for idiots. According to me you are the fourth idiot.

And, Maharaj, the person who is glued to this stupid story, keeping aside all his high priority assignments, oblivious of pressing needs of his familiy,  just to learn who is the fifth idiot, is the fifth idiot himself. You will not find a better idiot to beat this  one. What do you say, Maharaj?", Birbal concluded.

Akbar said, "This is a latest one. Post it immediately in all groups. Lots of idiots are eagerly waiting".

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Growing Good Corn!

There once was a farmer who grew award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won a blue ribbon.

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbours.

"How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbours when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked.

"Why sir," said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbours grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbours grow good corn."

He is very much aware of the connectedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbour's corn also improves.

So it is with our lives. Those who choose to live in peace must help their neighbours to live in peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others to find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all.

The lesson for each of us is this: if we are to grow good corn, we must help our neighbours grow good corn.

It is possible to give away and  become richer! It is also possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything. Yes, the liberal man shall be rich! By watering others, he waters himself.

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The Law of the Garbage Truck!

Recently I hopped in a Taxi and we took off for the Airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and  waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'

This is when my Taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of Garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their Garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally.

Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on.  Don't take their Garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day.

Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so ...Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't.

Life is Ten percent what you make it and Ninety percent how you take it! Have a garbage-free day.

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The Power Of Faith!

A business man was late for his flight. He reached the boarding gate just before it closed. Sweating and out of breath, he scanned his boarding pass at the counter & quickly made his way to the plane.

Arriving at his seat, he greeted his companions : a middle-aged woman sitting at the window, and a little girl sitting on the aisle seat. After stowing his bag above, he took his place between them.

After the flight took off, he began a conversation with the little girl. She appeared to be about the same age as his daughter and was busy with her colouring book. He asked her a few usual questions, such as her age (eight), her hobbies (cartoons and drawing), as well as her favourite animal (horses are pretty, but she just loved cats). He found it strange that such a young girl would be traveling alone, but he kept his thoughts to himself & decided to keep an eye on her to make sure she was okay.

About an hour into the flight, the plane suddenly began experiencing extreme turbulence. The pilot came over the PA system and told everyone to fasten their seat belts & remain calm, as they had encountered rough weather.

Several times over the next half hour the plane made drastic dips & turns, shaking all the while. Some people began crying, and many-like the woman in the window seat-were praying intently. The man was sweating and clenching his seat as tightly as he could and exclaimed "Oh my God!” with each increasingly violent shake of the plane.

Meanwhile, the little girl was sitting quietly beside him in her seat. Her colouring book and crayons were put away neatly in the seat pocket in front of her & her hands were calmly resting on her legs. Incredibly, she didn't seem worried at all.

Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the turbulence ended. The pilot came on a few minutes later to apologize for the bumpy ride and to announce that they would be landing soon. As the plane began its descent, the man said to the little girl, “You are just a little girl, but I have never met a braver person in all my life! Tell me, dear, how is it that you remained so calm while all of us adults were so afraid?”

Looking at him in the eyes, she said, *“My Father is the Pilot, and He's Taking Me Home."*

Interpretation of this story:

*If we Recognize the Power of Faith.We Won't Look for Miracles.*

May this beautiful story inspire us and brighten our path..

*When Dad(God) is with you, you don't need Miracles.

*Our Parents are the Biggest Miracle of Our Life.

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Running Your Own Race!

I was cycling and noticed a person ahead of me, about 1/4 of a km. I could tell he was cycling a little slower than me and decided to try to catch him. I had about a km to. go on the road before turning off.

So I started cycling faster and faster and every block, I was gaining on him just a little bit. After a few minutes I was only about 100 yards behind him, so I really picked up the pace and pushed myself. You would have thought I was cycling the last leg of London Olympic triathlon.

Finally, I caught up with him and passed him by. On the inside I felt so good. "I beat him" of course, but he didn't even know we were racing. After I passed him, I realized that I had been so focused on competing against him that I had missed my turn, had gone nearly six blocks past it and had to turn around and go all back.

Isn't that what happens in life when we focus on competing with co-workers, neighbours, friends, family, trying to outdo them or trying to prove that we are more successful or more important? We spend our time and energy running after them and we miss out on our own paths to our destinies.

Moral :The problem with unhealthy competition is that it's a never ending 'cycle'. There will always be somebody ahead of you, someone with better job, nicer car, more money in the bank, more education, a more handsome husband / a beautiful wife, better behaved children, etc.

Take what Life has given you, the height, the weight & the personality. Dress well & wear it proudly! You'll be blessed by it. Stay focused and live a healthy life.There's no competition in DESTINY. Run your own RACE and wish others WELL !

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own Sunshine. Think over it.....

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The Missing Goat!

It all started one lazy Sunday afternoon in a small town near Toronto in Canada. Two school-going friends had a crazy idea.

They rounded up three goats from the neighborhood and painted the number 1, 2 and 4 on their sides.

That night they let the goats loose inside their school building.The next morning, when the authorities entered the school, they could smell something was wrong.

They soon saw goat droppings on the stairs and near the entrance and realized that some goats had entered the building.

A search was immediately launched and very soon, the three goats were found. But the authorities were worried, where was goat No. 3? They spent the rest of the day looking for goat No.3. Gradually there was panic and frustration.

The school declared classes off for the students for the rest of the day. The teachers, helpers, guards, canteen staffs, boys were all busy looking for the goat No. 3, which, of course, was never found. Simply because it did not exist.

Those among us who in-spite of having a good life are always feeling a "lack of fulfillment" are actually looking for the elusive, missing, non-existent goat No.3.

Whatever the area of complaint or search or dissatisfaction may be - relationship, job-satisfaction, materialistic achievement....

An absence of something is always larger than  the presence of many other things. Stop worrying about goat No.3 and have worry-free days...

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The Empty Boat!

A monk decides to meditate alone, away from his monastery. He takes his boat out to the middle of the lake, moors it there, closes his eyes and begins his meditation.  After a few hours of undisturbed silence, he suddenly feels the bump of another boat colliding with his own.

With his eyes still closed, he senses his anger rising, and by the time he opens his eyes,  he is ready to scream at the boatman who dared disturb his meditation. But when he opens his eyes, he sees it is an empty boat that had probably got untethered and floated to the middle of the lake.

At that moment, the monk achieves self-realization, and understands that the anger is within him; it merely needs the bump of an external object to provoke it out of him.

From then on, whenever he came across someone who irritated him or provoked him to anger, he reminded himself :

''The other person is merely an empty boat. The anger is within me..."

In reality, we all have the anger within us, all the time. All it needs is someone, like the empty boat, to provoke it.

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Farmer's daughter!

A young man wished to marry the farmer's beautiful daughter. He went to the farmer to ask his permission.

The farmer looked him over and said,

"Son, go stand out in that field. I'm going to release three bulls, one at a time. If you can catch the tail of any one of the three bulls, you can marry my daughter."

The young man stood in the pasture awaiting the first bull.

The barn door opened and out ran the biggest, meanest-looking bull he had ever seen. He decided that one of the next bulls had to be a better choice than this one, so he ran over to the side and let the bull pass through the pasture out the back gate.

The barn door opened again. Unbelievable. He had never seen anything so big and fierce in his life. It stood pawing the ground, grunting, slinging slobber as it eyed him. Whatever the next bull was like, it had to be a better choice than this one. He ran to the fence and let the bull pass through the pasture, out the back gate.

The door opened a third time. A smile came across his face. This was the weakest, scrawniest little bull he had ever seen. This one was his bull. As the bull came running by, he positioned himself just right and jumped at just the exact moment.

He grabbed… but the bull had no tail!

Moral:-Life is full of opportunities. Some will be easy to take advantage of, some will be difficult. But once we let them pass (often in hopes of something better), those opportunities may never again be available. So always grab the first opportunity.

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Abundant blessings!

A king who did not believe in the goodness of God, had a slave who, in all circumstances, said: My king, do not be discouraged, because everything God does is perfect, no mistakes!

One day they went hunting and along the way a wild animal attacked the king. His slave managed to kill the animal, but could not prevent his majesty losing a finger.

Furious and without showing his gratitude for being saved, the nobleman said “Is God good? If He was good, I would not have been attacked and lost my finger.”

The slave replied: “My king, despite all these things, I can only tell you that God is good, and he knows “why” of all these things. What God does is perfect. He is never wrong!”

Outraged by the response, the king ordered the arrest of his slave.

Later, he left for another hunt and was captured by savages who made human sacrifices.

In the altar, ready to sacrifice the nobleman, the savages found that the victim had not one of his fingers, so he was released. According to them, it was not so complete to be offered to the gods.

Upon his return to the palace, he authorized the release of his slave that he received very affectionately.

“My dear, God was really good to me! I was almost killed by the wild men, but for lack of a single finger, I was let go! But I have a question: if God is so good, why did he allow me to put you in jail?”

“My King, if I had gone with you in this hunt, I would have been sacrificed for you, because I have no missing finger, therefore, remember everything God does is perfect. He is never wrong.”

Often we complain about life, and negative things that happen to us, forgetting that nothing is random and that everything has a purpose.

Every morning, offer your day to God, don’t be in a rush. Ask God to inspire your thoughts, guide your actions, and ease your feelings. And do not be afraid. God is never wrong!

You know why this message is for you? I do not know, but God knows, because he never make mistakes…

We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him, whom he has called according to his plan. (Rom 8: 28).

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Mother is flying a kite

Her son is watching her carefully. After some time son says, "Mom, because of the string the kite is not able to go any further higher."

Hearing this, the mother smiles and breaks the string. The kite goes higher and then shortly after that, it comes and falls on the ground. The child is very dejected and sad.

The mother sits next to him and calmly explains: "Son, in life we reach a certain level and then we feel that there are certain things that are not letting us grow any further like Home, Family, Friends, Culture etc."

We feel we want to be  free from those strings which we believe are stopping us from going higher.

But, remember son."That our home , family, friends and culture are the things that will help us stay stable at the high heights."

If we try to break away from those strings, our condition will be similar to the kite. "We'll fall down soon."

Moral:: "Never  go  away  from  Home  Culture,  Family, Friends  and Relationships as they help keep us stable while we are flying high..." Life is Beautiful, live it to the full.

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Each Gives What He Has !

Back in the days when Germany was divided, a huge wall separated East & West Berlin. One day, some people in East Berlin took a truck load of garbage and dumped it on the West Berlin side.

The people of West Berlin could have done the same thing, but they didn't Instead they took a truck load of canned goods, bread, milk and other provisions, and neatly stacked it on the East Berlin side. On top of this stack they placed the sign:

*“EACH GIVES WHAT HE HAS"*

How very true! You can only give what you have.

My dear friend, what do you have inside of you? Is it hate or love? Violence or peace? Death or life?

What have you acquired over the years? Is it capacity to build or capacity to destroy? Is it ability to make money or steal money? Is it ingenuity to develop good things that will benefit mankind or ability to bomb those good things that others have laboured to build? Think about it.

*"EACH GIVES WHAT HE HAS"*

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Just Drops!

Recently, when I was going to bed after using my bathroom, I started hearing sound of drops of water from the tap in slow successions, but since it was dropping into an empty bucket, I decided to let it be.

But, alas! When I woke up the next morning, around 5am, the bucket was almost full! I was surprised that just drops even in such slow successions could produce that much. I couldn't help it, 'Just drops?!' I questioned rhetorically.

But the following night, I made sure that the tap in my bathroom was locked completely and I checked the bucket and saw that it was empty, though wet. Then I went to sleep.

I guess you already know what I saw the next morning. The bucket was not wet as I had left it, but it was now dry!

Then I realized the importance of a drop and how much difference it can make in all ramifications of one's life compared to a dry tap.

Imagine letting the drops be for a year, I would be scooping with drums at the end of the year!

So, how about that drop of savings?

How about that drop of kindness and love everyday?

How about a drop of reading useful books today and every day?

How about that drop of a verse of the scripture today and every day?

How about that drop of prayer today and every day?

How about a drop of worship today and every day?

How about a drop of step towards your God-given dream today and every day?

How about a drop of giving into your heavenly account?

What virtue and discipline will you start today in little drops?

Never neglect the importance of a drop, for when the harvest time comes, you would have made a big difference......Ponder on this thought.

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Learn From Eagle

Seven Principles of an eagle to live by

(1) Eagles fly alone and at high altitudes. They don’t fly with sparrows or other small birds. Stay away from sparrows and ravens, those that bring you down.Eagles fly with Eagles.

Keep good company.

(2) Eagles have an accurate vision. They have the ability to focus on something as far as 5km. No matter the obstacles, the eagle will not move his focus from the prey until he grabs it.

Have a vision and remain focused no matter what the obstacle and you will succeed.

(3) Eagles do not eat dead things. They feed only on fresh prey.

Do not rely on your past success. Keep looking for new frontiers to conquer. Leave your past where it belongs, in the past.

(4) Eagles love the storm. When clouds gather, the eagles get excited. The eagle uses the storm’s wind to lift it higher. Once it finds the wind of the storm, the eagles uses the raging storm to lift him above the clouds. This gives the eagle an opportunity to glide and rest its wings. In the meantime, all the other birds hide in the leaves & branches of the trees.

Face your challenges knowing that these will make you emerge stronger and better than you were. We can use the storms of life to rise to greater heights. Achievers are not afraid of challenges rather they relish them & use them profitably.

(5) Eagles tests the commitments of the partner. When a female eagle meets a male and they want to mate, she flies down to earth with the male pursing her and she picks a twig. She flies back into the air with the male pursuing her. Once she has reached a height high enough for her, she lets the twig fall to the ground and watches it as it falls. The male chases after the twig. The faster it falls, the faster he chases until he reaches it and has to catch it before it falls to the ground, then bring it back to the female eagle. The female eagle grabs the twig and flies to a much higher altitude, and then drops the twig for the male to chase. This goes on for hours, with the height increasing until the female eagle is assured that the male eagle has mastered the art of picking the twig which shows commitment, then and only then, will she allow him to mate with her!

Whether in private life or in business, one should test commitment of people intended for partnership.

(6) Eagles prepare for training. They remove the feathers & soft grass in the nest so that the young get uncomfortable in preparation for flying.

Leave your comfort zone, there is no growth in it.

(7) Rebirth of Eagle: When the Eagle grows old, his feathers:become weak and cannot take him as fast as he should. When he feels weak and about to die, he retires to a place far away in the rocks.While there, he plucks out every feather on his body until he is completely bare. He stays in this hiding place until he has grown new feathers, then he can come out. [It is a myth and not true, but let us take the lesson]

We occasionally need to shed off old habits, things that burden us, or add no value to our lives.

“But those who wait on The Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles;they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

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The World will never appreciate You!

One day, a school teacher wrote on the board the following:
9×1=7         9×2=18       9×3=27      9×4=36     9×5=45

9×6=54       9×7=63       9×8=72      9×9=81     9×10=90

When she was done, she looked back at the students and they were all laughing at her because of the first equation which was wrong.

Then the teacher said the following: I wrote that first one wrong on purpose, because I wanted you to learn something important. This was for you to know how the world out there will treat you. 

You can see that I wrote the RIGHT thing nine times, but none of you congratulated me for it. But you all laughed and criticized me because of one wrong thing I did.

The lesson is: The world will never appreciate the good you do a million times, but will criticize the one wrong thing you do. But keep doing your good works and do not loose heart. God is there to reward you for your good works.

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The World is a Big Mirror

Once a dog ran into a museum where all the walls, the ceiling, the door and even the floor were made of mirror, seeing this the dog froze in surprise in the middle of the hall, a whole pack of dogs surrounded it from all sides, from above and below. Just in case, the dog barked his teeth and all the reflections responded to it in the same way.

Frightened, the dog frantically barked- the reflections imitated the bark and increased it many times. The dog barked even harder and the echo was keeping up. The dog tossed from one side to another, biting the air - his reflections also tossed around snapping their teeth.

Next day in the morning the museum security guards found the miserable dog, lifeless and surrounded by a million reflections of lifeless dogs. There was nobody, who would make any harm to the dog. The dog died by fighting with his own reflections.

The world doesn't bring good or evil on its own. Everything that is happening around us is the reflection of our own thoughts, feelings, wishes and actions. The World is a big mirror.

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A Carrot and an Egg to examine!

A student complained to his learned teacher about the difficulties he has to endure in his life. He came from a very poor family and had to look after his home and support his aged and sick parents and his younger siblings by working hard every day after the classes in school while his wealthy class-mates could play and rest without any stress or strain. He was almost exhausted and had even thought about committing suicide.

 

The wise teacher gave him a carrot and an egg to examine. He was asked to comment on their hardness. He said that the carrot was sufficiently hard that it cannot be crushed by hands. The egg could be easily cracked and the liquid contents would leak out with ease. Then the teacher put the carrot and egg together in a pan, added some water to cover the articles and then boiled the water over the flame.

After some time, the teacher took out the articles from the pan and asked for the comments of the student. The boy observed that the carrot, which was hard earlier, had become very soft after boiling. The egg, on the other hand, became very hard during the boiling. Its contents had solidified and now would not flow out even when the shell is shattered.

The teacher told the boy, “Earlier, you were like the carrot. Your courage and strength of mind were lost when you were exposed to the hard realities of life. You became weak and could be smashed easily.” Next, he displayed the egg and told, “Be like the egg. You are soft and tender by nature, but the adversities of life should make you bolder and stronger. Then you can gain the courage to face any harsh moments with confidence.” He then narrated the biography of successful persons who could overcome the hard times of early life with confidence and earnest efforts.

Bible tells in John 12:24, a grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die, then it produces many grains.

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Choose to Live a Life that Matters

Ready or not, some day it will all come to an end. There will be no more sunrises, no more minutes, no more hours or days.

All the things you collected, whether treasured or forgotten, will pass to someone else.

Your wealth, your fame and temporal power will shrivel to irrelevance. Your grudges, your  resentments, your frustrations and jealousies will finally disappear.

So, too, your hopes, your ambitions, your plans and to-do lists will expire. The wins and losses that once seemed so important will fade away.

It won't matter where you came from, or on what side of the tracks you lived at the end.

It won't matter whether you were beautiful or brilliant. Even your gender and skin colour will be irrelevant.

So what will matter? How will the value of your days be measured?

What will matter is not what you bought, but what you built.

What will matter is not what you got, but what you gave.

What will matter is not your success, but your significance.

What will matter is not what you learned, but what you taught.

What will matter is every act of integrity, compassion, courage or sacrifice that enriched, empowered or encouraged others to emulate your example.

What will matter is not your competence, but your character.

What will matter is not how many people you knew, but how many will feel a lasting loss when you are gone.

What will matter is not your memories, but the memories that live in those who loved you.

What will matter is how long you will be remembered, by whom and for what.

Living a life that matters doesn't happen by accident.

It is not a matter of circumstance but of choice.

Choose to live a life that matters.

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Shake It Off And Step Up !

There was a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer’s dry well. The farmer heard the mule ‘braying’.

After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbours together and told them what had happened and asked 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 hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbours continued shoveling the dirt which hit his back every time. A thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, HE SHOULD SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP!

This he did, blow after blow. “shake it off & step up..shake it off and step up!” He repeated to encourage himself.

No matter how painful the blows, or distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought “panic” and just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP!

You are right! It wasn’t long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well!

What seemed like it would bury him, actually blessed him. All because of the manner in which he handled his adversity. Hey, that is life!

If we face our problems and respond to them positively and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity, the adversities that come along to bury us usually, have within them the potential to benefit and bless us!

Remember that forgiveness-faith- prayer-praise and hope all are excellent ways to “shake it off & step up” out of the wells in which we find ourselves!

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Feeling Free and Relaxed is a Choice!

By Adi Shankaracharya!

Adi was teaching his students how to empty and free their mind. He was walking through the market place with his disciples and they saw a man dragging a cow by a rope.

Sankara told the man to wait and asked his disciples to surround them.

“I am going to teach you something” and he continued..

“Tell me who is bound to whom? Is the cow bound to this man or the man is bound to the cow?"

The disciples said without hesitation “Of course the cow is bound to the man! The man is the master. He is holding the rope. The cow has to follow him wherever he goes. The man is the master and the cow is the slave.”

“Now watch this”, said Sankara and he took out a pair of scissors from his bag and cut the rope.

The cow ran away from the master and the man ran after his cow. “Look, what is happening”, said Sankara.

Do you see who the Master is? The cow is not at all interested in this man. The cow in fact, is trying to escape from this man.

This is the case with our MIND. Like the cow, all the non-sense that we carry inside is not interested in us. WE ARE INTERESTED IN IT, we are keeping it together somehow or the other. We are going crazy, trying to keep it all together under our control.

The moment we lose interest in all the garbage filled in our head and the moment we understand the futility of it, it will start to disappear. Like the cow, it will escape and disappear.

Feeling Free and Relaxed is a Choice!

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Christians and Pastors are put to the test

A Preacher from out-of-town accepted a call to a Church in England & after his arrival he took a bus for that particular church where he was supposed to preach. When he sat down, he discovered that the driver had accidentally given him 50 pence extra change. He thought to himself, "You would better give this money back. It would be wrong to keep it."

Then he thought, "Oh, forget it, it is only 50 pence, who would worry about this little amount ? Anyway, the bus company gets too much fare; they will never miss it. Accept it as a 'gift from God' & keep quiet."

When his stop came, he paused momentarily at the door & then handed the 50 pence to the driver saying "Here, you gave me extra change."

The driver replied with a smile, "Aren't you the new preacher in town?" "Yes" he replied.

"Well, I have been thinking a lot lately about going somewhere to worship. I just wanted to see what would you do if I give you extra change. I'll see you at Church this Sunday."

When the preacher stepped off the bus, he literally grabbed the nearest light pole, held on and said "Oh God, I almost sold your Son for 50 pence."

"Our lives are the only Bible some people will ever read. This is a scary example of how much people watch us as Christians and Pastors, and will put us to the test. Always be on guard and remember-we carry the name of Christ on our shoulders when we call ourselves 'Christians and Pastors'.

Keep watch on your thoughts; they become words.

Keep watch your words; they become actions.

Keep watch on your actions; they become habits.

Keep watch on your habits; they become character.

And keep watch on your character; it becomes your destiny.

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The Secret of Success!

A young man asked Socrates the secret to success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning. They met. Socrates asked the young man to walk with him towards the river. When the water got up to their neck, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water. The boy struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him there until the boy started turning blue. Socrates pulled his head out of the water and the first thing the young man did was to gasp and take a deep breath of air. Socrates asked, 'What did you want the most when you were there?" The boy replied, "Air." Socrates said, "That is the secret to success. When you want success as badly as you wanted the air, then you will get it." There is no other secret.

Moral:-A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishment. Just like a small fire cannot give much heat, a weak desire cannot produce great results.The  motivation to succeed comes from the burning desire to achieve a purpose.

One Sunday morning, a wealthy man sat in his balcony enjoying sunshine and his coffee when a little ant caught his eye which was going from one side to the other side of the balcony carrying a big leaf several times more than its size. The man watched it for more than an hour. He saw that the ant faced many impediments during its journey, paused, took a diversion and then continued towards destination. At one point the tiny creature came across a crack in the floor. It paused...  for a little while, analyzed and then laid the huge leaf over the crack, walked over the leaf, picked the leaf on the other side then continued its journey.The man was captivated by the cleverness of the ant, one of God’s tiniest creatures. The incident left the man in awe and forced him to contemplate over the miracle of Creation. It showed the greatness of the Creator. In front of his eyes there was this tiny creature of God, lacking in size yet equipped with a brain to analyze, contemplate, reason, explore, discover and overcome. Along with all these capabilities, the man also noticed that this tiny creature shared some human shortcomings.The man saw about an hour later the creature had reached its destination – a tiny hole in the floor which was entrance to its underground dwelling. And it was at this point that the ant’s shortcoming that it shared with the man was revealed. How could the ant carry into the tiny hole the large leaf that it had managed to carefully bring to the destination? It simply couldn’t!So the tiny creature, after all the painstaking and hard work and exercising great skills, overcoming all the difficulties along the way, just left behind the large leaf and went home empty-handed.The ant had not thought about the end before it began its challenging journey and in the end the large leaf was nothing more than a burden to it. The creature had no option, but to leave it behind to reach its destination. The man learned a great lesson that day.

Isn’t that the truth about our lives? We worry about our family, we worry about our job, we worry about how to earn more money, we worry about where we should live – 5 bedroom or 6 bedroom house, what kind of vehicle to buy – a Mercedes or BMW or a Porsche, what kind of dresses to wear, all sorts of things, only to abandon all these things when we reach our destination – The Grave. We don’t realize in our life’s journey that these are just burdens that we are carrying with utmost care and fear of losing them, only to find that at the end they are useless and we can’t take them with us.

THERE HAS TO BE CONTENTMENT AT SOME LEVEL IN LIFE. NOTHING EXCEPT THE NAME OF THE LORD SHALL GO ALONG TO THE FINAL DESTINATION

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