What really matters !!!

A vacationing American businessman standing on the pier of a quaint coastal fishing village in southern Mexico watched ,as a small boat with just one young Mexican fisherman pulled into the dock. Inside the small boat were several large tuna. Enjoying the warmth of the early afternoon sun, the American complimented to the Mexican on the quality of his fish.

"How long did it take you to catch them?" the American casually asked. "Oh, a few hours," the Mexican fisherman replied. "Why don't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" the American businessman then asked. The Mexican warmly replied, "With this I have more than enough to meet my family's needs." The businessman then became serious, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?"

Responding with a smile, the Mexican fisherman answered, "I sleep late, play with my children, watch ball games, and take siesta with my wife. Sometimes in the evenings I take a stroll into the village to see my friends, play the guitar, sing a few songs..."

The American businessman impatiently interrupted, "Look, I have an MBA from Harvard, and I can help you to be more profitable. You can start by fishing several hours longer every day. You can then sell the extra fish you catch. With the extra money, you can buy a bigger boat. With the additional income that larger boat will bring, before long you can buy a second boat, then a third one, and so on, until you have an entire fleet of fishing boats."

Proud of his own sharp thinking, he excitedly elaborated a grand scheme which could bring even bigger profits, "Then, instead of selling your catch to a middleman you'll be able to sell your fish directly to the processor, or even open your own cannery. Eventually, you could control the product, processing and distribution. You could leave this tiny coastal village and move to Mexico City, or possibly even Los Angeles or New York City, where you could even further expand your enterprise."

Having never thought of such things, the Mexican fisherman asked, "But how long will all this take?" After a rapid mental calculation, the Harvard MBA pronounced, "Probably about 15-20 years, maybe less if you work really hard."

"And then what, senior?" asked the fisherman. "Why, that's the best part!" answered the businessman with a laugh. "When the time is right, you would sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions." "Millions? Really? What would I do with it all?" asked the young fisherman in disbelief.

The businessman boasted, "Then you could happily retire with all the money you've made. You could move to a quaint coastal fishing village where you could sleep late, play with your grandchildren, watch ball games, and take siesta with your wife. You could stroll to the village in the evenings where you could play the guitar and sing with your friends all you want."

Know what really matters in life, and you may find that it is already much closer than you think.

The salt vendor and the donkey

There was a salt vendor in a village. He used to buy salt from a nearby town. He had a donkey to carry this salt load. There were many streams to be crossed to reach the town. One day, the vendor was returning after his purchase. The donkey was loaded with salt bags. While they were crossing a stream, accidentally the donkey slipped and fell into the stream. A lot of salt got dissolved in the water. When the donkey got up the load became very light. From that day, whenever the vendor returned from town after the salt purchase, the donkey began to tumble half-way across one stream or the other. The vendor became suspicious.

Once the vendor purchased bales of cotton and loaded his donkey with bales of cotton. The donkey felt the load to be unusually light. He thought "Today, I am going to tumble and this load is going to become much lighter". On their way home, as usual, the donkey tumbled and fell into a stream. But alas! When the donkey tried to get up, the load pulled the donkey down. The cotton had absorbed water and become heavier. The vendor had to beat the  donkey for it to get up and walk. From then on, the donkey never tumbled while crossing streams.

More often, it’s when we try to shy away from things that it backfires. It’s always better to face things as it is!

The Touchstone

When the great library of Alexandria burned, the story goes, one book was saved. But it was not a valuable book; and so a poor man, who could read a little, bought it for a few coppers. The book wasn’t very interesting, but between its pages there was something very interesting indeed. It was a thin strip of vellum on which was written the secret of the “Touchstone”! The touchstone was a small pebble that could turn any common metal into pure gold. The writing explained that it was lying among thousands and thousands of other pebbles that looked exactly like it. But the secret was this: The real stone would feel warm, while ordinary pebbles are cold.

So the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles. He knew that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold – throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea.

The days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months. One day, however, about mid-afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.

So it is with opportunity. Unless we are vigilant, it’s easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is in hand and it’s just as easy to throw it away. May you be vigilant enough to recognize the right opportunity for you!

Challenges

Once, a Shah was riding in his palanquin through the town, looking through the window at the scurrying people. Suddenly, he saw a lonely dervish sitting in the middle of the crowd, who was smiling and looking happy about something. The dervish was dressed poorly, and except the saucer for hand-outs he had nothing else besides him. The shah rode past him and soon forgot what he saw.

After a few days, the Shah had to go the same way again, where he saw the same dervish again, completely happy, dozing with blissfully closed eyes. The next day, Shah chose the same way on purpose, to see if the dervish will be in his place and again the image was the same. Intrigued, the Shah was going the same way almost every day and every time he found the dervish in the same spirit.

Finally, unable to stand it anymore, the Shah came out from the palanquin and addressed the imperturbable dervish with these words, “Why are you always smiling? Almost every day I see you here and it seems that you are absolutely happy.”

“Exactly, my master.” said the dervish with a smile.

Shah was surprised and asked, “Why are you happy? Do you have any money?”

“I don’t have anything, my master. Maybe during the day a little bit will fall in for food.”

“Do you have a home or a family?”

“Neither this and nor that. I wander the world as the wind.”

“Maybe then, you have good heath?”

“Absolutely not, my master, from the cold of the night my bones ache often and almost all of my teeth have fallen out.”

“What makes you so happy then? Tell me. Maybe your recipe for happiness will be useful to me. I have everything, but I’m unhappy.”

“God never sends more challenges for one person than he can handle. And burdens a person only with those circumstances, which at that moment, are most useful for his development. I accept that the best thing for me now is what I am, where I am and what is happening with me. I accept it with gratitude and a smile, if necessary with resistance and patience, and if possible, I try to understand what God is trying to say to me with it and in which direction should I move with my development. The realization of it doesn’t make me absolutely happy, but I have a clear horizon opening in front of me, free from the rainy curtains and filled with the sunny light of awareness.”

Don’t let challenges pull you down, every challenge in life is an opportunity to bounce back higher!

Useful financial tips

Some very important financial tips that everyone should know ....

1. Avoid buying property on loans as it eats most of your earnings unless you have a clear plan for its repayment. It's important to monitor cash flow. Though, t he house will be your asset, your liability will be much more.

2. Start a SIP at a very young age. Try to save atleast 15–25 % of your earnings.

3. Avoid buying a car unless you use it everyday.

4. Do not let this sentence scare you. “Mutual fund investment are subject to market risk. Please read the offer documents carefully before investing”. Most people avoid investing in mutual funds just because of this one warning. Yes, there is a market risk, but look at the history and growth of mutual funds.

5. Try having a simple wedding.

6. Atleast 20% of your wealth should be liquid so you can utilize it when necessary.

7. Considering inflation, you are actually losing money if it is in savings bank account. Do not keep huge money in savings bank account.

8. If you invest in stocks, pay due attention.

9. If you invest in stocks have a separate account for delivery investment and Intraday investment. It is easy to monitor this way and also makes tax calculation easy

10. Do not have a belief that property and car make you rich. Its what you save and invest, that is important.

11. Never invest in insurance for returns. Insurance is not an investment option. It is a risk management tool.

12. Never use credit cards for lavish spending. Use credit cards intelligently and for needs not for wants.

13. Cancel all credit cards before you die. Or inform family about all your accounts, credit cards, loans and saving now itself.  Even a small residue will cost your family much.

14. Invest on yourself and then on other investments.

15. Always try to balance your earnings with your savings first, then on  spending and loans. Never take unnecessary loans. Always have reserve and utilise them and unless no other go never take loan.

16. Always have a plan for future events on your career, life, spending and finance.

17. Always have a reserve on your savings for contingency and urgent situations.

18. Your personal life and health are the most important investment. Do have a regular health check and do healthy workout every day. Stay healthy and live happily.

19. Always remember death can come anytime.....so please do buy adequate term Insurance if you have dependents.

20. Prepare a Will. It may avoid unnecessary fights after you die.

Patience

Once, a king announced that anyone who wanted the post of personal assistant must meet him. Many people gathered in the palace. The king led them to a pond and said, "Whoever will fill this pond's water in this pot will be chosen for the post. But remember, there is a hole in the pot." So some people left without a single try. While some people tried for once and then said, "The king has already chosen someone else. Let's go." 

But one man kept filling the pot with pond water patiently. He filled the water in the pot from the pond and came out on the ground. But always within few moments, the water poured on the ground completely. He tried that uncountable numbers of times. At last the pond became empty. The man found a diamond ring in the empty pond and he gave it to the king. At this the king said, "This ring is a reward for your patience and hard work. You are fit for the job." 

No matter how much time you put in, patience is always rewarded.

The missing goat

It all started one lazy Sunday afternoon in a small town. Two school-going friends had a crazy idea. They rounded up three goats from the neighborhood and painted the numbers 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 school, they could smell something was wrong. They soon saw goat droppings on the stairs and near the entrance n realized that some goats had entered building.

A search was immediately launched and very soon, 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 .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 inspite of having a good life are always feeling a "lack of fulfilment"  are actually looking for the elusive, missing, non-existent  Goat No.3. We feel that the absence of something  is always larger than  the  presence of other things. Let's stop worrying about goat No.3. Enjoy life with what you have.

Nothing is useless

A disciple of Buddha, said, "Oh Master! I have a request to make."

Buddha: "What is it; tell me?"

Disciple: "My robe is worn out. It is no longer decent enough to wear. Please, may I have a new one?"

Buddha looked at the disciple's attire and found that the garment was absolutely in tatters and really needed replacement. So he asked the store-keeper to give a new robe to this disciple.

The disciple offered obeisance to the great master and left the room.

Buddha kept thinking about the incident and felt that he had perhaps missed an opportunity to teach a valuable lesson to the disciple. So he went to the disciple's quarters to talk to him.

Buddha: Are you comfortable in your new robe? Do you need anything else?

Disciple: Thank you Master. I am very comfortable and do not need anything else.

Buddha: Now that you have a new one, what have you done with the old one?

Disciple: I have used it to replace my worn out bedspread.

Buddha: What did you do with the old bedspread?

Disciple: Master, I am using it as a curtain on my window.

Buddha: Did you discard your old window curtain?

Disciple: Master, I tore it into four pieces and am using them as napkins to handle the hot pots and pans in the kitchen.

Buddha: What about the old kitchen napkins?

Disciple: We are using them as mops to wash and wipe the floor.

Buddha: Where is the old mop?

Disciple: Lord, the old mop was so tattered that the best we could do was to take all the threads apart and make wicks for your oil lamp. One of them is presently lit in your room."

Buddha was content. He was happy that His disciples realized that nothing is useless. We can find a use for everything, if only we want to! Nothing should be wasted; not even time!

If all of us were to practice the habit of thrift, we can preserve the non-renewable resources for our children, our grandchildren and our great grandchildren as our forefathers so thoughtfully did for us.

Not everything deserves your time and attention

An elephant took a bath in a river and was walking on the road. When it neared a bridge, it saw a pig fully soaked in mud coming from the opposite direction. The elephant quietly moved to one side, allowed the dirty pig to pass and then continued its onward journey.

The unclean pig later boasted to its friends in arrogance, "See how big I am; event the elephant was afraid of me and moved to onsite to let me pass".

On hearing this, some elephants questioned their friend, the reason for its action. Was it out of fear? The elephant smiled and replied, "I could have easily crushed the pig under my leg but I was clean and the pig was very dirty. By crushing it, my leg would have become dirty and I wanted to avoid it. Hence, I moved aside."

Realized souls will avoid contact with negativity not out of fear but out of desire to keep away from impurity though they are strong enough to destroy the impurity.

You need not react to very opinion, every comment or every situation. Kick the dram and keep going ahead. Choose your battles wisely. Not everything deserves your time and attention.

Stay Calm

Once Buddha was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples, “I am thirsty. Please get me some water from that lake there”.

The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that some people were washing clothes in the water and, right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing the lake right at the edge of it. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink?!” So he came back and told the Buddha, “The water in there is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink”.

So, the Buddha said, let us take a little rest here by the tree. After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake. This time he found that the lake had absolutely clear water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to the Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said, “See, You let the water be and the mud settled down on its own. You got clear water. It didn’t require any effort”.

Your mind is also like that. When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don’t have to put in  effort to calm it down. We can judge and take the best decisions of our life when we stay calm.

Take care

A cobbler lived in a large village, he was the only cobbler in town, so he was responsible for repairing everyone’s boots.

However, he didn’t have time to repair his own boots. This wasn’t a problem at first, but over time, his boots began to deteriorate and fall apart. While he worked feverishly on everyone’s boots, his feet got blisters and he started to limp. His customers started to worry about him, but he reassured them that everything was fine. However, after a few years, the cobbler’s feet were so injured that he could no longer work and no-one’s boots got repaired. 

As a consequence, soon the entire town started to limp in pain, all because the cobbler never took the time to repair his own boots.

This simple principle is so often disregarded. If you are in a responsible position and are one of the important links in the groups survival chain and if you  do not look after yourself, after a while you’ll be no good to anyone else either. Your best intentions will mean nothing and you’ll be unable to do what you’re meant to do.

This goes for leaders, social workers, teachers, even parents, breadwinners and homemakers!

If you don’t take the time to care for yourself, no-one else will. Are you taking care of yourself?

Karma

One day, Buddha was sitting with his disciples. One of them asked him "What is Karma?"

Buddha said, "Let me tell you a story..."

A king was touring his kingdom on his elephant. Suddenly he stopped in front of a shop in the market and said to his minister, "I don't know why, but I want to hang the owner of this shop." The minister was shocked. But before he could ask the king why, the king had moved on.

The next day, the minister went to that shop dressed as one of the locals to see the shopkeeper. He casually asked him how his business was faring. The shopkeeper, a sandalwood merchant, reported sadly that he had hardly any customer. People would come to his shop, smell the sandalwood and then go away. They would even praise the quality of the sandalwood but rarely buy anything. His only hope was that the king would die soon. Then there would be a huge demand for sandalwood for performing his last rites. As he was the only sandalwood merchant around, he was sure the king's death would mean a windfall.

The minister now understood why the king had stopped in front of this shop and expressed a desire to kill the shopkeeper. Perhaps, the shopkeeper's negative thoughts had subtly affected the king, who had, in turn, felt the same negative thoughts arising within.

The minister; a nobleman, pondered over the matter for a while. Without revealing who he was or what had happened the day before, he expressed a desire to buy some sandalwood. The shopkeeper was pleased. He wrapped the sandalwood and handed it over to the minister.

When the minister returned to the palace, he went straight to the court where the king was seated and reported that the sandalwood merchant had a gift for him. The king was surprised. When he opened the package, he was pleasantly surprised by the fine golden color of the sandalwood and its agreeable fragrance. Pleased, he sent some gold coins to the sandalwood merchant. The king also felt sorry in his heart that he had harbored unbecoming thoughts of killing the shopkeeper.

When the shopkeeper received the gold coins from the king, he was astounded. He began to proclaim the virtues of the king who had, through the gold coins, saved him from the brink of poverty. After some time, he recalled the morbid thoughts he had felt towards the king and repented for having entertained such negative thoughts for his own personal goal.

If we have a good and kind thought for another person, that positive thought will come back to us in a favorable way. But if we harbor evil thoughts, those thoughts will come back to us as retribution.

"What is Karma?" asked Buddha

Many replied, "our words, our deeds, our feelings, our actions......"

Buddha shook his head and said "Your thoughts are your Karma!"

The donkey and the farmer

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 all grabbed a shovel and begin 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 finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that fell on his back, the donkey was doing 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!

Life doesn’t stop with a challenge, it actually starts when we overcome it!

The Elephants and the trainer

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 any time, 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. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size 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. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.” The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were. Like 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 Millionaire

There was a millionaire who was bothered by severe eye pain. He consulted many physicians and was getting his treatment done. He did not stop consulting a galaxy of medical experts; he consumed  loads of drugs and underwent hundreds of injections. But the ache persisted more than before. At last a monk who was supposed to be an expert in treating such patients was called for by the millionaire. The monk understood his problem and said that for sometime he should concentrate only on green colours and should not have been looking at other colours. The millionaire got together a group of painters and purchased barrels of green colour and directed that every object his eye was likely to see should be painted in green colour just as the monk had directed. When the monk came to visit him after a few days, the millionaire's servants ran with buckets of green paints and poured it on him since he was in red dress, lest their master not see any other colour and his eye ache would come back. Hearing this monk laughed said, If only you had purchased a pair of green spectacles, worth just a few dollars, you could have saved these walls , the pots and all other articles and also could have saved a large share of his fortune. You cannot paint the world green.

Solutions to most of the life’s complex problems are simple!

Adjust the height!

An engineer in a car manufacturing company designs a world class car.

While trying to bring out the car from the manufacturing area to the showroom, they realized that the car is few inches taller than the entrance.

The engineer felt bad that he didn't notice this one before creating the car.

The painter said that they can bring out the car and there will be a few scratches on top of the car which could be touched up later.

The engineer said that they can break the entrance, take the car out, and later re-do it.

A Watchman was observing & remarked "The car is only a few inches taller than the entrance so,

Simply release the air in the tyre, the height of the car will sink and can be easily taken out.
  
Don't see problems from an expert's point of view.

There is always a layman's outlook that gives an alternate solution.

Life issues are also same.  Adjust the height (Ego).

Think Simple. Live Humble.

Things can change!

Once upon a time in a village lived an old farmer who used to work very hard. He had a horse. 

One day his horse ran away. After hearing this his neighbor came to him and said, “Such bad Luck”. Farmer replied, “Maybe.” 

Very Next morning the horse returned with three other wild horses with him. Again after hearing this neighbor came and exclaimed, “How wonderful.” Again Old farmer replied, “Maybe.” 

Following day, his son tried to ride one of the wild horse and broke his legs. Again neighbors came to offer sympathy to him. Farmer answered, “Maybe.” 

Next day, Military officials came to village to draft young men into army. Seeing old man’s son broken leg, they didn’t draft him. Seeing this neighbor came again and congratulated farmer on how well things turned out. Even at this farmer replied, “May be.”

We can see that the farmer is practicing non-judgement. He understands the true nature of life, that we can’t judge any event as the “end”.

There is always tomorrow, there are always million effects which can arise from one event. Things can change in an instant.

How Much Do You Make An Hour?

With a timid voice and idolizing eyes, the little boy greeted his father as he returned from work, “Daddy, how much do you make an hour? “Greatly surprised but giving his boy a glaring look, the father said: “Look son, not even your mother knows that. Don’t bother me now, I’m tired.” “But Daddy, just tell me please! How much do you make an hour,” the boy insisted.

The father finally giving up replied: ” Twenty dollars per hour.” “Okay, Daddy? Could you loan me ten dollars?” the boy asked. Showing restlessness and positively disturbed, the father yelled: “So that was the reason you asked how much I earn, right?? Go to sleep and don’t bother me anymore!”

It was already dark and the father was meditating on what he had said and was feeling guilty. Maybe he thought, his son wanted to buy something. Finally, trying to ease his mind, the father went to his son’s room.

“Are you asleep son?” asked the father. “No, Daddy. Why?” replied the boy partially asleep. “Here’s the money you asked for earlier,” the father said. “Thanks, Daddy!” rejoiced the son, while putting his hand under his pillow and removing some money. “Now I have enough! Now I have twenty dollars!” the boy said to his father, who was gazing at his son, confused at what his son just said.

“Daddy could you sell me one hour of your time?”

‘Time is precious in the busy life we live, but are we giving time to the people who are precious in our life too?’

Switch on the filters

One day, a man came up to the great philosopher.  “Sir, I have just heard some news about one of your friends.”  he excitedly exclaimed.

“Before you tell me this news, we need to make sure that it passes the triple filter test,” responded Socrates.

“The first test is that of truth.  Tell me, do you know that what you’re going to tell me is absolutely true?”  asked Socrates. After thinking for a moment, the man said, “I heard this news from someone else, so I’m not 100% sure if it’s true.”

“The second test is that of goodness,” Socrates continued, “Is what you’re about to tell me something good?”. “No, actually it’s the opposite…”explained the man

Socrates interrupted the man, “So what you’re going to tell me is neither true, nor good?” The man was slightly embarrassed and shrugged his shoulders.

Socrates continued, “There is one final test which is usefulness.  Is what you’re about to tell me going to be useful?”
“Probably not,” the man replied.

“Well, if you’re going to tell me something that’s not true, good or useful, then why tell me at all?” responded the philosopher.

We all come across salacious information from time to time that we feel compelled to pass on to others. The filters could help us in making a better judgment about the information that we consume every day.  Next time pass the information through the triple filter test & if it fails, lets realize that we are only wasting our precious time.

Imagine how different the world would be if we only choose to seek and create information that is true, good, or useful.

The Black Spot

One day a professor entered the classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. They waited anxiously at their desks for the test to begin. The professor handed out the question paper, with the text facing down as usual. Once he handed them all out, he asked his students to turn the page and begin. To everyone’s surprise, there were no questions….just a black dot in the center of the page. The professor seeing the expression on everyone’s face, told them the following:
“I want you to write what you see there.”

The students confused, got started on the inexplicable task.At the end of the class, the professor took all the answer papers and started reading each one of them aloud in front of all the students. All of them with no exceptions, described the black dot, trying to explain its position in the middle of the sheet, etc. etc. etc. After all had been read, the classroom silent, the professor began to explain:

I am not going to grade on you this, I just wanted to give you something to think about. No one wrote about the white part of the paper. Everyone focused on the black dot – and the same happens in our lives. 

We have a white paper to observe and enjoy, but we always focus on the dark spots. Our life is a gift given to us by God, with love and care, and we always have reasons to celebrate – nature renewing itself every day, our friends around us, the job that provides our livelihood, the miracles we see every day.

However we insist on focusing only on the dark spots – the health issues that bother us, the lack of money, the complicated relationship with a family member, the disappointment with a friend etc.

The dark spots are very small compared to everything we have in our lives, but they are the ones that pollute our minds.

Take your eyes away from the black spots in your life. Enjoy each one of your blessings, each moment that life gives you.

Be happy and live a life positively!

The Obstacle in our Path

There once was a very wealthy and curious king. This king had a huge boulder placed in the middle of a road. Then he hid nearby to see if anyone would try to remove the gigantic rock from the road.

The first few people to pass by were some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers. Rather than moving it, they simply walked around it. A few loudly blamed the King for not maintaining the roads. Not one of them tried to move the boulder.

Finally, a peasant came along. His arms were full of vegetables. When he got near the boulder, rather than simply walking around it as the others had, the peasant put down his load and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. It took a lot of effort but he finally succeeded.

The peasant gathered up his load and was ready to go on his way when he say a purse lying on the road where the boulder had been. The peasant opened the purse. The purse was stuffed with gold coins and a note from the king. The king’s note said that the  gold in the purse was a reward for moving the boulder from the road.

The king showed the peasant what many of us never understand: every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

Two Castle Builders

A little boy is on his knees scooping and packing the sand with plastic shovels into a bright blue bucket. Then he upends the bucket on the surface and lifts it. And, to the delight of the little architect, a castle tower is created.

All afternoon he will work. Spooning out the moat. Packing the walls. Bottle tops will be sentries. Popsicle sticks will be bridges. A sandcastle will be built.

A man is in his office. At his desk he shuffles papers into stacks and delegates assignments. He cradles the phone on his shoulder and punches the keyboard with his fingers. Numbers are juggled and contracts are signed and much to the delight of the man, a profit is made.

All his life he will work. Formulating the plans. Forecasting the future. Annuities will be sentries. Capital gains will be bridges. An empire will be built.

Two builders of two castles. They have much in common. They shape granules into grandeur. They see nothing and make something. They are diligent and determined. And for both the tide will rise and the end will come.

Yet that is where the similarities cease. For the boy sees the end while the man ignores it. Watch the boy as the dusk approaches.

As the waves near, the wise child jumps to his feet and begins to clap. There is no sorrow. No fear. No regret. He knew this would happen. He is not surprised. And when the great breaker crashes into his castle and his masterpiece is sucked into the sea, he smiles. He smiles, picks up his tools, takes his father’s hand, and goes home.

The grownup, however, is not so wise. As the wave of years collapse on his castle he is terrified. He hovers over the sandy monument to protect it. He blocks the waves from the walls he has made. Salt-water soaked and shivering he snarls at the incoming tide.

“It’s my castle,” he defies.

The ocean need not respond. Both know to whom the sand belongs…

I don’t know much about sandcastles. But children do. Watch them and learn. Go ahead and build, but build with a child’s heart. When the sun sets and the tides take – applaud. Salute the process of life and go home.

Four Burning Candles

In a room there were four candles burning. The ambiance was so soft you could hear them talking. The first one said, “I am PEACE, however nobody can keep me lit. I believe I will go out.” It’s flame rapidly diminishes and goes out completely. The second one says, “I am FAITH. Most of all, I am no longer indispensable, so it does not make any sense that I stay lit any longer.”When it finished talking a breeze softly blew on it putting it out.

Sadly, the third candle spoke “I am LOVE. I don’t have the strength to stay lit. People put me aside and don’t understand my importance. They even forget to love those who are nearest to them.” And waiting no longer it goes out.

Suddenly a child entered the room and saw three candles not burning. “Why are you not burning you are supposed to stay lit till the end.”

Saying this the child began to cry. Then the fourth candle said, “Don’t be afraid, while I am still burning we can re-light the other candles, I am HOPE.”

With shining eyes, the child took the candle of Hope and lit the other candles.

The flame of Hope should never go out from our life so that each of us can maintain HOPE, FAITH, PEACE and LOVE. Hope never abandons you. You abandon hope. Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.

Learn to Appreciate!!

Once upon a time, there was a man who was very helpful, kindhearted, and generous. One day while walking on a dusty road, this man saw a purse, so he picked it up and noticed that the purse was empty. Suddenly a woman with a policeman showed up and got him arrested.

The woman kept asking where he had hidden her money but the man replied, “It was empty when I found it, Ma’am.” The woman yelled at him, “Please give it back, it’s my son’s school fees.”  The man noticed that the woman really felt sad, so he handed over all his money.  He could say that the woman was a single mother.  The man said, “Take this, sorry for the inconvenience.”  The woman left and a policeman held the man for further questioning.

The woman was very happy but when she counted her money, later on, it was lot more than she had lost, she was shocked.  One day while the woman was going to pay her son’s  fees she noticed that a skinny man was walking behind her.  She thought that he may rob her, so she approached a policeman standing nearby.  He was the same policeman, who she took along to enquire about her purse.  The woman told him about the man following her, but suddenly they saw that man collapsing.  They ran towards him and realized that he was the same man who they had arrested a few days back for stealing her purse.

He looked very weak and the woman was confused.  The policeman said to the woman, “He didn’t return your money, he gave you his money that day.  He wasn’t the thief but hearing about you son’s school fees, he felt sad and gave you his money.”  Later, they helped the man stand up, and the man told the woman, “Please go ahead and pay your son’s school fees. I saw you and followed you to be sure that no one steals your son’s school fees.”   The woman was speechless.

Life gives you strange experiences. We end up making wrong judgments in our anger, desperation and frustration. However, when you get a second chance, correct your mistakes and return the favor. Be Kind and generous...                 

Invisible divider...

During a research experiment a marine biologist placed a shark into a large holding tank and then released several small bait fish into the tank.

As you would expect, the shark quickly swam around the tank, attacked and ate the smaller fish.
The marine biologist then inserted a strong piece of clear fiberglass into the tank, creating two separate partitions. She then put the shark on one side of the fiberglass and a new set of bait fish on the other.

Again, the shark quickly attacked.  This time, however, the shark slammed into the fiberglass divider and bounced off.  Undeterred, the shark kept repeating this behavior every few minutes to no avail. Meanwhile, the bait fish swam around unharmed in the second partition.  Eventually, about an hour into the experiment, the shark gave up.

This experiment was repeated several dozen times over the next few weeks.  Each time, the shark got less aggressive and made fewer attempts to attack the bait fish, until eventually the shark got tired of hitting the fiberglass divider and simply stopped attacking altogether.

The marine biologist then removed the fiberglass divider, but the shark didn’t attack.  The shark was trained to believe a barrier existed between it and the bait fish, so the bait fish swam wherever they wished, free from harm.

Many of us, after experiencing setbacks and failures, emotionally give up and stop trying. Like the shark in the story, we believe that because we were unsuccessful in the past, we will always be unsuccessful. In other words, we continue to see a barrier in our heads, even when no ‘real’ barrier exists between where we are and where we want to go.

Rubber & Glass Balls

Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them – work, family, health, friends and spirit and you’re keeping all of these in the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls – family, health, friends and spirit are made of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for balance in your life. How?

◾Don’t undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.

◾Don’t set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.

◾Don’t take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.

◾Don’t let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live ALL the days of your life.

◾Don’t give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.

◾Don’t be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us each together.

◾Don’t be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.

◾Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s impossible to find. The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.

◾Don’t run through life so fast that you forget not only where you’ve been, but also where you are going.

◾Don’t forget that a person’s greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.

◾Don’t be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily.

◾Don’t use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved. Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way.

Heavy Glass...

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “half empty or half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: ”How heavy is this glass of water?”

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, “The 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 paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.” 

She continued, “The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything.”

It’s important to remember to let go of your stress. As early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don’t carry them through the evening and into the night. Remember to put the glass down!

The Retired Teacher...

Once upon a time, there were two neighbors living next to each other. One of them was a retired teacher and another was an insurance agent who had a lot of interest in technology. Both of them had planted different plants in their garden. The retired teacher was giving a small amount of water to his plants and didn’t always give a full attention to them, while the other neighbor interested in technology, had given a lot of water to his plants and looked after them too well.

The retired teacher’s plants were simple but looked good. The insurance agent’s plants were much fuller and greener. One day, during the night, there was a heavy rain and a wind due to a minor storm. Next morning, both of the neighbors came out to inspect the damage to their garden. The neighbor who was an insurance agent saw that his plants came off from the roots and were totally destroyed. But, the retired teacher’s plants were not damaged at all and were standing firm.

The insurance agent neighbor was surprised to see it, he went to the retired teacher and asked, “We both grew the same plants together, I actually looked after my plants better than you did for yours, and even gave them more water. Still, my plants came off from the roots, while yours didn’t. How is that possible?”

The retired teacher smiled and said, “You gave your plants more attention and water, but because of that they didn’t need to work themselves for it.  You made it easy for them.  While I gave them just an adequate amount of water and let their roots search for more and  because of that, their roots went deeper and that made their position stronger.  That is why my plants survived”.

The only time that you grow strong and sound is when you are in  an uncomfortable phase in life. Don’t settle for anything that’s easy .Keep growing through hard times  and you will find your roots stronger .

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

Chopsticks...

Wishing to encourage her young son’s progress on the piano, a mother took the small boy to a concert of the famous pianist, Paderewski. After they were seated, the mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her. Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy rose and eventually explored his way through a door marked “No Admittance.”

When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that her son was missing. Suddenly, the curtains parted and the spotlights focused on the impressive Steinway piano on stage.

In horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard. Innocently, he then began to play "Chopsticks".  The crowd reacted with anger, "Take the boy away!", "Who has brought this little boy to the concert?!".

When Paderewski heard the uproar backstage, he grabbed his coat and rushed to the stage. Realizing what was going on, he went to the piano, Reaching around the little boy from behind, the master began to improvise a counter melody to “chopsticks.” As the two of them played together, Paderewski kept whispering in the boy's ear, “Keep going. Don't quit, son... don't stop... don't stop.”

Together, the old master and the little boy transformed an embarrassing situation into a wonderfully creative experience. The audience was mesmerized.

There will always be a way to you turn your feeble attempts into true masterpieces. Next time when you feel that you aren’t inching towards your goals , when you feel your effort doesn’t get you through, when you feel that you shouldn’t have started doing what you are into ,remember  “Keep going. Don't quit, ... don't stop... don't stop.”  

Live to the fullest

An old man was walking down a lonely street. He could barely walk and he was struggling. So as he was walking, he ended up falling. The man still kept walking with great struggle.

A Stranger watching all this - a young man in his thirties went over to help him. The Old man was grateful for the unexpected aid .Both the men got into a casual  conversation. Once they reached the old man’s destination ,he waved a good bye and thanked the stranger enough for his help .

As the Old man was walking away , the stranger told him "You should stay inside where it is safe. It's dangerous walking down these streets". He turned around and replied, " I love walking and I love walking way more than I am afraid of falling". Perplexed, the young man asked ,"Well, what about your safety? Don't you want to live long enough?"

The Old Man replied,"Living means doing what you love to do. If I have to fall here and there to do what I want to do in life, then so be it."

“The Cost of not following your heart to do things that you want to do, is spending rest of your life wishing you had” and the Old man is abundantly right.

Living means doing what you love to do !!!

Stay alive and live life to the fullest!!

Be your own Judge...

Once upon a time there was a painter who had just completed his course under a great master. This young artist decided to assess his skills to give his best stroke on the canvas. He took 3 days and painted beautiful scenery.

Based on his masters advice he decided to display it on a busy street-square of the small town he was resident of. He wanted people's opinion about his caliber and painting skills.

He put his creation at a busy street-crossing with a board below the painting which read-"Gentlemen, I have painted this piece. Since I'm new to this profession I might have committed some mistakes, please put a cross wherever you spot a mistake in the painting…

When he came back in the evening to collect his painting he was completely shattered to see that whole canvas was filled with cross marks and some people had even written their comments on the painting.

Disheartened and heartbroken he ran to his masters place and burst into tears. Sobbing inconsolably he told his master about what happened and showed the pathetic state of his creation which was filled with marks everywhere. Such was the state of the painting that even the colors were not visible, one could only see cross marks and correction remarks.

This young artist felt rejected and was disheartened.

The Master smiled and suggested "My Son, I will prove that you are a great artist and have learnt to paint flawlessly.

Just paint exactly similar painting once again and give it to me.

Will you do that for your master?.."

Young artist reluctantly agreed and two days later he presented an exact replica of his earlier painting to his master. The Master took that gracefully and smiled.

They reached the same street-square and displayed the same painting exactly where the artist had placed it a few days earlier. Now master took out another board which read -"Gentlemen, I have painted this piece. Since I'm new to this profession I might have committed some mistakes in my strokes - I have put a box with colors and brushes just below. Please do me a favor. If you see a mistake, kindly pick up the brush and correct it."

The Master and the disciple walked back home. They both visited the place same evening. The Young painter was surprised to see that there was not a single correction done so far. But master wasn't satisfied and he told his disciple "May be one day was too little a time for people to come up with ideas and take out time out of their busy schedules to correct it so let us keep it here for one more day. Tomorrow is Sunday, so we can expect some corrections coming in."

Next day again they visited and found painting remained untouched.. They kept the painting there for a week and still no correction came in!

The Master finally said,” It just takes a stroke of a paint brush to make a cross mark in a painting but a great deal of knowledge to evaluate and correct it “

" If you take the world to be your judge, you would always be disappointed. People tend to make judgments, pass remarks on others without any authenticity and seriousness. Be your own judge and trade your virtues with the world for an equitable and fair consideration. You can be assured that you would never be disappointed with yourself or your work."

Speak Positive

A man joined a monastery in which the monks were allowed to speak only two words every seven years. After the first seven years had passed, the new initiate met with the abbot, who asked him, "Well, what are your two words?"

"Food's bad", replied the man, who then went back to his silence.

Seven years later the clergyman asked, "What are your two words now?"

"Bed's hard", the man responded.

Seven years later - twenty-one years after his initial entry into the monastery - the man met with the abbot for the third and final time. "And what are your two words this time?" the abbot asked.

"I quit."

"Well, I'm not surprised," the cleric answered disgustedly. "All you've done since you got here is complain!"

Contrary to what you may have heard, talk is not cheap. Talk is powerful ! What we say is important. Our vocabulary should be filled with words of hope and dreams. Be known as someone who speaks positively and these words in turn bring positivity to your life.

Two words for all of us today “Speak Positive”.

The Candy Shop...

A kid walked into a candy shop with his dad and was bedazzled by the array of treats on offer. “What should I choose?  What should I choose?  What should I choose?”  He asked himself.

“Come on son, we don’t have all day,” his dad said.

“These are my favorites.  No wait, these are my favorites.” He walked along the aisles, picking up bags and putting them back. He just couldn’t make up his mind.

“Quick son, make up your mind, we have to go,”  His impatient dad said.

Frantically, the boy ran around the store, his eyes moving from one shelf to another, but all of the options looked so good and he couldn’t make a decision.

Eventually, the dad had enough, grabbed his son by the hand and they walked out of the store empty-handed.  The young boy had tears in his eyes.  He wanted them all, but ended up with nothing because he couldn’t choose just one.

We all are decision makers.

The world is that candy store. We have a myriad of options available to us, but if we don’t choose to decide on anything that’s in front of us – be it our career, education, relationships, investments, or other important issues, we will choose to end up empty-handed.

Sometimes we worry about making the wrong choice. What if we regret the direction that we take and it’s too late to go back?

The bigger danger is when we make no decision at all ,ending up going nowhere than to take a decision and stick to it with all our heart to make it work for us .

Next time you are presented with options in our life and your mind flutters , just remember this “ You empower the decisions you take and there are no good or bad choices.” Choose one and back it with your actions further, you will end up with making it the right choice.

Poisonous Herbs

A newly wed girl named Li-Li found that she couldn't get along with her mother-in-law .Their personalities were very different and she criticized Li-Li constantly. All the anger and tension was causing great distress.

Weeks passed. Li-Li couldn’t tolerate her mother-in-law' any longer. She went to see an old man Huang, who sold herbs. She asked him for some poisonous herbs so that she could solve the problem once and for all. Huang thought for a while and gave her a package of herbs saying,” These herbs  will act as a slow poison. Add these herbs in her serving every day. To make sure that nobody suspects you, be very careful and remain friendly towards her.Don't argue with her. Obey her wishes and treat her like a queen!"

Months went by. Li-Li served the specially treated food to her mother-in-law every day. She controlled her temper, obeyed her mother-in-law, and pretended to treat her like her own mother. Six months had passed, the whole scenario had changed. Li-Li found that her mother-in-law had become much kinder and easier to get along with. The mother-in-law' s attitude towards Li-Li also changed and she began to love Li-Li like her own daughter.

Li-Li went back to Huang and begged, "Please help me to keep the poison from killing my mother-in-law. She's changed into such a nice woman and I love her. I do not want her to die. Huang smiled and said "Li-Li, there's nothing to worry about. I never gave you any poison. The herbs I gave you were vitamins to improve her health. The only poison was in your mind and your attitude towards her, but that has been all washed away by the love which you gave to her.

We do come across people with whom we have trouble  getting along with. But in reality HAVE YOU REALIZED how you feel about others is exactly how they will feel about you? . Next time you come across such thoughts  ,remember “the poison is in your mind and your attitude”.

“It’s true that “Love Begets Love “

Never Give up...

There was a cricket batsman  making his debut in Test cricket at the international level . He scored a duck in his first innings and again, in his second innings.

They dropped him. So he went back to the nets for more practice. More first-class cricket. More runs. Waiting for that elusive call to play for his nation. After twenty-one months, he got a second chance.

This time, he tried harder. His scores: 0 in the first innings, 1 in the second. Dropped again. He went back to the grind and scored tonnes of runs in first-class cricket. Runs that seemed inadequate to erase the painful memories of the Test failures. Well, seventeen months later, opportunity knocked yet again. He got to bat in both innings of the Test. His scores: 0 and 0. Phew!

Back to the grind. Would the selectors ever give him another chance? They said he lacked big-match temperament. His technique wasn’t good enough at the highest level. Undaunted, he kept trying.

Three years later, he got another chance. This time, he made runs. He came good and in an illustrious career thereafter, he went on to score over 5000 runs for his nation. That included sixteen centuries and six double hundreds. And he went on to captain his country. All this despite taking over six years to score his second run in Test cricket. Wow! What a guy! This is none other than Marvan Attapattu- one of the Sri Lankan cricketing legends .

How many of us can handle failure as well as he did? Six years of trying, and failing!! He must have been tempted to pursue another career. Change his sport perhaps. Play county cricket. Or, oh well, just give up. But he didn’t and that made the difference.

We all hear stories of talented people who gave up before their potential was realized. People who changed jobs and careers when success seemed elusive.

The next time you are staring at possible failure or rejection, think of Marvan. Remember this: If you don’t give up, if you believe in yourself, if you stay the course, the run will eventually come. What more, you could even become a captain someday and excel in your respective field.

NEVER GIVE UP !

The Brighter Side...

A  king had a frightening dream. He dreamt that all his teeth has fallen out, one after the other. Very upset about this, he called for a dream interpreter. 

The man listened with great concern to the king’s account of his dream and said to him, “Your Majesty, I have bad news for you. Just as you lost all your teeth, you will lose all of your family, one after the other.” This sad interpretation kindled the king’s rage. The dream interpreter, who had nothing better to say, was thrown in jail at the king’s command. 

Then the king summoned a different dream interpreter. This one heard him tell the dream and then said, “Your Majesty, I have good news for you. You will become older than all of your family. You will outlive them all. Long live the king ”! 

The king rejoiced and rewarded the man richly for saying this. But the courtiers were very surprised. “Your words were really no different from your poor predecessor’s. But why was he punished, while you received a reward?” they asked. The lucky dream interpreter replied, “You are right. We both interpreted the dream in the same way but it is not a question of what you say, but also how you say it.”

Everything in our daily lives has two sides – the bright and the dark or as it is presented to us in reality , the bright and the less bright .The wiser one chooses the brighter side.

The Salesman...

A Salesman was given a vigorous target of selling $100,000 worth of medical equipment each month, the most on his team, and was expected to somehow get to $140,000.Every month he kept falling short of the target and his old aged boss grew disappointed with him. 

The next day he took the salesman for a coffee and tried to strike a conversation ,”Do you think the market is dull?” The young salesman replied “ I understand the set target ,but in reality it is not that easy. We all know that targets are usually overambitious .Isn’t it ? “

The elderly boss gave a reassuring smile and continued ,”Tell me what would it take for you to sell $200,000 worth of equipment each month”. 

"$200,000!" he shouted. "No! That's impossible. "You don't understand. I want to hit $140,000 a month, and even that is so hard that I don't know how I'll do it and here you fantasize about $200,000.” The boss insisted ,”Just play along ,give it a try seriously assuming that $200,000 is your real target “

The salesman laughed and said "Okay, but remember, we're talking about something that's impossible”. He then started listing things. After he got through the ridiculous ideas, like stealing other people's accounts and cooking the books, he began to think of more ideas. At first it was hard.

"I'd have to be in two places at once," he said. "I'd have to make twice as many presentations as I'm making. I'd have to present to two clients at once!"

Then it hit him. All of a sudden he got the idea that he might be able to stage a large presentation of his product with a number of clients in the room at one time. "I could rent a room at a hotel and have 20 people in for coffee and donuts, and I could make a big deal out of it," he said. A number of other ideas came to him- ways to combine his cold-calling with his travel time, ways to utilize e-mail as a sales tool, how to use the administrative staff better. Ideas poured in while the old aged boss wrote them furiously on a flip pad and handed it over to him saying ,” All your ideas were a result of his thinking big- "How would I sell $200,000 if I absolutely had to?"

He surpassed his goal and achieved over $200,000 sales the very next month.

Many of us become self-satisfied with what we do right now and that is what makes us stagnant .Take a certain goal and double it, Or triple it, Or multiply it by 10. And then ask yourself, quite seriously, what you would have to do to achieve that new goal. You will end up  with ideas that can turn the impossible to possible.

If your goal doesn’t challenge you , it doesn’t change you

The Falcon

Once there was a king who received a gift of two magnificent falcons. They were peregrine falcons, the most beautiful birds he had ever seen. He gave the precious birds to his head falconer to be trained.

Months passed, and one day the head falconer informed the king that though one of the falcons was flying majestically, soaring high in the sky, the other bird had not moved from its branch since the day it had arrived. The king summoned healers and sorcerers from all the land to tend to the falcon, but no one could make the bird fly.

He presented the task to the member of his court, but the next day, the king saw through the palace window that the bird had still not moved from its perch. Having tried everything else, the king thought to himself, “May be I need someone more familiar with the countryside to understand the nature of this problem.” So he cried out to his court, “Go and get a farmer.”

In the morning, the king was thrilled to see the falcon soaring high above the palace gardens. He said to his court, “Bring to me, the doer of this miracle.”

The court quickly located the farmer, who came and stood before the king. The king asked him, “How did you make the falcon fly?”

With his head bowed, the farmer said to the king, “It was very easy, your highness. I simply cut the branch where the bird was sitting.”

We are all made to fly — to realize our incredible potential as human beings but at times we sit on our branches, clinging to the things that are familiar to us. The possibilities are endless, but for most of us, they remain undiscovered. We conform to the familiar, the comfortable, and the mundane. So for the most part, our lives are mediocre instead of exciting, thrilling and fulfilling. 

Let us learn to destroy the branch of fear we cling to and free ourselves to the glory of flight!