Be Thankful

Once there was a man who liked to eat mangoes. One day he decided to get the sweetest mango available, from the very top of the tree. Mangoes which are exposed to the sun the most are the sweetest.

So he climbed up to the top, where the branches were thin. He managed to pick up a few sweet reddish fruits, but, in an attempt to climb down, he slipped and started falling towards the ground. Fortunately, he caught the branch as he was falling and remained helplessly hanging on the tree. Then he started to call nearby villagers for help. They immediately came with a ladder and sticks, but could do little to help him.

Then after some time one calm and thoughtful person arrived – a well-known sage who lived in a simple hut nearby. People were very curious to see what he would do, as he was famous in solving many people’s problems in the area and sometimes very complicated ones.

He was silent for a minute and then picked up a stone and threw it at the hanging man.

Everybody was surprised. The hanging mango lover started to shout:
“What are you doing?! Are you crazy? Do you want me to break my neck?” The sage was silent. Then he took another stone and threw it at the man. The man was furious: “If I could just come down, I would show you.! ”

That’s what everybody wanted. That he came down. But how? Now everybody was tense, as to what would happen next! Some wanted to chastise the sage, but they didn’t. The sage picked another stone and threw it again at the man, even more forcefully. Now the man on the tree was enraged and developed a great determination to come down and take revenge.

He then used all his skill and strength and somehow reached the branches which were safe to start going down. And he made it! Everybody was amazed.

“Where is the sage?!” – exclaimed the rescued man. “Oh, he is a wise man. So he didn’t wait for you to beat him,”- said the villagers. “I will really smash him completely!” “Hey, wait a minute. He is the only one who helped you. He is the one who provoked you, who induced you to help yourself.”

The mango freak stopped for a second, thought for a moment and admitted: “Yes, all your good intentions and compassion didn’t help me. But he expertly induced me to give my best and save myself. I should be thankful and not angry.”

Self Confidence

A Business executive was deep in debt and could not see any way out. Creditors and Suppliers were demanding payments. He sat in the park, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.

Suddenly an old man appeared before him and asked, "I can see that something is troubling you seriously". After listening to the executive the old man said, "I believe I can help you".
He asked the man his name, wrote out a cheque and put it into his hands saying, "Take this money, meet me here exactly one year from today and you can pay me back at that time". Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come. 

The business executive saw in his hands a cheque for $500,000 signed by Warren Buffet, one of the richest men in the world. "I can erase my worries instantly" he realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the uncashed cheque in his safe knowing that it might give him the strength to work out to save his business and to use this only in case of dire emergency. With changed thinking he negotiated better deals, restructured his business and worked rigorously with full zeal and enthusiasm and got several big deals.

Within few months, he was out of debt and started making money once again. Exactly one year later he returned to the park with the uncashed cheque. As agreed, the old man appeared. But just as he was about to hand him back the cheque and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man.

"I’m so glad I caught him" she cried. "I hope he hasn’t been bothering you much. He always escapes from the mental hospital and tells people that he is Warren Buffet", saying this she took the old man away.

The surprised executive just stood there, stunned! All year long he had been dealing thinking that he had half a million dollars behind him.

Its not the money, real or imagined that turns our life around. It is our self-confidence that gives us the power to achieve anything we want.

Cockroach Theory

At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and  sat on a lady.

She started screaming out of fear.

With a panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach.

Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group also got panicky.

The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but ...it landed on another lady in the group.

Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama.

The waiter rushed forward to their rescue.

In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter.

The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt.

When he was confident enough, he grabbed it with his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant.

Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach  responsible for their histrionic behavior?

If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed?

He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos.

It is not the cockroach, but the inability of those people to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach, that disturbed the ladies.

I realized that, it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or my wife that disturbs me, but it's my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me.

It's not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me.

More than the problem, it's my reaction to the problem that creates chaos in my life.

Lessons learnt from the story:

I understood, I should not react in life.
I should always respond.

The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.

Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always well thought of.

A beautiful way to understand LIFE.

Person who is HAPPY is not because Everything is RIGHT in his Life...He is HAPPY because his Attitude towards Everything in his Life is Right..!!

Remove extra lemon from water

I still remember the day I was preparing fresh lime water for the first time...I ended up adding almost five times the amount of lemon than needed. It was a disaster.I had to correct it anyhow.

How I wish I could remove some lemon juice from water to make it taste perfect again! But alas!

Some things can never be undone. Some things can never be changed. There was no way that I know of, to remove the extra lime. So what was the solution then? The only way to correct this was to add four more glasses of water and dilute the lemon juice to make five glasses of fresh lime water.

This made me think.. Sometimes we cannot undo some things that have gone wrong in life. Some wrong decisions, wrong choices, wrong investments, wrong actions, wrong associations, wrong words or wrong doings can never be undone.

So what is the solution then?

When you cannot correct what is wrong, do not waste more time over it. It is like attempting to remove lemon from water.

Instead, get busy in adding so many right things in your life that the wrong seems insignificant.
We all have a negative side to ourselves. We may not be able to remove or correct all our negativities. But we can definitely continue adding positive thoughts, positive reading and positive people in our lives and dilute the negativity. We all have to deal with some easy people and some difficult people in our lives.

Do not waste time trying to change the difficult people. You will drain all your emotional energy in vain. Instead spend more time with the pleasant positive happy people and the difficult people will not affect you any more.

Everything in your life will never be perfect. Do not waste too much time correcting what is wrong.

Get busy doing the right things...

A bike ride

I woke up this morning to pouring rain and temperatures in the low 40s. I had planned on going for an early bike ride in Central Park but now I wasn't so sure. I like to get some exercise every day and given my commitments for the rest of the day, this was my only opportunity. But did I really want to get wet in the rains and feel the cold?

I decided to go for it, though I continued to question myself as I put on my biking clothes and got my bike out of the basement. I paused under the awning of our apartment building, as rain streamed down on either side of me.

A friend of mine, Chris, happened to be dashing home to avoid the rain and stopped under the awning for a second. 
"Great day for a bike ride," he said, before running on. 

He's right, I thought, this is dumb. I stayed under the awning for a few more minutes as I considered retreating into the warmth of my apartment. 

Finally, knowing that I'd feel great after a good, hard ride, I got on my bike and took off, pedaling hard. The initial sting of the cold rain had me questioning myself again but I kept going.

Then, after less than five minutes, the rain stopped bothering me. And after a few more minutes, it felt kind of good. Invigorating. It turned out to be a great ride. 
When I got back to the apartment building — drenched, a little muddy, and with a big smile on my face — one of my neighbors commented on how motivated and disciplined I was to be out on a day like that. 

But he was wrong. My ride in the rain taught me a good lesson about motivation and discipline: we need it less than we think.
"I didn't need to be motivated for long," I laughed. "Just long enough to get outside."
Because once I was already in the rain, it took no discipline to keep riding. Getting started was the hard part. Like getting into a cold pool. Once you're in, it's fine. It's getting in that takes motivation.

In fact, when you think about it, we only need to be motivated for a few short moments. Between those moments, momentum or habit or unconscious focus takes over. 

Need willpower to work on something difficult? Ask yourself when you need that willpower the most. Received feedback that you should talk less in meetings? Figure out when are you most susceptible to blabbing on. Trying to maintain a commitment to yourself or someone else? Identify the times when you are most at risk of violating that commitment.

Then, whatever you do, don't give up in the moments when you're most vulnerable. Don't give up the bike ride while standing under the awning watching it rain. Even when anyone tells you you're crazy to go out.

Carrots, Eggs Or Coffee

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as when one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.

She let them sit and boil; without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what you see.”
“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg. Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, “What does it mean, mother?”

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.

However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water. “Which are you?” she asked her daughter.

When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor.

If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level?

How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Words

There once was a wise sage who wandered the countryside. One day, as he passed near a village, he was approached by a woman who told him of a sick child nearby. She beseeched him to help this child.

So the sage came to the village, and a crowd gathered around him, for such a man was a rare sight. One woman brought the sick child to him, and he said a prayer over her.
"Do you really think your prayer will help her, when medicine has failed?" yelled a man from the crowd.

"You know nothing of such things! You are a stupid fool!" said the sage to the man.
The man became very angry with these words and his face grew hot and red. He was about to say something, or perhaps strike out, when the sage walked over to him and said: "If one word has such power as to make you so angry and hot, may not another have the power to heal?"

And thus, the sage healed two people that day.

"Language does have the power to change reality. Therefore, treat your words as the mighty instruments they are - to heal, to bring into being, to nurture, to cherish, to bless, to forgive." - Daphne Rose Kingma

Mother's Charge

A little boy came up to his mother in the kitchen one evening while she was fixing supper, and handed her a piece of paper that he had been writing on. After his Mom dried her hands on an apron, she read it, and this is what it said:

• For cutting the grass: $5.00
• For cleaning up my room this week: $1.00
• For going to the store for you: $.50
• Baby-sitting my kid brother while you went shopping: $.25
• Taking out the garbage: $1.00
• For getting a good report card: $5.00
• For cleaning up and raking the yard: $2.00
• Total owed: $14.75

Well, his mother looked at him standing there, and the boy could see the memories flashing through her mind. 

She picked up the pen, turned over the paper he’d written on, and this is what she wrote:

• For the nine months I carried you while you were growing inside me: No Charge
• For all the nights that I’ve sat up with you, doctored and prayed for you: No Charge
• For all the trying times, and all the tears that you’ve caused through the years: No Charge
• For all the nights that were filled with dread, and for the worries I knew were ahead: No Charge
• For the toys, food, clothes, and even wiping your nose: No Charge
• Son, when you add it up, the cost of my love is: No Charge.

The Missing Watch

There once was a farmer who discovered that he had lost his watch in the barn. It was no ordinary watch because it had sentimental value for him.

After searching high and low among the hay for a long while; he gave up and enlisted the help of a group of children playing outside the barn.

He promised them that the person who found it would be rewarded.

Hearing this, the children hurried inside the barn, went through and around the entire stack of hay but still could not find the watch. Just when the farmer was about to give up looking for his watch, a little boy went up to him and asked to be given another chance.

The farmer looked at him and thought, “Why not? After all, this kid looks sincere enough.”

So the farmer sent the little boy back in the barn. After a while the little boy came out with the watch in his hand! The farmer was both happy and surprised and so he asked the boy how he succeeded where the rest had failed.

The boy replied, “I did nothing but sit on the ground and listen. In the silence, I heard the ticking of the watch and just looked for it in that direction.”

A Peaceful mind can think better than a Worked up mind. Allow a few minutes of Silence to your mind every day, and see, how sharply it helps you to set your life the way you expect it to be. The challenge is to silence the mind.

Smile

A little girl walked to and from school daily.                                                                        
Though the weather that morning was questionable and clouds were forming, she made her daily trek to the   elementary school.                                                                                                               
As the afternoon progressed, the winds whipped up, along with thunder and lightning.                                   
The mother of the little girl felt concerned that her daughter would be frightened as she walked home from   school and she herself feared that the electrical storm might harm her child.                                                    
Following the roar of thunder, lightning, like a flaming word, would cut through the sky full of concern; the mother quickly got into her car and drove along the route to her child's school.                                             
 As she did so, she saw her little girl walking along, but at each flash of lightning, the child would stop, look up   
and smile.

Another and another were to follow quickly and with each, the little girl would look at the streak of light and smile.

When the mother's car drove up beside the child, she lowered the window and called to her, "What are you  doing? Why do you keep stopping?" The child answered, "I am trying to look pretty, God keeps taking my picture."                     
                                                                                                                     
Face the storms that come your way and don't forget to smile!

The Given Light

Once upon a time a man had heard, that in a foreign place, far away, there was a holy flame burning. So he got up and left his home to find the holy flame and bring some of its light back home to his house. He thought: 'When I have this light, then I will have happiness and life and all the people I love will have it too.'

He traveled far, far away and finally found the holy flame, with which he lit his light. On his way back he had only one worry: 'That his light could go out.'

On his way home he met someone who was freezing and didn't have any fire and who begged him to give him some of his fire. The man with the light hesitated for a moment. Wasn't his light too precious, too holy to be given away for something ordinary like that? Despite these doubts, he decided to give some of his light to the one who was freezing in the darkness.

The man continued his journey home and when he had almost reached his house a terrible thunderstorm started. He tried to protect his light from the rain and the storm, but at the end his light went out.

To return the long way back to the place where the holy flame was burning was impossible, he wouldn't have had enough strength to go back this far - but he was strong enough to return to the human being whom he had helped on his way home.

.........and with his light he could light his own again.

Being Polite

I walked with a friend to the newsstand the other night, and he bought a paper, thanking the owner politely. The owner, however, did not even acknowledge it. "A sullen fellow, isn't he?" I commented as we walked away. "Oh, he's that way every night," shrugged my friend. "Then why do you continue being so polite to him?" I asked. And my friend replied, "Why should I let him determine how I'm going to act?"

The Frogs

A farmer came into town and asked the owner of a restaurant if he could sell him a million frog legs.

The restaurant owner was shocked and asked the man where he could get so many frog legs! The farmer replied, "There is a pond near my house that is full of frogs - millions of them. They all croak all night long and they are about to make me crazy!"

So the restaurant owner and the farmer made an agreement that the farmer would deliver frogs to the restaurant, five hundred at a time for the next several weeks.

The first week, the farmer returned to the restaurant looking rather sheepish, with two scrawny little frogs. The restaurant owner said, "Well... where are all the frogs?"

The farmer said, "I was mistaken. There were only these two frogs in the pond. But they sure were making a lot of noise!"

Next time you hear somebody criticizing or making fun of you, remember, it's probably just a couple of noisy frogs.

Problems always seem bigger in the dark. Have you ever laid in your bed at night worrying about things which seem almost overwhelming like a million frogs croaking? Chances are pretty good that when the morning comes, and you take a closer look, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.

Spilled Milk & My Mom

There is a story about a famous research scientist who had made several very important medical breakthroughs. He was being interviewed by a newspaper reporter who asked him why he thought he was able to be so much more creative than the average person. What set him so far apart from others? 

He responded that, in his opinion, it all came from an experience with his mother that occurred when he was about 5 years old. He had been trying to remove a bottle of milk from the refrigerator when he lost his grip on the slippery bottle and it fell, spilling its contents all over the kitchen floor” a veritable sea of milk!

When his mother came into the kitchen, instead of yelling at him, giving him a lecture, or punishing him, she said, Ahmad, what a great and wonderful mess you have made! I have rarely seen such a huge puddle of milk. Well, the damage has already been done. Would you like to get down and play in the milk for a few minutes before we clean it up?  

Indeed, he did. After a few minutes, his mother said, You know, Ahmad, whenever you make a mess like this, eventually you have to clean it up and restore everything to its proper order. So, how would you like to do that? We could use a sponge, a towel, or a mop. Which do you prefer? He chose the sponge and together they cleaned up the spilled milk.

His mother then said, You know, what we have here is a failed experiment in how to effectively carry a big milk bottle with two tiny hands. Lets go out in the back yard and fill the bottle with water and see if you can discover a way to carry it without dropping it. The little boy learned that if he grasped the bottle at the top near the lip with both hands, he could carry it without dropping it. What a wonderful lesson!

This renowned scientist then remarked that it was at that moment that he knew he didn't need to be afraid to make mistakes.

Instead, he learned that mistakes were just opportunities for learning something new, which is, after all, what scientific experiments are all about. Even if the experiment doesn't work, we usually learn something valuable from it.

Someone who understands

A farmer had some puppies he needed to sell. He painted a sign advertising the pups and set about Nailing it to a post on the edge of his yard. As he was driving the last nail into the post, he Felt a tug on his overalls. He looked down into the Eyes of a little boy. 

Mister," he said, "I want to buy one of your puppies." 
"Well," said the farmer, as he rubbed the sweat off the back of his neck, "these puppies come from fine parents and cost a good deal of money." 

The boy dropped his head for a moment. Then reaching deep into his pocket, he pulled out a handful of change and held it up to the farmer. 
"I've got thirty-nine cents. Is that enough to take a look?"
"Sure," said the farmer. And with that he let out a whistle,"Here, Dolly!" he called.
Out from the doghouse and down the ramp ran Dolly followed by four little balls of fur. The little boy pressed his face against the chain link fence. His eyes danced with delight. As the dogs made their way to the fence, the little boy noticed something else stirring inside the doghouse. Slowly another little ball appeared; this one noticeably smaller. Down the ramp it slid. Then in a somewhat awkward manner the little pup began hobbling toward the others, doing its best to catch up....

"I want that one," the little boy said, pointing to the runt. 
The farmer knelt down at the boy's side and said, "Son, you don't want that puppy. He will never be able to run and play with you like these other dogs would."

With that the little boy stepped back from the fence, reached down, and began rolling up one leg of his trousers. In doing so he revealed a steel brace running down both sides of his leg attaching itself to a specially made shoe. Looking back up at the farmer, he said, "You see sir, I don't run too well myself, and he will need someone who understands." 

The world is full of people who need someone who understands. 

The Purpose of Life

There once lived a very wise man in a small village. He was the head of the local administration and respected by all for his views and opinions on a varied subjects.

People came to him in times of need or just to seek some good advise on the different aspects of life. But ironically his only son was a lazy lad, who whisked away his time eating, sleeping or enjoying with his friends outside.

No amount of advise or even threat made any difference to his attitude. As the years passed and the wise man grew old he got more and more worried about his sons future and realized he needed to give something to his son to take care of himself and the family, so one day he called his only son and said” My son, you are grown up now, you need to understand life and your responsibilities by yourself now.”

Amazed by his fathers sudden anxiety his son said, “Father, you have always been by my side to guide me always, how will I ever manage without you…I will be so lost without you…..” His father drew him close , hugged him and said, ” I want you to find the real purpose of your life and when you find it remember it always and you will lead a life full of happiness and joy.”

The son was greatly amused, what could be this important lesson that could cure all his problems in future, he wondered!

The next day, his father gave him a bag. The son was greatly surprised as he opened the bag, as it had 4 pair of clothes one for each season, some raw food, grains, lentils, some money and a map. As he wondered what he was supposed to do with the stock, his father declared….”I want you to go find a treasure”. I have drawn a map of the place where the treasure is hidden, You need to go and find it.”

Aha, so this is what father was referring to earlier, the real purpose of my life is to find this treasure that will solve all my problems in future, the son thought to himself, greatly pleased at the idea. The next day, he set out early on his journey eager to find the mystical treasure. The place described in the map was far far away and he had to cross many rivers, forests, plateaus , and mountains to reach his destination. He prayed he would meet his father , when he returned to show him his findings.

He set out on his travel, days , weeks and months passed, as he travelled, he met a lot of people on the way, some helped him with food, some gave him shelter, he also met thief’s and robbers who tried to cheat him and rob him of his belongings. As he moved through landscapes, Slowly the season changed…fall gave way to winter and spring led to summer.

When the weather got harsh, he would pause his journey for some time and again set out moving towards his destination continuously . He wanted to find the treasure before anyone else did .

Finally after a long year , he reached the cliff below which his father has told him he would find his life’s treasure. He spotted the tree, his father had described in the map and started looking around it, he searched and searched , but found nothing. He spent two days looking and digging for the treasure around that tree, exhausted he decided to go back on the third day.

Tired and devastated by his father’s lie, he headed back home. On his way back, he experienced the same changing landscapes and seasons. But this time he stopped to wonder the blooming of flowers when the spring came, the birds dancing in the falling rain. He witnessed glorious sunsets and reveled in peaceful summer evenings.

He learned to hunt for his own food, sew his own clothes and protect himself from the harsh weather. He learned to calculate the time of the day with the suns position and plan his journey accordingly. He also learned how to protect himself from wild animals and harmful plants and sherbs.

He met the same people who had helped him on his way, this time he stopped and spend some days with them to help them with their chores to show his gratitude. He realized how wonderful they were in their sense of trying to help the passers by on that route without any expectations in return.

When he reached home, he realized he had been out of his house for 2 years now. He went straight to his fathers room and was relieved to see him resting. He walked up to him and slowly whispered to him, “father”, careful not to disturb him in his sleep. The wise man opened his eyes, he got up as he saw his son and embraced him.

“So how was your journey my son”, did you find the treasure” he asked. “The journey was fascinating father,” the son quipped “but forgive me father, as I have disappointed you, I could not find any treasure, at the place described in the map. Maybe somebody took it before I reached.” He was surprised at his own answer that instead of getting angry he was asking for his father’s forgiveness. His father smiled and signaled him to sit down on a chair next to him.

“That is because there was no treasure at that place my son” he answered smiling. “But why did you send me to find it then”, he asked. “I will surely tell you why but first you tell me, how was your journey when you were going to find the treasure. Did you enjoyed the varying landscapes, experienced living in the out on your own amidst new people and changing seasons , did you made good friends on the way?”

Of course not father, I did not got distracted for a second, I had no time to do all that since I was always focused on reaching my destination as soon as possible before anybody else and find the treasure, I had no time to experience the landscape, the weather or to make any friends. But yes I did all this on my way back. I must admit I really enjoyed my journey back , I learned many new skills and mastered the art of survival, so much so, that I forgot the pain of not finding the treasure.”

His father held his hand and said “Exactly my son ,You wanted to know how to lead life and find your goals…but if you lead your life going after a goal on this journey called life , you miss out the real treasures on the way because you are so focused on finding the goal. When the truth is that life has no goal at all, other than to just live it and grow with it each day.”

It is when we set out in life without trying to associate any meaning or greater purpose to it that we find the treasure of true joy in each moment.

To be what you were born to be and to explore your full potential each day is life’s only goal.

Progress Takes Time

A rich man, fond of felines, asked a famous Zen ink painter to draw him a cat. The master agreed and asked the man to come back in three months.

When the man returned, he was put off again and again, until a year had passed.

Finally, at the man’s request, the master drew out a brush, and, with grace and ease, in a single fluid motion, drew a picture of a cat – the most marvelous image the man had ever seen.

He was astonished; then he grew angry. “That drawing took you only thirty seconds! Why did you make me wait a year?” he demanded.                                                  

Without a word, the master opened up a cabinet, and out fell thousands of drawings of cats.

Excellence is a function of practice and time. Don’t rush.

Those of us who are always pushing hard, running up the mountain, may reach the top first only to realize we forgot to enjoy the climb.

Progress takes time. Those who make it look easy have worked hard over time.

Perception

A teacher teaching Maths to seven-year-old Arnav asked him, "If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have? "

Within a few seconds Arnav replied confidently, "Four!"

The dismayed teacher was expecting an effortless correct answer (three). She was disappointed. "Maybe the child did not listen properly," she thought. She repeated, "Arnav, listen carefully. If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have?" Arnav had seen the disappointment on his teacher's face. He calculated again on his fingers. But within him he was also searching for the answer that will make the teacher happy. His search for the answer was not for the correct one, but the one that will make his teacher happy. This time hesitatingly he replied, "Four."

The disappointment stayed on the teacher's face. She remembered that Arnav liked strawberries. She thought maybe he doesn't like apples and that is making him loose focus. This time with an exaggerated excitement and twinkling in her eyes she asked, "If I give you one strawberry and one strawberry and one strawberry, then how many you will have?" Seeing the teacher happy, young Arnav calculated on his fingers again. There was no pressure on him, but a little on the teacher. She wanted her new approach to succeed. With a hesitating smile young Arnav enquired, "Three?"

The teacher now had a victorious smile. Her approach had succeeded. She wanted to congratulate herself. But one last thing remained. Once again she asked him, "Now if I give you one apple and one apple and one more apple how many will you have?" Promptly Arnav answered, "Four!"

The teacher was aghast. "How Arnav, how?" she demanded in a little stern and irritated voice.

In a voice that was low and hesitating young Arnav replied, "Because I already have one apple in my bag."

"When someone gives you an answer that is different from what you expect, don't think they are wrong. There may be an angle that you have not understood at all. You will have to listen and understand, but never listen with a predetermined notion. Most of the times, we do not try to understand the view of the other person and we find them wrong, but in reality it is just the matter of giving other person a chance to explain."

Heaven and hell

Once a samurai came to Dzen Master Hakuin and asked: “Where is a paradise? Where is a hell? And where are the gate of heaven and hell?”

Samurai knew only two things: life and death. He did not have any philosophy, he just wanted to know where the gate to escape hell and go to heaven. And Hakuin answered so that the warrior could understand.

“Who are you?” – Hakuin asked.

“I’m the leader of samurai” – the warrior replied – “and the Emperor pays a tribute to me.”

Hakuin laughed and said: “Are you really the leader of samurais? You look like some poor raga-muffin!”

Samurai’s pride was hurt . He forgot why he had come for, whipped out his sword and was going to kill Hakuin .

And Hakuin laughed again and said: “This is the gate of hell. With a sword, being in anger , with your ego you will open it.”

Samurai realized that idea, calmed dawn and sheathed his sword. And Hakuin continued: “And here you open the gate of heaven.”

Heaven and hell are in you. And the gates are in you. If you are not conscious, this is the gate of hell. If you are vigilant and conscious, this is the gate of heaven. But people continue to think that heaven and hell are somewhere outside. Heaven and hell are not after life, they are here and now. And the gates are always open. At any moment you make your choice between heaven and hell.

Potholes

I found myself driving the curvy road near my home slower than usual this morning. My eyes were open as wide as I could get them and I was scanning the road as intently as I could. I was swerving my car to the left and to the right. No, I wasn't drunk, sick, or sleepy. I was just trying to miss all of the potholes. An especially brutal winter had produced a bumper crop of them this year.

As I rounded a curve I saw one that I couldn't miss. I hit it with a jarring thud and in a moment of anger one of those words I try never to use anymore slipped out of my mouth. I shook my head and slowed down even more. As I rounded another curve I saw a man in the road and slowed to a stop. He was directing traffic while his work crew was throwing shovels of asphalt into the worst of the potholes. I smiled at them all and gave them a little wave as I drove on. I knew that their patch job wouldn't last for long but was grateful that it was at least making the road a bit smoother for now.

As we all travel down the road of life we can't help but see that in places it is full of potholes. Pains and problems, difficulties and troubles, challenges and obstacles, sickness and death all lie along that rough road. There is no way to ignore them. There is no way to avoid them. There is no way to travel around them. What we are left with then is a choice. We can curse their existence and rail at God and life or we can take a shovel full of kindness, a shovel full of joy, and a shovel full of love and do our best to fill them in. We can work and pray and have faith that we are making the road a little less rough for those who follow us.