THE LITTLE BOY'S MEETING WITH GOD

There once was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of root beer and started his journey. When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons.

The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her a Twinkies. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Once again she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

 

As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was, and he got up to leave but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever. When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, “What did you do today that made you so happy?” He replied, “I had lunch with God.” But, before his mother could respond, he added, “You know what? She’s got the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen!”

 

Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, “Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?” She replied, “I ate Twinkies in the park with God.” But, before her son responded, she added, “You know, he’s much younger than I expected.”

 

Moral: God is everywhere. We just need to share our happiness and make others smile to feel him.

I SHOULD HAVE DONE IT BETTER.

A carpenter who was nearing retirement told his boss that he was ready to end his career and spend his time with his wife and family. He would miss his work, but he felt it was time to spend his time with the people who were important to him.

 

His boss was saddened by this news, as this carpenter had been a good, reliable employee for many years. He asked the carpenter if he could do him a favor and build just one more house.

 

The carpenter reluctantly conceded, even though his passion for building had faded.

 

While he was building this last house, his normal work ethic faded and his efforts were mediocre, at best. He used inexpensive and inferior materials and cut corners wherever he could. It was a poor way to finish such a dedicated career that he once had.

 

When the carpenter was finished, his boss came to look at the house. He gave the key to the carpenter and said, “This house is my gift to you for all of the hard work you have done for me over the years.”

 

The carpenter was astonished.

 

What a generous gift this was to receive from his boss, but if he had known he was building a house for himself, he would have made his usual efforts to create a high-quality home.

 

The Moral:

The same idea applies to how you build your life. Every day that you wake up offers an opportunity for you to put your best foot forward, yet we often do mediocre work, saving the more important things for “another” day. Then one day, we find ourselves shocked that our lives aren’t what we had hoped they would be. The “house” we built to live in has a lot of flaws due to a lack of effort.

However, you can’t go back and rebuild it in a day or two. As people say, “Life is a do-it-yourself project.” Your attitude and choices help build the life you will live tomorrow. Build carefully.

THE DIRTY MONEY.

A well-respected speaker began a seminar by showing an audience of 150 people a crisp $20 bill. He asked, “Who wants this $20 bill?”

All 150 people nodded.

 

He said, “I am going to give this money to someone, but first….” Then he proceeded to crumple the bill up.

 

He asked the crowd again if anyone wanted it.

 

All 150 hands went up in the air.

 

The speaker then dropped the money on the floor and stomped all over it.

 

He then raised it in the air to show the crowd. The money was filthy.

 

“Does anyone want it now?”

 

Every hand went up.

 

The speaker proceeded to tell the crowd that no matter what he did to ruin the money, people still wanted it because its value remained the same. It was still worth $20.

 

The Moral:

Life often beats us up to the point where we feel inadequate. We deal with bad circumstances and make bad choices that we have to deal with later. However, no matter what you go through, your value will remain the same. You have something special to offer that no one can take away from you.

Lessons in Talent and Perseverance: The Tortoise, the Hare, and the Race of Success

Once upon a time, a tortoise and a hare engaged in a lively argument over their speed. Eager to settle their dispute, they agreed to a race. Determined to prove their superiority, they chose a route and prepared to embark on the race.

As the race commenced, the hare burst forth with incredible speed, swiftly leaving the tortoise behind. Confident in its ability and convinced of an easy victory, the hare decided to take a break and rest beneath the shade of a tree. Its overconfidence led to complacency, and before long, the hare was fast asleep.

Meanwhile, the tortoise, known for its slow and steady nature, persevered in its plodding pace. Slowly but surely, it made progress, steadily closing the gap between itself and the slumbering hare. With unwavering determination, the tortoise forged ahead, eventually overtaking the hare and crossing the finish line to claim victory.

Startled from its sleep, the hare awoke to the realization that it had lost the race. The outcome served as a humbling lesson for the hare, highlighting the importance of more than just raw talent. The true moral of the story lies not in the triumph of the tortoise but in the hare's mistakes.

The hare's downfall lay in its hubris. It possessed remarkable speed and skill, but it failed to utilize those abilities effectively. It underestimated the value of consistent effort and perseverance. In life, possessing great talents alone is insufficient. It is essential to demonstrate and apply those talents to achieve success.

The moral of the story emphasizes that success is not solely determined by having inherent abilities. It hinges upon utilizing and showcasing those talents with diligence, dedication, and a willingness to keep striving. Merely possessing a skill is not enough; it is the practical application of that skill that leads to triumph.

In conclusion, the tale of the tortoise and the hare teaches us that success is born out of utilizing our talents rather than merely relying on them. It reminds us of the significance of consistent effort, perseverance, and the drive to demonstrate our abilities, ultimately leading us towards achieving our goals.

THE MISSING FIVE POUND NOTE

Chippenham George worked for the Post Office and his job was to process all the mail that had illegible addresses. One day just before Christmas, a letter landed on his desk simply addressed in shaky handwriting: 'To God'. With no other clue on the envelope, George opened the letter and read:

 

Dear God,

I am an 93 year old widow living on the State pension. Yesterday someone stole my purse. It had £100 in it, which was all the money I had in the world and no pension due until after Christmas. Next week is Christmas and I had invited two of my friends over for Christmas lunch. Without that money, I have nothing to buy food with. I have no family to turn to, and you are my only hope. God; can you please help me?

 

Chippenham George was really touched, and being kind hearted, he put a copy of the letter up on the staff notice board at the main Fareham sorting office where he worked. The letter touched the other postmen and they all dug into their pockets and had a whip round. Between them they raised £95. Using an officially franked Post Office envelope, they sent the cash on to the old lady, and for the rest of the day, all the workers felt a warm glow thinking of the nice thing they had done.

 

Christmas came and went. A few days later, another letter simply addressed to 'God' landed in the Sorting Office. Many of the postmen gathered around while George opened the letter. It read,

 

Dear God,

How can I ever thank you enough for what you did for me? Because of your generosity, I was able to provide a lovely luncheon for my friends. We had a very nice day, and I told my friends of your wonderful gift - in fact we haven't gotten over it and even Father John, our parish priest, is beside himself with joy. By the way, there was £5 missing. I think it must have been those thieving fellows at the Post Office.

 

George could not help musing on Oscar Wilde's quote: 'A good deed never goes unpunished'

Birthday Gift

A girl was very proud of her boy friend, she always tell her friends how good her boy friend is.

On the day of her birthday, she invited all her friends including her boy friend who happens to be the special guest of honor.

 

Everybody brought their gifts to the girl and was waiting for the arrival of the girl's boy friend who promised to bring a very nice gift for his girl.

 

As everybody was waiting, behold! The boy was coming with a gift which was inside a poly bag.

 

The girl was very happy at the arrival of his boy friend and was ready to see the gift that he brought to her.

 

Do you know what happen?

 

The boy just opened the poly bag in front of all the guest's and invitees. And he brought out a loaf of bread. And said to the girl..."take this bread, that's what I brought for you as your birthday gift"

 

The girl got angry immediately and was highly disappointed at her boy friend.

She grab the bread and threw it away with anger. The boy friend also got disappointed and he rushed and pick up the bread.

 

He opened the bread in front of his girl friend, behold!!!....there was a car key and an engagement ring inside the bread. When the girl noticed that...She began

to beg, but then, it was too late for her. 

Moral: always learn how to appreciate things, weather big or small.

FATHER'S ADVICE TO ME WHEN I WAS SEARCHING FOR A WIFE

My son, I will be very raw and sincere with you.

 

Do not worry about the size of a woman buttockor breast but worry about the size of her heartand brain. Worry about the size of her love and endurance. Because after 5 or 10 years, it will notbe about the breast or buttock.

 

As you can see, your mum now has a flat chest and almost flat buttock but we still live together happily, I still love her and she still love me.

Be careful of a woman that loves money. I mean the woman that talks ‘every time’ about her hair,cloths, shoes, bags panties and make-ups.

 

Marriage is not all about these things. Without make-up, cloths, shoes and panties a good marriage will still stand but without love, no marriage can stand.

When I got married to your mum, I didn’t have a car or house of my own. I was not even educated. But I had dreams and she appreciate and support me. Any woman that does not support your dream is not worth thinking-a-minute about. 

 

There are women that will see your dreams better than you, you are lucky if you find one, My son, open your ears very well, there is a kind of woman you should avoid, do not make a mistake to marry this kind of woman or you will regret it. I mean a woman that always has bad things to say about everyone. If you see this kind of woman, run away.

 

 

One of the worst kind of woman you can marry is the one that complains about everything. If you buy this, she says you should have bought that, if you do this, she said you should have done that.

 

Please stay away!

Most women enjoy talking but the one who talks for two hours and listen for two minutes is a potential ‘bomb’. Be wise. Be very careful of a pretending partner. A

pretending woman is not hard to know. She will always know everything about everything, she will be careful. Just close your eyes and open your heart and you will see!

 

No woman is perfect. If you see a woman who believes in your dream , who respects you who is committed and who is not all about herself alone then don’t let her go.

 

But remember, you must not be a wayward man. I have trained you!

If you find a good woman but you are a bad man, you wont have a good marriage!

I won’t pick a wife for you but I have given you my advice. When you find her, bring her for my blessings.

 

May you find a woman that will increase you not decrease you..

SOMETIMES JUST LET IT BE.

Once Buddha was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. This was in the initial days. 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.The 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 a clear water. It didn’t require any effort”.

 

Moral: 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 any effort to calm it down. We can judge and take best decisions of our life when we stay calm.

THE BOULDER AND THE GOLD

There once was a king who decided to do a little experiment. He had a giant boulder(a very large stone) put right in the middle of the street. He then hid near the boulder to see who, if anyone, would try to move it out of the way.

First, some wealthy merchants walked by. They walked around the boulder, complaining that the king hasn’t been maintaining the roads very well.

 

Next, a peasant walked by, heading home with his arms full of food for his family. When he noticed the boulder, he put his groceries down and attempted to move it out of everyone’s way. It took him a while to move it, but he eventually succeeded.

If you’re able to push through moments that are challenging, you may end up being much better off than you were before you started trying.

 

After the peasant gathered up his groceries to carry on home, he noticed a bag lying in the middle of the road, just where the boulder once was. He opened the bag to find that it was stuffed full of gold coins, along with a letter from the king saying that the bag’s gold was a reward for the peasant to keep because he had taken the time and energy to move the boulder out of the road for the convenience of others who would be travelling the road in the future.

 

MORAL

The peasant in this story was taught by the king that every obstacle you face offers an opportunity to improve. If you’re able to push through moments that are challenging, you may end up being much better off than you were before you started trying.

 

This story also offers a lesson of personal responsibility. If you see a job ahead of you, don’t leave it for the next person to do. Rather, step up and get the job done to help the people who come after you.

THE SWITCH

A young trial lawyer developed a reputation for himself a short time of being an accomplished attorney. His opponents feared him; his clients loved him. He was sure to win each case. He began writing in law journals and invitations to speak about his techniques began to appear. After a number of these, he developed a standard lecture to be used for these audiences.

 

He travelled with his chauffeur, a bright young man who was proud to be associated with this renowned lawyer. After months of listening to the same lecture, the brash young chauffeur said that he had heard the same speech so many times that he could give it himself. It was agreed that the next time they are out of town and no one would recognize them, they would exchange duties. The lawyer dressed as the chauffeur while the chauffeur, dressed like the lawyer, was introduced to a room full of expectant lawyers.

 

The chauffeur gave the lecture, demonstrating techniques and addressing details with precision. At the end of the speech, the chauffeur was given a standing ovation. It was magnificent talk. The moderator indicated there were still a few minutes left and asked the appreciative audience if they had any questions for the honored guest.

 

One lawyer ventured to ask a question concerning the legal precedents for one of the techniques referred to earlier in the speech. The lawyer, dressed as a chauffeur, in the back of the room felt his heart sink. He could easily field the question, but there was no way to let his chauffeur no the answer. They were about to get exposed!

 

The chauffeur asked the questioner to repeat the question. After listening to the question a second time, the chauffeur chuckled. With just a slight hint of mockery, he responded, “why, that’s just a simple and well-known precedent that all of you should know! The common lay person should also know the answer. In fact, to demonstrate my premise, I’m going to let my chauffeur give you the answer.

KEEPING THE ROOTS STRONGER.

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”.

 

Moral: This story is about parenting where children are like plants. If everything is given to them, they will not understand the hard work it takes to earn those things. They will not learn to work themselves and respect it. Sometimes it’s best to guide them instead of giving them

BAD COMPANY

A rich man had only one son. The son fell into the bad company. He developed many bad habits.

The man was much worried about the habits of his son. He tried his best to mend his habits but he could not succeed. One day he thought of a plan to teach his son a lesson.

 

He went to market and purchased some fresh apples and a rotten one. He came back to his home and called his son. He asked his son to put all the apples along with the rotten one in the almirah.

 

The son did the same. After some days father asked his son to bring the apples. As he opened the door of almirah he was surprised to note that all the apples had become rotten. He felt sad.

 

At this his father told him to see how one rotten apple had spoiled all the rest. In the same way one bad companion could spoil all others. The father's advice had the desired effect. The boy gave up bad company and became good again.

 

Moral:

Better alone than in bad company.

Factors That Contribute To the Development of a Successful Person

The main factors that contribute to the development of an effective and successful person are ambition, determination, self-confidence, rationality and continued learning.

 

'Ambition' means the desire to do something or succeed. 'Determination' is being serious in doing something. 'Self-confidence' is believing in one's ability to win or succeed. Self-confidence provides courage to talk to people in public, to ask questions or to say 'NO' to something that is not right. 

 

To gain self-confidence, one needs patience because without patience, self-confidence may seem like rudeness.

 

'Rationality' is using logical reasoning to solve problems. The opposite of rational thinking is using superstition and its various forms like agnosticism for solving problems. Does agnosticism help one to be successful in life?

 

'Continued learning' means learning should never stop after leaving school. Success in life depends on the amount of knowledge the person has. One must, therefore, keep on learning new things in order to be more productive.

THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK

One night in July at an all-girls summer camp, the campers were gathered around in a circle for their nighttime devotions. The counselor asked if any of the girls wanted to share something that had happened that day that impacted them. One camper raised her hand and said a girl from another camp cabin had said something that hurt her feelings and she was really upset about it.

 

The camp counselor went to the bathroom to grab a tube of toothpaste. She took the tube and squeezed it just a bit so some toothpaste came out. She then tried to put the toothpaste back in the tube, but it just created a mess.Then she squeezed the tube even more, pushing more toothpaste out and creating even more of a mess, but none of it would go back into the tube.

 

The counselor then told the campers, “this toothpaste represents the words you speak. Once you say something that you want to take back, it’s impossible and it only creates a mess. Think before you speak, and make sure your words are going to good use before you let them out.”

 

MORAL

Speaking is a fundamental social skill required for living a successful life. However, many are careless with their words, but they hold so much power. They can have a direct impact on the outcome of a situation, creating a helpful or hurtful reaction in our world. The problem is, once words come out of your mouth, no amount of “I’m sorrys” will make them go back in: blurting something out and then attempting to take it back is like shutting the gate after the horse has taken off. 

 

Thinking before you speak allows you the time to consider the potential impact of your words. Be careful when choosing where and when you let your words out. You can easily hurt other people, and once you do, you can’t take it back.

Words define who we are by revealing our attitudes and character, giving people an indication of our intellect or ignorance. Stop for a minute before you speak and question yourself about why you’re saying what you are.

CHERISH YOUR STRUGGLES

One day, a girl came upon a cocoon, and she could tell that a butterfly was trying to hatch. She waited and watched the butterfly struggle for hours to release itself from the tiny hole. All of a sudden, the butterfly stopped moving–it seemed to be stuck.

 

The girl then decided to help get the butterfly out. She went home to get a pair of scissors to cut open the cocoon. The butterfly was then easily able to escape,however, its body was swollen and its wings were underdeveloped. 

 

The girl still thought she had done the butterfly a favor as she sat there waiting for its wings to grow in order to support its body. However, that wasn’t happening. The butterfly was unable to fly, and for the rest of its life, it could only move by crawling around with little wings and a large body.

 

Despite the girl’s good intentions, she didn’t understand that the restriction of the butterfly’s cocoon and the struggle the butterfly had to go through in order to escape served an important purpose. As butterflies emerge from tight cocoons, it forces fluid from their body into their wings to prepare them to be able to fly.

 

The Moral:

The struggles that you face in life help you grow and get stronger. There is often a reason behind the requirement of doing hard work and being persistent. When enduring difficult times, you will develop the necessary strength that you’ll need in the future.

 

Without having any struggles, you won’t grow–which means it’s very important to take on personal challenges for yourself rather than relying on other people to always help you.

SEEING WEALTH FROM A DIFFERENT SPECTACLE

There was once a boy who was growing up in a very wealthy family. One day, his father decided to take him on a trip to show him how others lived who were less fortunate. His father’s goal was to help his son appreciate everything that he has been given in life.

 

The boy and his father pulled up to a farm where a very poor family lived. They spent several days on the farm, helping the family work for their food and take care of their land.

 

When they left the farm, his dad asked his son if he enjoyed their trip and if he had learned anything during the time they spent with this other family.

The boy quickly replied, “It was fantastic, that family is so lucky!”

 

Confused, his father asked what he meant by that.

 

The boy said, “Well, we only have one dog, but that family has four–and they have chickens! We have four people in our home, but they have 12! They have so many people to play with! We have a pool in our yard, but they have a river running through their property that is endless. We have lanterns outside so we can see at night, but they have the wide open sky and the beautiful stars to give them wonder and light. We have a patio, but they havethe entire horizon to enjoy–they have endless fields to run around in and play. We have to go to the grocery store, but they are able to grow their own food. Our high fence protects our property and our family, but they don‘t need such a limiting structure, because their friends protect them.”

 

True wealth and happiness aren’t measured by material belongings.

 

The father was speechless.

 

Finally, the boy added, “Thank you for showing me how rich people live, they’re so lucky.”

 

Morals

True wealth and happiness aren’t measured by material belongings. Being around the people you love, enjoying the beautiful, natural environment, and having freedom are much more valuable.

 

A rich life can mean different things to different people. What are your values and priorities?

Idle Dreams and Neglected Fields: A Lesson in Proactivity

In a certain place, there resided a lazy farmer who had a strong aversion to hard work in the fields. Instead, he preferred to spend his days indulging in idleness beneath a tree. One fateful day, while he was lounging in his usual spot, a fox suddenly pursued a rabbit. With a resounding thud, the rabbit collided with the tree, meeting its unfortunate demise.

Seizing the opportunity, the farmer collected the lifeless rabbit and brought it home. This turn of events left the fox thoroughly frustrated. The farmer proceeded to cook and consume the rabbit for his evening meal, while also selling its fur at the market. In that moment, he entertained the thought, "If only I could acquire a rabbit like this every day, I would never have to toil again."

Motivated by this notion, the farmer returned to the tree the following day, eagerly anticipating another rabbit meeting a similar fate. Although he observed several rabbits, none of them carelessly collided with the tree as before. Unbeknownst to him, such occurrences were quite rare. Nevertheless, the farmer remained optimistic, thinking, "Well, there's always tomorrow."

As he fixated solely on waiting for a rabbit to meet an untimely demise, the farmer neglected his own field. Neglected and untended, weeds began to flourish in his rice field. Soon enough, hunger struck the farmer as he exhausted his rice supply without successfully capturing another rabbit.

MORAL:
This tale imparts a valuable lesson: one should not passively await good fortune without taking any action. Relying solely on luck without putting in the necessary effort for success is an unwise approach.

BE SMARTER THAN YOUR ENEMY.

 A Rabbit entered a shop and asked: "Do you have carrots?". They said, "no we don't have." The following day the rabbit came to the shop and asked again, "Do you have carrots?" They replied angrily, " We said we don't have carrots, if you come back again asking for carrots, we gonna SINK A NAIL in ur HEAD with a HAMMER!" 

 

The third day the rabbit came yet again and asked, "Do you have a hammer? They replied, "NO." He said, "What about nails?" They said, "NO." Then he calmly asked, "Do you have carrots?"

Moral:

Don't let your enemy scare you, he has nothing. His threats are just empty meant to derail you from the path leading to success. Just pursue your dreams.

Have a fabulous smiling moment.

Not all enemies are enemies.

 

When the baboons and monkeys heard that the man who used to chase them away from the maize field had died... they hysterically celebrated.

 

The following year there was no maize..that's when they painfully realised the dead man was the farmer.

 

Not all enemies are enemies.

Some came to teach us lessons.