An Argument about the Sun
When Confucius was traveling in the eastern part of the country, he came upon two children hot in argument, so he asked them to tell him what it was all about.
"I think," said one child, "that the sun is near to us at daybreak and far away from us at noon."
The other contended that the sun was far away at dawn and nearby at midday.
"When the sun first appears," said one child, "it is as big as the canopy of a carriage, but at noon it is only the size of a plate or a bowl. Well, isn't it true that objects far away seem smaller while those nearby seem bigger?"
"When the sun comes out," pointed out the other, "it is very cool, but at midday it is as hot as putting your hand in boiling water. Well, isn't it true that what is nearer to us is hotter and what is farther off is cooler?"
Confucius was unable to settle the matter for them.
The two children laughed at him, "Who says you are a learned man?"
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Impenetrable Shield and All-piercing Spear
An armorer of London boldly claims to make the best spears and shields.
"My shields are so strong; they cannot be penetrated by any weapon," he said.
"My spears are so sharp; they can pierce any shield," he further said.
A man asks, "If your spear is thrown at your shield, what then?"
The armorer had no reply.
By logic, both an impenetrable shield and an all-piercing spear can not exist at the same time.
Moral of the story: Careful about the logic in any story.
"My shields are so strong; they cannot be penetrated by any weapon," he said.
"My spears are so sharp; they can pierce any shield," he further said.
A man asks, "If your spear is thrown at your shield, what then?"
The armorer had no reply.
By logic, both an impenetrable shield and an all-piercing spear can not exist at the same time.
Moral of the story: Careful about the logic in any story.
Blind Man and the Sun
Once upon a time, there was a blind man who does not know what the Sun is. So he asks other people to explain.
One man said, "The Sun is shaped like a copper plate." So the blind man banged on a copper plate, and listened to its clanging sound.
Later when he heard the sound of a temple bell, he thought that must be the Sun.
Another man said,"The Sun gives out light just like a candle." So the blind man hold a candle to feel its shape.
Later when he picked up a flute, he thought that this must be the Sun.
Yet we know that he Sun is vastly different from a bell or a flute; but a blind man does not understand the differences, because he has never seen the Sun and only heard it described.
Just like that matters introduced by others and seen and felt by oneself is different.
One man said, "The Sun is shaped like a copper plate." So the blind man banged on a copper plate, and listened to its clanging sound.
Later when he heard the sound of a temple bell, he thought that must be the Sun.
Another man said,"The Sun gives out light just like a candle." So the blind man hold a candle to feel its shape.
Later when he picked up a flute, he thought that this must be the Sun.
Yet we know that he Sun is vastly different from a bell or a flute; but a blind man does not understand the differences, because he has never seen the Sun and only heard it described.
Just like that matters introduced by others and seen and felt by oneself is different.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Whom to blame...
Boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage.
They were a Loving couple and the boy was the gem of their eyes.
When the boy was Around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle Open.
He was late for office so he asked his wife to cap the bottle and keep It in the cupboard. His wife, preoccupied in the kitchen totally forgot The matter.
The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle fascinated by Its colour and drank it all.
It happened to be a poisonous medicine Meant for adults in small dosages. When the child collapsed the mother Hurried him to the hospital, where he died. The mother was stunned. She Was terrified how to face her husband.
When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child ,
He looked at his wife and uttered just five words.
QUESTIONS:
1. What were the five words?
2. What is the implication of this story?
Scroll down...
Down...
ANSWER :
The husband just said "I am with you Darling"
The husband's totally unexpected reaction is a proactive behaviour.
The Child is dead. He can never be brought back to life.
There is no point In finding fault with the mother. Besides, if only he had taken time to Keep the bottle away, this would not have happened.
No one is to be blamed. She had also lost her only child. What she Needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her.
If everyone can look at life with this kind of perspective, there would Be much fewer problems in the world. "A journey of a thousand miles Begins with a single step." Take off all your envies, jealousies, Unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears. And you will find things are Actually not as difficult as you think.
MORAL OF THE STORY
Sometimes we spend time in asking who is responsible or whom to blame, Whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know. By this Way we miss out some warmth in human relationship.
They were a Loving couple and the boy was the gem of their eyes.
When the boy was Around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle Open.
He was late for office so he asked his wife to cap the bottle and keep It in the cupboard. His wife, preoccupied in the kitchen totally forgot The matter.
The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle fascinated by Its colour and drank it all.
It happened to be a poisonous medicine Meant for adults in small dosages. When the child collapsed the mother Hurried him to the hospital, where he died. The mother was stunned. She Was terrified how to face her husband.
When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child ,
He looked at his wife and uttered just five words.
QUESTIONS:
1. What were the five words?
2. What is the implication of this story?
Scroll down...
Down...
ANSWER :
The husband just said "I am with you Darling"
The husband's totally unexpected reaction is a proactive behaviour.
The Child is dead. He can never be brought back to life.
There is no point In finding fault with the mother. Besides, if only he had taken time to Keep the bottle away, this would not have happened.
No one is to be blamed. She had also lost her only child. What she Needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her.
If everyone can look at life with this kind of perspective, there would Be much fewer problems in the world. "A journey of a thousand miles Begins with a single step." Take off all your envies, jealousies, Unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears. And you will find things are Actually not as difficult as you think.
MORAL OF THE STORY
Sometimes we spend time in asking who is responsible or whom to blame, Whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know. By this Way we miss out some warmth in human relationship.
The house of 1000 mirrors
Long ago in a small, far away village, there was a place known as the House of 1000 Mirrors.
A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house.
He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000 great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left the House, he thought to himself, "This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit it often."
In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door.
When he saw the 1000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, "That is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again."
All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do you see in the faces of the people you meet?
A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house.
He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000 great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left the House, he thought to himself, "This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit it often."
In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door.
When he saw the 1000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, "That is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again."
All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do you see in the faces of the people you meet?
GOLD WRAPPING PAPER
The story goes that some time ago a mother punished her five year old daughter for wasting a roll of expensive gold wrapping paper.
Money was tight and she became even more upset when the child used the gold paper to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree.
Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift box to her mother the next morning and then said, "This is for you, Momma."
The mother was embarrassed by her earlier over reaction, but her anger flared again when she opened the box and found it was empty. She spoke to her daughter in a harsh manner.
"Don't you know, young lady, when you give someone a present there's supposed to be something inside the package?"
She had tears in her eyes and said, "Oh, Momma, it's not empty! I blew kisses into it until it was full."
The mother was crushed. She fell on her knees and put her arms around her little girl, and she begged her forgiveness for her thoughtless anger.
An accident took the life of the child only a short time later, and it is told that the mother kept that gold box by her bed for all the years of her life.
Whenever she was discouraged or faced difficult problems she would open the box and take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.
In a very real sense, each of us, as human beings, have been given a Golden box filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family, friends and GOD.
There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.
Money was tight and she became even more upset when the child used the gold paper to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree.
Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift box to her mother the next morning and then said, "This is for you, Momma."
The mother was embarrassed by her earlier over reaction, but her anger flared again when she opened the box and found it was empty. She spoke to her daughter in a harsh manner.
"Don't you know, young lady, when you give someone a present there's supposed to be something inside the package?"
She had tears in her eyes and said, "Oh, Momma, it's not empty! I blew kisses into it until it was full."
The mother was crushed. She fell on her knees and put her arms around her little girl, and she begged her forgiveness for her thoughtless anger.
An accident took the life of the child only a short time later, and it is told that the mother kept that gold box by her bed for all the years of her life.
Whenever she was discouraged or faced difficult problems she would open the box and take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.
In a very real sense, each of us, as human beings, have been given a Golden box filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family, friends and GOD.
There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
THE CHASE
THE CHASE
by Tamara Yakovich
My youngest child turned seven months old yesterday. They grow so quickly, don't they? His development is bittersweet, I can't wait for him to reach that next stage, but then again I want him to stay little! He is at that point where he is about to crawl - but can't quite do it yet. That doesn't stop him from moving around and getting where he needs to go though! He scoots around this house as fast as he can, dragging his little body with chubby arms. I love that 'army crawl'!
His favorite adventure the past few days has been 'chasing the bouncy blue ball'. I watched this closely today, and this is what I saw. His whole face lights up as soon as he sees the ball, and 'the chase' is on! He scoots after the ball - almost gets it in his grasp - and it slips away. No matter, he squeals with delight and chases it again. He catches it the next time, rolls over on his back, and holds on tight. He uses both hands and feet to keep the ball where he wants it while he 'hugs and kisses' the ball. He is so happy to have caught it, finally!
Then he lets the ball go, he watches it roll away, perhaps wondering where it will end up, or where it will take him next. He flips himself over and takes off after it again with a big smile on his face. He could do this all day long.
Chase the ball, catch the ball, hold it and play with it joyfully for a while, then watch it roll away once more. Does he get a little frustrated when the ball rolls away for the tenth time? Maybe a little, but he knows that half the fun, maybe even MOST of the fun, is in the chase!
How many times have you 'almost' had your DREAM or your GOAL in your grasp, just to watch it slip away? Do you stop the chase? Do you sit down and give up? Or - like the small child - do you realize that the fun is in 'the chase'? Worse yet - do you 'catch' your dream or your goal and then hold on to it so tightly that you stop moving?
Lessons learned:
1. The FUN is in the chase!
2. If your dream/goal slips away - keep after it - you never know where 'the chase' might take you!
3. Once you have your dream/goal in your grasp - set a new one and start chasing again!
4. Remember - the FUN is in the chase!
Now - go out there and 'squeal with delight' as you chase after your dreams with a smile on your face! If you do it this way, no one will ever know that you don't already have your dreams in your grasp!
by Tamara Yakovich
My youngest child turned seven months old yesterday. They grow so quickly, don't they? His development is bittersweet, I can't wait for him to reach that next stage, but then again I want him to stay little! He is at that point where he is about to crawl - but can't quite do it yet. That doesn't stop him from moving around and getting where he needs to go though! He scoots around this house as fast as he can, dragging his little body with chubby arms. I love that 'army crawl'!
His favorite adventure the past few days has been 'chasing the bouncy blue ball'. I watched this closely today, and this is what I saw. His whole face lights up as soon as he sees the ball, and 'the chase' is on! He scoots after the ball - almost gets it in his grasp - and it slips away. No matter, he squeals with delight and chases it again. He catches it the next time, rolls over on his back, and holds on tight. He uses both hands and feet to keep the ball where he wants it while he 'hugs and kisses' the ball. He is so happy to have caught it, finally!
Then he lets the ball go, he watches it roll away, perhaps wondering where it will end up, or where it will take him next. He flips himself over and takes off after it again with a big smile on his face. He could do this all day long.
Chase the ball, catch the ball, hold it and play with it joyfully for a while, then watch it roll away once more. Does he get a little frustrated when the ball rolls away for the tenth time? Maybe a little, but he knows that half the fun, maybe even MOST of the fun, is in the chase!
How many times have you 'almost' had your DREAM or your GOAL in your grasp, just to watch it slip away? Do you stop the chase? Do you sit down and give up? Or - like the small child - do you realize that the fun is in 'the chase'? Worse yet - do you 'catch' your dream or your goal and then hold on to it so tightly that you stop moving?
Lessons learned:
1. The FUN is in the chase!
2. If your dream/goal slips away - keep after it - you never know where 'the chase' might take you!
3. Once you have your dream/goal in your grasp - set a new one and start chasing again!
4. Remember - the FUN is in the chase!
Now - go out there and 'squeal with delight' as you chase after your dreams with a smile on your face! If you do it this way, no one will ever know that you don't already have your dreams in your grasp!
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