BEING YOURSELF

One day King came to his garden and saw withering and dying trees, bushes and flowers.

 

An oak said it dies because it can’t be as high as a pine.

 

A pine tree was falling down because it could not give grapes like a grapevine.

Meanwhile the grapevine was dying because it couldn’t blossom like a rose.

 

But soon the King found a single plant, pleasing heart, bloomy and fresh.

 

The king asked:

All the trees and flowers here are withering, and you are flourishing, why?

 

I think it comes naturally. You have planted me, because it was Your wish and Your choice. If you would like to grow an oak, grapes or rose, you would plant them. And I cannot be anything else than what I am. So I try to develop my best qualities.

 

Look at yourself. You can be only yourself. It is impossible for you to become someone else. You can enjoy life and blossom or you can wither if you do not accept yourself.

THE LION AND THE MOUSE

One cold winter a lion was lying asleep in the sun. A mouse came out of its hole and began to jump over the body of the sleeping lion. This woke up the lion.

He caught the small creature and was going to crush it under his heavy paw. The mouse begged pardon and requested the lion to let it go. It also said that it might be of any help to him in future.

 

The lion simply laughed. He could not imagine that it could be of any help to him. He however, was moved to pity and let it go.

 

Shortly afterwards, the lion was caught in the net laid by the hunter in the forest. He tried his best to free himself from the net but all his efforts remained fruitless. So he began to lament.

 

When the mouse heard his lamentation, it came out with its young ones. They sat to work and it did not take them long to nibble at the ropes and cut them with their sharp teeth.

 

The lion became free and thanked the mouse for its timely help. Now he realized that even a small creature could be of help to the stronger and bigger animals.

 

Moral:

Kindness never goes unrewarded.

THE WISE MAN

 People have been coming to the wise man, complaining about the same problems every time. One day he told them a joke and everyone roared in laughter.

After a couple of minutes, he told them the same joke and only a few of them smiled.

 

When he told the same joke for the third time no one laughed anymore.

The wise man smiled and said:

 

“You can’t laugh at the same joke over and over. So why are you always crying about the same problem?”

 

Moral of the story:

Worrying won’t solve your problems, it’ll just waste your time and energy.

AN OPEN SECRET.

Once upon a time Sammy and his sister Marie visited their grandparents at their farm. Sammy picked up a slingshot to play with out in the woods. He practiced in the woods but he could never hit the target. Getting a little discouraged, he headed back for the lunch. As he was walking back he saw Grandma’s pet duck.

Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly which hit the duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved. In a panic, he hid the dead duck in the pile of woods. Marie had seen it all from the window but she said nothing. After the lunch, the next day Grandma said, “Marie, let’s wash the dishes.” Marie said, “But Grandma, Sammy told me he wanted to help in the kitchen.”

 

Then she whispered to Sammy, “Remember the duck?” Sammy got nervous knowing his sister knew about the duck and if he doesn’t obey, she may tell his grandparents about it. So without saying anything, he did the dishes.

 

Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go fishing but Grandma said, “I’m sorry but I need Marie to help make a supper.” Marie just smiled and said, “Well that’s all right because Sammy told me he wanted to help.”

 

She whispered again to Sammy, “Remember the duck?” So Marie went fishing and Sammy stayed to help. After several days of Marie taking advantage of Sammy, he finally couldn’t stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had killed the duck.

 

Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, “Sweetheart, I know. I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing but because I love you, I forgave you. I was just wondering how long you would let Marie take advantage of you.”

 

Moral: Always confess of your mistakes. It will take away a load of guilt from your heart which will boost your conscience and no one will take an advantage of your secret mistakes! Accept your mistake, apologize and seek forgiveness politely.

THE REFLECTION OF YOUR ACTIONS.

 A man and his son were going through the forest hills. Suddenly, the boy fell down on the trail and screamed with a pain, “Aah!” Surprisingly, he heard the same voice from the mountain, “Aah!” Curiously, the boy shouted, “Who is this?” But the voice replied the same, “Who is this?” He got angry, and shouted again, “You are stupid!” And again the voice replied the same, “You are stupid!”

Annoyed By this, the boy asked his father, “Father, What is going on? Who is this?” The Father replied, “Son, Pay attention”. The father shouted, “You are very nice”. And the voice responded the same, “You are very nice!” The father again shouted, “Thank you”. And the voice again responded the same, “Thank you!” The son was very surprised but he still could not understand what was happening.

 

The father explained, “Son, people call it resonance, but this is the truth of the life. The life is a reflection of your actions. What you will give to others, you will receive the same in return.”

 

Moral: What we give to others, life gives us the same in return. Your life is not an accident or a coincidence, but it is the shadow of your actions.

Being Together

One evening, after spending several days with his new wife, a man leaned over and whispered into her ear, “I love you.” 

 

She smiled – and the man smiled back – and she said, “When I’m eighty years old and I’m thinking back on my entire life, I know I will remember this moment.”

A few minutes later, she drifted off to sleep. The man was left with the silence of the room and the soft sound of his wife’s breathing. He stayed awake, thinking about everything they had done together, from their first date to their first vacation together and ultimately to their big wedding. These were just some of the life choices that the couple had made together that had led to this very moment of silence in the presence of each other.

 

At one point, the man then realized that it didn’t matter what they had done or where they had gone. Nor did it matter where they were going.

 

The only thing that mattered was the serenity of that very moment.

 

Just being together. Breathing together. And resting together.

 

The Moral:

We can’t let the clock, calendar, or pressure from external sources take over our lives and allow us to forget the fact that every moment of our lives is a gift and a miracle – no matter how small or seemingly insignificant it is. Being mindful in the special moments that you spend in the presence of the ones that you love are the moments that truly give your life meaning.

The Power to Succeed is in Your Own Hands

A young chap went to a soothsayer to inquire about the hope of his future.

Right before his eyes, the soothsayer drew two circles. One in white and the other in black. 

 

He then put a millipede in between the circles, saying "if the millipede crawls into the white circle, your future will be bright and very great, but if it crawls into the black circle, then you are finished and doomed! No future at all!".

As soon as the insect was dropped in between the circles, it began crawling towards the white circle. 

 

This chap was super-excited. 

 

But suddenly, as it got to the edge of the circle, it turned back and began crawling away from the white circle towards the black one. 

 

The boy watched as the insect progressively moved farther away from his desire to his doom.

 

Then, just when the insect got to the edge of the black circle, this chap stretched his hands, picked it up and quickly but carefully dropped it in the white circle.

The soothsayer was in shock, never seen anyone intervenes in his own matter, watching all the while, asked the chap what he did and why he did what he did. 

 

The boy smiled and simply replied by saying "I cannot sit and watch my destiny go down the gloom doom! While I can still do something about it and to change its course. My destiny is in my hands". 

 

He got up and left." 

 

MORAL

This year, get the hell up, pick up the damn millipede and drop it where you want. The power to design and pilot your life is in your hands. You either sit down there, complain and feel someone owes you something or get up and determine the flow of your life. It's up to you.