The Power of Forgiveness and Appreciation: A Tale of Friendship

Two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. 

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand; 

“Today my best friend slapped me in the face.” 

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone;

 “Today my best friend saved my life.” 

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him; 

“After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?”

The other friend replied; 

“When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.” 

Moral of the story:

Don’t value the things you have in your life. But value who you have in your life.

 

The Chain of Anger

Once, there was a highly successful businessman who owned a health insurance company. One morning, as he was about to leave for his office, he opened his car door and discovered a stray dog sleeping underneath. Startled, the dog bit his leg before quickly running away. Filled with anger, the businessman grabbed some rocks and hurled them at the dog, but none hit their mark.

Upon reaching his office, still seething with anger, the businessman called for a meeting with his managers. During the meeting, he unleashed his fury, blaming them for the incident with the dog. The managers, in turn, became upset with their subordinates and vented their anger on the employees under their supervision. This chain of anger continued, trickling down to the lowest level of employees until it reached the office peon (labourer).

However, the peon had no one working under him. So, after work hours, he returned home, where his wife opened the door and asked him why he was so late. Still disturbed by the staff's anger, the peon impulsively slapped his wife and snapped at her, expressing his frustration over her seemingly insignificant question. His wife, now upset and bewildered by the scolding and slap, directed her anger towards their son, who was watching TV. She slapped him too, accusing him of having no interest in studying.

The son, now deeply upset, stormed out of the house and encountered a dog passing by. Consumed by anger and frustration, he picked up a rock and hurled it at the dog, hitting it and causing it to yelp in pain. Unbeknownst to the son, this was the very same dog that had bitten the businessman earlier in the day.

The moral of this story is that the consequences of our actions are intertwined and can come back to us. Just as we sow seeds, we shall reap what we have sown. Life operates on this principle. While thoughts of heaven and hell may occupy our minds, it is essential to focus on how we live and how we treat others. By doing good, we invite goodness into our lives, and by doing wrong, we attract negativity.

School Fee

Once upon a time, there was a man who was very helpful, kindhearted, and generous. He was a man who will help someone without asking anything to pay him back. He will help someone because he wants to and he loves to. One day while walking into a dusty road, this man saw a purse, so he picked it up and noticed that the purse was empty. Suddenly a woman with a policeman shows up and gets him arrested.

 

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

 

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

 

He looked very weak and woman was confused. The policeman said to the woman, “He didn’t return your money, he gave you his money that day. He wasn’t the thief but hearing about you son’s school fees, he felt sad and gave you his money.” Later, they helped man stand up, and man told the woman, 

 

“Please go ahead and pay your son’s school fees, I saw you and followed you to be sure that no one steals your son’s school fees.” The woman was speechless.

 

Moral: Life gives you strange experiences, sometime it shocks you and sometimes it may surprise you. We end up making wrong

 

FRIENDS FOREVER

There once lived a mouse and a frog who were good friends. The frog would hop out of the pond every morning to go meet the mouse who lived in a hole inside a tree. Soon, the frog grew hostile towards the mouse since the mouse never made an effort to come to visit him.

The frog hatches a plan to punish the mouse. One sunny morning, while visiting the mouse the frog ties one end of a string to his leg and the other end to the mouse’s tail. He bids goodbye to the mouse, hops away, and jumps into the pond dragging the poor mouse with him. Unable to free himself, the mouse drowns and dies. The mouse’s body floats on top of the water while the frog laughs maniacally.

A passing hawk notices the floating mouse, swoops down and picks up the mouse. It is only when the hawk picks up the mouse does the frog realize that he is still tied to the mouse by the string and watches in fear as he is dragged away too. The frog fails to escape the hawk and soon dies.

Moral of the story: In your quest to dig a deep pit for your enemy, you might fall into it yourself.

The Jar of Life

Once, a philosophy professor stood before his class holding a large empty mayonnaise jar. He proceeded to fill the jar with big rocks until it reached the top and asked his students if it was full.

The students agreed that the jar was indeed full.

The professor then added small pebbles to the jar, giving it a gentle shake so that the pebbles could settle among the larger rocks. Once again, he asked, "Is the jar full now?"

The students once again agreed that the jar was still full.

Next, the professor poured sand into the jar, filling up all the remaining empty spaces.

The students, seeing the jar completely filled, agreed that it was full.

The Metaphor:
In this story, the jar symbolizes your life, while the rocks, pebbles, and sand represent the different things that fill your life. The rocks represent the most important aspects, such as family time and maintaining good health. Even if the pebbles and sand were lost, your life would still have meaning.

The pebbles represent the things that matter but are not essential for a meaningful life. They include your job, house, hobbies, and friendships. While they contribute to your life's meaning, they are not crucial or permanent.

Lastly, the sand represents the filler things and material possessions in your life, like watching TV or running errands. These activities hold little significance in the grand scheme of your life and are often done to pass time or accomplish minor tasks.

The Moral:
The metaphor teaches us that if you fill the jar with sand first, there won't be enough room for the rocks and pebbles. This applies to the things you allow into your life. If you focus solely on insignificant matters, you'll run out of time and energy for the important things. Prioritize the rocks (the essential aspects) and pebbles (the meaningful elements) in your life, and leave room for the sand (the less significant activities). By doing so, you can lead a more fulfilling and purposeful life.

The Desire for Success: Unveiling the Key to Achievement

Once, a young man approached the wise philosopher Socrates, seeking the key to success. Patiently, Socrates listened to the man's inquiry and instructed him to meet by the river the following morning for the answer. True to his word, Socrates met the young man near the river the next day.

Socrates invited the young man to accompany him on a walk towards the river. As they ventured into the water, it gradually rose until it reached their necks. Unexpectedly, much to the young man's astonishment, Socrates submerged him in the water.

Struggling to free himself, the young man fought against the strength of Socrates, desperately trying to escape. But Socrates held him firmly, keeping him submerged until the point where the young man began to turn blue. Sensing the urgency, Socrates lifted the young man's head out of the water, allowing him to gasp for air and take a deep breath.

With a sense of relief, the young man regained his breath. Curious, Socrates posed a question, "What did you desire most while your head was under the water?"

Without hesitation, the young man replied, "Air."

Socrates then imparted his wisdom, saying, "That is the secret to success. When you yearn for success as intensely as you longed for air while submerged, then you will achieve it. There are no other hidden secrets."

The moral of this tale is that a burning desire acts as the initial catalyst for all accomplishments. Similar to how a small fire cannot produce substantial heat, a weak desire will not yield remarkable results.

The Deaf Frog

One day two frogs were hopping in and out of a watering hole and accidentally hopped in an extremely deep hole. 

They tried to leap out, but to no avail had no success, so they began to yell and croak until other frogs heard them and came to help them. 

The other frogs looked over into the hole and said the hole was too deep for them to help, but both frogs kept leaping up the sides of the hole. 

The other frogs, leaning over the hole and waving their front legs, began to yell to the frogs to just give up and die and that there was no hope of them getting out of the hole, but both frogs kept leaping and trying to get out of the hole. 

They leaped for hours and one of the frogs just gave up he was so exhausted and died. 

The other frog in the hole kept leaping, but the other frogs, leaning over the hole, kept yelling and waving their front legs for him to stop and give up, but the frog kept leaping trying to get out of the hole. 

Finally the frog leaped so high that he was able to leap to the top of the hole and used his back legs to push himself up out of the hole. 

The other frogs said even though we told you to give up that there was no hope of you getting out of the hole you kept leaping. The frog that got out of the hole thanked the other frogs for egging him on - the other frogs didn't know that this frog was deaf.

Lesson: Sometimes you have to turn a "deaf ear" to what others tell you is impossible.