Can we wait.... I think we can...

No (Mind) jumping ! No Judging!

Today a quick post and let me start with the story....

A lovely little girl was holding two apples with both hands. Her mother came in and softly asked her little daughter with a smile: " My darling, could you give your mom one of your two apples? The girl looked up at her mother for some seconds, then she suddenly took a quick bite on one apple, and then .... quickly, on the other. The mother felt the smile on her face freeze. She tried hard not to reveal her disappointment.Then the little girl handed one of her bitten apples to her mom,and said: "Mom, here you are.This is the sweeter one." 

Now, how many of us had come to conclusions at the point of the child taking her bite? I wish I could say "I didn't !", but the truth is I did too!!!. There is always a reason why someone behaves a given way. There is a lot more to ones life and situation than what catches the eye... But in spite of knowing all this, when a situation presents itself, we just go ahead and judge people! We judge the words, and actions of others and we do it with as much ease as we breathe. I remember reading somewhere that because judgement has become so much a part and parcel of us, we cannot see anything, even ourselves without its influence!!!!

No matter who we are, how experienced we are, and how knowledgeable we think we are, we must never jump in and judge people and situations. We must at least give them the privilege to explain themselves. What we see may not always be the reality., so let's never never hurry to conclusions... And that much I think we can all do..... 

Seeing the Beauty in our flaws

Lets find our Strength in our Weakness...

All of us want to be the best and have the best of everything. However we have hindrances in being so and for many of us, they come in the form of our own self... as small little flaws in the way we are... physically or mentally. Often with the wrong way of looking at it, we see the saw unique flaws greatly enlarged. As a result we feel down and upset and often feel ordinary or even worse, handicapped! But have we ever thought... May be there is a reason we are the way we are... Here is a story... Read along...

A water bearer had two large pots, each hung on the end of a pole whichhe carried across his neck. One of the pots was perfectly made andnever leaked. The other pot had a crack in it and by the time the waterbearer reached his master's house it had leaked much of it's water and wasonly half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer deliveringonly one and a half pots full of water to his master's house. Of course,the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor crackedpot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was ableto accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoketo the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, andI want to apologize to you." The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."

 Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowersonly on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That'sbecause I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it.I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while wewalk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I havebeen able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table.Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beautyto grace his house."

 So, may be everything is the way it is for a positive reason. Each of us have our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. Agreed! But by acknowledging our faults, we too can be the cause of beauty. Know that in our weakness we find our strength....  Like the cracked pot, we all have our own unique flaws. But it’s these cracks and flaws we each have that makes our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. With the right attitude, our flaws will turn to be our blessings. Happiness is never impossible with the right attitude. No matter the cracks and dents, we are still unique and special beings. Feel special and learn to see each other around with that same idea... Doing that will sure make us feel extra special, no matter the cracks!!!

Life's lessons through a Pencil...

What I am about to share is something I read a very very long time ago. It took a while for me to recollect and put it in here. It is such a beautiful read. I am sure, every single one who stumble here and read it will love it and hopefully will be inspired.

A pencil maker told a newly made pencil, 5 important lessons, just before putting it in the box...

1. Everything you do will always leave a mark.
2.You can always correct the mistakes you make.
3.What is important is what is inside of you.
4. In life you will undergo painful sharpening, which will only make you better.
5. To be the best pencil, you must allow yourself to be held and guided by the hand that holds you.

Isn't our human life very similar! Whatever we do leaves a mark either in a small way or big: We can correct the mistakes we make; We all need to be constantly sharpened. This parable may encourage us to know that we are all special , with unique God-given talents and abilities. Only we, can fulfill the purpose which we were born to accomplish.

Painful times are part and parcel of this journey of life. Therefore we should never allow our self to get discouraged and think that our life is insignificant and cannot be changed. Like the pencil, we need to always remember that the most important part of who we are, is what's inside of us and then just allow our self to be guided by the hand of God.

Right Attitude, Effort and Grace!

There were a few sculptors working on a statue. A passerby approached one of them and asked, "What are you doing?" Without even raising his head, he snapped, "Can't you see that I am chirping away at a rock?" He then approached another sculptor and asked him the same thing. Wearily putting down his chisel and hammer, he looked up at the passerby and said with a sigh, "I am trying to earn a livelihood." The passerby approached yet another sculptor. He was chiseling away in the most relaxed way, singing while doing so. When the passerby asked him what he was doing, he smiled cheerfully and replied,"I am creating a sculpture." Saying so, he started singing again and joyfully resumed his work.

The three men were doing the same work, but each had a different attitude. When the first was cursing his lot as he worked, the second did it solely for his survival. In contrast, the third man transformed the same action into a blissful experience.

In a similar way we can turn anything we do into a blissful experience.  As we enjoy what we do, we do it better and better and thereby it turns out to be one of the best.  When life hands us out tasks, we have no choice but to carry it out. We cannot run away from it unfortunately!. So why not face it with the right attitude and win it over. However when the going gets tough, its just, 'Do your best and let the rest to God!' Because the right attitude, helps us put in our best effort, which inturn draws the grace of Almighty God, who inturn helps us finsh the task... Here's another story you will just love...

There was a soldier, who in the midst of a fierce fight, gets separated from his unit. He tries in vain to fight the enemy by himself. But still, he does his best. At some point he realizes that he cannot stand against anymore and tried his best to stay safe until help arrived. He saw a series of small caves and hid inside one of them. However he soon realized that the enemy army is searching the caves and that he would soon be caught. Having done all he could do, he now sent in a silent prayer... " God, I did everything I could, now please protect me." After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy draw close.

He thought, "Well, I guess God isn 't going to help me out of this one. " Then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his cave. As he watched, listening to the enemy searching for him all the while, the spider layered strand after strand of web across the opening of the cave. Suddently he thought. "What I need is a brick wall and what God has sent me is a spider web!"

As the enemy drew closer he watched from the darkness of his hideout and could see them searching one cave after another. As they came to his, he got ready to make his last stand. To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on. Suddenly, he realised that with the spiderweb over the entrance, his cave looked as if no one had entered for quite a while.

"Oh, god, forgive me, " prayed the young man. "I had forgotten that with your grace, a spider's web is stronger than a brick wall."

Well, the battle of Life does seems cruel at times, but there is always a path to victory in any given situation, if only we give it the best we have. Life asks no more from us. And when our part is done, the Almighty who put us in, reveals to us the road to victory... all for just a little effort from our side. And how sad that we refuse to put in even that much- that little much that we CAN DO, when it comes to the battlefield of our Life!

Not to forget... its the Right Attitude that sets us on our path to victory. And as we try to take every step towards the goal, that effort, automatically draws the magic power of grace, which just makes the rest of our going easier. No matter how many steps we are capable of taking, just five or fifty, does not matter, lets take as much as we can, b'cas once we do our part, the rest will be taken care of.... and that would be one sweet acomplishment to be proud of when we turn back in life someday!

Everything will pass by.... this includes your sorrow!

This is a beautiful story with a true gem in it.

There once was a king who tried to play some fun on his trusted minister.  He therefore asked his minister to go in search of a special ring , which he knew does not exist. When the minister enquired what was special, the king replied, "The ring possed magic powers, that if a happy man looks at it, he becomes sad and if a sad man looks at it he becomes happy.". The minister who got six months to find the ring set out in search of it. He searched far and wide but to no avail. On the last day before the end of the six months, as he was walking sadky, throught he poorest of the streets, he saw an old merchant to whom he asked, "Do you by any chance know of a ring that can make the happy sad and the sad happy?" The old merchant immediately took out an old ring from his collection and etched something on it and gave it to the minister. The minister's sad face beamed the moment he read the inscription. Happily he took it to his king. Waiting to see the fun unfold, the kind questioned him with a face filled with smile and eagerness.  The minister handed the ring to the king  and immediately noticed the smile fading away. As he read the inscriptions on the ring, 'This too shall pass!', the king had realized that all his wealth, power and influence would get to pass by and someday he himself would be nothing.

Enjoying this world and its material possessions is fine as long as we do not loose our selves when we loose our possessions. Enjoying everything with the right attitude that nothing in this world stays forever, would strengthen us and make our life and its challenges worth a marvellous experience!

Shake off and Step up!

This is a story some good soul sent out to me over the internet. It is one of the best stories I have ever heard with a beautiful message. Read on...

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Prayer

Prayer has had a great part in all our life. But how we pray and what we pray for is most often never a factor. We take it for granted. In most cases we pray just for us, our family and our welfare. Here is a wonderful story I recently read., one I will always cherish and hope those who read it too.

A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agree that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.

The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land and he was able to eat it's fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren! After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, there was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, again there was nothing! Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing! 

Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could  leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island. The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered. As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?". The first man answered , "My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them. His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything." The next instant, "You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer,  which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings.". Confused, the first man asked the voice "Tell me, O God, What did he pray for that I should owe him anything?" And God said, "He prayed that all your prayers be answered."

For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone,  but those of another praying for us.
So, we need to remember to pray for others and when we do have our prayers answered, lets thank those unknown souls  who might also have played a part.

Lets not overlook our own faults!

One day a man complained to the health department about his brothers. "I have  two brothers and we all live in one room. They have too many pets. One has five monkeys, the other has six dogs. It is terrible and there is no air in the room at all. You must please do something about this." The official asked, "Have you got any windows?" to which the man promptly replied, "Yes!" Why don't you open them to let fresh air in?", suggested the official. The second the official finished, the man yelled..."What? And loose all my pigeons!"

When everything goes well in life, we readily take the credits to it. However when our attempts end in failure, we immediately point our fingers in the opposite direction, overlooking our own faults, just like the man in the story!


Life becomes far more liveable when we are true to our innerself. If we can remember that there is no life without struggles and failures and that they are here only to make us stronger individuals we will be able to face it with far more ease. There is no shame in failures, whoever says whatever. The more the failures the more we learn. Ofcourse easier said than done! But we donot have a choice? When we fail, lets cry and brood, who cares, but lets remember not to stop there, lets get up to try it all over again... no matter whether it would fail again or succeed...lets just not give it! Thats not us!

The Point-of-View in Life!

In a small town there lived two brothers. But apart from the fact that they were brothers, they had nothing in common. The elder brother had many bad habits  drugs, alcohol, etc...and was often in and out of jail. He was a criminal by career, a very bad dad, with about two failed marriages.  His brother on the contrary, led a very healthy and peaceful life. He was a bussiness man in a very high position, a very good dad and husband. In his free time he serves his community through physical and financial means.

One day a reporter from a local telivision interviewed both the brothers seperately and asked them the same question..." What is it that made you, who you are today?"

The elder brother replied, "It is all b'cas of my father. He was an alcoholic, beat my mother, often for no reason. He was selfish and showed no love or affection to us. Today I have become just like him!".

The younger brother replied, "Its all b'cas of my father. He was a failure by all means. I took a resolve that I would never be like him. I am so grateful to my dad that he showed me how not to live!".

Both the brothers were troubled by their abusive father. They both had negative input however their output was completely different. Everything depends on our mind! If we want to see good in something or someone we can and if we decide to see bad, we can sure find a lot of that as well. Everything depends on how you look at it. Its all in your point of view!

Attitude in Life!

Once there was a monastery that was very strict. They followed a vow of silence and were allowed to talk just two words every 10 years. There was a new monk who after spending his first tenyears there, went to the head monk. When the head monk asked," Now that you have fiinished your first ten years, what are the two words you would like to speak out?", he immediately said, " Bed.... hard!". Another ten years passed by and he was asked the same question by the head monk for which he replied, "Food stinks!". On finishing the third ten years he went to the head monk with his two words,"I QUIT!" The head monk replied, "Well, I can see why... all you do is complain."

Even in the most suitable circumstances, if our attitude is not correct, we will not find peace of mind! Our own mind is the cause of our suffereing and our own mind is also the cause of our joy.

The True Significance of Onam

Onam, is a traditional festival celebrated by the Hindus in the South Western state of Kerala. It is associated with floral decorations (Pookalam), Good Eats (OnaSadya), boat race (Vallamkali) and a strange story!

Strange Story: - The Mahabali( He was a great King who ruled the land  once upon a time)story associated with Thiruvonam states that Mahabali was a great king in whose rule, the citizens were happy and peace with each other. The Devas were Jealous of Mahabali and they approached Lord Vishnu to curtail his power and Vishnu(God) agreed to malicious intention of Devas and kicked Mahabali underground.

1. If Vishnu yields to Jealousy of Devas, is Vishnu worth to worship?
2. Can a God be partial to someone or some clan?

Clearly this is a fabrication of human mind (Nara stuthi) which contains human elements of Jealousy, enmity, ego, arrogance, dominate with power and annihilate. There is no divinity (holiness) in this story.

Vishnu: - As per Vedas the feet of Lord Vishnu can be reached only by those who had conquered their senses (Indrajit), renounced and sacrificed.

Indrasya Yuj saha,
Tad vishno paramam padam sada pasyanthi soorayaha

Mahabali: - Our tradition states that we acquire nothing through wealth and only sacrifice defines a place for us (Tyagainaike amirthathvam anasuha). Mahabali had performed 99 Yajnams (fire sacrifices).
Yajnam is associated with fasting for several days, giving up our residence(upa vasam), giving up sleep and staying focused on Agni day and night, finally donating to the needy/ poor upon completion and staying de-attached from materialistic pleasures.

King Mahabali, executing 99 Yajnams(fire sacrifices) had acquired supremacy over his senses(Indrajit) and was qualified for more than Indra sadas. He was qualified for the Divine Lotus Feet of the Lord. Therefore the Lord Himself came down  to this qualified (Aruhath) soul.

Typically in Hindu traditions, departed soul integrates with the feet of Lord Vishnu (Vishnu Paadam). Pindam (offerings) to Vishnu Paadam is considered as offering to departed souls.  Vishnu Paadam is the final resting place for a soul and Mahabali acquired it alive through his penance and sacrifice.

In Conclusion:- Thiruvonam is a celebration for conquest of senses giving us a clue on how to reach parama padam. 

LEARNING TO LIVE WITHOUT RECOGNITION IS A SKILL!

There was a farmer who collected horses. He only needed one more breed to complete his collection. One day, he found out that his neighbor had the particular horse breed he needed. So, he constantly bothered his neighbor until he sold it to him. A month later, the horse became ill and he called the veterinarian, who said: "Well, your horse has a virus. He must take this medicine for three days. I'll come back on the 3rd day and if he's not better, we're going to have to put him down."

Nearby, the pig listened closely to their conversation. The next day, they gave him the medicine and left. The pig approached the horse and said: "Be strong, my friend. Get up or else they're going to put you to sleep!" On the second day, they gave him the medicine and left. The pig came back and said: "Come on buddy, get up or else you're going to die! Come on, I'll help you get up. Let's go! One, two, three..."

On the third day, they came to give him the medicine and the vet said: "Unfortunately, we're going to have to put him down tomorrow. Otherwise, the virus might spread and infect the other horses."

After they left, the pig approached the horse and said:- "Listen pal, it's now or never! Get up, come on! Have courage! Come on! Get up! Get up! That's it, slowly! Great! Come on, one, two, three... Good, good. Now faster, come on.... Fantastic! Run, run more! Yes! Yay! Yes! You did it, you're a champion!!!"

All of a sudden, the owner came back, saw the horse running in the field and began shouting: "It's a miracle! My horse is cured. This deserves a party. Let's kill the pig!"

Points for reflection: This often happens in the workplace. Nobody truly knows which employee actually deserves the merit of success, or who's actually contributing the necessary support to make things happen.

LEARNING TO LIVE WITHOUT RECOGNITION IS A SKILL!

If anyone ever tells you that your work is unprofessional, remember: amateurs built the Ark and professionals built the Titanic.

DON'T LOOK TO BECOME A PERSON OF SUCCESS, LOOK INSTEAD TO BECOME A PERSON OF VALUE!

Peace of Mind?

There was once this man who was hearing a radio personality giving a talk on how to get peace of mind. He said"... the best way for anyone to get peace of mind is to complete those things that you have started but never finished." The man who was listening immediately looked around, found a champagne that was opened but not finished. he gulped it empty. Then he saw a bag of potato chips lying around, he sat to finish it and also chewed empty a box of chocolate chip cookies that was opened a few days before. So on he went to finish a few more. When he could eat no more, he got up to give his friends a call about the new found way to get peace of mind, but half the way to his phone he fell unconcious. He woke up to the bright lights of the emergency room.


Well, this is how many of us strive for peace of mind.... taking a lot of wrong turns all the way of life. In my personal opinion, peace of mind comes from our attitude, our way of approach, our outlook of life. I believe that the right outlook gives us the right 'peace of mind'! What say you?

Our outlook of life...

There was once a beggar who inspite of living without even proper food would long to have great shoes. Everytime he sees rich men around his place his gaze would move to their shoes. He always felt, "Oh... how I wish I had those shoes... I am not that lucky in life!". This he would think everytime he sees people around with great shoes. One day, as he was walking around a street, he saw a pair of abandoned,  slightly worn out shoes near a thrash pick up. He was so happy and he wore them and walked so very majestically. As he turned over the corner, he noticed a man, struggling to stand up. He had lost both his legs and was in rags. He seemed to be another beggar, a beggar with no legs and no thoughts for shoes! Something stuck him hard. As he helped the man up, he realised how lucky he was that he atleast had two healthy legs to walk. He felt ashamed that he wasted a lot of time whining for not being lucky to wear shoes when there are many who donot even have legs. For the first time he felt happy... whole heartedly happy and above all he felt lucky!.


Many a time in life, we are like the beggar who wished for shoes. We often forget our blessings and keenly count our losses or shortcomings. We look at those who are better off than us and feel jealous or sad that we could not be like them. And every such time we totally forget that there are a lot many below us , the less fortunate ones, who donot even have a fraction of what we have. Happiness and peace in life comes from our outlook of life. It all depends on how we see each thing in life... When we have a situation, we could see above us and feel upset or see below us and feel lucky. I had always felt that in any kind of situation, however hard they might be, there are people suffering far more than us somewhere in this world. We may or maynot know them, but if we could just remember it and realise how true it is we would feel lucky in any situation and Life will then give us the strength to go on and win it.