A Positive Wish

Once I went out to have lunch with my partner. We went to a restaurant where they serve the best chicken rice in town.

As we walked towards the restaurant, we noticed more and more people walking in the same direction. My partner said, "I hope the place isn't crowded today!"

Conscious of the power of our words, my partner and I decided to express what we did want. "We will have a table, in a nice spot, and we will have it right away", we said believing so.

When we arrived at the restaurant, there was only one table available, next to the window, in one of the nicest spot of the restaurant. We took it, smiling in amazement at how our words have come true.

Sometimes a positive wish can bring wonderful outcome.

Couples Quarrel

A man and his wife had been arguing all night, and as bedtime approached neither was speaking to the other.

It was not unusual for the pair to continue this war of silence for two or three days. However, on this occasion the man was concerned; he needed to be awake at 5:30am the next morning to catch an important flight, and being a very heavy sleeper he normally relied on his wife to wake him.

Cleverly, so he thought, while his wife was in the bathroom, he wrote on a piece of paper: "Please wake me at 4:30am – I have an important flight to catch." He put the note on his wife's pillow, then turned over and went to sleep.

The man awoke the next morning and looked at the clock. It was 8:00am. Enraged that he had missed his flight, he was about to go in search of his errant wife to give her a piece of his mind, when he spotted a hand-written note on his bedside cabinet.

The note said: "It's 5:30am – get up."

Lessons :

• Don’t get involved in any conflict conversation, and you will avoid a quarrel.
  
• Any grudge against your partner must be voiced calmly and at the proper time.
• Never quarrel with offensive words.
• Find out the real causes of any quarrel, and not everlasting scandals caused by minor things.
• Some kind words may avoid further quarrels.
• Make it a rule not to quarrel in the presence of other people.
• Don't make a request when the recipient is very angry!

He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, But he who is impulsive exalts folly. (Proverbs 14:29)

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Turn A Deaf Ear To Destructive Advice

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit.

When the other frogs saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead.

The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead.

Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die.

He jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?"

The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

Lessons:

• There is power of life and death in the tongue.
  
• An encouraging word to those who are down can lift them up and help them make it through the day. A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill them. Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who cross your path.
  
• Anyone can speak words that tend to rob another of the spirit to continue in difficult times. Special is the individual who will take the time to encourage another.
  
• When you are in difficult conditions, listen careful to encouraging words but always turn a deaf ear to destructive words.

May God help us to face the current worldwide economic slowdown.

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You Determine Your Future

Once upon a time, there was a general who was leading his army into battle against an enemy ten times the size of his own. Along the way to the battlefield, the troops stopped by a small temple to pray for victory.

The general held up a coin and told his troops, "I am going to implore the gods to help us crush our enemy. If this coin lands with the heads on top, we will win. If it is tails, we will lose. Our fate is in the hands of the gods. Let's pray wholeheartedly."

After a short prayer, the general tossed the coin. It landed with the heads on top. The troops were overjoyed and went into the battle with high spirits. Just as predicted, the smaller army won the battle. The soldiers were exalted, "It's good to have the gods on our side! No one can change what they have determined."

The general smile to himself – both sides of the coin were heads.

Lessons :

• Positive attitude helps us cope more easily our daily life. It brings optimism into our life, and makes us easier to avoid worry and negative thinking.
  
• Positive attitude brings constructive changes into our life, and makes us happier, brighter and more successful.
  
• Positive attitude makes us see the bright side of life, become optimistic and expect the best to happen.
  

Make it your new year's resolution to have a more positive outlook in life.

May God bless you...

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Dumb Child

A young boy enters a barber shop and the barber whispers to his customer, "This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you."

The barber puts a fifty sen coin in one hand and two ten sen coins in the other, then calls the boy over and asks, "Which do you want, son?"

The boy takes the two ten sen coins and leaves.

"What did I tell you?" said the barber. "That kid never learns!"

Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream store.

"Hey, son! May I ask you a question? Why did you take two ten sen coins instead of one fifty sen coin?"

The boy licked his cone and replied, "Because the day I take the fifty sen coin, the game is over."

Moral lesson : When you think the other person is dumb, you are making a fool of yourself.

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Discontentment Kills

An ass, belonging to an herb-seller who gave him too little food and too much work made a petition to Jupiter to be released from his present service and provided with another master.

Jupiter, after warning him that he would repent his request, caused him to be sold to a tile-maker. Shortly afterwards, finding that he had heavier loads to carry and harder work in the brick-field, he petitioned for another change of master.

Jupiter, telling him that it would be the last time that he could grant his request, ordained that he be sold to a tanner.

The ass found that he had fallen into worse hands, and noting his master's occupation, said, groaning: "It would have been better for me to have been either starved by the one, or to have been overworked by the other of my former masters, than to have been bought by my present owner, who will even after I am dead tan my hide, and make me useful to him."

Lesson: He that finds discontentment in one place is not likely to find happiness in another.

"Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (1 Timothy:6-10)

The Mind and the Stormy Ocean

A wise man and his disciple were strolling on the beach by the ocean. It was a cold day and the wind was blowing strongly over the ocean, raising very high waves.

After walking for some time, the wise man stopped, looked at his disciple and asked: "What does the choppy ocean remind you?"

"It reminds me of my mind. Of my rushing and restless thoughts", answered the disciple.

"Yes, the stormy ocean is like the mind, and the waves are the thoughts. The mind is neutral like the water. It is neither good, nor bad. The wind is causing the waves, as desires and fears produce thoughts", said the wise man.

"I wouldn't want to be on a boat, in the middle of the ocean, in a storm like this", said the disciple.

"You are there all the time." Responded the wise man and continued, "Most people are on a rudderless boat in the middle of a choppy ocean, even if they do not realize it. The mind of most people is very restless. Thoughts of all kinds come and go incessantly, agitating the mind like the ocean's waves."

"Yes", the disciple interrupted him, "You don't have to tell me. This is the reason I am with you. I want to calm down the waves of my mind."

The wise man looked at his disciple for a while, smiled and said: "You don't calm the ocean by holding the water and not letting it move. What is necessary is to stop the wind. The wind is made of your thoughts, desires and fears. Don't let them rule your life. Learn to control them by controlling your attention, and then the ocean of your mind becomes calm."

"And how do I do that?"

"Suppose it is possible for the ocean to disregard the wind, what would happen then?" asked the wise man.

"The waves would cease. But no one can stop the wind."

The wise man looked at him with a mysterious smile and said: "Why not? The wind, the ocean, and thoughts are all within the mind. When you can control the mind, you can control everything within it. But first you have to control your mind, which means you have to control your attention."

"Yes master", said the disciple, "this is what I am trying to do. You say whoever controls his mind can also control the wind. Can you do that?"

"First learn to calm down the ocean of your mind, and then find out if you can calm down the ocean. It is better to learn to control the mind, than enjoying mental tricks. When you calm your mind, you can calm down everything."

Lesson: In any and every situation, we must always learn to control our mind and calm the wind of thoughts in submission to God and men.

Do It Anyway

People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.
LOVE THEM ANYWAY.

If you do good, people accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.
DO GOOD ANYWAY.

If you are successful, you win false and true enemies.
SUCCEED ANYWAY.

The good you do will be forgotten tomorrow.
DO GOOD ANYWAY.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.
BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY.

What you spent years building may be destroyed overnight.
BUILD ANYWAY.

People really need help but may attack you if you help them.
HELP PEOPLE ANYWAY.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.
GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU'VE GOT ANYWAY.

~From a sign in Mother Teresa's children's home of Shushu Bhavan, Calcutta, India

Lesson: No matter how difficult or how unrewarding, Let us continue to do the right things.

But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

– Matthew 5:44-45 (New King James Version)

The Very Old Lady

A very old lady looked in the mirror one morning. She had three remaining hairs on her head, and being a positive soul, she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today." So she braided her three hairs, and she had a great day.

Some days later, looking in the mirror one morning, preparing for her day, she saw that she had only two hairs remaining. "Hmm, two hairs... I fancy a center parting today." She duly parted her two hairs, and as ever, she had a great day.

A week or so later, she saw that she had just one hair left on her head.

"One hair huh...," she mused, "I know, a pony-tail will be perfect." And again she had a great day.

The next morning she looked in the mirror. She was completely bald.

"Finally bald huh," she said to herself, "How wonderful! I won't have to waste time doing my hair any more."

Lessons:

• If you try, there is always something positive to be found in our circumstances.
• Don't let negative circumstances dictate your daily life.
• Begin each day, end each day, and live each day with a sincerely thankful heart.
  
  May God bless you.
  
  

You Don't Have To Accept Any Bad Feeling!

It is said that on an occasion when the Buddha was teaching a group of people, he found himself on the receiving end of a fierce outburst of abuse from a bystander, who was for some reason very angry.

The Buddha listened patiently while the stranger vented his rage, and then the Buddha said to the group and to the stranger, "If someone gives a gift to another person, who then chooses to decline it, tell me, who would then own the gift? The giver or the person who refuses to accept the gift?"

"The giver," said the group after a little thought. "Any fool can see that," added the angry stranger.

"Then it follows, does it not," said the Buddha, "Whenever a person tries to abuse us, or to unload their anger on us, we can each choose to decline or to accept the abuse; whether to make it ours or not. By our personal response to the abuse from another, we can choose who owns and keeps the bad feelings."

Lessons

• We choose our reaction to any and every negative or abusive behavior.
  
• We don't have to accept any if we want to.
• Step back. Draw a deep breath. Review all things in a wider and fuller perspective.
• Enjoy and prolong your life by living in harmony with God and men.
• An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth can never solve any relationship problem.
• Besides, as christian, you are required to mend all broken relations with God and men before the sun goes down.
  

Every Man Has A Rose Within

A man planted a rose and watered it faithfully and before it blossomed, he examined it.

He saw the bud that would soon blossom, but noticed thorns upon the stem and he thought, "How can any beautiful flower come from a plant burdened with so many sharp thorns? Saddened by this thought, he neglected to water the rose, and just before it was ready to bloom, it died.

Lessons

• Within every soul, there is a rose. The God-like qualities planted in us at birth, grow amid the thorns of our sins. Many of us look at ourselves and see only the thorns, the defects.
  
• We despair, thinking that nothing good can possibly come from us. We neglect to water the good within us, and eventually it dies. We never realize our potential.
• Some of us do not see the rose within ourselves; someone else must show it to us. One of the greatest gifts a person can possess is to be able to reach past the thorns of another, and find the rose within them.
  
• One of the characteristic of love is to look at a person, know their true faults and accepting that person into your life, all the while recognizing the nobility in their soul.
  
• Help others to realize they can overcome their sins. If we show them the "rose" within themselves, they will conquer their thorns. Only then will they blossom many times over.
  
• The virtue of life is to remember that everyone is created in the image of God and we are to love them just as we are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves. Note: a strong reminder to myself.