A saint asked his disciples, 'Why do we shout in anger? Why do people shout at each other when they are upset?'
Disciples thought for a while, one of them said, 'Because we lose our calm, we shout for that.' 'But, why to shout when the other person is just next to you?' asked the saint. 'Isn't it possible to speak to him or her with a soft voice? Why do you shout at a person when you're angry?'
Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the saint.
Finally he explained, 'When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other through that great distance.'
Then the saint asked, 'What happens when two people fall in love? They don't shout at each other but talk softly, why? Because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is very small...'
The saint continued, 'When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other and that's all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.' MORAL:When we argue do not let our hearts get distant, do not say words that distance each other more, else there will come a day when the distance is so great that we will not find the path to return. |
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Why do we shout????
Today's Inspiration
Greatness is not where we stand, but in what direction we are moving. We must sail sometimes with the wind and sometimes against it but sail we must, and not drift, nor lie at anchor.
~Oliver Wendall Holmes
Monday, April 25, 2011
A Story of Appreciation
One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.
He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview, made the last decision.
The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not score.
The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?" the youth answered "none".
The director asked, " Was it your father who paid for your school fees?" The youth answered, "My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.
The director asked, " Where did your mother work?" The youth answered, "My mother worked as clothes cleaner. The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.
The director asked, " Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?" The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.
The director said, "I have a request. When you go back today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.*
The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.
The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.
This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.
After finishing the cleaning of his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.
That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.
Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.
The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked: " Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"
The youth answered, " I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes'
The Director asked, " please tell me your feelings."
The youth said, Number 1, I know now what is appreciation. Without my mother, there would not the successful me today. Number 2, by working together and helping my mother, only I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done. Number 3, I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship.
The director said, " This is what I am looking for to be my manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired."
Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously.
A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop "entitlement mentality" and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts. When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others. For this kind of people, who may be good academically, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement. He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying the kid instead?*
You can let your kid live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done.
He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview, made the last decision.
The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not score.
The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?" the youth answered "none".
The director asked, " Was it your father who paid for your school fees?" The youth answered, "My father passed away when I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.
The director asked, " Where did your mother work?" The youth answered, "My mother worked as clothes cleaner. The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.
The director asked, " Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?" The youth answered, "Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books. Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.
The director said, "I have a request. When you go back today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.*
The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.
The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.
This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.
After finishing the cleaning of his mother hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.
That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.
Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.
The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked: " Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"
The youth answered, " I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes'
The Director asked, " please tell me your feelings."
The youth said, Number 1, I know now what is appreciation. Without my mother, there would not the successful me today. Number 2, by working together and helping my mother, only I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done. Number 3, I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship.
The director said, " This is what I am looking for to be my manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired."
Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously.
A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop "entitlement mentality" and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts. When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others. For this kind of people, who may be good academically, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement. He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying the kid instead?*
You can let your kid live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done.
Friday, April 22, 2011
HE SHINES
MY FRIDAY STORY
By Michael T. Smith
The mass of warm air drifted in from the west coast. Under the cover of darkness, it approached the mountains. The steep slopes momentarily stopped the fronts easterly progress. More warm air moved in. The pressure built. The mass climbed the sides of the mountains. Within minutes, it slipped over the towering peaks and continued its eastward march across the Treasure Valley and the City of Boise. It covered the valley and trapped the cold air beneath it. A layer of fog formed between them.
In the morning, I slapped the snooze button several times, climbed from bed, showered, and made my way downstairs. The morning light was muted. I looked outside. The sky was a uniform gray.
In the four months we'd lived in Idaho, we'd rarely seen clouds. The skies were always blue; the sun always shined; but not that morning. I drove to work. The sun, which normally blinded me when it rose above the mountains, wasn't there.
I took a walk at lunch. The cold, damp wind made me shiver. The layer of fog in the sky seemed close enough to touch. The beautiful mountains were gone.
A week went by. On Monday morning, I went to work. The sky remained gray. The temperatures hovered in the low thirties.
"Mike?" my boss stepped up to my cubicle.
"Did you drive into the mountains last weekend?"
"No."
"You should have. It was 48 degrees and sunny up there."
"You're kidding?"
"Remember, I told you about the temperature inversions we get here?"
"Is that what this is?" I asked.
"This is it." He smiled. "It's cold and gray down here, but up there, the sun is shining and the temperatures are usually ten degrees warmer. We sweated in our ski suits last weekend."
"I'm jealous. How long does it last?"
"There's no telling. It can last days or weeks. We get them every winter."
Day-after-day, the sky never changed. I'd never seen so many shades of gray. The warm air not only trapped the cold air, it trapped the pollutants too. The air grew stale. There was no escape for the air in the valley. It lay trapped between the mountains to the west and east and the warm air above. The inversion lasted for more than three weeks.
I was talking to my wife on my way home from work one evening and remarked, "I can't see a thing. The sun is in my eyes."
"What sun?" She asked.
There it was. The sun was back.
"Ginny! It's the sun! I can't believe it!"
"We don't have sun here. The sky's gray."
In the distance, I saw the gray bank of fog. By the time I arrived home, I was back under its shadow again, but the next morning the skies were clear and the sun bathed everything with its warm glow. It was finally over. It shocked me.
On my way home, the sun was high in the sky. Before the inversion, the sun would slip below the horizon, as I drove home each night. After the inversion, the sun was still up, even when I arrived home. It was like Boise stood still for three weeks as the rest of the universe moved forward.
The experience reminds me of people who pray when all is dark in their lives.
"God, where are you when I need you? Why can't I feel and see you?"
You can't see him, but he's there. The fog blinds. He shines. The fog burns off. His love warms. Behind the fog, God does what he always does. God waits until you are ready to reach through the fog and seek him.
Are you experiencing an inversion?
Don't worry. Have faith. You can't see him, but he shines.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael lives in Caldwell, Idaho with his wonderful wife Ginny. He writes in his spare time and is completing a collection of his stories to be called, "From My Heart to Yours." Michael writes inspirational stories in his spare time. To read more of Michael's stories or to contact him, go tohttp://ourecho.com/biography-
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Today's Inspiration
Maturity is the ability to do a job whether or not you are supervised, to carry money without spending it, and to bear an injustice without wanting to get even.
~Ann Landers
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Thought for today
Don't be just another member of society, be a living example of your dreams and goals.
~Author Unknown
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Thought for today
It is good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it's good too, to check up once in a while and make sure you haven't lost the things money can't buy.
~George Lorimer
Friday, April 8, 2011
Thought for today
Prayer is not asking for what you think you want, but asking to be changed in ways you can't imagine.
~Kathleen Norris
Friday, April 1, 2011
Thoughts to ponder
Plenty of people miss their share of happiness,
not because they never found it,
but because they didn't stop to enjoy it.
~William Feather
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