SHORTSTORIES

And other

motivational

thoughts

Compiled by:

Mark Vincent Silvano

THE CHILD AND HIS MOTHER

A curious child asked his mother:

“Mommy, why are some of your hairs

turning grey?”

The mother tried to use this occasion to

teach her child: “It is because of you,

dear. Every bad action of yours will turn

one of my hairs grey!”

The child replied innocently: “Now I

know why grandmother has only grey

hairs on her head.”

ELEPHANT

The class teacher asks students to name an

animal that begins with an “E”. One boy

says, “Elephant.”

Then the teacher asks for an animal that

begins with a “T”. The same boy says, “Two

elephants.”

The teacher sends the boy out of the class

for bad behavior. After that she asks for an

animal beginning with “M”.

The boy shout from the other side of the

wall: “Maybe an elephant!”

Captain

A navy captain is alerted by his First Mate that

there is a pirate ship coming towards his

position. He asks a sailor to get him his red

shirt.

The captain was asked, “Why do you need a red

shirt?”

The Captain replies, “So that when I bleed, you

guys don’t notice and aren’t discouraged.” They

fight off the pirates eventually.

The very next day, the Captain is alerted that 50

pirate ships are coming towards their boat. He

yells, “Get me my brown pants!”

Clever kids

A police officer found a perfect hiding place for

watching for speeding motorists.

One day, the officer was amazed when everyone was

under the speed limit, so he investigated and found

the problem.

A 10 years old boy was standing on the side of the

road with a huge hand painted sign which said

“Radar Trap Ahead.”

A little more investigative work led the officer to the

boy’s accomplice: another boy about 100 yards

beyond the radar trap with a sign reading “TIPS”

and a bucket at his feet full of change.

Will’s experience at the airport

After his return from Rome, Will couldn’t find his

luggage in the airport baggage area. He went to the

lost luggage office and told the woman there that his

bags hadn’t shown up on the carousel.

She smiled and told him not to worry because they

were trained professionals and he was in good

hands.

Then she asked Will, “Has your plane arrived yet?”

Determining Your True Path

A master was strolling through a field of wheat

when a disciple came up to him and asked, “I can’t

tell which is the true path. What’s the secret?”

“What does that ring on your right hand mean?” –

asked the master.

“My father gave it to me before dying.”

“Well, give it to me.”

The disciple obeyed, and the master tossed the ring

into the middle of the field of wheat.

“Now what?” – shouted the disciple.

“Now I have to stop doing everything I was doing to

look for the ring! It’s important to me!”

“When you find it, remember this: You yourself

answered the question you asked me. That is how

you tell the true path: It is more important than all

the rest.”

The Falcon & The Branch

Once there was a king who received a gift of two

magnificent falcons. They were peregrine falcons,

the most beautiful birds he had ever seen. He gave

the precious birds to his head falconer to be trained.

Months passed, and one day the head falconer

informed the king that though one of the falcons was

flying majestically, soaring high in the sky, the other

bird had not moved from its branch since the day it

had arrived.

The king summoned healers and sorcerers from all

the land to tend to the falcon, but no one could make

the bird fly.

He presented the task to the member of his court, but

the next day, the king saw through the palace

window that the bird had still not moved from its

perch.

Having tried everything else, the king thought to

himself, “May be I need someone more familiar with

the countryside to understand the nature of this

problem.” So he cried out to his court, “Go and get a

farmer.”

In the morning, the king was thrilled to see the

falcon soaring high above the palace gardens. He

said to his court, “Bring me the doer of this miracle.”

The court quickly located the farmer, who came and

stood before the king. The king asked him, “How

did you make the falcon fly?”

With his head bowed, the farmer said to the king, “It

was very easy, your highness. I simply cut the

branch where the bird was sitting.”

We are all made to fly — to realize our incredible

potential as human beings. But at times we sit on our

branches, clinging to the things that are familiar to

us. The possibilities are endless, but for most of us,

they remain undiscovered. We conform to the

familiar, the comfortable, and the mundane. So for

the most part, our lives are mediocre instead of

exciting, thrilling and fulfilling. Let us learn to

destroy the branch of fear we cling to and free

ourselves to the glory of flight!

The farmer and a donkey

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!

MORAL :

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

steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells

just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off

and take a step up.

The Carpenter

A highly skilled carpenter who had grown old was

ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of

his plans to leave the house building business and

live a more leisurely life with his family. He would

miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire.

The employer was sorry to see his good worker go

and asked if he could build just one more house as a

personal favor. The carpenter agreed to this proposal

but made sure that this will be his last project. Being

in a mood to retire, the carpenter was not paying

much attention to building this house. His heart was

not in his work. He resorted to poor workmanship

and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate

way to end his career.

When the job was done, the carpenter called his

employer and showed him the house. The employer

handed over some papers and the front door key to

the carpenter and said "This is your house, my gift to

you."

The carpenter was in a shock! What a shame! If he

had only known that he was building his own house,

he would have made it better than any other house

that he ever built!

Our situation can be compared to this carpenter. God

has sent us to this world to build our homes in

paradise by obeying His commands. Now, we have

to decide how well we wish to build the homes

where we will live forever.

BEAUTIFUL WAY OF LOOKING AT THINGS

A Father was reading a magazine and his little

daughter every now and then distracted him. To

keep her busy, he tore one page on which was

printed the map of the world. He tore it into pieces

and asked her to go to her room and put them

together to make the map again.

He was sure she would take the whole day to get it

done. But the little one came back within minutes

with perfect map……When he asked how she could

do it so quickly, she said, “Oh…. Dad, there is a

man’s face on the other side of the paper….. I made

the face perfect to get the map right." She ran

outside to play leaving the father surprised.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

There is always the other side to whatever you

experience in this world. Whenever we come across

a challenge or a puzzling situation, look at the other

side…. You will be surprised to see an easy way to

tackle the problem.

Life is short, energy limited, with this limited energy

we have to find the unlimited; with this short life we

have to find the eternal. Don't waste it with

unimportant matters.

THE SCORPION

"An old man saw a scorpion drowning and decided

to pull it out from the water. He calmly extended his

hand to reach the creature. When he did, the

scorpion stung him. With the effect of the pain, the

old man let go the creature and it fell back into the

water. The man realizing that the scorpion was

drowning again, got back and tried to rescue it but

then again it stung him. He let go of it again.

A young boy standing by, approached the old man

and said, "Excuse me Sir, you are going to hurt

yourself trying to save the evil-vicious creature, why

do you insist? Don't you realize that each time you

try to help the scorpion, it stings you?"

The man replied, "The nature of the scorpion is to

sting and mine is to help. My nature will not change

in helping the scorpion."

So the man thought for a while and used a leaf from

a nearby tree and pulled the scorpion out from the

water and saved it's life.

MORAL LESSON:

Do not change your nature. If someone hurts you,

just take precautions. Some pursue happiness while

others create it. Let your conscience be your guide in

whatever you do."

THE BUMBLEBEE

According to scientists, the bumblebee's body is too

heavy and its wing span too small. Aerodynamically,

the bumblebee cannot fly. But the bumblebee doesn't

know that and it keeps flying.

When you don't know your limitations, you go out

and surprise yourself. In hindsight, you wonder if

you had any limitations. The only limitations a

person has are those that are self-imposed. Don't let

education put limitations on you.

MEANINGLESS GOALS

A farmer had a dog which used to sit by the roadside

waiting for vehicles to come around. As soon as one

came he would run down the road, barking and

trying to overtake it. One day a neighbor asked the

farmer "Do you think your dog is ever going to catch

a car?" The farmer replied, "That is not what bothers

me. What bothers me is what he would do if he ever

caught one." Many people in life behave like that

dog who is pursuing meaningless goals.

Life is hard by the yard,

but by the inch,

it's a cinch.

--Gean Gordon

A POUND OF BUTTER

There was a farmer who sold a pound of butter to the

baker. One day the baker decided to weigh the butter

to see if he was getting a pound and he found that he

was not. This angered him and he took the farmer to

court. The judge asked the farmer if he was using

any measure. The farmer replied, amour Honor, I am

primitive. I don't have a proper measure, but I do

have a scale." The judge asked, "Then how do you

weigh the butter?" The farmer replied "Your Honor,

long before the baker started buying butter from me,

I have been buying a pound loaf of bread from him.

Every day when the baker brings the bread, I put it

on the scale and give him the same weight in butter.

If anyone is to be blamed, it is the baker."

What is the moral of the story? We get back in life

what we give to others. Whenever you take an

action, ask yourself this question: Am I giving fair

value for the wages or money I hope to make?

Honesty and dishonesty become a habit. Some

people practice dishonesty and can lie with a straight

face. Others lie so much that they don't even know

what the truth is anymore. But who are they

deceiving? Themselves…

BUILDING BRIDGES

Once upon a time two brothers who lived on

adjoining farms fell into conflict. It was the first

serious rift in 40 years of farming side by side,

sharing machinery, and trading labor and goods as

needed without a hitch.

Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with

a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major

difference, and finally it exploded into an exchange

of bitter words followed by weeks of silence.

One morning there was a knock on John's door. He

opened it to find a man with a carpenter's toolbox.

"I'm looking for a few days work," he said.

"Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and

there. Could I help you?"

"Yes," said the older brother. "I do have a job for

you. Look across the creek at that farm. That's my

neighbor, in fact, it's my younger brother. Last week

there was a meadow between us and he took his

bulldozer to the river levee and now there is a creek

between us. Well, he may have done this to spite me,

but I'll go him one better. See that pile of lumber

curing by the barn? I want you to build me a fence -

an 8-foot fence - so I won't need to see his place

anymore. Cool him down, anyhow."

The carpenter said, "I think I understand the

situation. Show me the nails and the post-hole digger

and I'll be able to do a job that pleases you."

The older brother had to go to town for supplies, so

he helped the carpenter get the materials ready and

then he was off for the day.

The carpenter worked hard all that day measuring,

sawing, nailing.

About sunset when the farmer returned, the

carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer's eyes

opened wide, his jaw dropped.

There was no fence there at all. It was a bridge... a

bridge stretching from one side of the creek to the

other! A fine piece of work handrails and all - and

the neighbor, his younger brother, was coming

across, his hand outstretched.

"You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all

I've said and done."

The two brothers stood at each end of the bridge,

and then they met in the middle, taking each other's

hand. They turned to see the carpenter hoist his

toolbox on his shoulder. "No, wait! Stay a few days.

I've a lot of other projects for you," said the older

brother.

"I'd love to stay on," the carpenter said, "but, I have

many more bridges to build."

BANK ACCOUNT

Imagine there is a bank, which credits your account

each morning with Rs 86,400, carries over no

balance from day to day, allows you to keep no cash

balance, and every evening cancels whatever part of

the amount you had failed to use during the day.

What would you do? Draw out every pence, of

course!

Well, everyone has such a bank. Its name is Time.

Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds.

Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this

you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries

over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it

opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the

records of the day. If you fail to use the day's

deposits, the loss is yours.

There is no going back. There is no drawing against

the "tomorrow."

Therefore, there is never not enough time or too

much time. Time management is decided by us

alone and nobody else. It is never the case of us not

having enough time to do things, but the case of

whether we want to do it.

Frog in a Milk-Pail

A frog was hopping around a farmyard, when it

decided to investigate the barn. Being somewhat

careless, and maybe a little too curious, he ended up

falling into a pail half-filled with fresh milk.

As he swam about attempting to reach the top of the

pail, he found that the sides of the pail were too high

and steep to reach. He tried to stretch his back legs

to push off the bottom of the pail but found it too

deep. But this frog was determined not to give up,

and he continued to struggle.

He kicked and squirmed and kicked and squirmed,

until at last, all his churning about in the milk had

turned the milk into a big hunk of butter. The butter

was now solid enough for him to climb onto and get

out of the pail!

The Moral of The Story? "Never Give Up!"

Thinking "Out of the Box"

Many hundreds of years ago in a small Italian town,

a merchant had the misfortune of owing a large sum

of money to the moneylender. The moneylender,

who was old and ugly, fancied the merchant's

beautiful daughter so he proposed a bargain. He said

he would forgo the merchant's debt if he could marry

the daughter. Both the merchant and his daughter

were horrified by the proposal.

The moneylender told them that he would put a

black pebble and a white pebble into an empty bag.

The girl would then have to pick one pebble from

the bag. If she picked the black pebble, she would

become the moneylender's wife and her father's debt

would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble

she need not marry him and her father's debt would

still be forgiven. But if she refused to pick a pebble,

her father would be thrown into jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the

merchant's garden. As they talked, the moneylender

bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them

up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up

two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He

then asked the girl to pick her pebble from the bag.

What would you have done if you were the girl? If

you had to advise her, what would you have told

her? Careful analysis would produce three

possibilities:

1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.

2. The girl should show that there were two black

pebbles in the bag and expose the moneylender as a

cheat.

3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice

herself in order to save her father from his debt and

imprisonment.

The above story is used with the hope that it will

make us appreciate the difference between lateral

and logical thinking.

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew

out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and

let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it

immediately became lost among all the other

pebbles.

"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind,

if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you

will be able to tell which pebble I picked." Since the

remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that

she had picked the white one. And since the

moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl

changed what seemed an impossible situation into an

advantageous one.

MORAL OF THE STORY: Most complex problems

do have a solution, sometimes we have to think

about them in a different way.

Reaction vs. Response

Suddenly, a cockroach flew from somewhere and sat

on her. I wondered if this was the cockroach’s

response to all the glory that was spoken about it!

She started screaming out of fear. With panic

stricken face and trembling voice, she started doing

jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to

get rid of the cockroach. Her reaction was

contagious, as everyone in her group got cranky to

what was happening. The lady finally managed to

push the cockroach to another lady in the group.

Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to

continue the drama. The waiter rushed forward to

their rescue. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach

next fell upon the waiter. The waiter stood firm,

composed himself and observed the behavior of the

cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident

enough,

he grabbed and threw it out with his fingers.

Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the

antenna of my mind picked up a few thoughts and

started wondering, was the cockroach responsible

for their histrionic behavior? If so, then why was the

waiter not disturbed? He handled it near to

perfection, without any chaos. It is not the

cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle

the disturbance caused by the cockroach that

disturbed the ladies.

I realized even in my case then , it is not the

shouting of my father or my boss that disturbs me,

but its my inability to handle the disturbances caused

by their shouting that disturbs me.

It’s not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me,

but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by

the traffic jam that disturbs me.

More than the problem, it’s my reaction to the

problem that hurts me.

Lessons learnt from the story:

I understood, I should not react in life. I should

always respond.

The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.

Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses

are always intellectual...

The carrot, the egg, and the coffee bean

A young woman went to her mother and told her

about her life and how things were so hard for her.

She did not know how she was going to make it and

wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and

struggling.

It seemed that, as one problem was solved, a new

one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She

filled three pots with water and placed each on a

high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In the first,

she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs,

and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.

She let them sit and boil, without saying a word. In

about twenty minutes, she turned off the burners.

She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl.

She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a

bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, "Tell me,

what do you see?"

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," the young woman

replied. The mother brought her closer and asked her

to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were

soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it.

After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-

boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee.

The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The

daughter then asked, "What does it mean, mother?"

Her mother explained that each of these objects had

faced the same adversity - boiling water - but each

reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard

and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to

the boiling water, it softened and became weak.

The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had

protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through

the boiling water, its inside became hardened! The

ground coffee beans were unique, however. After

they were in the boiling water, they had changed the

water.

"Which are you?" the mother asked her daughter.

"When adversity knocks on your door, how do you

respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee

bean?" Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot

that seems strong but, with pain and adversity, do I

wilt and become soft and lose my strength? Am I the

egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes

with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit but, after a

death, a breakup, or a financial hardship, does my

shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and

tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart? Or am

I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the

hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain.

When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance

and flavour.

If you are like the bean, when things are at their

worst, you get better and change the situation around

you. When the hours are the darkest and trials are

their greatest, do you elevate to another level? How

do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg, or

a coffee bean?

Frogs

A group of frogs was traveling through the woods,

and two of them fell into a deep pit.

All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When

they 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 out of the pit with all of 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 to be learnt:

1. There is power of life and death in the tongue. An

encouraging word to someone who is down can lift

them up and help them make it through the day.

2. A destructive word to someone who is down can

be what it takes to kill him or her.

Be careful of what you say. Speak life to those who

cross your path. The power of words.... it is

sometimes hard to understand that an encouraging

word can go such a long way. 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.

The Triple-Filter Test

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold

knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance

met the great philosopher and said, "Do you know

what I just heard about your friend?"

"Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before you

talk to me about my friend, it might be good idea to

take a moment and filter what you’re going to say.

That’s why I call it the triple filter test. The first

filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that

what you are about to tell me is true?"

"Well, no," the man said, "actually I just heard about

it and…"

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don’t really know

if it’s true or not. Now, let’s try the second filter, the

filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me

about my friend something good?"

"Umm, no, on the contrary…"

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me

something bad about my friend, but you’re not

certain it’s true. You may still pass the test though,

because there’s one filter left—the filter of

Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my

friend going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell

me is neither true, nor good, nor even useful, why

tell it to me at all?"

value

A well known speaker started off his seminar by

holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked,

"Who would like this $20 bill?"

Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you

but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple

the dollar bill up.

He then asked, "Who still wants it?"Still the hands

were up in the air.

"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he

dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into

the floor with his shoe.

He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now

who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable

lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still

wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was

still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are

dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the

decisions we make and the circumstances that come

our way.

We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter

what has happened or what will happen, you will

never lose your value. You are special - Don't ever

forget it!

" ACHIEVING HAPPINESS WITH SELFISHNESS"

There is this story of a man who had a dream one

night. He dreamed that he died and found himself

immediately in a large room. In the room there was a

huge banquet table filled with all sorts of delicious

foods. Around the table people were seated who

were hungry but the chairs were five feet from the

edge of the table and people apparently could not get

out of the chairs and their arms were not long

enough to reach the food. In the dream there was a

single large spoon, five feet long. Everyone was

fighting, quarrelling, pushing each other, trying to

grab hold of that spoon. Finally in that awful scene,

one strong bully got hold of the spoon. He reached

out, picked up some food, and turned it to feed

himself. Only to find out that the spoon was so long

that as he held it out he could not touch his mouth.

The food fell off. Immediately someone else grabbed

the spoon. Again, the person reached far enough to

pick up the food, but could not feed himself. In the

dream, the man was observing it all said to his

guide, “this is hell-to have food and not be able to

eat it”.

The guide replied, “Where do u think u are? This is

hell. But this is not ur place. Come with me.”

And they went into another room. In this room

things were the same as the previous room. People

were not able to reach food coz of the same reasons.

Yet they had a satisfied, pleasant look on their faces.

Only then the visitors see the reason why. Exactly as

before, there was only one spoon. It, too, had a

handle five feet long. Yet no one was fighting for it.

In fact, one man, who held the handle, reached out,

picked up the food, and put it into the mouth of

someone else, which ate it and was satisfied. That

person then took the spoon by the handle, reached

for the food from the table, and put it back to the

mouth of the man who had just given him something

to eat. And the guide said, “This is heaven”.

People who try to achieve happiness with selfishness

end up it in a hell on earth. If you live by the laws of

God and choose to look for people who have

burdens, you might be able to help them. But if you

look for your own happiness, ignoring the needs of

those around you, you will lose out altogether.

STORY OF A BLIND GIRl

There was a blind girl who hated herself just because

she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving

boyfriend. He was always there for her. She said that

if she could only see the world, she would marry her

boyfriend.

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her and

then she could see everything, including her

boyfriend. Her boyfriend asked her, “now that you

can see the world, will you marry me?”

The girl was shocked when she saw that her

boyfriend was blind too, and refused to marry him.

Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and later wrote

a letter to her saying:

“Just take care of my eyes dear.”

ENJOY LIFE AT EVERY MOMENT

Once a fisherman was sitting near seashore, under

the shadow of a tree smoking his beedi. Suddenly a

rich businessman passing by approached him and

enquired as to why he was sitting under a tree

smoking and not working. To this the poor

fisherman replied that he had caught enough fishes

for the day.

Hearing this the rich man got angry and said: Why

don’t you catch more fishes instead of sitting in

shadow wasting your time?

Fisherman asked: What would I do by catching more

fishes?

Businessman: You could catch more fishes, sell

them and earn more money, and buy a bigger boat.

Fisherman: What would I do then?

Businessman: You could go fishing in deep waters

and catch even more fishes and earn even more

money.

Fisherman: What would I do then?

Businessman: You could buy many boats and

employ many people to work for you and earn even

more money.

Fisherman: What would I do then?

Businessman: You could become a rich businessman

like me.

Fisherman: What would I do then?

Businessman: You could then enjoy your life

peacefully.

Fisherman: What do you think I’m doing right now?

Puppies

For Sale

A store owner was tacking a sign above his door that

read "Puppies For Sale." Signs like that have a way

of attracting small children, and sure enough, a little

boy appeared under the store owner's sign. "How

much are you going to sell the puppies for?" he

asked.

The store owner replied, "Anywhere from $30 to

$50."

The little boy reached in his pocket and pulled out

some change. "I have $2.37," he said. "Can I please

look at them?"

The store owner smiled and whistled and out of the

kennel came Lady, who ran down the aisle of his

store followed by five teeny, tiny balls of fur.

One puppy was lagging considerably behind.

Immediately the little boy singled out the lagging,

limping puppy and said, "What's wrong with that

little dog?"

The store owner explained that the veterinarian had

examined the little puppy and had discovered it

didn't have a hip socket. It would always limp. It

would always be lame.

The little boy became excited. "That is the puppy

that I want to buy."

The store owner said, "No, you don't want to buy

that little dog. If you really want him, I'll just give

him to you."

The little boy got quite upset. He looked straight into

the store owner's eyes, pointing his finger, and said,

"I don't want you to give him to me. That little dog

is worth every bit as much as all the other dogs and

I'll pay full price. In fact, I'll give you $2.37 now,

and 50 cents a month until I have him paid for."

The store owner countered, "You really don't want

to buy this little dog. He is never going to be able to

run and jump and play with you like the other

puppies."

To his surprise, the little boy reached down and

rolled up his pant leg to reveal a badly twisted,

crippled left leg supported by a big metal brace. He

looked up at the store owner and softly replied,

"Well, I don't run so well myself, and the little

puppy will need someone who understands!"

We ALL need is someone who understands us!!!

Law of the Garbage Truck

Recently I hopped in a Taxi and we took off for the

Airport. We were driving in the right lane when

suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space

right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and

missed the other car by just inches! The driver of

the other car whipped his head around and started

yelling at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy.

And I mean, he was really friendly.

So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy

almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'

This is when my Taxi driver taught me what I now

call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck'

He explained that many people are like garbage

trucks. They run around full of Garbage, full of

frustration,

full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their

Garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it

and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it

personally.

Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on.

Don't take their Garbage and

spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the

streets. The bottom line is that successful people do

not let Garbage Trucks take over their day.

Life's too short to wake up in the morning with

regrets,

so ... Love the people who treat you right. Pray for

the ones who don't.

Life is Ten percent what you make it and Ninety

percent how you take it!

Have a garbage-free day

EVERY DAY BE KIND TO A STRANGER

On his deathbed , Aldous Huxley reflected on his

entire life's learning and then summed it up in seven

simple words: "LET US BE KINDER TO ONE

ANOTHER". All too often we believe that in order

to live a truly fulfilling life we must achieve some

great act or grand feat that will put us on the front

covers of magazines and newspapers. Nothing could

be further from the truth. A meaningful life is made

up of a series of daily acts of decency & kindness

which adds up to something great over the course of

a lifetime.

Everyone who enters your life has a lesson to

teach & a story to tell. Every person you pass during

the moments that make up your days represents an

oppurtunity to show a little more of the compassion

& courtesy that defines your humanity. Why not

start being more of the person you truly are during

your days & doing what you can to enrich the world

around you????? In my mind, If you make even one

person smile during your day or brighten the mood

of even one stranger , your day has been a

worthwhile one.

"kindness quite simply is the rent we must pay for

the space we occupy on this planet "

Become more creative in the ways you show

compassion to strangers. Paying the toll for the

person in the car behind you , offering your seat on

the subway and being the first to say hello are great

places to start.

Man in the beach

There was a man taking a morning walk at or the

beach. He saw that along with the morning tide came

hundreds of starfish and when the tide receded, they

were left behind and with the morning sun rays, they

would die. The tide was fresh and the starfish were

alive. The man took a few steps, picked one and

threw it into the water. He did that repeatedly. Right

behind him there was another person who couldn't

understand what this man was doing. He caught up

with him and asked, "What are you doing? There are

hundreds of starfish. How many can you help? What

difference does it make?" This man did not reply,

took two more steps, picked up another one, threw it

into the water, and said, "It makes a difference to

this one."

What difference are we making? Big or small, it

does not matter. If everyone made a small

difference, we'd end up with a big difference,

wouldn't we?

SPOKEN WORDS CAN'T BE RETRIEVED

A farmer insulted his neighbor. Realizing his

mistake, he went to the preacher to ask for

forgiveness. The preacher told him to take a bag of

feathers and drop them in the center of town. The

farmer did as he was told. Then the preacher asked

him to go and collect the feathers and put them back

in the bag. The farmer tried but couldn't as the

feathers had all blown away. When he returned with

the empty bag, the preacher said, "The same thing is

true about your words. You dropped them rather

easily but you cannot retrieve them, so be very

careful in choosing your words."

"What's the

taste of salty coffee?"

He met her at a party. She was so outstanding, many

guys chasing

after her, while he was so normal, nobody paid

attention to him. At

the end of the party, he invited her to have coffee

with him, she was

surprised but due to being polite, she promised.

They sat in a nice

coffee shop, he was too nervous to say anything, she

felt

uncomfortable, and she thought to herself, "Please,

let me go

home..."

Suddenly he asked the waiter, "Would you please

give me some salt?

I'd like to put it in my coffee." Everybody stared at

him, so

strange! His face turned red but still, he put the salt

in his

coffee and drank it. She asked him curiously, "Why

you have this

hobby?" He replied, "When I was a little boy, I lived

near the sea,

I liked playing in the sea, I could feel the taste of the

sea, just

like the taste of the salty coffee. Now every time I

have the salty

coffee, I always think of my childhood, think of my

hometown, I miss

my hometown so much, I miss my parents who are

still living there."

While saying that tears filled his eyes. She was

deeply touched.

That's his true feeling, from the bottom of his heart.

A man who can

tell out his homesickness, he must be a man who

loves home, cares

about home, has responsibility of home... Then she

also started to

speak, spoke about her faraway hometown, her

childhood, her family.

That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful

beginning of their

story. They continued to date. She found that

actually he was a man

who meets all her demands; he had tolerance, was

kind hearted,

warm, careful.

He was such a good person but she almost missed

him! Thanks to his

salty coffee! Then the story was just like every

beautiful love

story, the princess married to the prince, and then

they were living

the happy life... And, every time she made coffee for

him, she put

some salt in the coffee, as she knew that's the way he

liked it.

After 40 years, he passed away, left her a letter

which said, "My

dearest, please forgive me, forgive my whole life's

lie. This was

the only lie I said to you---the salty coffee.

Remember the first

time we dated? I was so nervous at that time,

actually I wanted some

sugar, but I said salt. It was hard for me to change so

I just went

ahead. I never thought that could be the start of our

communication!

I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life, but

I was too

afraid to do that, as I have promised not to lie to you

for

anything... Now I'm dying, I afraid of nothing so I

tell you the

truth, I don't like the salty coffee, what a strange bad

taste...

But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life!

Since I knew you,

I never feel sorry for anything I do for you. Having

you with me is

my biggest happiness for my whole life. If I can live

for the

second time, still want to know you and have you for

my whole life,

even though I have to drink the salty coffee again."

Her tears made

the letter totally wet. Someday, someone asked her,

"What's the

taste of salty coffee?" She replied,"It' s sweet."

MY MASTER

A sick man turned to his doctor, as he was preparing

to leave the examination room and said, “Doctor, I

am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other

side”. Very quietly, the doctor said, “I don’t know”.

“You don’t know? You a religious man. Do not

know what is on the other side?”

The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on

the other side came a sound of scratching and

whining, and as he opened the door, a dog sprang

into the room with his tail wagging and an eager

show of gladness. Turning to the patient, the doctor

said, “Did you notice my dog? He’s never been in

this room before. He didn’t know what was inside

….. He knew nothing except that his master was

here, and when the door opened, he sprang in

without fear. I know little of what is on the other

side of death, but I do know one thing. I know my

Master is there and that is enough for me. :)

The obstacle in our path

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a

roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if

anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the

king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by

and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed

the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none

did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of

vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the

peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the

stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and

straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant

picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse

lying in the road where the boulder had been. The

purse contained many gold coins and a note from the

King indicating that the gold was for the person who

removed the boulder from the roadway.

The peasant learned what many of us never

understand! Every obstacle presents an opportunity

to improve our condition.

Man O Man!

When without money, eat wild vegetables at home;

When has money, eats the same wild vegetables in a

fine restaurant.

When without money, rides bicycle;

When has money rides the same ‘exercise machine’.

When without money walks to earn food

When has money, walks to burn fat;

Man O Man! Never fails to deceive thyself!

When without money, wishes to get married;

When has money, wishes to get divorced.

When without money, wife becomes secretary;

When has money, secretary becomes wife.

When without money, acts like a rich man;

When has money acts like a poor man.

Man O Man! Never can tell the simple truth!

Says share market is bad, but keeps speculating;

Says money is evil, but keeps accumulating.

Says high Positions are lonely, but keeps wanting

them.

Says gambling & drinking is bad, but keeps

indulging;

Man O Man! Never means what he says and never

says what he means!

The Butterfly

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a

small opening appeared. He sat and watched the

butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its

body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop

making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten

as far as it could, and it could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a

pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of

the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it

had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he

expected that, at any moment, the wings would

enlarge and expand to be able to support the body,

which would contract in time. Neither happened! In

fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling

around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It

never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not

understand was that the restricting cocoon and the

struggle required for the butterfly to get through the

tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from

the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it

would be ready for flight once it achieved its

freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our

lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives

without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We

would not be as strong as what we could have been.

We could never fly!

Lessons to be learnt:

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.

Nothing in life is always smooth-sailing nor goes

according to plan, hardships are there to mold us into

stronger individuals. Life is constantly about

overcoming, challenges, it's only through tough

times that we became more resilient.

“I AM SORRY”

Once there was a man who had 3 daughters and was

a single parent to his children. One morning he

asked his oldest daughter, Sonia, to do the breakfast

dishes before going to school. Not realizing that she

was already running late and facing too many tardy

notices, he was stunned by her reaction. She burst

into profuse tears. Again, misinterpreting the motive

behind the outburst, assuming that she was merely

trying to get out of an unpleasant chore, he

demanded that she dry her tears and get back to

work immediately. She reluctantly obeyed him, but

her anger could be clearly heard in the careless

clanking of the dishes in the sink, she turned back to

her father and stared sullenly out the window.

Usually the man use to take advantage of the

uninterrupted time to spend with his children while

driving them to school by teaching poetry or

religious verses. However that morning there was no

songs- only deathly, stubborn silence. The man

dropped his daughter, mumbled a good bye and

moved to office. He tried to work but couldn’t

concentrate all he could see was his daughter’s

scared, tear-stained face as she hesitantly climbed

out of the car to face her teachers and classmates.

The man began to realize that his timing had gone

wrong and with the passage of the day he began to

feel remorseful. So he decided to say SORRY to his

daughter and couldn’t wait till suppertime to

apologize. So he took permission from the school to

take his daughter for lunch and was astonished to see

the surprise on her face. He led her by her arm

through the corridor and as the doors banged behind

them, he turned towards his daughter and said,

“Sonia I am sorry. I am so very sorry! It’s not that I

shouldn’t have asked you to help out at home, but I

had no right on it this morning without any previous

warning. I upset you at a time when you most

needed my love and support- just before you went to

school. And I let you go without saying ‘I love you’.

I was wrong. Please forgive me.”

Sonia put her arms around her father’s neck and

hugged him and said “Oh, Dad, of course I forgive

you. I love you too.”

The power of these restorative words, “I am Sorry!”

is such that they heal relationships – between us and

our friends and loved ones, and between us and God.

The Value Of A Smile :)

The value of a smile is priceless, yet it is the

cheapest, easiest, most rewarding and most sincere

gift to anyone that crosses your path. A smile makes

a person's day, anybody's day even a stranger's day.

A smile is infectious. Start infecting people with

your smile today.

A smile is nature's best antidote for discouragement.

It brings rest to the weary, sunshine to those who are

sad, and hope to those who are hopeless and

defeated.

A smile is so valuable that it can't be bought,

begged, borrowed, or taken away against your will.

You have to be willing to give a smile away before it

can do anyone else any good.

So if someone is too tired or grumpy to flash you a

smile, let him have one of yours anyway. Nobody

needs a smile as much as the person who has none to

give.

SPEND TIME WITH YOUR FAMILY.

A man narrating his date with his mother after 21

years…

.After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to

take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She

said, “I love you, but I know this other woman loves

you and would love to spend some time with you.”

The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit

was my MOTHER, who has been a widow for 19

years, but the demands of my work and my three

children had made it possible to visit her only

occasionally. That night I called to invite her to go

out for dinner and a movie. “What’s wrong, are you

well?” she asked. Smile

My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a

late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad

news. “I thought that it would be pleasant to spend

some time with you,” I responded. “Just the two of

us.” She thought about it for a moment, and then

said, “I would like that very much.”

That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her

up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I

noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our

date. She waited in the door with her coat on. She

had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that

she had worn to celebrate her last wedding

anniversary. She smiled from a face that was as

radiant as an angel’s. “I told my friends that I was

going to go out with my son, and they were

impressed, “she said, as she got into the car. “They

can’t wait to hear about our meeting.”

We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant,

was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as

if she were the First Lady. After we sat down, I had

to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large

print. Half way through the entries, I lifted my eyes

and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic

smile was on her lips. “It was I who used to have to

read the menu when you were small,” she said.

“Then it’s time that you relax and let me return the

favor,” I responded. During the dinner, we had an

agreeable conversation – nothing extraordinary but

catching up on recent events of each other’s life. We

talked so much that we missed the movie. As we

arrived at her house later, she said, “I’ll go out with

you again, but only if you let me invite you.” I

agreed.

“How was your dinner date?” asked my wife when I

got home. “Very nice. Much more so than I could

have imagined,” I answered.

A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart

attack.It happened so suddenly that I didn’t have a

chance to do anything for her.Cry Some time later, I

received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant

receipt from the same place mother and I had dined.

An attached note said: “I paid this bill in advance. I

wasn’t sure that I could be there; but nevertheless, I

paid for two plates – one for you and the other for

your wife. You will never know what that night

meant for me. I love you, son.”

At that moment, I understood the importance of

saying in time: “I LOVE YOU” and to give our

loved ones the time that they deserve.

Nothing in life is more important than your family.

Give them the time they deserve, because these

things cannot be put off till some other time.

TEMPER CONTROL

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper.

His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that

every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail

into the fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the

fence. Over the next few weeks as he learned to

control his anger, the number of nails hammered

daily, gradually dwindled down. He discovered it

was easier to hold his temper than to drive those

nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the

boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father

about it and the father suggested that the boy now

pull out one nail for each day that he was able to

hold his temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able

to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The

father took his son by the hand and led him to the

fence. He said “you have done well, my son, but

look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never

be the same. When you say things in anger, they

leave a scar just like this one.”

You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It

won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the

wound is still there.

Make sure you control your temper the next time

you are tempted to say something you will regret

later , coz spoken words once out never come back.

An eye

My mom only had one eye. I hated her… She was

such an embarrassment. She cooked for students and

teachers to support the family.

There was this one day during elementary school

where my mom came to say hello to me. I was so

embarrassed.

How could she do this to me? I ignored her, threw

her a hateful look and ran out. The next day at

school one of my classmates said, ‘EEEE, your mom

only has one eye!’

I wanted to bury myself. I also wanted my mom to

just disappear. I confronted her that day and said, ‘ If

you’re only gonna make me a laughing stock, why

don’t you just die?’

My mom did not respond… I didn’t even stop to

think for a second about what I had said, because I

was full of anger. I was oblivious to her feelings.

I wanted out of that house, and have nothing to do

with her. So I studied real hard, got a chance to go

abroad to study.

Then, I got married. I bought a house of my own. I

had kids of my own. I was happy with my life, my

kids and the comforts. Then one day, my Mother

came to visit me. She hadn’t seen me in years and

she didn’t even meet her grandchildren.

When she stood by the door, my children laughed at

her, and I yelled at her for coming over uninvited. I

screamed at her, ‘How dare you come to my house

and scare my children!’ GET OUT OF HERE!

NOW!!!’

And to this, my mother quietly answered, ‘Oh, I’m

so sorry. I may have gotten the wrong address,’ and

she disappeared out of sight.

One day, a letter regarding a school reunion came to

my house. So I lied to my wife that I was going on a

business trip. After the reunion, I went to the old

shack just out of curiosity.

My neighbors said that she died. I did not shed a

single tear. They handed me a letter that she had

wanted me to have.

My dearest son,

I think of you all the time. I’m sorry that I came to

your house and scared your children.

I was so glad when I heard you were coming for the

reunion. But I may not be able to even get out of bed

to see you. I’m sorry that I was a constant

embarrassment to you when you were growing up.

You see……..when you were very little, you got

into an accident, and lost your eye. As a mother, I

couldn’t stand watching you having to grow up with

one eye. So I gave you mine.

I was so proud of my son who was seeing a whole

new world for me, in my place, with that eye.

With all my love to you,

Your mother.