Joy of giving is limitless, Short Story To Inspire All

A student from rich family went out for a walk with his teacher somewhere. They saw a pair of torn shoes of a worker,who was busy in field adjacent to the road they were walking on.Student thought of making fun of worker and told his teacher , " we will take these shoes and hide behind the bushes and it will be a fun to watch the worker reaction when he discover his shoes are stolen.

The teacher replied with concerned look, "It is ridiculous to fun make of a poor in such a way. Why don't we put some coins in these shoes and hide to see the impact on worker !! 'The disciple did the same, and they hid in the nearby bushes.

The worker soon arrived at the place of shoes after completing his field work,As soon as he put one foot in the shoe he sensed something hard and he quickly removed his shoe and found few coins in it.He was astonished and checked those coins very carefully.he then looked around but when he found nobody was their he put those coin in his pocket. Now he picked up the second shoe, which also had coins ... worker was touched, his eyes welled up, he said with folded hands looking up - "O Lord, for this assistance at the time of need thanks you million time for sending a unknown helper and with these coins i can buy medicine for my sick wife and our hungry children will get bread. "

After that teacher asked the disciple - "wasn't putting a coin in shoes gave you more happiness then making fun of him?"The disciple answered, "You have taught me today lesson of life that I will never forget .Today I have come to understand the meaning of those words which I had never understood before. The joy of giving is limitless.

Moral;- Giving is the highest expression of potency. In the very act of giving, I experience my strength, my wealth, my power. This experience of heightened vitality and potency fills me with joy. I experience myself as overflowing, spending, alive, hence as joyous. Giving is more joyous than receiving, not because it is a deprivation, but because in the act of giving lies the expression of my aliveness.” ~ Erich Fromm

“I slept and I dreamed that life is all joy. I woke and I saw that life is all service. I served and I saw that service is joy.”

“Give freely to the world these gifts of love and compassion. Do not concern yourself with how much you receive in return, just know in your heart it will be returned.”

Two short stories shared by the most successful men in the world

1.Always tell yourself that you are working for yourself

There is an apple tree growing in a garden. The first year, it bore fruit to 10 apples. Nine of them were taken by others, leaving only one for itself. The tree got very upset. Therefore the next year, it refused to bear more fruit. Instead, it provided 5 apples of which 4 were taken by others again, leaving one for itself. The tree felt so happy,‘“Last year, I got only 10% of my apples. This year, I got 20% of them.“ Numbers wise, this year might seem better. But in the contrary, this is the better frame of mind: to be more productive despite the rewards. So if the tree only had 10 apples this year, it should aim to have 100 next year and 1,000 the next!Maybe it can have 10 for itself if it bore 100 apples .Actually it does’t matter if 90 or 999 of these apples are taken by others.The important thing is the tree itself grew.

In life, don’t always complain about your job and salary, which will more than likely make your colleagues dislike you. Remember that you work for yourself. Focus on improving yourself. If you do so, you will be much more successful than others after 3 years.

2.Focus on the original plan. Go on growing up!

Some children were playing around an old man’s house. It had been several days and the old man couldn't bear the noise any longer. One day, he came out and gave every child 25 cents and said, “I appreciate you for playing around here. I feel young again.” The children were so happy, they came back the next day. The old man came out again and gave every child 15 cents. He explained that he didn't have any income.The children accepted it .
But on the third day, the old man gave every child only 5 cents. The children were so angry, “Five cents is not worth much to us!” They swore that they will never play for the old man again.

People easily get distracted by many things in life. These distractions make them forget their original mission and objective. Do remember it and focus on it.

Must Share 

Hope :: Lovely Story

The Four Candles burned slowly. Their ambiance was so soft you could hear them speak...

The first candle said, "I Am Peace, but these days, nobody wants to keep me lit." Then Peace's flame slowly diminished and went out completely.

The second candle said, "I Am Faith, but these days, I am no longer indispensable." Then Faith's flame slowly diminished and went out completely.

Sadly the third candle spoke, "I Am Love and I haven't the strength to stay lit any longer. People put me aside and don't understand my importance. They even forget to love those who are nearest to them." And waiting no longer, Love went out completely.

Suddenly... A child entered the room and saw the three candles no longer burning. The child began to cry, "Why are you not burning? You are supposed to stay lit until the end."

Then the Fourth Candle spoke gently to the little boy, "Don't be afraid, for I Am Hope, and while I still burn, we can re-light the other candles."

With shining eyes, the child took the Candle of Hope and lit the other three candles.



:: Moral of the Story ::

Never let the Flame of Hope go out.
With Hope in your life, no matter how bad things may be,
Peace, Faith and Love may shine brightly once again

True Happenings - A True Story...

At the 1994 annual awards dinner given for Forensic Science, AAFS President Dr Don Harper Mills astounded his audience with the legal complications of a bizarre death.

Here is the Case:

On March 23, 1994 the medical examiner viewed the body of Ronald Opus and concluded that he died from a shotgun wound to the head. Mr. Opus had jumped from the top of a ten-story building intending to commit suicide. He left a note to the effect indicating his despondency .As he fell past the ninth floor his life was interrupted by a shotgun blast passing through a window, which killed him instantly.

Neither the shooter nor the deceased was aware that a safety net had been installed just below the eighth floor level to protect some building workers and that Ronald Opus would not have been able to complete his suicide the way he had planned.

"Ordinarily," Dr Mills continued, "A person, who sets out to commit suicide and ultimately succeeds, even though the mechanism might not be what he intended, is still defined as committing suicide." That Mr. Opus was shot on the way to certain death, but probably would not have been successful because of the safety net, caused the medical examiner to feel that he had a homicide on his hands.

In the room on the ninth floor, where the shotgun blast emanated, was occupied by an elderly man and his wife. They were arguing vigorously and he was threatening her with a shotgun. The man was so upset that when he pulled the trigger he completely missed his wife and the pellets went through the window striking Mr. Opus. When one intends to kill subject "A"
but kills subject "B" in the attempt, one is guilty of the murder of subject "B".

When confronted with the murder charge the old man and his wife were both adamant and both said that they thought the shotgun was unloaded. The old man said it was a long-standing habit to threaten his wife with the unloaded shotgun. He had no intention to murder her.

Therefore the killing of Mr. Opus appeared to be an accident; that is, if the gun had been accidentally loaded. The continuing investigation turned
up a witness who saw the old couple's son loading the shotgun about six
weeks prior to the fatal accident.

It transpired that the old lady had cut off her son's financial support and the son, knowing the propensity of his father to use the shotgun threateningly, loaded the gun with the expectation that his father would shoot his mother.Since the loader of the gun was aware of this, he was guilty of the murder even though he didn't actually pull the trigger. The case now becomes one of murder on the part of the son for the death of Ronald Opus.

Now comes the exquisite twist. Further investigation revealed that the son was, in fact, Ronald Opus. He had become increasingly despondent over the failure of his attempt to engineer his mother's murder. This led him to jump off the ten-story building on March 23rd, only to be killed by a shotgun blast passing through the ninth story window. The son had actually Murdered himself, so the medical examiner closed the case as a suicide.

(A true story from Associated Press, Reported by Kurt Westervelt)

Where Does It End? :: Do You Know?

There is a story about a wealthy farmer who was once offered all the land he could walk on in a day, provided he came back by sundown to the point where he started. To get a new start, early the next morning the farmer started covering ground quickly because he wanted to get as much land as he could. Even though he was tired, he kept going all afternoon because he didn't want to miss this once in a lifetime opportunity to gain more wealth.

Late in the afternoon he realized the condition he had to fulfill to get the land was to get back to the starting point by sundown. His greed had gotten him far enough. He started his return journey, keeping an eye on how close he was to sundown.

The closer it got to sundown, the faster he ran. He was exhausted, out of breath and pushed himself beyond the point of endurance. He collapsed upon reaching the starting point and died. He did make it before sundown. He was buried and all the land he needed was a small plot.


::Moral of the Story ::

There is a lot of truth in this story and a lesson to be learned. Whether the farmer was wealthy or not, any greedy person would have ended the same way.

Some People Always Look For the Negative :: Lovely Short Story

There was a hunter who bought a bird dog, the only one of its kind in the world. That could walk on water. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw this miracle.

At the same time, he was very pleased that he could show off his new acquisition to his friends. He invited a friend to go duck hunting. After some time, they shot a few ducks and the man ordered his dog to run and fetch the birds.

All day-long, the dog ran on water and kept fetching the birds. The owner was expecting a comment or a compliment about his amazing dog, but never got one.

As they were returning home, he asked his friend if he had noticed anything unusual about his dog.

The friend replied, "Yes, in fact, I did notice something unusual. Your dog can't swim."

:: Moral of the Story ::

Some people always look at the negative side.

Trust God But Tie Your Camel :: Faith & Common Sense

There was once a man who was on his way back home from market with his camel and, as 'had a good day, he decided to stop at a mosque along the road and offer his thanks to God.


He left his camel outside and went in with his prayer mat and spent several hours offering thanks to Allah, praying and promising that 'be a good Muslim in the future, help the poor and be an upstanding pillar of his community.

When he emerged it was already dark and lo and behold – his camel was gone!
He immediately flew into a violent temper and shook his fist at the sky, yelling:

"You traitor, Allah! How could you do this to me? I put all my trust in you and then you go and stab me in the back like this!"

A passing sufi dervish heard the man yelling and chuckled to himself.

"Listen", he said, "Trust God but, you know, tie up your camel"

:: Moral of The Story ::

This is the classic answer for those who believe that their faith alone will carry them through life. Innocence can indeed be a valuable shield but there are basic measures that have to be taken just as a matter of common sense. If you leave the jar of honey open by morning it may be full of ants. No amount of belief is going to change the basic facts of living in this world.

Life Is An Echo :: Lovely Short Story

A little boy got angry with his mother and shouted at her, "I hate you, I hate you." Because of fear of reprimand, he ran out of the house. He went up to the valley and shouted, "I hate you, I hate you," and back came the echo, "I hate you, I hate you."

This was the first time in his life he had heard an echo. He got scared, went to his mother for protection and said there was a bad boy in the valley who shouted "I hate you, I hate you."

The mother understood and she asked her son to go back and shout, "I love you, I love you." The little boy went and shouted, "I love you, I love you," and back came the echo.

:: Moral of the Story ::

That taught the little boy a lesson that our life is like an echo: We get back what we give.
"When you are good to others, you are best to yourself." - Benjamin Franklin

Never Under Estimate Anyone :: Awesome Short Story

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 five rupee coin in one hand and two one rupee coins (1+1=2) in the other, then calls the boy over and asks, "Which do you want, son?"

The boy takes the two one rupee 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 one rupee coins instead of five rupee coin?"

The boy licked his cone and replied,

"BECAUSE THE DAY I TAKE THE FIVE RUPEE COIN, THE GAME IS OVER"

:: Moral of the Story ::

When you think the other person is dumb, you are making a fool of yourself

The Tea Cup

There was a couple who used to go to England to shop in the beautiful stores. They both liked antiques and pottery and especially teacups. This was their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary.

One day in this beautiful shop they saw a beautiful teacup.They said, "May we see that? We've never seen one quite so beautiful."

As the lady handed it to them, suddenly the teacup spoke. "You don't understand," it said. "I haven't always been a teacup.

There was a time when I was red and I was clay. My master took me and rolled me and patted me over and over and I yelled out, "let me alone", but he only smiled, "Not yet."

"Then I was placed on a spinning wheel," the teacup said, "and suddenly I was spun around and around and around.Stop it! I'm getting dizzy! I screamed. But the master only nodded and said, 'Not yet.'

Then he put me in the oven. I never felt such heat. I wondered why he wanted to burn me, and I yelled and knocked at the door. I could see him through the opening and I could read his lips as He shook his head, 'Not yet.'

Finally the door opened, he put me on the shelf, and I began to cool. 'There, that's better,' I said. And he brushed and painted me all over. The fumes were horrible. I thought I would gag. 'Stop it, stop it!' I cried. He only nodded, 'Not yet.'

Then suddenly he put me back into the oven, not like the first one. This was twice as hot and I knew I would suffocate. I begged. I pleaded. I screamed. I cried. All the time I could see him through the opening nodding his head saying, 'Not yet.'

Then I knew there wasn't any hope. I would never make it. I was ready to give up. But the door opened and he took me out and placed me on the shelf. One hour later he handed me a mirror and said, 'Look at yourself.And I did. I said, 'That's not me; that couldn't be me. It's beautiful. I'm beautiful.'

'I want you to remember, then,' he said, 'I know it hurts to be rolled and patted, but if I had left you alone, you'd have dried up.

I know it made you dizzy to spin around on the wheel, but if I had stopped, you would have crumbled. I knew it hurt and was hot and disagreeable in the oven, but if I hadn't put you there, you would have cracked.

I know the fumes were bad when I brushed and painted you all over, but if I hadn't done that, you never would have hardened; you would not have had any color in your life. And if I hadn't put you back in that second oven,you wouldn't survive for very long because the hardness would not have held. Now you are a finished product. You are what I had in mind when I first began with you.

:: Moral Of The Story ::

God knows what He's doing (for all of us). He is the Potter, and we are His clay. He will mold us and make us, so that we may be made into a flawless piece of work to fulfill His good, pleasing, and perfect will.

No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not tempt you beyond what you can bear; but with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it.

Moral Based - Daughter's Dream

“Do you know what I had when I came to Hyderabad ?” he asked me with a proud smile.

Now I knew and he knew that the question was meaningless. Not because the question was not important; but only because I had met this young man just about 10 minutes ago.

I always feel that there is some kind of spark in working people, in poor people that connects me with them in an instant. The person I am referring to was a Taxi Driver – a clan; I have lot of interactions with and learning from.

I was Advised to take MERU cabs – a well known Taxi service. It is little costly – but safe, clean and always on time. I have interacted with many MERU cab drivers in the last eight months and have always enjoyed the interaction. Today was no exception.

After initial dialogue about Hyderabad traffic, MERU working, customer behavior, driver behavior etc. we entered into more personal kind of information sharing – rather he entered into it with the above question.

“No, I do not know. What was it?” I asked.

“I came to Hyderabad with just a Zola (a small cotton bag) - that is all. I had no education; I had never been to a big city….. and see now for the last 15 years I am driving a Taxi in Hyderabad”, he added with the same pride. I can understand him. Coming from a small village, I know what it is to be in a Megacity. I know what challenges it poses and I know how one feels disconnected sometimes.

This man, Jai Inder; in his late 30s was born and brought up in Banka district (earlier Bhagalpur district which is now divided into two districts) in Bihar. At the age of 17 or 18, he came to Hyderabad in search of livelihood. He worked here and there and saw a great opportunity in driving profession. Then he purchased a taxi and drove it for years. It was only recently he joined services of MERU and he was enjoying his new work. He does not at all know English but can make out generally whatever text messages he gets on his "GPR"System installed in the cab.

Then he started talking about his family. He has a 10 year son and a 7 year daughter. When asked about them, he told me that they are studying in a good school in his village. He added, “I have decided to provide best education to my children. Sir, like u are sitting and I am driving, I dream that when my children grow up they would be sitting like u and someone else would be driving their car….”

I was touched by his dream. I was touched by his passion. I was touched by his hopes. I was amazed by his simplicity. I could see a poor, illiterate (or just functionally literate) man, staying away from his family, working hard... so that his children have a better tomorrow. I wish his children know this and remember this when they grow.

“But what does your son want to become?” I asked.

“Oh, he wants to be an Engineer. He studies hard and gets good marks.” Again a proud father emerged.

“And what does your daughter want to become?” I asked. I was ready for an answer: teacher or a doctor or a pilot or a computer operator – that is what most of the girls say.

Jai Inder looked at me. Then he asked me very seriously, “Won’t u laugh if I tell you what she says?”

I was astonished by his question. “Oh, certainly not. Life has number of possibilities – so even if your daughter is dreaming something impossible – who knows, it would happen!” I encouraged him.

“Well, she actually wants to become a Railway Minister!” he said sheepishly.

I was taken aback by the informativeness of his daughter’s dream. I have interacted with thousands of girls and this was the first time I have come across a girl and just a 7 year young wanting to be a Rail Minister.

“Who knows? She might become a Rail Minister one day….. “I said honestly and was glad to be able to feel and say this.

The father was very happy. He even narrated me a childhood story of Dr. Man Mohan Singh (whether true or not true I cannot say). The story goes like this: Man Mohan Sing’s father sold vegetable in the market. One day he had some other matters to attend and he asked his young son to manage the stall for few hours. Young Man Mohan declined. His father became angry and asked, “If you don’t want to sit in this chair, are you going to sit in Prime Minister’s Chair?” On which young Man Mohan replied, “Yes, I am going to be Prime Minister of India.”

It was one of the rare occasions when I did not argue about the story. I mean there are such stories about all people who became successful later in life – it is trend to rediscover and exaggerate their greatness from (and in) their childhood. But today I realized that such stories (whether true or not true) have a bigger role to motivate those who are not in a good condition, who are poor, who have the capacity to dream but no means to achieve those dreams.

I cannot say whether His Daughter’s Dream would become a reality. Maybe, when she grows, she would want to become something else. What I appreciate that a 7 year girl can think so differently and her father loves her so much that he wishes the dream to come true – he strives in that direction – giving her best of the education is first step according to him.

Disciplehood

When the great Sufi mystic, Hasan, was dying, somebody asked "Hasan, who was your master?" He said, "I had thousands of masters. If I just relate their names it will take months, years and it is too late. But three masters I will certainly tell you about. 

One was a thief. Once I got lost in the desert, and when I reached a village it was very late, everything was closed. But at last I found one man who was trying to make a hole in the wall of a house. I asked him where I could stay and he said 'At this time of night it will be difficult, but you can say with me - if you can stay with a thief' 

And the man was so beautiful. I stayed for one month! And each night he would say to me, 'Now I am going to my work. You rest, you pray.' When he came back I would ask 'Could you get anything?' He would say, 'Not tonight. But tomorrow I will try 
again, God willing.' He was never in a state of hopelessness, he was always happy. 

When I was meditating and meditating for years on end and nothing was happening, many times the moment came when I was so desperate, so hopeless, that I thought to stop all this nonsense. And suddenly I would remember the thief who would say every night, 'God willing, tomorrow it is going to happen.' 

And my second master was a dog. I was going to the river, thirsty and a dog came. He was also thirsty. He looked into the river, he saw another dog there -- his own image -- and became afraid. He would bark and run away, but his thirst was so much that he would come back. Finally, despite his fear, he just jumped into the water, and the image disappeared. And I knew that a message had come to me from God: one has to jump in spite of all fears. 

And the third master was a small child. I entered a town and a child was carrying a lit candle. he was going to the mosque to put the candle there. 
'Just joking,' I asked the boy, 'Have you lit the candle yourself?' He said, 'Yes sir.' And I asked, 'There was a moment when the candle was unlit, then there was a moment when the candle was lit. Can you show me the source from which the light came?' And the boy laughed, blew out the candle, and said, 'Now you have seen the light going. Where has it gone? You will tell me!' 

My ego was shattered, my whole knowledge was shattered. And that moment I felt my own stupidity. Since then I dropped all my knowledge ability. 

It is true that I had no master. That does not mean that I was not a disciple -- I accepted the whole existence as my master. 

My Disciple hood was a greater involvement than yours is. I trusted the clouds, the trees. I trusted existence as such. I had no master because I had millions of masters I learned from every possible source. To be a disciple is a must on the path. 

What does it mean to be a disciple? It means to be able to learn,to be available to learn to be vulnerable to existence. 

With a master you start learning to learn. The master is a swimming pool where you can learn how to swim. Once you have learned, all the oceans are yours." 

Are You Blessed

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week. 

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation you are ahead of 500 million people in the world. 

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world. 

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy. 

If your parents are still alive and still married you are very rare, even in the United States. 

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not. 

If you prayed yesterday and today you are in the minority because you believe God does hear and answer prayers. 

If you can read now, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.

Inspirational - Universality

The Master ordinarily dissuaded people from living in a monastery. "To profit from books you don't have to live in a library," he would say. 

Or, even more forcefully, "You can read books without ever stepping into a library; and practice spirituality without ever going to a temple." 

Motivational - Humor Can Save Your Life

The story goes that a certain court jester went too far one day and insulted his king. The king became so infuriated he sentenced the jester to be executed. His court prayed upon the king to have mercy for this man who had served him well for so 
many years. After a time, the king relented only enough to give the jester his choice as to how he would like to die. True to form, the jester replied, "If it's all the same to you, my Lord, I'd like to die of old age." Certainly in this case, a good sense of humor saved the man's life.

It's true for us as well. We may not be faced with a situation where our wit will save us from an execution, but our sense of humor and the ability to laugh at things has proven health benefits that extend and improve our quality of life. 

Norman Cousins, in his book Anatomy of an Illness, wrote about how he cured himself of cancer by laughing a good part of each day. He rented films of comedies and watched them for hours on end in his hospital room. He had nothing to lose since he'd been diagnosed as terminal. 

His "experiment" turned out to be a classic example of the healing powers of laughter. If it worked for Cousins with a life-threatening illness, it can work for us to enhance and protect our good health. We should laugh often and heartily. It's good for our digestion and our disposition. Besides, life's too important to take 

Inspirational - Life Worth Living?

A man risked his life by swimming through the treacherous rip-tide to save a youngster being swept out to sea. After the child recovered from the harrowing experience, he said to the man, "Thank you for saving my life." 

The looked into the boy's eyes and said, "That's okay, kid. Just make sure your life was worth saving." 

Little Boy Asks the Meaning of Life

An eight-year-old boy approached an old man in front of a wishing well, looked up into his eyes, and asked: "I understand you're a very wise man. I'd like to know the secret of life." 

The old man looked down at the youngster and replied: 
"I've thought a lot in my lifetime, and the secret can be summed up in four words 
The first is think. Think about the values you wish to live your life by. 

The second is believe. Believe in yourself based on the thinking you've done about the values you're going to live your life by. 

The third is dream. Dream about the things that can be, based on your belief in yourself and the values you're going to live by. 

The last is dare. Dare to make your dreams become reality, based on your belief in yourself and your values. "

And with that, Walter E. Disney said to the little boy, Think, Believe, Dream, and Dare. 

If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that.

When you see geese flying along in "V" formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way. 

As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in "V" formation, the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own. 

People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily because they are traveling on the thrust of one another.

When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone - and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.

If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those people who are headed the same way we are.

When the head goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point.

It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs, whether with people or with geese flying south.

Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

What messages do we give when we honk from behind?

Finally - and this is important - when a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshot, and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies, and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their group.

If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that.

Acorns planter

In the 1930s a young traveler was exploring the French Alps. He came upon a vast stretch of barren land. It was desolate. It was forbidding. It was ugly. It was the kind of place you hurry away from. 

Then, suddenly, the young traveler stopped dead in his tracks. In the middle of this vast wasteland was a bent-over old man. On his back was a sack of acorns. In his hand was a four-foot length of iron pipe.

The man was using the iron pope to punch holes in the ground. Then from the sack he would take an acorn and put it in the hole. Later the old man the traveler, "I've planted over 100,000 acorns. Perhaps only a tenth of them will grow." The old man's wive and son had died, and this was how he chose to spend his final years. "I want to do something useful," he said.

Twenty-five years later the now-not-as-young traveler returned to the same desolate area. What he saw amazed him. He could not believe his own eyes. The land was covered with a beautiful forest two miles wide and five miles long. Birds were singing, animals were playing, and wild flowers perfumed the air.

The traveler stood there recalling the desolation that once was; a beautiful oak forest stood there now - all because someone cared.

Determination and Persistence

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.

Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.

Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.

The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was also injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to talk or walk.

“We told them so.” “Crazy men and their crazy dreams.” “It’s foolish to chase wild visions.”

Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built.

In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever. He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task.

As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.

It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.

He touched his wife’s arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.

For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife’s arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man’s indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.

Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.

Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realised with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.

Inspirational - BREAKFAST AT McDonalds

I was touched by this story and I want to share this with you. God Bless�.

Breakfast at McDonald's. 

Please read until the end.This is a good story and is true, please read it all the way through until
the end! (After the story, there are some very interesting facts!):

I am a mother of three (ages 14, 12, 3) and have recently completed my college degree.The last class I had to take was Sociology.The teacher was absolutely inspiring with the qualities that I wish every human being had been graced with.

Her last project of the term was called "Smile."
The class was asked to go out and smile at three people and document their reactions.I am a very friendly person and always smile at everyone and say hello anyway, so, I thought this would be a piece of cake, literally.

Soon after we were assigned the project, my husband, youngest son, and I went out to McDonald's one crisp March morning.It was just our way of sharing special playtime with our son.

We were standing in line, waiting to be served, when all of a sudden everyone around us began to back away, and then even my husband did.I did not move an inch... an overwhelming feeling of panic welled up inside of me as I turned to see why they had moved.

As I turned around I smelled a horrible "dirty body" smell, and there standing behind me were two poor homeless men. As I looked down at the short gentleman, close to me, he was "smiling".His beautiful sky blue eyes were full of God's Light as he searched for acceptance.

He said, "Good day" as he counted the few coins he had been clutching.The second man fumbled with his hands as he stood behind his friend. I realized the second man was mentally challenged and the blue-eyed gentleman was his salvation.

I held my tears as I stood there with them.
The young lady at the counter asked him what they wanted. He said, "Coffee is all Miss" because that was all they could afford. (If they wanted to sit in the restaurant and warm up, they had to buy
something. He just wanted to be warm).Then I really felt it - the compulsion was so great I almost reached out and embraced the little man with the blue eyes.

That is when I noticed all eyes in the restaurant were set on me, judging my every action.I smiled and asked the young lady behind the counter to give me two more breakfast meals on a separate tray.

I then walked around the corner to the table that the men had chosen as a resting spot. I put the tray on the table and laid my hand on the blue-eyed gentleman's cold hand.He looked up at me, with tears in his eyes, and said, "Thank you."
I leaned over, began to pat his hand and said, "I did not do this for you. God is here working through me to give you hope."

I started to cry as I walked away to join my husband and son. When I sat down my husband smiled at me and said, "That is why God gave you to me,
Honey, to give me hope." We held hands for a moment and at that time, we knew that only because of the Grace that we had been given were we able to give.

We are not church goers, but we are believers.
That day showed me the pure Light of God's sweet love. I returned to college, on the last evening of class, with this story in hand.I turned in "my project" and the instructor read it.Then she looked up at me and said, "Can I share this?"
I slowly nodded as she got the attention of the class.

She began to read and that is when I knew that we as human beings and being part of God share this need to heal people and to be healed.

In my own way I had touched the people at McDonald's, my husband, son,instructor, and every soul that shared the classroom on the last night I
spent as a college student.

I graduated with one of the biggest lessons I would ever learn:
UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE.
Much love and compassion is sent to each and every person who may read this and learn how to LOVE PEOPLE AND USE THINGS - NOT LOVE THINGS AND USE
PEOPLE.

If you think this story has touched you in any way, please send this to everyone you know.There is an Angel sent to watch over you.In order for her to work, you must pass this on to the people you want watched over.

An Angel wrote:
Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.
To handle yourself, use your head.
To handle others, use your heart.
God Gives every bird it's food, but He does not throw it into its nest.

One dark, windy night- surprising story

One dark, windy night, the town drunk was meandering his way home after the bar closed. Somehow he got turned around and ended up walking through the churchyard instead of taking the road home. 

The wind picked up and he thought he could hear a voice calling his name. Suddenly, the ground opened up in front of him, and he fell down, down into an open grave! He could hear the voice clearer now, calling to him. He knew it was the devil, coming for him just like the preacher said, on account of him being the town drunk. 

The hole was very deep and inside it was pitch black. His eyes adjusted to the darkness after a few moments, and he made out a form sitting in the darkness with him. It called his name, and he scrambled away in fear, trying to climb out of that terrible grave. Then the figure spoke. "You can't get out," it said.

The drunk gave a shout of pure terror and leapt straight up more than six feet. He caught the edge of the hole in his hands, scrambled out, and ran for home as fast as he could go. 

Inside the open grave, his neighbor Charlie sighed in resignation. He'd fallen into the hole a few minutes before his friend and had thought that together they might help each other climb out. Now he was going to have to wait until morning and get the mortician to bring him a ladder.

Breaking Taboos

“Daddy, I am so scared.” Twelve year old Tanaya ran and hugged her father.

“What happened to my big brave daughter?” “Daddy, I guess it’s blood.. Daddy, I think I saw blood on my skirt today.”

Tanaya had lost her mother six months back and Ashutosh, her father was finding it difficult bringing up his daughter all by himself. He was madly in love with his wife and he had ruled out second marriage options as proposed by his relatives. He was a doting dad and tried his best to be a mother and father to Tanaya.

“Daddy”, Tanaya spoke again. “Daddy, I saw blood in my skirt. Rashi told me that it is periods. I am on periods. Am I on periods daddy?” It was not exactly a comfortable question for Ashutosh so he tried to evade her questions at least for some time.

“Tanaya baby, do you want an ice cream? Chocolate flavour?” Tanaya made a face. “You know daddy, Rashi was right. She told me that you wouldn’t talk to me about this. Even she discusses all this with her mom. I wish mom was alive. I am sorry I told you about this. Just forget that I ever told you this.”

Ashutosh was startled and a little ashamed. He didn’t want to make Tanaya feel bad about something which was so normal. He just wanted to buy some time for himself. “Tanaya sweetie, why would you feel like that? I am your mommy too, remember? I wonder why Rashi would put such things into your head.”

“Then why wouldn’t you talk about it daddy? I am so scared. Will I die like mommy too?” “Oh no baby, never ever say that. You are daddy’s princess.” “But daddy.. blood?” “Come, we’ll go out, have ice cream and then discuss about this. This is a wonderful thing. Always be proud of this.” Ashutosh held his daughter’s hand and escorted her outside the door.

As Tanaya took a large bite off her orange flavoured ice cream, Ashutosh asked her to narrate the day’s happenings. “Daddy, I saw blood on my skirt today and I am very scared.” “Well little Tanaya, let me narrate a little story to you.” “Oh sure, daddy. Make it an interesting one.”

“It is an interesting one, kid. When your mommy was as little as you, she also saw blood on her skirt. She ran up to her dad who told her that she had received the biggest gift of her life that day.” Tanaya had her doubts. “How was it the biggest gift of her life daddy?” “Because that day she got periods for the very first time. It gave her the power to be a mother. It gave her you.” “Does that mean daddy, that I can become like mommy too?” “Yes, of course, you’re already like your mommy with your hazel eyes and chestnut hair.” “Thank You daddy. I love you. I’ll tell that annoying Rashi that my father is the best. He told me everything. I have some more questions but I’ll ask them tomorrow. I need some sleep.”

Ashutosh heaved a sigh of relief. He’d broken a taboo. Tomorrow he would be adequately prepared to break another taboo and talk to her about something society would not have approved of. As he put Tanaya to sleep, Ashutosh could feel his wife smiling at him. He had not been a good husband to her while she was alive but he would try his best to be a good father to their daughter.

The Banquet

A poor man dressed in rags came to the palace to attend the banquet. Out of courtesy he was admitted but, because of his tattered clothing, he was seated at the very end of the banquet table. By the time the platters arrived at his seat, there was no food left on them. 

So he left the banquet, returning several hours later dressed in robes and jewels he had borrowed from a wealthy friend. This time he was brought immediately to the head of the table and, with great ceremony, food was brought to his seat first. 

"Oh, what delicious food I see being served upon my plate." He rubbed one spoonful into his clothes for every one he ate. 

A nobleman beside him, grimacing at the mess, inquired, "Sir, why are you rubbing food into your fine clothes?" 

"Oh," he replied with a chuckle, "Pardon me if my robes now look the worst. But it was these clothes that brought me all this food. It's only fair that they be fed first!" 

Inspirational - The Talkative Turtle

A talkative turtle overheard two hunters say that they were planning to catch turtles the very next day. When the hunters left, the turtle asked two cranes to help him escape. "Beautiful white birds," he said, "if you hold a long stick between your beaks, I'll close my mouth tightly in the middle of it, and then you can fly up and carry me to safety." 

"Good idea," said the cranes. "But, for the plan to succeed, you will have to keep your mouth closed tightly on the stick and you must not say a word!" The turtle agreed and biting on the middle of a stick held in the beaks of two birds, off he was carried. 

When the birds were high in the air with the turtle dangling down from the stick, some people on the ground looked up at the strange sight in the sky and said, "What clever birds! They figured out how to carry a turtle!" 

The proud, talkative turtle cried out, "It was my idea!" and fell tumbling down to earth. 

Inspirational - Acceptance

An old man, staying in a small south Indian town came to visit his son in Bombay. 
The son in his early thirties was a successful businessman living with his wife and son. 
The father, having spent most of his life at his birthplace, hardly understood a splatter of Hindi or English, forget Marathi. 
But he didn't care. 'I have come here to spend a few days with my son and his family. 
I don't have to go out and socialize with the city people,' he thought.
But the son was very excited about his father's rare visit to Bombay. He wanted to make the best of it.
He and his wife went to show him around the city. 
And yes, the son enjoyed those evening hours too, when he and his father went out and sat in a good bar, sipping their favourite drink.

Last week he was in a very good mood. 'Let's go to a five star hotel's bar tonight,' he told his father. 
It was a beautiful evening. Talking about everything under the sun they had a few drinks. 
As usual they were offered some salad, peanuts, wafers etc. as accompaniments with their drinks. 
The old man being almost toothless was not much interested in eating. 
But that day when they got up to leave, he simply took a handful of chana (roasted grams) and stuffed it in the fold of his dhoti.
He might have thought about munching on them, sitting in the car, or whatever. 
Unfortunately while walking in the lobby, he missed a step and stumbled. Down he went, scattering the chana (roasted grams)  on the plush carpet.
No problem. 

Now try to visualize that scenario. Someone else in his son's place would have been mortified, embarrassed to death. 
He might have cursed not his father but his own self for causing this awkward situation. 
'Never again will I take my old man to such hotels', he would have vowed.
No sir, not this son. Gently, with a smile, he helped his father get back on his feet. 
Instead of feeling irritated or angry, he was amused. He found the whole incident very funny. 
Laughing, they both went home and on the way they decided to return to the same place the following Sunday.
The old man liked the place. Liked the chana  (roasted grams) too. 

A few days back, at a friend's place they both described this event and made everybody laugh.
Weren't you embarrassed? Somebody asked the son.
'Oh, come on now' replied the son. 'He is my father. 
He talks in his native language, prefers to wear a dhoti even to a posh city hotel, 
takes chana (roasted grams)  from the bar to eat later, does whatever he feels like.... 
So what? Why should I feel embarrassed with his nature and habits? 
Nobody has a right to stop him from doing whatever he feels comfortable with, as long as it is not harmful to others.'

The son doesn't care what the staff in the hotel thought about that incident. 
He says 'they should be concerned only with their bills and tips.
He said "I am concerned about my father's happiness.' 
The wife too totally agreed with the husband on this issue. She felt there are enough other qualities in her father- in- law to feel proud of.
So bring out from the closet your loved ones (less read parents / wife; mentally challenged child) and introduce them proudly to the world. 
Accept them as they are.. 

Keep smiling...always by bringing smile to others.

Be Grateful

We all frequently deal with people who complain about the trails and tribulations of their daily lives. Life seems to be one big problem for them. I would like to take a common sense, realistic approach and address this mind-set. If there were no problems on your job, then your employer would hire a much less capable person than you to do the routine things that don't require much thought. In the business world, those who are able to solve complex problems are the ones who are the most valuable to the employer.

Many times the problems or challenges we face force us to grow and become more capable. The runner who trains for the mile run in the Olympics by running downhill will have no chance of winning the medal. The runner who trains by running uphill is far more likely to develop the speed, mental toughness, and endurance needed to win the medal.

The best thing that ever happened to boxer Gene Tunney was that he broke both hands in the ring. His manager felt that he could never again punch hard enough to be the heavyweight champion. Instead, Tunney decided that he would become a scientific boxer and win the title as a boxer, not a slugger. Boxing historians will tell you that he developed into one of the best boxers who ever fought. They also will tell you that as a puncher, he would not have had a chance against Jack Dempsey, who was considered by many to be the hardest hitter in heavyweight history. Tunney would never have been champion had he not had the problem of his broken hands.

The next time you encounter a difficult climb, obstacle, or problem, you should smile and say, "Here's my chance to grow."