THE EVIL KING AND HIS 10 DOGS

THE EVIL KING AND HIS 10 DOGS

There was this king that had 10 wild dogs… He used them to torture and eat all ministers who made mistakes.

One of the ministers once gave an opinion which was wrong, and which the king didn’t like at all… So he ordered that the minister be thrown to the dogs.

The agonized minister said, “I served you for 10 years and you are doing this to me???… At least  give me 10 days before you throw me before those dogs!”… The king agreed…

In those 10 days the minister went to the guard that was guarding the dogs and told him he wants to serve the dogs for the next 10 days… The guard was baffled… But he agreed… So the minister started feeding the dogs, cleaning them, washing them, providing all sorts of comfort for them.

When the 10 days were up… The king ordered that the minister be thrown to those  dogs for his punishment. But when he was thrown in, Everyone was amazed at what they saw… They saw the dogs licking the feet of the minister!

The king baffled at what he saw… He said:” what happened to the dogs??. !!!” The minister then said;” Sir, I served the dogs for 10 days and they didn’t forget my service…Yet I served you for 10 years and you forgot all those good deeds at my first mistake!”…  The king realised his mistake and ordered the minister to go free.

~ This story is a gift to all those who forget the good in others as soon as some problem arises. Don’t wipe out the history that is filled with goodness because of a small incident which you didn’t like  …. ~

WORDS MATTER

WORDS MATTER

A farmer insulted his neighbour. Days later, 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 centre 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. So be very careful in choosing your words."

~  We drop our words rather easily but we cannot retrieve them. They are like arrows which are shot and cannot come back. Let us be careful while choosing our words because Words Matter.! …. ~

BEATRICE’S GOAT

BEATRICE’S GOAT

It may be hard to imagine that a goat changed someone’s life, but it’s true. In fact, the story of Beatrice Biira shows that a gift can help change the world!

Beatrice was a child living in Kisinga, a poor village in the west of Uganda, when the goat arrived. The animal was a gift from Heifer International, an aid agency that provides animals to help struggling families like Beatrice’s in many countries. Owning a goat completely changed the world for Beatrice and her family, who were desperately poor. Suddenly, they had milk to drink and improve their health, extra milk to sell and provide urgently needed money, goat droppings to use as fertilizer for growing food, and a sense of hope for the future.

The extra money also meant that her family could afford to pay for school fees, books, and a uniform, so Beatrice was able to get the most powerful possession in the world – an education.

Meanwhile, Heifer International saw what a huge difference their help had made and decided to use Beatrice Biira’s story to encourage people to support their program. They created a book entitled Beatrice’s Goat to explain how just one goat, cow, or other farm animal can rescue a family from poverty. The book was so popular that they invited Biira to go to the United States and tell her story to the public and the media. Wherever she went, she touched people’s hearts and earned their admiration.

With the support of a scholarship, Beatrice Biira went on to attend Connecticut College, earning a BA in International Development and Social Change. She mobilizes and energizes communities on behalf of global campaigns to end extreme poverty in our lifetime, and to educate girls and boys through high-tech platforms. Beatrice Biira’s life was transformed by her opportunity to get an education, and that was made possible by the gift of a goat. She is now changing the lives of others in poverty.

~ “For it is in giving that we receive. We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give!”.…. ~

8 PIECES OF PIZZA

8 PIECES OF PIZZA

Wife : Maid said she won’t come for two days

Husband :Why ?

Wife : She is going to meet her granddaughter during Ganpati festival

Husband : OK

Wife : And , Shall I give her Rs. 500 for Ganpati ? Festival bonus ?

Husband : Why ? Diwali is approaching , we will give her at that time..

Wife : Oh no dear . She is poor. Going to meet her daughter and granddaughter , so she will also feel nice. Moreover, everything has become so expensive these days. How will she able to celebrate festival ?

Husband : I don’t know why you become emotional so easily

Wife : Don’t worry .I am going to cancel today’s program of ordering Pizza. Why unnecessarily blow away Rs. 500 on eight pieces of bread?.

Husband : Wow. Great .Snatching Pizza from us and giving to the maid !

Maid returned after three days and got busy in mopping and dusting.

Husband : So, how was the vacation ?

Maid : very nice sahib.. Didi had given Rs 500 .. festival bonus. Enjoyed a lot and spent Rs 500 in two days’ time.

Husband : Really ? ( murmurs ‘ you snatched my pizza’) Ok so what did you do with Rs. 500?

Maid : Rs. 150 for dress for granddaughter, Rs 40 for a doll, bought sweets worth Rs 50 for daughter, Rs 50 as offering to Deity in temple, Rs 60 towards bus fare….Rs 25 for bangles for daughter, bought a nice belt worth Rs 50 for son-in-law, balance Rs 75 gave to daughter to buy copy and pencil for granddaughter. Maid gave a full account of the expenses incurred

Husband : so much in Rs 500?

With surprise, he started thinking….the eight pieces of Pizza appeared in front of his eyes and each one of them acted as a hammer started pricking his consciousness.

He started comparing the expense incurred in buying one pizza for himself with the expenses incurred by his maid in the festival she celebrated.

First piece .. dress for the child,

Second piece… towards sweets..

Third piece… towards offering to the deity in the temple.

Fourth piece….towards bus fare.

Fifth piece.. towards doll.

Sixth piece towards bangles,

Seventh piece ,, towards belt for the son-in-law.

Eighth piece towards copy and pencil.

So far he had observed pizza only from one angle….but today his maid showed him the other side of the pizza….that each piece of pizza matters.

~ While life should be lived and experienced to its fullest with fun, food and frolic, sometimes, it makes us think. Not a bad thought though ‘Spending for life’ or ‘Life for spending’?  …. ~

THE CAR THAT HATED VANILLA ICE-CREAM

                            THE CAR THAT HATED VANILLA ICE-CREAM

A complaint was received by the Pontiac Division of General Motors: "This is the second time I have written you, and I don't blame you for not answering me, because I kind of sounded crazy, but it is a fact that we have a tradition in our family of ice cream for dessert after dinner each night. But the kind of ice cream varies so, every night, after we've eaten, the whole family votes on which kind of ice cream we should have and I drive down to the store to get it. It's also a fact that I recently purchased a new Pontiac and since then my trips to the store have created a problem.

You see, every time I buy vanilla ice cream, when I start back from the store my car won't start. If I get any other kind of ice cream, the car starts just fine. I want you to know I'm serious about this question, no matter how silly it sounds: 'What is there about a Pontiac that makes it not start when I get vanilla ice cream, and easy to start whenever I get any other kind?'"

The Pontiac President was understandably sceptical about the letter, but sent an engineer to check it out anyway. The latter was surprised to be greeted by a successful, obviously well-educated man in a fine neighbourhood. He had arranged to meet the man just after dinner time, so the two hopped into the car and drove to the ice cream store. It was vanilla ice cream that night and, sure enough, after they came back to the car, it wouldn't start. The engineer returned for three more nights. The first night, the man got chocolate. The car started. The second night, he got strawberry. The car started. The third night he ordered vanilla. The car failed to start.

Now the engineer, being a logical man, refused to believe that this man's car was allergic to vanilla ice cream. He arranged, therefore, to continue his visits for as long as it took to solve the problem. And toward this end he began to take notes: he jotted down all sorts of data, time of day, type of gas used, time to drive back and forth, etc. In a short time, he had a clue: the man took less time to buy vanilla than any other flavor. Why?

The answer was in the layout of the store. Vanilla, being the most popular flavour, was in a separate case at the front of the store for quick pick up. All the other flavours were kept in the back of the store at a different counter where it took considerably longer to find the flavour and get checked out. Now the question for the engineer was why the car wouldn't start when it took less time. Once time became the problem -- not the vanilla ice cream -- the engineer quickly came up with the answer: vapor lock. It was happening every night, but the extra time taken to get the other flavours allowed the engine to cool down sufficiently to start. When the man got vanilla, the engine was still too hot for the vapor lock to dissipate. The engineer replaced the vapour lock and it looked that the car had no more problems with Vanilla ice-cream.

~  Sometimes the obvious is not always the solution, and the facts, no matter how implausible, are still the facts….and even insane –looking problems are sometimes real!’’ …. ~

A BEAUTIFUL POTRAIT

A BEAUTIFUL POTRAIT

A king with defect in one eye and one leg asked all the painters to draw his portrait…!!

No one was ready to draw, as painters were scared to show the defects to the king. They feared for their lives and did not come up.

One painter, however, agreed and drew a classic one..!

It was such a fantastic picture that everyone was surprised including the king..!

He painted the king aiming for a hunt, targeting with one eye closed and a leg bent for it..!”

~ Life would be much better if we all try paint others like this, Hiding their weakness and highlighting their strengths….May we learn to hide other’s weakness and bring their virtues to light…!. ~

IN MEMORY OF ‘SANDEEPHA’

IN MEMORY OF ‘SANDEEPHA’

From 50 paise, she now earns Rs 200,000 a day. She started her career 31 years ago as an entrepreneur, selling eateries from a mobile cart on the Marina beach a midst all odds battling a failed marriage, coping with her husband, a multiple addict, and taking care of two kids.

Today, she has overcome the hurdles and owns a chain of restaurants.

She married against the will of her parents. Unfortunately, the marriage failed but her parents never forgave her and she was on her own along with 2 children.

” I knew I should either succumb to the burden or fight; I decided to fight my lonely battle.” she said. She started selling pickles, squashes and jams she made at home.

Eventually she started her own cart on Marine Drive, Mumbai. On the first she just sold one cup of coffee, making 50 paise the first day. One day the Slum Clearance Board gave her an offer to run the canteen at their office with a proper kitchen. The chairman met her during her morning walk. It was a huge success. Thereafter, she never looked back.

She suffered the second shock of her life in 2004 when she lost her daughter and son-in-law in a road accident. The ambulance refused to carry their dead bodies. Finally, somebody carried all the dead bodies in the boot of a car. She couldn’t bear the scene and broke down.

That is when she decided to keep an ambulance on that very spot to help people whether the victims are alive or dead. It is in memory of her daughter.

Today Patricia Narayan along with her son runs the chain of restaurant ‘Sandeepha’ in her daughter’s memory and around 200 people work for her.

She was awarded ‘FICCI (Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry) entrepreneur of the year’ in 2010.

~ Never give up on life and life will not give up on you, don’t look back !no point.. just take that one step and move ahead with courage, determination, will power and self-respect ~

HOLD MY HAND

HOLD MY HAND

A little girl and her father were crossing a bridge. The father was kind of scared so he asked his little daughter, "Sweetheart, please hold my hand so that you don't fall." The little girl said, "No, Dad. You hold my hand." "What's the difference?" Asked the puzzled father. "There's a big difference," replied the little girl. "If I hold your hand and something happens to me, chances are that I may let your hand go. But if you hold my hand, I know for sure that no matter what happens, you will never let my hand go."

~ In any relationship, the essence of trust is not in its bind, but in its bond ~

A LIFE LIKE THAT

 A LIFE LIKE THAT

When his mother was pregnant for three months, his father died. He was born premature and physically very weak. When he was about three years young, his mother remarried and left him with his grandmother.

His schooling happened in the village. He was hardly 15 years old when his step father died. His mother came back. It was not to encourage him or to support him for studies but to make him work in the farms to earn a living and make enough money. He did not like his farm work at all. He wanted to study.

One of his teachers supported him, got him back to school and helped him to complete his education.

At a wonderful age of 19, a girl came into his life. They got engaged. Studies was still his passion. The girl could not understand his passion for science. She drifted away. She left him. She married someone else. He was shocked by her departure. He never married.

Unlucky? Sad story? What do you expect this person to do in life?

But he learnt how to think well, think deep, think to accept, think to solve. He learnt how to think when faced with failures (move ahead and beyond). He learnt what to think when deeply disappointed (focus on things with deeper significance and greater meaning instead of wallowing in pity).

You might have heard or read about him. He described universal gravitation (Gravity) and the three laws of motion. He invented the reflecting telescope and made many contributions to mathematics. He built the first practical reflecting telescope and developed a theory of colour based on the observation that a prism decomposes white light into the many colours of the visible spectrum.

Yes indeed, we are talking about one of the greatest scientists ever born, Sir Isaac Newton.

The mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange often said that Newton was the greatest genius who ever lived. Albert Einstein kept a picture of Newton on his study wall.

“Nature and nature’s laws lay hid in night. God said “Let Newton be “and there was light.”- Alexander Pope

~ Life would be meaningful if like Newton, we could also delve into our potentials and do everything possible to discover the beauty of life and just like Newton  if we can see the butterfly in the caterpillar. ~

SOMEBODY CARES

SOMEBODY CARES

One day a boy of about 16 years of age named Kyle was walking home from school. He was carrying many books and other items and was seemingly have a lot of trouble making it. Eventually, he tripped, and all the books and items fell from his arms. At that moment a young man named Will saw him from the other side of the road and walked over to see if there was anything he could do. He helped the boy pick up his things and carry them home. In the next three months, him and the boy became very close. And then on the last day of school, Will found a note in his locker. It read: Will, You don't know this, but on that day three months ago, I had just cleaned out my locker. I was going to commit suicide. I thought no one cared about me. However, when you came over, I realized that someone did. So you see Will, when you picked up my books, you really picked up my life. Thank You, Kyle

~ Never stop doing little things for others. Sometimes those little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts! ~

THE PROFESSIONAL

THE PROFESSIONAL

A woman received a phone call that her daughter was very sick with fever. She left work and stopped by the pharmacy for some medication for her daughter. When returning to her car she found she had locked her keys inside.

She had to get home to her sick daughter, and didn't know what to do. She called her home to talk to the baby sitter, and was told her daughter was getting worse. The sitter said, "You might find a coat hanger and use that to open the door."

The woman found an old rusty coat hanger on the ground, then she looked at the hanger and said, “I don't know how to use this."

She bowed her head and asked God for help. An old rusty car pulled up, driven by a dirty, greasy, bearded man with a biker skull rag on his head. The woman thought, "Great God. This is what you sent to help me???" But she was desperate, and thankful.

The man got out of his car and asked if he could help. She said, "Yes, my daughter is very sick. I must get home to her. Please, can you use this hanger to unlock my car?

He said, "SURE." He walked over to the car and in seconds the car was opened.

She hugged the man and through her tears she said,” THANK YOU SO MUCH...You are a very nice man."

The man looked to be in a hurry and while speeding away she heard him say "Lady, I am not a nice man. I just broke out of a prison for car theft." The woman cried out loud and said....THANK YOU GOD FOR SENDING ME A PROFESSIONAL!"

~ We can receive more help from others than what we expect only if we stop defining it and start experiencing more of it. The whole point is to be prepared to accept it in any form and be grateful for it at all times! ~