A Lovely Message

 

THIS IS HOW WE MISS OUT SOMETHING CALLED "LIFE"

A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were a
loving couple and the boy was the gem of their eyes.. When the boy was
around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle
open. He was late for office so he asked his wife to cap the bottle and
keep it in the cupboard. His wife, preoccupied in the kitchen totally
forgot the matter. The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the
bottle fascinated by its color and drank it all. It happened to be a
poisonous medicine meant for adults in small dosages. When the child
collapsed the mother hurried him to the hospital, where he died. The
mother was stunned. She was terrified how to face her husband. When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the dead child, he looked at his wife and uttered just five words.

QUESTIONS :
1. What were the five words ?
2. What is the implication of this story?


ANSWER :
The husband just said "I am with you Darling"

The husband's totally unexpected reaction is a proactive behavior. The
child is dead.. He can never be brought back to life. There is no point
in finding fault with the mother. Besides, if only he had taken time to keep the bottle away, this would not have happened. No one is to be blamed. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her.

If everyone can look at life with this kind of perspective, there would
be much fewer problems in the world. " A journey of a thousand miles
begins with a single step. Take off all your envies, jealousies,
unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears. And you will find things are
actually not as difficult as you think..

MORAL OF THE STORY:

This story is really worth reading. ...... Sometimes we spend time in
asking who is responsible or whom to blame, whether in a relationship,
in a job or with the people we know.

By this way we miss out something called L.I.F.E.

 

The Wise Woman

A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation.

The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime.

But, a few days later, he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. "I've been thinking," he said. "I know how valuable this stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me this stone."

Sometimes it's not the wealth you have but what's inside you that others need

when generals operated at the firing line by Harwant Singh

There was a time when generals operated at the firing line and in the very thick of the battle and soldiers could see them. Napoleon invariably positioned himself where the fighting was most intense and had a few horses shot under him. It was said that his presence on the battlefield equalled forty thousand troops. Addressing his troops before the battle of Austerlitz, he promised them that he would not expose himself to enemy fire. Such was his standing with the troops.

Even during World War II many generals often positioned themselves with the leading troops. Rommel and Patton, to mention only two, were the shining example. In our own context, Rajinder Singh Sparrow, as GOC of our armoured division, was frequently seen manoeuvring his jeep amongst the leading tanks during the tank battles of Phillora in 1965 on the Sialkot front. On the Punjab front, Harbaksh Singh as army commander, frequently set aside his personal safety and was often seen right at the front.

Presence of such senior officers upfront has electrifying effect on the troops and creates an invisible and enduring bond between them, especially when they are victorious, though not always so. Troops know when they are needlessly thrown into battle and avoidable casualties are inflicted on them.

 

 

During the American Civil War, Joe E Johnston (a lesser known general) commanded one part of the Confederation army, while the other was commanded by that famous and most respected general in US history, Robert E Lee.

As commander of the Confederation forces in Georgia, Johnston conducted a long and skillful retreat against Sherman's superior forces, never winning a battle but giving Sherman a bloody nose, now and then in that long retreat.

The President finally sacked Johnston for his continued retreat.

At the Confederate memorial service in Atlanta, he was assigned an open carriage, escorted by the governor's cavalry. The parade had hardly begun, when a voice from the crowd shouted, "that is Joe Johnston, yes old Joe." Dozen men , ( by now de-mobilised ) then hundred burst from the crowd and surrounded the carriage, stretching out their hands to their old commander.

Someone unhitched the horses, the men took hold of the traces and pulled the carriage through the length of the parade route, cheering him widely. The evidence of their devotion nearly caused the old man to break down. Witnesses saw tears coursing down his weathered cheeks.

When Johnston died Sam Watkins of First Tennesse Regt offered the most appropriate epitaph, "Such a man was Joe Johnston and such his record. Farewell old fellow! We private loved you because you made us love ourselves."

Those who served in his army remembered him as, "one who would do whatever was necessary to ensure that they were well fed and well shod and he would never throw them into battle thoughtlessly."

 

SUIT & SUFFERRING

A man had asked a tailor to make a beautiful suit for himself. The suit was made & when the man tried it, he could not believe that, one arm of the coat was long, the other was short, one leg of the trousers was long and another was short.

The man asked the tailor, "What kind of suit have you made for me? This is ugly." The tailor replied, "Sir, nothing is wrong with the suit. The arm of the coat is little short, but you can just pull your hand inside!" The man said, "Continuously to keep the hand pulled inside is very difficult.” But the tailor justified, "You put your other hand outside. You also will have to do the same thing with your legs." The tailor further said, "It is such a beautiful suit. I have worked day and night over it and you complain about these small things!" So the poor fellow went out wearing the suit, one hand & one leg pulled in ....limping on one side!!

A couple passing by saw him and the wife said, "Look at that poor fellow. He seems to be paralyzed or crippled...!" However, the husband told his wife, "Forget about that man, look at the suit; it is so beautiful ! What can the poor tailor do about it, when the man is like that. The tailor has done his best for the crippled man !!"

Moral of the Story ……

Almost everybody in the world are wearing such coats and suffering immensely. One hand has to be kept pulled in, another pulled out. Man is not important, but the doctrines, philosophies, ideologies are important. They are not for man, but man is for them; he has to fit himself accordingly.

Friends, every idea that comes from the past is crippling our consciousness. One has to learn the art of dying to everything that has passed, so that, one can live in the present with totality, without any burden. When the present moves, one also has to move, because every present is becoming a past. The fresh, the present has to be totally lived, and anything that hinders has to be dropped, otherwise one has to go on suffering.

One’s entire life is destroyed by such crippling suits. One will not be able to walk, nor sit, nor talk. One has to go on adjusting himself for the suit. Friends, most of us are in the same psychological condition...

Gods' Wife

An Eye Witness Account from New York City, on a cold day in December:
 
A little boy about 10 years old was standing before a shoe store on the roadway, barefooted, peering through the window, and shivering with cold. 

 

A lady approached the boy and said, "My little fellow, why are you looking so earnestly in that window?"
 
"I was asking God to give me a pair of shoes," was the boy's reply.
 
The lady took him by the hand and went into the store and asked the clerk to get half a dozen pairs of socks for the boy. She then asked if he could give her a  basin of water and a towel. He quickly brought them to her.
 
She took the little fellow to the back part of the store and, removing her gloves, knelt down, washed his little feet, and dried them with a towel. By this time the clerk had returned with the socks. Placing a pair upon the boy's feet, she purchased him a pair of shoes. She tied up the remaining pairs of socks and gave them to him. She patted him on the head and said, "No doubt, my little fellow, you feel more comfortable now?"
 
As she turned to go, the astonished lad caught her by the hand, and looking up in her face, with tears in his eyes, answered the question with these words: "Are you God's Wife?"
 
There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real !
 
When the door of happiness closes, another opens; but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one,which has been opened for us.
 
Don't go for looks; they can deceive.
 
Don't go for wealth; even that fades away.

 

Go for someone who makes you smile, because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright.

 

Find the one that makes your heart smile.
 
Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.
 
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet ...

enough trials to make you strong ...

enough sorrow to keep you human ...

and enough hope to make you happy ...

 

ARE TOU IN PIECES OR AT PEACE ?

Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

 

 

Jesus spoke these words to His disciples as He was preparing to die on the cross. I had heard these words before but never knew what that peace was or how it felt.  In fact there was a time in my life when I didn’t have any peace at all. My life had fallen apart all around me and I experienced a breakdown. I found myself sitting in a hospital wanting to commit suicide. I believed there was no hope for me in this life.

 

 

 

During my hospital stay I met a counselor who tried to reach out to me. She attempted to help me find peace, but all I could do was cry. Each moment of the day was a challenge in itself to just stay alive. The sad part was I had given my life to Jesus 15 years earlier. I had gone to church, said the prayer and believed everything would be fine in my life after that.  Now I was learning I really didn’t know the Lord at all, I knew about Him, but He was not truly my Lord and Savior.

 

 

 

 

One day when I was in the hospital I sat and talked with the counselor. I remember her trying to get me to share all that I was feeling inside. I was unable to do that. I explained to her that if I started to let go of even the smallest hurt I was feeling, that part of me felt like I would break into a million pieces on the floor, right in front of her. She was quick to console me. She assured me I was in the right place. They would be able to put me back together again. I was too scared. My heart was in a million pieces. I wasn’t ready to trust anyone else with my pain. I thought to myself, I am just like the guy in the nursery rhyme, you know, Humpty Dumpty, that even though everyone was trying, there was no one who could put him back together again. I left the hospital after a few weeks still in pieces. I made a decision in my heart to not allow anyone else to see all those broken pieces inside of me. I proceeded to carefully tape myself back together. I told myself that I would protect myself from any further pain by keeping everything I was feeling inside, protected from the world. Little did I know that the same thing I was trying so hard to protect was the same thing I needed to let go of, my heart.

 

 

For two years I walked around in depression constantly fighting suicide thoughts. Thankfully I had friends who did know the Lord and even though I didn’t know it at the time they were interceding for me. One special friend urged me to spend time with her minister. I didn’t think it could hurt so we went together to meet with him. The minister took time to explain the love of Jesus. We spoke about anger, resentment, and bitterness. We spoke about forgiveness.  I began to see all the open doors in my life where the enemy had room to come in and destroy. The minister prayed with me and for me. He helped me to give those burdens to the Lord. He let me know Jesus was the One who could put my life together again. He encouraged me to read the Word of God.  When I left his office I knew something had changed. I knew I was going to be okay.

 

 

 

I began to read the Bible and learn about Jesus and His awesome love. I learned that He came to give us life not to take it away. I learned He was a man acquainted with my sorrows and that he knew what it was to be betrayed. He desired to be in a relationship with me and more than that He desired to put my life back together again. I learned to take all those burdens; all those past hurts and all those shattered pieces and give them to the Lord. I had to give Him my heart and trust that He would care for it with gentleness. And so I did. Little by little, day-by-day I began giving all those broken pieces to God. In exchange He gave me peace in a way I never thought possible.

 

 

I am still a work in process and He is still there for me every time I go to Him with another broken piece. I thank God that unlike Humpty Dumpty, I have a King that is able to put me back together again. His name is Jesus and His desire is for us to be at peace both now and forever.

 

How The Indians Learned To Heal

When we help each other, we often learn all sorts of things about our world and ourselves. Practicing compassion brings wisdom, as this Iroquois tale reminds us.
As told a long, long time ago, some Indians were running along a trail that led to an Indian settlement. As they ran, a rabbit jumped from a bush and sat before them. The Indians stopped, for the rabbit still sat up before them and did not move from the trail. They shot their arrows at him, but they came back unstained with blood. A second time they drew their arrows. Now no rabbit was to be seen. Instead, an old man stood on the trail. He seemed to be weak and sick. The old man asked them for food and a place to rest. But they would not listen, and went on to the settlement.
Slowly the old man followed them, down the trail to the wigwam village. First he stopped at a wigwam and asked for help. But they turned him away. And as he tried several more wigwams, he was turned away at each of them and told to move on. They did not want a sick man there. Each were just as unkind as the first one.
At last he came to a wigwam where a kind old woman lived. "I will ask once as I need a place to rest," he thought. The old woman brought food for him to eat, and spread soft skins for him to lie upon. The old man thanked her. He said that he was very sick and he told the woman what plants to gather in the woods, to make him well again. This she did, and soon he was healed.
A few days later the old man was again taken sick. Again he told the woman what roots and leaves to gather in the wood, to make him well again. She did as she was told, and soon he was well. Many times the old man fell sick. Each time he had a different sickness. Each time he told the woman what plants and herbs to find to cure him. Each time she remembered what she had been told. And, soon, this woman knew more about healing than all the other people.
One day, the old man told her that the Great Spirit had sent him to earth, to teach the Indian people the secrets of healing. "I came, sick and hungry, to many a wigwam door. No blanket was drawn aside for me to pass in. You alone lifted the blanket from your wigwam door and bade me to enter. Therefore all other clans shall come to you for help in sickness. You shall teach all the clans what plants, and roots, and leaves to gather, that the sick may be healed.
The Indian woman turned and lifted her hands to thank the Great Spirit for this great gift and knowledge of healing. When she turned back to the old man, he had disappeared. No one was there, but a rabbit was running swiftly down the trail.

 

Most complex problems do have a solution.

Many years ago in a small Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender.

The Moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful Daughter. So he proposed a bargain.

He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his Daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal.

So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let Providence decide the matter.

He told them that he would put a black Pebble and a white Pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.

1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.

2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.

3) 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 farmer's field. 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 a pebble from the bag.


Now, imagine that you were standing in the field 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 money-lender 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.


Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking.


The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers.


What would you recommend to the Girl to do?


Well, here is what she did ....

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 money-lender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.


MORAL OF THE STORY:

Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't attempt to think.

Touching Story - Pass it on

I was walking around in a Target store, when I saw a Cashier hand this  little boy some money back.  The boy couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old.      The Cashier said, 'I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy  this doll.      Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him: ''Granny, are  you sure I don't have enough money?''      The old lady replied: ''You know that you don't have enough money to buy  this doll, my dear.''      Then she asked him to stay there for just 5 minutes while she went to  look around.. She left quickly. The little boy was still holding the  doll in his hand.      Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this  doll to.      'It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for  Christmas.  She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her.'      I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus would bring it to her after all,  and not to worry.      But he replied to me sadly. 'No, Santa Claus can't bring it to her where  she is now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it  to my sister when she goes there.'      His eyes were so sad while saying this. 'My Sister has gone to be with  God.  Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought  that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.''      My heart nearly stopped.      The little boy looked up at me and said: 'I told daddy to tell mommy not  to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall.'      Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He  then told me 'I want mommy to take my picture with her so she won't  forget me.'      'I love my mommy and I wish she doesn't have to leave me, but daddy says  that she has to go to be with my little sister.' Then he looked again at  the doll with sad eyes, very quietly.      I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. 'Suppose we check  again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?''      'OK' he said, 'I hope I do have enough.' I added some of my money to his  with out him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the  doll and even some spare money.      The little boy said: 'Thank you God for giving me enough money!'      Then he looked at me and added, 'I asked last night before I went to  sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that  mommy could give It to my sister. He heard me!''      'I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy,  but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy  the doll and a white rose. My mommy loves white roses.'      A few minutes later, the old lady returned and I left with my basket. I  finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I  couldn't get the little boy out of my mind. Then I remembered a local  news paper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck,  who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl. The little  girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The  family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining  machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the  coma. Was this the family of the little boy?      Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the news  paper that the young woman had passed away.. I couldn't stop myself as I  bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the  body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last  wishes before her burial. She was there, in her coffin, holding a  beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and  the doll placed over her chest. I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling  that my life had been changed for ever.  The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still,  to this day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk  driver had taken all this away from him.   Please DO NOT DRINK & DRIVE.    Now you have 2 choices:  1) Forward this message, or  2) Ignore it as if it never touched your heart.      For those who prefer to think that God is not watching over us.... go  ahead and delete this. For the rest of us... pass this on.      The value of a man or woman resides in what he or she gives, not in what  they are capable of receiving.

.

__,_._,___

JUST STAY-A Beautiful Message

Just Stay

A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside.

'Your son is here,' she said to the old man.

She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened.

Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.

The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed.All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength.  Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile.

He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.

Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.

Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.

Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her.

'Who was that man?' he asked.

The nurse was startled, 'He was your father,' she answered.

'No, he wasn't,' the Marine replied. 'I never saw him before in my life.'

'Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?'

'I knew right away there had been a mistake,

but I also knew he needed his son, and his
son just wasn't here.

When I realized that he was too sick to tell

whether or not I was his son,

knowing how much he needed me, I stayed.'

The next time someone needs you ... just be there.  Stay.

************ **

 WE ARE NOT HUMAN BEINGS GOING THROUGH A
TEMPORARY SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE.

WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS GOING THROUGH A TEMPORARY
HUMAN EXPERIENCE.
(love this line)

PLEASE PAS S THIS ONE ON AND GOD WILL BLESS YOU!
THIS IS WHAT WE ARE PUT ON THIS EARTH TO DO ANYWAY.  RIGHT ?

HAVE A GREAT DAY AND BLESS SOMEONE ELSE IN SOME LITTLE WAY TODAY!
GOD IS SO GOOD.

a short meaningful story

A contractor, who had made a fortune building homes, told his supervisor of 35 years,

"i'm going to build one last house and u will build it for me coz i'll b gone for a year.

use the best material --money is no consideration ..make it the greatest house we've ever built"......

having given these instruction , the man left ..

the supervisor thought that this was a great oppurtunity to make a fortune .

He used the cheapest material inside but made the house look beautiful frm outside..

after a year ,the contractor returned,he inspected the house and asked the supervisor what he thought of he house .

The supervisor replied"it's the best house i've ever built"

THE CONTRACTOR HANDED OVER THE DEED TO HIM AND SAID

"THIS IS MY PARTING GIFT TO U"



MORAL --- we shud Develop a high standard of personal ethics ....and always do
the right things ,even if no oneone is watching us.

 

My conversation with god

God : Hello. Did you call me?

 

Me: Called you? No.. Who is this ?

 

God : This is GOD. I heard your prayers. So I thought I will chat.

 

Me: I do pray. Just makes me feel good. I am actually busy now. I am in the midst of something.

 

God : What are you busy at? Ants are busy too.

 

Me: Don't know. But I cant find free time. Life has become hectic. It's rush hour all the time.

 

God : Sure. Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you results. Activity consumes time. Productivity frees it.

 

Me: I understand. But I still can't figure out. By the way, I was not expecting YOU to buzz me on instant messaging chat.

 

God : Well I wanted to resolve your! Fight for time, by giving you some clarity. In this net era, I wanted to reach you through the medium you are comfortable with.

 

Me: Tell me, why has life become complicated now?

 

God : Stop analyzing life. Just live it. Analysis is what makes it complicated.

 

Me: why are we then constantly unhappy?

 

God : Your today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday.You are worrying because you are analyzing. Worrying has become your habit. That's why you are not happy.

 

Me: But how can we not worry when there is so much uncertainty?

 

God : Uncertainty is inevitable, but worrying is optional.

 

Me: But then, there is so much pain due to uncertainty. .

 

God : Pain is inevitable able, but suffering is optional.

 

Me: If suffering is optional, why do good people always suffer?

 

God : Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don't suffer. With that experience their life become better not bitter.

 

Me: You mean to say such experience is useful?

 

God : Yes. In every terms, Experience is a hard teacher . She gives the test first and the lessons afterwards.

 

Me: But still, why should we go through such tests? Why cant we be free from problems?

 

God : Problems are Purposeful Roadblocks Offering Beneficial Lessons (to) Enhance Mental Strength. Inner strength comes from struggle and endurance, not when you! Are free from problems.

 

Me: Frankly in the midst of so many problems, we don't know where we are heading..

 

God : If you look outside you will not know where you are heading.Look inside. Looking outside, you dream. Looking inside, you awaken. Eyes provide sight. Heart provides insight.

 

Me: Sometimes not succeeding fast seems to hurt more than moving in the right direction. What should I do?

 

God : Success is a measure as decided by others. Satisfaction is a measure as decided by you. Knowing the road ahead is more satisfying than knowing you rode ahead. You work with the compass. Let others work with the clock.

 

Me: In tough times, how do you stay motivated?

 

God : Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.

 

Me: What surprises you about people?

 

God : when they suffer they ask, "why me?" When they prosper, they never ask "Why me" Everyone wishes to have truth on their side, but few want to be on the side of the truth.

 

Me: Sometimes I ask, who am I, why am I here. I cant get the answer.

 

God : Seek not to find who you are, but to determine who you want to be. Stop looking for a purpose as to why you are here. Create it. Life is not a process of discovery but a process of creation.

 

Me: How can I get the best out of life?

 

God : Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.

 

Me: One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.

 

God : There are no unanswered prayers. At times the answer is NO.

 

Me: Thank you for this wonderful chat.

 

God : Well. Keep the faith and drop the fear . Don't believe your doubts and doubt your beliefs. Life is a mystery to solve not a problem to resolve. Trust me. Life is wonderful if you know how to live. "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that took our breath away!

 

An Excerpt from Finish Strong

Kyle Maynard is a regular guy with a love to compete. He knows that to truly live you must set your sights on a goal and never give up. The fire that burns in his belly helped propel him to contend for the Georgia state high school wrestling championship in 2004. Not such a big deal you might say – except for the remarkable fact that Kyle has no arms or legs. He was born a congenital amputee – his arms ending at his elbows, his legs at his knees.

The first time I saw Kyle on an ESPN special (he won an ESPY award for the Best Athlete with a Disability in 2004) I was immediately struck by how normal he seemed. During the special, they showed Kyle doing all of the things that any other person or athlete would do.

He spoke with passion and conviction and he never left me with the impression that the world owed him anything. I was amazed to see him training hard, lifting weights – he has cannon balls for shoulders. Using a specially designed attachment, he was pushing more than double his own body weight. I was instantly inspired to learn more about this amazing person.

From the beginning, Kyle’s parents, Anita and Scott, were determined to raise a normal child. They insisted that he learned to feed himself and play with the other kids like any other child would do,

When Kyle saw other kids picking up crayons with their fingers, he learned to pick them up by using the crease in his short, but sensitive biceps.

His grandmother Betty was a source of inspiration and would often take him to the grocery store where she would instill a sense of confidence by encouraging Kyle to sit up and look folks in the eye and smile. He was fitted with prosthetic devices at a young age, but quickly dismissed them because they were too restrictive. He wanted to be free to run and play just like the other kids and those devices kept him from doing so.

Kyle led an active childhood. He played street hockey with his friends (he was the goalie) and in sixth grade was able to make the football team. Kyle hung tough on the football team, but his physical differences put him at a disadvantage against other players. Eventually, his father encouraged him to try another sport that would put Kyle on an even plane with his competition – wrestling.

Kyle started wrestling in sixth grade. He lost his first 35 matches in a row. During this period of time, Kyle had to dig deep to find the confidence to continue. Kyle however, was a warrior and he didn’t like to lose. With the support of his father, a former wrestler, he learned to train with weights, became very strong and learned some moves unique to his strengths. Kyle overcame the self-doubt he felt during his early wrestling days and became a winner. In his senior year, Kyle won 35 times on the varsity squad and qualified for the state championship. In the state tournament, Kyle won his first three matches and had to face his final opponent with a broken nose. Although Kyle did not win the state championship, he gained a level of self-confidence and became a source of inspiration for everyone that he met.

Kyle graduated high school and attends the University of Georgia, where he continues to wrestle and inspire others. As a member of the Washington Speaker’s Bureau, Kyle is regularly asked to give motivational talks. But what he has to say has little to do with his perceived physical differences. Rather, he talks of overcoming fear and doubt and what it takes to compete and win – just as any other champion would do. To this day, Kyle has never been pinned by an opponent. What a fitting metaphor for his life.

 

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Live with passion,

Aseem Kaistha

It's your attitude and not your aptitude that determines your altitude.

 

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The Rose & The Thron

The Rose & The Thorn    "It always happens this way', the Sun told the Wind. "What does?" The Wind, as usual, was curious."Thorns and roses - they always co-exist." "But their outer self is in such irony to the inner self."The Sun gave the Wind a blank look.   Summarising the hint, the Wind chose to clarify further. "Yesterday when I was blowing, I overheard the rose talking to itself…"    The Rose: "I don't know why the hell people smile when they see me. I look so pathetic. All my life I simply exist being a sharp and pointed thing, good for nothing except hurting people. Or maybe they feel better about themselves after seeing my silly and ugly existence!"    The Wind sighed and continued. "I overheard the thorn too..."    The Thorn:"I don't know why people are afraid of me. Some even ask their children to maintain a safe distance from me whereas I think I am one of the most beautiful things ever created. My petals, my design, my color, my softness, my aura, my romance...where else would they get such an austere mix? And yet...still, I thank God for the way he made me and no matter what others think or do to me, I would rather prefer to remain happy forever as in the end there are so few things in this world which are as beautiful as I am."    "So", this time the Sun sighed, "the rose is unhappy for it assumed itself - probably looking at the thorn all its life - to be just a thorn and thus ignored the happiness that it deserved all these years. While on the other hand the thorn assumed itself to be a rose and thus enjoyed happiness ever since."The Wind nodded.   "It always happens this way", the Sun said."What does?" asked the Wind.   "Happiness can definitely follow us wherever we go and whatever we do ... only if we know what we are and what actually we are looking at."Rgds

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