Let go of your Stresses!

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “half empty or half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: ”How heavy is this glass of water?”

Answers called out ranged from 8 oz. to 20 oz.

She replied, “The absolute weight doesn’t matter. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, my arm will feel numb and paralyzed. In each case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”

She continued, “The stresses and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed – incapable of doing anything.”

It’s important to remember to let go of your stresses. As early in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don’t carry them through the evening and into the night. Remember to put the glass down!

Black or White ~ Truely Inspiring

When I was in elementary school, I got into a major argument with a boy in my class. I have forgotten what the argument was about, but I have never forgotten the lesson I learned that day.

I was convinced that “I” was right and “he” was wrong – and he was just as convinced that “I” was wrong and “he” was right. The teacher decided to teach us a very important lesson.

She brought us up to the front of the class and placed him on one side of her desk and me on the other. In the middle of her desk was a large, round object. I could clearly see that it was black. She asked the boy what color the object was. “White,” he answered.

I couldn’t believe he said the object was white, when it was obviously black! Another argument started between my classmate and me, this time about the color of the object.

The teacher told me to go stand where the boy was standing and told him to come stand where I had been. We changed places, and now she asked me what the color of the object was. I had to answer, “White.”

It was an object with two differently colored sides, and from his viewpoint it was white. Only from my side it was black.

Sometimes we need to look at the problem from the other person’s view in order to truly understand his/her perspective.

Falcon and the branch ~ Moral Story

Once there was a king who received a gift of two magnificent falcons. They were peregrine falcons, the most beautiful birds he had ever seen. He gave the precious birds to his head falconer to be trained.

Months passed, and one day the head falconer informed the king that though one of the falcons was flying majestically, soaring high in the sky, the other bird had not moved from its branch since the day it had arrived.

The king summoned healers and sorcerers from all the land to tend to the falcon, but no one could make the bird fly.

He presented the task to the member of his court, but the next day, the king saw through the palace window that the bird had still not moved from its perch.

Having tried everything else, the king thought to himself, “May be I need someone more familiar with the countryside to understand the nature of this problem.” So he cried out to his court, “Go and get a farmer.”

In the morning, the king was thrilled to see the falcon soaring high above the palace gardens. He said to his court, “Bring me the doer of this miracle.”

The court quickly located the farmer, who came and stood before the king. The king asked him, “How did you make the falcon fly?”

With his head bowed, the farmer said to the king, “It was very easy, your highness. I simply cut the branch where the bird was sitting.”

We are all made to fly — to realize our incredible potential as human beings. But at times we sit on our branches, clinging to the things that are familiar to us. The possibilities are endless, but for most of us, they remain undiscovered. We conform to the familiar, the comfortable, and the mundane. So for the most part, our lives are mediocre instead of exciting, thrilling and fulfilling. Let us learn to destroy the branch of fear we cling to and free ourselves to the glory of flight!

Testing For Gossip ~ Inspiring and Touching

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, “Do you know what I just heard about your friend?”

“Hold on a minute”, Socrates replied. “Before telling me anything I’d like you to pass a little test. It’s called the Triple Filter Test.”

“Triple filter?”

“That’s right”, Socrates continued. “Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you’re going to say. That’s why I call it the triple filter test. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?”

“No,” the man said, “Actually I just heard about it and …”

“All right”, said Socrates. “So you don’t really know if it’s true or not. Now let’s try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?”

“No, on the contrary.”

“So”, Socrates continued, “you want to tell me something bad about him, but you’re not certain it’s true. You may still pass the test though, because there’s one filter left: The filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?”

“No, not really.”

“Well”, concluded Socrates, “if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?”

Finding Happiness ~ Inspirational Touching Story..

Once a group of 50 people was attending a seminar.

Suddenly the speaker stopped and started giving each person a balloon. Each one was asked to write his/her name on it using a marker pen. Then all the balloons were collected and put in another room.

Now these delegates were let in that room and asked to find the balloon which had their name written, within 5 minutes.

Everyone was frantically searching for their name, pushing, colliding with each other, and there was utter chaos.

At the end of 5 minutes, no one could find their own balloon.

Now each one was asked to randomly collect a balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it. Within minutes everyone had their own balloon.

The speaker began: This is exactly happening in our lives. Everyone is frantically looking for happiness all around, not knowing where it is. Our happiness lies in the happiness of other people. Give them their happiness, you will get your own happiness.

And this is the purpose of human life.

TWENTY DOLLARS

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked. “Who would like this $20 bill?”

Hands started going up. He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you – but first, let me do this.”

He proceeded to crumple the 20 dollar note up. He then asked. “Who still wants it?” Still the hands were up in the air.

“Well,” he replied, “what if I do this?” He dropped it on the
ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. “Now, who still wants it?”

Still the hands went into the air.

“My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No
matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.
Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless; but no matter what happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.

Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still
priceless to those who love you. The worth of our lives comes, not in what we do or who we know, but by …WHO WE ARE.

You are special – don’t ever forget it.”

The Suitcase

A Businessman was deep in debt and could not see any way out.
A man died, when he realized it, he saw God coming closer with a suitcase in his hand.
- God said: Alright son its time to go.
- surprised the man responded: Now? So soon? I had a lot of plans...
- I'm sorry but its time to go.

- What do you have in that suitcase? the man asked.
- God answered: Your belongings.
- My belongings? you mean my things, my clothes, my money?
- God answered: Those things were not yours they belonged to the earth.

- Is it my memories? the man asked.
- God answered: those never belonged to you they belonged to Time

- Is it my talents?
- God answered: those were never yours they belonged to the circumstances.

- Is it my friends and family?
- God answered: I'm sorry they were never yours they belonged to the path.

- Is it my wife and son?
- God answered: They were never yours the belonged to your heart.

- Is it my body?
- God answered: that was never yours it belonged to the dust.

- Is it my soul?
- God answered: No that is mine.

Full of fear, the man took the suitcase from god and opened it just to find out the suitcase was empty.
- With a tear coming down his cheek the man said: I never had anything???
- God answered: that is correct, every moment you lived were only for yours. You never lived for somebody who is not related to u in any way.

Moral:

Do something for other people who cant return the favour back to you. Life is just a moment. A moment that belongs to you.

- Live Now
- Live your life
- Don't forget to be happy and make others happy, as that is the only thing that matters.
- Material things and everything else that you fought for stay here.
- YOU CAN'T TAKE ANYTHING

Share this reflection with anyone you love or appreciate. Enjoy and let others Enjoy!

The Smartest man in the world

A doctor, a lawyer, a little boy and a priest were out for a Sunday afternoon flight on a small private plane. Suddenly, the plane developed engine trouble. In spite of the best efforts of the pilot, the plane started to go down. Finally, the pilot grabbed a parachute and yelled to the passengers that they better jump, and he himself bailed out.
Unfortunately, there were only three parachutes remaining.
The doctor grabbed one and said “I’m a doctor, I save lives, so I must live,” and jumped out.
The lawyer then said, “I’m a lawyer and lawyers are the smartest people in the world. I deserve to live.” He also grabbed a parachute and jumped.
The priest looked at the little boy and said, “My son, I’ve lived a long and full life. You are young and have your whole life ahead of you. Take the last parachute and live in peace.”
The little boy handed the parachute back to the priest and said, “Not to worry Father. The smartest man in the world just took off with my back pack.”
Moral: Your job doesn’t always define you, but being a Good Human being Does.

The Butterfly Lesson

A Butterfly Lesson

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!

Lessons to be learnt :

When the going gets tough, the tough gets going.
Nothing in life is always smooth-sailing nor goes according to plan, hardships are there to mould us into stronger individuals.
Life is constantly about overcoming challenges, it's only through tough times that we became more resilient

Three types of people

A teacher showed three toys to a student and asked them to find out the differences. All the three toys were identical in their shape, size and material. After keen observation, the student observed holes in the toys. 1st toy it had holes in the ears. 2nd toy had holes in ear and mouth. 3rd toy had only one hole in one ear.

Students put the needle in the ear hole of 1st toy. The needle came out from the other ear. In the 2nd toy, when the needle was put in the ear it came out of mouth. In the 3rd toy, when the needle was put in, the needle did not come out.

Teacher explained : First toy represented those people around you who give an impression that they are listening to you and care for you. But they just pretend to do so. After listening, as the needle comes out from the next ear, the things you said to them by counting on them are gone. So be careful while you are speaking to these type of people around you, who don’t care for you.

Second toy represented those people who listen to you and give an impression that they care for you. But as in the toy, these people will tell your confidential things to others for their own purpose.

Third toy represented kinds of people who will keep the trust you have in them. They are the ones who you can count on. They are the one’s whose friendship is to be cherished.

Always stay in a company of a people who are loyal and trustworthy. People, who listen to what you tell them, are not always the ones you can count on when you need them the most.

Put The Glass Down

Once a professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. He held it up for all to see and asked the students, ‘How much do you think this glass weighs?'

‘50gms!' '100gms!' '125gms' the students answered.

‘I really don't know unless I weigh it,' said the professor, 'but, my question is: what would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?'‘Nothing' the students said.
‘Ok what would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?' the professor asked.

‘Your arm would begin to ache' said one of the students. ‘You're right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?'

‘Your arm could go numb, you might have severe muscle stress and paralysis and have to go to hospital for sure!’ ventured another student and all the students laughed.

‘Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?’ asked the professor.

‘No’ replied the students.

‘Then what caused the arm ache and the muscle stress…? Instead, what should I do?’

The students were puzzled.

‘Put the glass down!’ said one of the students.

Exactly!' said the professor.

‘Life's problems are something like this. Hold it for a few minutes in your head and they seem OK. Think of them for a long time and they begin to ache. Hold it even longer and they begin to paralyze you. You will not be able to do anything. It's important to think of the challenges (problems) in your life, but EVEN MORE IMPORTANT to 'put them down' at the end of every day, before you go to sleep. That way, you are not stressed, you wake up every day fresh and strong and can handle any issue, any challenge that comes your way!’

Remember dear friend to PUT THE GLASS DOWN TODAY!
That is life!

Why We Shout In Anger? ~ A short story on Relationships

Short Story - Why we shout in Anger...

A Hindu saint who was visiting river Ganges to take bath found a group of family members on the banks, shouting in anger at each other. He turned to his disciples smiled ‘n asked. ‘Why do people shout in anger at each other?’

Disciples thought for a while, one of them said, ‘Because we lose our calm, we shout.’ ‘But, why should you shout when the other person is just next to you? You can as well tell him what you have to say in a soft manner.’ asked the saint.

Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the other disciples.
Finally the saint explained, . ‘When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other.

The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other to cover that great distance.

What happens when two people fall in love? They don’t shout at each other but talk softly, Because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is either nonexistent or very small…’ The saint continued, ‘When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper ‘n they get even closer to each other in their love.

Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other ‘n that’s all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.’

He looked at his disciples ‘n said. ‘So when you argue do not let your hearts get distant, Do not say words that distance each other more, Or else there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return.’

A Stormy Night

A Stormy Night - Motivational Story

One stormy night an elderly man and his wife entered the lobby of a small hotel in Philadelphia, USA trying to get out of the rain . They approached the front desk in order to get some shelter for the night.

“Could you possibly give us a room here?” – the husband asked. The clerk gave a broad smile , looked at the couple and explained that it was unfortunate that there were three simultaneous conventions in town. “All of our rooms are taken,” the clerk said. “ But I can’t send a nice couple like you out into the rain at one o’clock in the morning. Would you perhaps be willing to sleep in my room? It’s not exactly a suite, but it will be good enough to make you folks comfortable for the night.” When the couple declined, the young man insisted . “Don’t worry about me, I shall be fine.” the clerk told them. So the couple agreed.

As he paid his bill the next morning, the elderly man appreciated the kindness of the clerk and said to the clerk, “You deserve to be the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in town. Maybe someday I’ll build one for you.” The clerk looked at them and smiled. The three of them had a good laugh. As they drove away, the elderly couple agreed that the helpful clerk was indeed an exceptional manager.

Two years passed. The clerk had almost forgotten the incident when he received a letter from the old man. It recalled that stormy night and enclosed a round-trip ticket to New York, asking the young man to pay them a visit. The old man met him in New York, and led him to the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street. He then pointed to a great new building there, a pale reddish stone, with imposing elevation and watchtowers thrusting up to the sky.

“That,” said the older man, “is the hotel I have just built for you to manage.” “You must be joking.” – the young man said. “I can assure you I am not.” – said the older man, a sly smile playing around his mouth. The older man’s name was William Waldorf-Aster, and that magnificent structure was the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The young clerk who became its first manager was George C. Boldt. This young clerk never foresaw that a single act of kindness would catapult him to become manager of one of the world’s most glamorous hotels.

Be kind to everybody. It will enrich you multi fold in the long run.

Difference between Love and marriage

A student asks a teacher, "What is love?"

The teacher said, "in order to answer your question, go to the wheat field and choose the biggest wheat and
come back.

But the rule is: you can go through them only once and cannot turn back to pick."

The student went to the field, go through first row, he saw one big wheat, but he wonders... may be there is a
bigger one later.

Then he saw another bigger one... But may be there is an even bigger one waiting for him.

Later, when he finished more than half of the wheat field, he start to realize that the wheat is not as big as the
previous one he saw, he know he has missed the biggest one, and he regretted.

So, he ended up went back to the teacher with empty hand.

The teacher told him, "this is love... You keep looking for a better one, but when later you realise, you have
already miss the person..."

"What is marriage then?" the student asked.

The teacher said, "in order to answer your question, go to the corn field and choose the biggest corn and
come back. But the rule is: you can go through them only once and cannot turn back to pick."

The student went to the corn field, this time he is careful not to repeat the previous mistake, when he reach
the middle of the field, he has picked one medium corn that he feel satisfy, and come back to the teacher.
The teacher told him, "This time you bring back a corn. You look for one that is just nice, and you have faith
and believe this is the best one you get... This is marriage."

Anger, Envy and Insults

Near Tokyo lived a great Samurai, now old, who decided to teach Zen Buddhism to young people.

One afternoon, a warrior – known for his complete lack of scruples – arrived there. The young and impatient warrior had never lost a fight. Hearing of the Samurai’s reputation, he had come to defeat him, and increase his fame.

All the students were against the idea, but the old man accepted the challenge.

All gathered on the town square, and the young man started insulting the old master. He threw a few rocks in his direction, spat in his face, shouted every insult under the sun – he even insulted his ancestors.

For hours, he did everything to provoke him, but the old man remained impassive. At the end of the afternoon, by now feeling exhausted and humiliated, the impetuous warrior left.

Disappointed by the fact that the master had received so many insults and provocations, the students asked: “How could you bear such indignity? Why didn’t you use your sword, even knowing you might lose the fight, instead of displaying your cowardice in front of us all?”

“If someone comes to you with a gift, and you do not accept it, who does the gift belong to?” – asked the old Samurai.

“He who tried to deliver it.” – replied one of his disciples.

“The same goes for envy, anger and insults.” – said the master. “When they are not accepted, they continue to belong to the one who carried them.”

A Poor Boy Loved A Rich Girl

A Poor Boy Loved A Rich Girl

One day the boy proposed her. Then the girl said, "listen! your monthly salary is my daily hand expenses. Should I be involved with you? How could you thought that? I will never love you. So, forget me 'n get engaged with someone else of your level."

But somehow the boy could not forget her so easily.

10 years later.

One day they became face to face in a shopping center. The lady said, "Hey! you! How are you? Now I'm married. Do you know how much is my husband's salary? Rs. 2 lac per month! Can you imagine? 'n he is also very smart."

The guy's eyes got wet with tear by hearing those words.

After few minutes her husband came before the lady could say something to the guy, her husband started to say by seeing the guy.

"Sir! You here? Meet my wife." Then he said to her wife, "I'm going to assist a project of sir, which is of Rs. 200 crore. 'n do u know a fact? Sir loved a girl but he didn't get her. That's why still he is unmarried. How much lucky the girl was. Isn't it? Now a days who can love like that way?"


MORAL OF THE STORY: Life is not so short. So, don't be so proud of yourself and damn others. Situations change with time. Every one should respect other's love. !

The Cracked Pot

The Cracked Pot

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.

“I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.”

“Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?”

“I have been able to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master’s house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don’t get full value from your efforts,” the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, “As we return to the master’s house, I want you to specially notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot noticed the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the pot apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, “Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have taken advantage of your flaw . I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you’ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master’s table. Without you being just the way you are and without your help , he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”


MORAL OF THE STORY: Do not underestimate yourself by comparing yourself with others. It’s our differences that make us unique & Beautiful.

Eighty Years of Man’s Life Explained

On the first day, God created the dog and said: ‘Sit all day by the door and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.’ The dog said: ‘That’s a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I’ll give you back the other ten?’ So God agreed.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said: ‘Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I’ll give you a twenty-year life span.’ The monkey said: ‘Monkey tricks for twenty years? That’s a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?’ And God agreed.

On the third day, God created the cow and said: ‘You must go into the field with the farmer all day long , have calves and give milk to support the farmer’s family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.’ The cow said: ‘That’s kind of a tough life to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I’ll give back the other forty?’ And God agreed again.

On the fourth day, God created man and said: ‘Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I’ll give you twenty years.’ But man said: ‘Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?’ ‘Okay,’ said God, ‘You got it.’

So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family living cow’s life . For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Now you know why We live the life the way We live.

Be Careful - Cell Phone Security

CELL PHONES ~ I never thought of this.......

This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on her cell phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet, etc., was stolen.

20 minutes later when she called her hubby,
from a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says 'I received your text asking about our Pin number and I've replied a little while ago.'

When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text 'hubby' in the contact list and got hold of the pin number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.

Moral of the lesson:

a. Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc.

b. And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling back.

c. Also, when you're being texted by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet 'family and friends' who text you.

PLEASE PASS THIS ON ~ Even if this doesn't pertain to you....Pass it on to your family and friends

Give best in your relationship...!

A boy and a girl were playing together. The boy had a collection of marbles. The girl had some sweets with her.

The boy told the girl that he will give her all his marbles in exchange for her sweets. The girl agreed. The boy kept the biggest and the most beautiful marble aside and gave the rest to the girl. The girl gave him all her sweets as she had promised.

That night, the girl slept peacefully. But the boy couldn’t sleep as he kept wondering if the girl had hidden some sweets from him the way he had hidden his best marble.

Moral of the story:

If you don’t give your hundred percent in a relationship, you’ll always keep doubting if the other person has given his/her hundred percent..

This is applicable for any relationship like love, employer-employee relationship etc. Give your hundred percent to everything you do and sleep peacefully.