This Was Bound To Happen

Once a highly successful businessman, running a health insurance company was getting ready to go to his office. When he reached into his car and opened the door, a stray dog sleeping under his car became frightened and jumped out and bit the man on his leg! The businessman got very angry and quickly picked up a few rocks and threw them at the dog, but none hit the dog. The dog ran away.

Upon reaching his office, the businessman calls a meeting of his managers, and during the meeting, he puts the anger of the dog on them. The managers also get upset by the anger of their boss and they put their anger on the employees working under them. The chain of this reaction keeps going to the lower-level employees and finally, the anger reaches the office janitor.

Now, there was no one working under the janitor! So, after the office closes, he goes home.  His wife opens the door and asks him, “Why are you so late today?” The man, still upset by the anger thrown at him by the staff, screams at his wife and says, “I didn’t go to the office to play football, I went to work so don’t irritate me with your stupid questions!”

So, now the wife gets upset and she puts her anger on his son who was watching tv, and screams at him, “This is all you do, you have no interest in studying! Turn off the TV now!”

Now the son gets upset.  He walks out of his house and sees a dog passing by looking at him. Still holding his anger, he picks up a rock and hits the dog. The dog, getting hit by a rock, runs away barking in pain.

This was the same dog that bit the businessman early morning.

Moral:  This was bound to happen. This is how life works. We should concentrate on stopping this cycle of anger. Do good, Good will come, Do Wrong, Wrong will come.

The Four Candles

In a room there were four candles burning. The ambiance was so soft you could hear them talking.

The first one said, “I am PEACE, however nobody can keep me lit. I believe I will go out.”

It’s flame rapidly diminishes and goes out completely.

The second one says, “I am FAITH. Most of all I am no longer indispensable, so it does not make any sense that I stay lit any longer.”

When it finished talking a breeze softly blew on it putting it out.

Sadly, the third candle spoke in its turn. “I am LOVE. I have not gotten the strength to stay lit. 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 it goes out.

Suddenly a child entered the room and saw three candles not burning. “Why are you not burning you are supposed to stay lit till the end.” Saying this the child began to cry.

Then the fourth candle said, “Don’t be afraid, while I am still burning we can re-light the other candles, I am HOPE.”

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

The flame of Hope should never go out from our life and that each of us can maintain HOPE, FAITH, PEACE and LOVE.

The Sheep and The Lion

Long-time ago in the Animal Kingdom, a sheep was walking at the edge of the forest when he saw a lion crying, trapped inside a cage.  The lion begged the sheep to save him with a promise not to kill and eat her, but the sheep refused. After much persuasion, the sheep opened the cage for the lion.

Now the lion was very hungry having stayed in the cage for days without food. It quickly grabbed the sheep to kill and eat it but the sheep reminded him of his promise. They were still there arguing when other animals came passing and they sought to know what happened. Both the lion and the sheep narrated their own side of the story but because the other animals were fearful of the lion, all the animals sided with the lion except the tortoise who claim not to understand the whole scenario.

Now the Tortoise asked the lion to show them where he was before the sheep rescued him.  The lion pointed at the cage. He asked again, “were you inside or outside when the sheep arrived”? The lion said he was inside. The tortoise again said, “ok, enter the cage again and let’s see how difficult it could be inside”. The lion entered and the tortoise locked him back inside.

In amazement, the other animals asked the tortoise “why” and he replied “if we allow him to eat the sheep today, he will still go hungry tomorrow and we don’t know whom the lion will eat next among us.

Moral:  Don’t support evil today because it doesn’t affect you directly, tomorrow it could be your turn. Likewise, the seed of negativity we plant today may come back to haunt us in the future.

The Brick

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar.  He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door!  He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown.  The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?"  The young boy was apologetic.

"Please, mister... please, I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do," He pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop... " With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car.  "It's my brother," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up."

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."  Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts.  A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.  "Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger.  Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar.  The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message.

"Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!"  God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us.

The Other Side

One day a young Buddhist on his journey home came to the banks of a wide river. Staring hopelessly at the great obstacle in front of him, he pondered for hours on just how to cross such a wide barrier. Just as he was about to give up his pursuit to continue his journey he saw his teacher on the other side of the river. The young Buddhist yells over to the teacher, “Oh wise one, can you tell me how to get to the other side of this river”?

The teacher ponders for a moment looks up and down the river and yells back, “My son, you are on the other side”.

Moral:  As human beings, it seems as though we are constantly trying to get somewhere. More stuff, a better job, next vacation, I think we can all relate to the young Buddhist in this Zen story about the other side. It is almost as if we are shouting to the world, How do I get OVER THERE? Or more implicitly, right HERE is not enough so how do I get over THERE?  Therein lies the beautiful message of the story. We are already there. There is nowhere to get to.  Life is beautiful right where we are at. This moment is perfect exactly how it is. Life unfolds the way it unfolds. Our context, our view of this world will be our experience.

The 5 Frogs

There’s an old riddle that says five frogs are sitting on a lily pad. One decides to jump off. How many are left? If your answer is “four”, thank your math teacher for your excellent math skills. Unfortunately, this is not a test of your math abilities.  It’s a life problem.

The correct answer is “five”. Yes, all five are still sitting there on the lily pad.

The one frog only decided to jump but hasn’t.

Life is not a spectator sport; it’s indeed a contact sport. and there are no practice sessions, and you’ve been in the game from day one.  ‘The journey starts with a single step’ — not by thinking about taking that step.

Moral of the Story:  Be the frog who not only decides to jump off the lily pad but actually jumps. Success will not come to dreamers but to the ones who take action to achieve it.

The Orange Parable

Once upon a time, there was a young man who had ambitions to work for a company because it paid very well and was very prestigious. He prepared his résumé and had several interviews and was given an entry-level position. He completed the tasks he was given, he came in early some mornings and stayed late so the boss would see him putting in long hours.  After five years a supervisor position became available. But, to the young man’s great dismay, another employee, who had only worked for the company for six months, was given the promotion. The young man was very angry, and he went to his boss and demanded an explanation. The wise boss said, “Before I answer your questions, would you do a favor for me?” “Yes, sure,” said the employee. “Would you go to the store and buy some oranges? My wife needs them.”

The young man agreed and went to the store. When he returned, the boss asked, “What kind of oranges did you buy?” “I don’t know,” “You just said to buy oranges, and these are oranges.” “How much did they cost?” the boss asked. “Well, I’m not sure,” was the reply. “You gave me $30. Here is your receipt, and here is your change.” “Thank you,” said the boss. “Now, please have a seat and pay careful attention.”

Then the boss called in the employee who had received the promotion and asked him to do the same job. He readily agreed and went to the store. When he returned, the boss asked, “What kind of oranges did you buy?” “Well,” he replied, “the store had many varieties—there were navel oranges, Valencia oranges, blood oranges, and many others, and I didn’t know which kind to buy. But I remembered you said your wife needed the oranges, so I called her. She said she was having a party and that she was going to make orange juice. So I asked the grocer which of all these oranges would make the best orange juice. He said the Valencia oranges so that’s what I bought. I dropped them by your home on my way back to the office. Your wife was very pleased.”  “How much did they cost?” the boss asked.

“Well, that was another problem. I didn’t know how many to buy, so I once again called your wife and asked her how many guests she was expecting. She said 20. I asked the grocer how many oranges would be needed to make juice for 20 people, and it was a lot. So, I asked the grocer if he could give me a quantity discount, and he did! These oranges normally cost 75 cents each, but I paid only 50 cents. Here is your change and the receipt.”

The boss smiled and said, “Thank you; you may go.”  He looked over at the young man who had been watching. The young man stood up, slumped his shoulders, and said, “I see what you mean,” as he walked dejectedly out of the office.

The Monk and the Scorpion

Once upon a time, a monk was wandering through a marketplace when he noticed a scorpion struggling in a barrel of water. He walked over to the barrel, stuck his hand in, and stretched out his finger to pull the scorpion out. But the scorpion stung him. The monk tried again and the scorpion stung him yet again.  Now the monk was wincing in pain, yet he tried again and this time he reached in and flung the scorpion out of the water. A young boy who was watching all this, walked over to the monk to see if he need medical assistance.  He asked the monk, “why did you keep trying to save that no-good creature.” The monk replied, Just as it is the water’s nature to make things wet and fire’s nature to burn, it is in the scorpion’s nature to sting, but It is my nature to love. Why should I give up my nature to love just because it is the nature of the scorpion to sting?”

MORAL:  In our lives, we will encounter people who may STING us intentionally or unintentionally. We should never let our actions, thoughts, and words be affected by the negativity of others. We should continue to live our lives with love and honesty, even if others do not reciprocate.  Don’t let the darkness in the hearts of others penetrate the light in your heart.

Helping Others

Once a man was walking down the street on his phone,  busy with work. A small boy came up to him and asked if he could polish his shoes.  The man was busy talking so he said No.  After some time again the boy came and asked him to polish his shoes.  The man got angry but he saw that the boy was looking weak and sick.  So he allowed him to polish his shoes,  telling him to polish them so that they start shining.

 The boy started polishing slowly and the man became angry.  The man added, “I have seen many cobblers who take money but don’t do the work properly.  The boy couldn’t polish the shoes fast because he was sick and weak.  The man thought he had wasted his money. He was about to scold the boy when a second boy arrived.  That boy started polishing the shoes and after finishing, the shoes were very shiny.  The man was happy with the second boy for his work so he took out his money but was confused about whom to pay.  The man gave the money to the second boy who had done a good job.

But the boy took the money and gave it to the weak boy.  The man called the second boy over and asked him why he gave the money to him.  The boy told the man, “He fell from a running train and got hurt but he was the only one who was earning money for his family.  His mother was old and couldn’t work We advised him to rest his body but he has a passion for work and rejected begging.  

We have a group of cobblers and our boss is a good man.  When the boy had the accident, the boss told all of us to help the boy polishing shoes.  So, from that day on, all the cobblers helped him earn his living.  As soon as the man knew about this he walked over to the boy and gave him some extra money.

Moral:  A good person does not have a brain full of knowledge but a heart full of love, an ear ready to listen, and a hand willing to help.

The Father, Son, and the Crow

An 80-year-old man was sitting on the sofa in his house along with his 45-year-old highly educated son. Suddenly a crow perched on their window.  The Father asked his Son, “What is that?” The Son replied, “It is a crow”. After a few minutes, the Father asked his Son the 2nd time,  “What is that?” The Son said “Father, I have just told you “It’s a crow”. After a little while, the old Father again asked his Son the 3rd time, “What is that?”

This time the son was totally irritated and yelled out, “It’s a crow, a crow”. A few minutes later, the Father asked his Son for the 4th time, “What is that?”  This time the Son shouted at his Father, “Why do you keep asking me the same question again and again, although I have told you so many times ‘IT IS A CROW’. Are you not able to understand this?”

A little later the Father went to his room and came back with an old tattered diary, which he had maintained since his Son was born. On opening a page, he asked his Son to read that page. When the son read it, the following words were written in the diary.

“Today my little son aged three was sitting with me on the sofa when a crow was sitting on the window. My Son asked me 23 times what it was, and I replied to him all 23 times that it was a crow. I hugged him lovingly each time he asked me the same question, again and again,  23 times. I did not at all feel irritated. I felt affection for my innocent child”.

Moral of the story:  Always remember the unconditional love that our parents gave us when we were young. With that, let’s be gentle and patient with their shortcomings and flaws. If they call you when you are busy, it means they are thinking of you. Work is important and you are always busy, but bear in mind when you leave an organization, no one probably misses your presence. But when your parents are not around anymore, you will miss them forever.

The one thing that eats away your happiness is regrets. Cherish the time you have with your parents and don’t let your life be filled with regrets about how you could have given them more of your attention and love when you had the chance.

The Cookie Thief

A woman was waiting at an airport one night, with several long hours before her flight. She hunted for a book in the airport shops, bought a bag of cookies, and found a place to sit.

She was engrossed in her book but happened to see, that the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be. . .grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between, which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene.

So she munched the cookies and watched the clock, as the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock. She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by, thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I would give this guy a piece of my mind.”

With each cookie she took, he took one too, when only one was left, she wondered what he would do. With a smile on his face and a nervous laugh, he took the last cookie and broke it in half.

He offered her half, as he ate the other, she snatched it from him and thought… oooh, brother. This guy has some nerve and he’s also rude, he didn’t even show any gratitude!

She had never known when she had been so annoyed and sighed with relief when her flight was called. She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate, refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate.

She boarded the plane and sank in her seat, and reached for her book. As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise, there was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.

If mine are here, she moaned in despair, the others were his, and he tried to share. Too late to apologize, she realized with grief, that she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.

The Law of the Garbage Truck

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches!

The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck'.

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of stress, anger, frustration and disappointment. This is their garbage. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally, just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. Be an example of compassion, understanding, and peace.

The Hedgehogs

It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals died because of the cold.

A group of hedgehogs, realizing the situation, decided to group together to keep warm. This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions.

After a while, they decided to distance themselves from each other.  Slowly, alone and frozen, they began to die.  So, they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth.

Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. They learned to live with the little wounds caused by the close relationship with their companions in order to receive the heat that came from the others. In this way, they were able to survive.

Moral:  The best relationships are when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others and focuses on the other person's good qualities.  

Keeping The Roots Strong

Once upon a time, there were two neighbors living next to each other. One of them was a retired teacher and another was a businessman who had a lot of interest in technology. Both of them had planted different plants in their garden. The retired teacher was giving a small amount of water to his plants and didn’t always give full attention to them, while the other neighbor interested in technology, had given a lot of water to his plants and looked after them too well.

The retired teacher’s plants were simple but looked good. The businessman’s plants were much fuller and greener. One day, during the night, a storm arrived with very heavy rain.  The next morning, both of the neighbors came out to inspect the damage to their garden. The neighbor who was the businessman saw that his plants came off from the roots and were totally destroyed. But, the retired teacher’s plants were not damaged at all and were standing firm.

The businessman was surprised to see it.  He went to the retired teacher and asked, “We both grew the same plants together, I actually looked after my plants better than you did and even gave them more water. Still, my plants came off from the roots, while yours didn’t. How is that possible?”

The retired teacher smiled and said, “You gave your plants more attention and water, but because of that they didn’t need to work for it.  You made it easy for them.  While I gave them just an adequate amount of water and let their roots search for more.   And, because of that, their roots went deeper into the ground and that made them stronger.  That is why my plants survived”.

Moral:  This story is about parenting where children are like plants.  If everything is given to them, they will not understand the hard work it takes to earn those things.  They will not learn to respect hard work.  Sometimes it’s best to guide them instead of giving to them.   Teach them how to walk, but let them follow their path.

If The Man Had Not Lost His Buffalo

Once upon a time, a Guru and his disciple were passing through a village. Both were very hungry. They saw a house nearby and knocked on the door.  A man dressed in torn clothes came out and said, “how can I help you?”  The Guru said, “we are very hungry, can we have something to eat?”  The man welcomed them into the house and fed them.  After eating, the Guru went outside and looked around and saw a very fertile field nearby, yet nothing was growing.

The Guru went to the man and asked him how he made a living.  The man said, “I have a buffalo which gives a lot of milk.  I can make a living from that. As night fell, the Guru asked the man if they could stay the night. The man agreed so the Guru and the disciple went to sleep.  In the middle of the night, the Guru woke up his disciple and said,” let’s get out of here now and we will take his buffalo with us.”  The disciple didn’t like what he heard.  Why would the Guru take the man’s only source of making a living?  He obeyed the Guru and they left silently. 

Even after years, this event bothered the disciple.  So, one day, he decided to go back to the village and check on the man. When he reached the village, he couldn't believe his eyes.  He was surprised to see the vacant lot had turned into fruit orchards. He saw the man and walked up to him and said, “Years ago I met you with my Guru.” The man said, “I remember. That was the day my buffalo was lost.  I looked for it everywhere but couldn’t find it.  I didn’t know what to do.  So I went off into the forest and started cutting wood and selling it.  With that money, I bought some seeds and planted them in my field.  Harvest was good that year. I used that money to plant fruit trees.  Now my business is going very well.  I have a large fruit orchard and have become the biggest trader of fruits in this area.  Sometimes I think if I had not lost my buffalo that night, all this would not have happened.

Moral:  Many times, there are things that prevent us from becoming successful in our lives.  If we get too comfortable, we become lazy and don’t continue to grow.

Be Clear & Honest

Morris the dog was walking past a property one day and he was suddenly confronted by a large scary dog who barked ferociously through the fence at him.  “What are you doing?’ asked Morris.“I’m guarding this property.” responded the black dog.  “What are you barking at me for? asked Morris.  “Because you’re a threat. Everyone has the potential to break in and steal from me, so I’m not taking any risks and am barking at everyone.”  Morris shrugged his shoulders and walked away, thinking about how much energy the big dog was unnecessarily wasting.

The next day, he walked past the same property, but instead of being confronted by the vicious guard dog, he was met by a furry little ball of fluff.  “What happened to the large black dog?” he asked.  “He annoyed his owners by barking all of the time, so they gave him away and replaced him with me.” replied the ball of fluff.  “You don’t look very scary,” observed Morris.  “I’m not. You never have to worry about me being too angry.”  “What would you do if someone tried to steal from you?” asked Morris.  “Why would anyone try to steal from me? I’m such a nice cute doggy that no one would ever take advantage of me.”  Morris shrugged his shoulders and walked away, hoping that the little ball of fluff would be OK.

The next day he walked past the same property and was met by a large golden retriever.  “What happened to the little ball of fluff?” Morris asked.  “Some intruders came last night and all he did was roll over to have his belly scratched while the place was ransacked.” replied the retriever.  “So, what’s your strategy for guarding this place?” asked Morris.  “I’ve learned that not everyone’s a threat, so there’s no point in barking at everyone and keeping them at a distance, but I’ve also learned that being nice and polite won’t always cut it either as not everyone has my best interest at heart. Others will always know that I’m here, but I feel comfortable enough with myself that I don’t need to rant and rave to be heard or look after everyone else’s needs to be liked. I’ll just be calm and clear when communicating, decreasing the risk of being taken the wrong way.”

“I think I’ll be seeing a lot more of you,” said Morris, suitably impressed as he went on his way.

MORAL:  You don’t need to be an angry, rabid dog or a delightful ball of fluff to be successful in what you’re doing.  Instead, learn to express yourself with clarity, honesty, and calmness.

Developing a Relationship

Nita was recently married and started living with her husband and in-laws.  After a few days, she started to realize that she was not able to get along with her mother-in-law.  Nita’s mother-in-law was conservative whereas Nita was liberal, living a modern lifestyle.  Soon their differences of opinion and lifestyles became too much and they started fighting. As days and months passed, neither of them changed their behavior. It just got worse.

Nita became very aggressive over time and started to hate her mother-in-law.  She started to think about how to get rid of her. The last straw was recently when she argued with her mother-in-law, her husband took his mother’s side.  Nita became very angry and left, heading to her father’s home.  Nita’s father was a chemist and she told him about everything that’s been happening. Then she pleaded with her father to give her poison so she can get rid of her mother-in-law or else she won’t go back to her husband’s home.

Nita’s father told her, “ It is not the right thing to do, and we will both end up in jail.” But, Nita was in no mood to listen and understand.  Finally, her father gave in.  He told her, “Ok, as you wish but do as I tell you”.  Nita agreed.  Her father gave her a powder and told her, “Every day when you make lunch or dinner, just mix a little pinch of this powder in your mother-in-law’s meal, since the dosage is small, she will die slowly, over a few months. People will think she passed away naturally”.

He also told her, “We don’t want anyone to become suspicious so from today on, you will not fight at all with your mother in law but instead you will be very caring towards her, even if she says something which you don’t like, you will not be rude, you will simply be polite.”  Nita agreed thinking she will be free from her mother-in-law’s quarreling in a few months.  She went back to her in-laws and as advised by her father, she started mixing the powder in her mother-in-law’s meals and behaved very caring and polite to her mother-in-law.

As time started to pass, Nita’s mother-in-law’s nature also started to change.  Because Nita was being very caring towards her, she too started to be affectionate towards Nita.  Five months passed and Nita had been mixing the powder but the atmosphere within the house was changing.  There were no quarrels, both were praising each other when talking to neighbors.  They became very attached to each other like a mother and daughter.  Now, Nita started to worry, thinking that the powder would soon kill her mother-in-law.

She ran to her father’s home and told him, “Dad!  Please give me the antidote for that poisonous powder you gave me!  I don’t want to lose my mother-in-law. She is just like my mom and I love her very much”.  Her father smiled and said, “What poison?  I had simply given you a sweetener!”

Moral:  Each person has a different view of the world, depending on their circumstances .  This can often lead to anger and verbal abuse.  However, we must try to understand each other and find a way to get along.  And, when such differences arise between people, it is the duty of their loved ones to keep them calm and guide them in the right direction.

The Power of Faith

There was a business executive who was deep in debt and could see no way out. Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, his head in his hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy. Suddenly an old man appeared before him. ” I can see that something is troubling you,” he said. After listening to the executive’s woes, the old man said, “I believe I can help you. “He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying, “Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time. “Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come. The business executive saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world! “I can erase my money worries in an instant!” he realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the uncashed check in his safe. Just knowing it was there might give him the strength to work out a way to save his business, he thought. With renewed optimism, he negotiated better deals and extended terms of payment. He closed several big sales. Within a few months, he was out of debt and making money once again. 

Exactly one year later, he returned to the park with the uncashed check. At the agreed-upon time, the old man appeared. But just as the executive was about to hand back the check and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man. “I’m so glad I caught him!” she cried. “I hope he hasn’t been bothering you. He’s always escaping from the rest home and telling people he’s John D. Rockefeller. “And she led the old man away by the arm. The astonished executive just stood there, stunned. All year long he’d been wheeling and dealing, buying and selling, convinced he had half a million dollars behind him. 

Suddenly, he realized that it wasn’t the money, real or imagined, that had turned his life around. It was his newfound self-confidence that gave him the power to achieve anything he went after.

The Battle of the Beetles

In the forest in the wilds of Maine, lies the ruin of a gigantic tree. Naturalists tell us that it stood for some four hundred years. It was a seedling when Columbus landed at San Salvador, and half-grown when the pilgrims settled at Plymouth.

During the course of its long life, it was struck by lightning fourteen times and the innumerable avalanches and storms of four centuries thundered past it. It survived them all. In the end, however, an army of beetles attacked the tree and leveled it to the ground. The insects ate their way through the bark and gradually destroyed the inner strength of the tree by their tiny but incessant attacks. A forest giant which age had not withered, nor lightning blasted, nor storms subdued, fell at last before beetles so small that a man could crush them between his forefinger and his thumb.

There is a parallel in this story which should serve as a warning to us. Most of us can survive times of crisis. We summon the strength of faith or resolve for almost any battle that we face head-on. Whether it is in our professional or personal lives, we often overcome great obstacles. It is the small things like jealousy, anger, resentment, pettiness, and negativity that eat us from the inside, which often bring about our downfall. Unlike a giant tree, we can identify and fight those moral or ethical “beetles.” We must, however, be constantly on guard.