Little Kid Problem Solution

Once a little boy slowly walked into his mother’s room. His mother was sitting at her desk writing. Mother took a glance at him and saw that he was carrying a vase that was given to her by grandmother.  Seeing that vase in that little boy’s hand mother got worried and said, “Baby, please put that vase down before you break it by mistake.”

The boy replied, “Mom, I can’t get my hand out of it.”  Mother now left her work and looked at him and said, “Of course dear, you can put it down.”  

“I know Mom, but I still can’t get my hand out of this vase.”, replied the little boy.

Mother got down on her knees and looked at his hand, see-saw that the neck of the vase was very narrow and the little boy's hand neatly fit inside that vase up to his wrist.  Seeing this, his mother got a little worried about him and called out for his father.  The little boy’s dad came and looked at all this. Father gently held the little boy’s hand and tried to pull his arm out of that vase but still couldn’t get it out.  Now he tried to loosen his hand using soap and water but still nothing. After that, he tried to loosen his hand using some oil around the wrist, but the hand still didn’t budge.

After trying everything Father said, “I give up… I would give a dollar right now to know how to get his hand out of this vase.”

The boy exclaimed, “Really.!! Dad??”

Just then, the parent heard a clinking sound and saw the kid’s hand slip right out of the vase. The parents were relieved and surprised to see that. They turned the vase upside down to check the reason for the sound and found a penny dropped out of it. The parents were confused and asked, “Son what’s this??”

The little boy innocently replied, “Oh that. It’s a penny that I put inside it but when I tried to get it out my hand got stuck.  But when I heard that you would give a dollar to have my hand out of that vase, I let it go.”

Moral:  In our life, there are many times when we keep clinging to things that keep us stuck. We should learn to let go so that we can move forward in life.

The Bird in the Cage

Once upon a time, there was a bird that lived in a cage for a very long time. Often it would look through the bars of the cage to the meadows and trees beyond. It could see other birds flying free in the open air and often It would wonder what it would feel like to have the sun on its back, the wind in its feathers, and the feeling of swooping and soaring snatching mosquitoes in flight.

When the bird thought of these things it could feel its heart beating with excitement. Sometimes another bird would land on the window ledge, resting from its travels, and look inside at the caged bird. The traveler would put its head on one side as if quizzically asking itself how such a thing could be. A bird in a cage. Unimaginable.

At this time the caged bird felt miserable. Its little shoulder slumped, it felt a lump in its throat and a heaviness in its heart. One day, the owner of the caged bird accidentally left the door of the cage open. The bird looked through the door. It saw many birds swooping and soaring outside, the sun on their backs, and the wind in their feathers, and it felt a stirring inside. The caged bird noticed that the window was open, and its heart began to beat even faster. At this moment the little bird had the perfect opportunity to fly to its freedom. It considered its options. It was still considering them at sunset when the owner returned and closed the door of the cage. The bird, for whatever reason, valued security over freedom.

Moral: Your situation can change any day. All you need to do is to be willing to seize the opportunities that come. But sometimes fear is stronger than one's dreams.

The House of 1,000 Mirrors

Long ago in a small, faraway village, there was a place known as the House of 1000 Mirrors. A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as his. He smiled a great smile and was answered with 1000 great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left the house, he thought to himself, “This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit it often.” In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1000 unfriendly-looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, “That is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again.”

Moral: All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do you see in the faces of the people you meet?

Hatred In Your Heart

A teacher had decided to have her class play a game. The teacher told each child in the class to bring along a plastic bag containing a few potatoes. Each potato will be given a name of a person that the child hates. So the number of potatoes that the child put in their plastic bag will depend on the number of people they hate.

So when the day came, every child brought some potatoes with the names of the people they hated. Some had 2 potatoes, some 3 while some up to 5 potatoes. The teacher then told the children to carry the potatoes in the plastic bag with them wherever they went for 1 week. Days passed, and the children started to complain due to the unpleasant smell let out by the rotten potatoes. Besides, those having 5 potatoes also had to carry heavier bags. After 1 week, the children were relieved because the game had finally ended.

The teacher asked: “How did you feel while carrying the potatoes with you for 1 week?” The children let out their frustrations and started complaining of the trouble that they had to go through having to carry the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever they went.

Then the teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game. The teacher said: “This is exactly the situation when you carry your hatred for somebody inside your heart. The stench of hatred will contaminate your heart and you will carry it with you wherever you go. If you cannot tolerate the smell of rotten potatoes for just 1 week, can you imagine what is it like to have the stench of hatred in your heart for your lifetime?”

Moral: Let go of hatred for anyone from your heart so that you will not carry the burden for a lifetime. Forgiving others is the best path to take. Negativity about someone will keep peace of mind from you. Everyone has or is going through something in their lives. Be understanding about their situation and let go of the hatred.

I Could Have Done That

There were two men who would play golf together every week. Cal was in his late teens and showed a lot of promise in the game and the second man, Bill, was in his early 40’s and was consistently able to beat his younger opponent. One day when they were playing, Cal announced to Bill that he was going to try out for the pro tour the following week. He knew that it was a long shot, but it was his dream to be a professional golfer, so he thought that he should give it a try.

“I could have done that.” was Bill’s curt response. “Then why didn’t you?” asked Cal. “I don’t know, I never got around to it.” responded the older man. A couple of weeks later, the two men played together again. Cal looked slightly dispirited as he announced that he had missed the cut and had to wait another year to try again. However, he knew what he had to work on, so he practiced hard for the following 12 months and continued to improve, although Bill still beat him regularly. The time drew near to the next try-out for the pro tour. “I’m having another go next week,” said Cal. “I could have done that,” snorted Bill. “Yeah, but you didn’t do you?” muttered Cal under his breath.

A couple of weeks later, the two men met again. “I missed out again,” said Cal. “Why don’t you just give up?” asked Bill. “Because it’s my dream and I think if I work really hard this year, I can make the cut.” “I could have done that,” said Bill. After a year of perfecting his flaws through practice and coaching, Cal really improved and tried once again. A few days later, he met up with Bill.

“I made it, I made the cut! I’m a professional golfer now!” he proudly announced. Bill tried to be happy for his young friend, but all he could say was, “I could have done that.” As he said these words, he tried to hide a tear forming in his eye, realizing now what he had missed out on because he didn’t do what he could have done. And now it was too late. Cal left to follow his dream and they rarely saw each other again. Although they did play once more, with Bill shooting the better score.

Moral: Taking action is key. Talking about what you can do or what you could have done will get you nowhere. Be prepared to fail, just do not give up. Keep working on your passion, and keep trying, because that is the only way you will be able to accomplish your dream one day.

2 Cats Fighting

Two cats were walking on a narrow path toward each other. When they came near one another, no one was willing to let the other pass first. They just stood there, screaming at each other.

"Let me pass first," said one cat.

"No! I was first here," said the other cat.

"No, I must be first, because I am bigger than you."

"No, I am stronger than you."

"No, I am smarter than you, so you must respect me."

“Well, I have many cats that will hurt you if you don't let me pass."

After a while, the screams turned into a fight. The cats started fighting, scratching, and biting each other.

A little while later, a wiser cat arrived on the scene. He looked at them and started to laugh.

The two cats stopped fighting and looked at him amazed.

"Why are you laughing?" The cats asked him.

"I am laughing at you and your behavior. You are wasting your time and are hurting each other, just because you won't let the other one pass. The path is wide enough for each cat to pass to the other side. Why are you fighting? Don't you have anything better to do?"

"It is a matter of honor and power." The two cats said.

The wise cat was amused and said, "Do you need to prove you are stronger? Who cares about this?” One who is really strong and self-confident doesn't feel the need to show this to others. When someone feels good about themselves, others feel that strength, respect, and love, not fear."

"There is life, good food, and wonderful things to enjoy doing, yet here you are standing, facing each other, yelling, scratching, and fighting. Open your eyes and grow up!"

"Is it really important who passes first to the other side of the path? Is it worthwhile to have all these scratches and bites? You are wasting your time, energy, and health on nonsense."

"Look around and see all the animals around you laughing at your irrational behavior."

The two cats were bewildered and didn't know what to say. The words of the wise cat made sense, but their subconscious, programmed behavior, and habits were too strong. It was not easy for them to resist them. 

Moral: One has to wonder, did the two cats stop fighting? Did each one finally go on their way? 

Best Advice My Mother Gave Me

I was about ten years old. My mom had just finished creating one of her amazing meals, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was delicious. Later, as I was washing the dishes, my mom came up to me. and said,  “Sorry dinner was so awful again.”

I was shocked. “What? No, it was great. I loved it.”

“Really?” she said, with mock surprise. “You always eat so quietly, never saying anything. You’ve never told me you liked my cooking, so I thought you hated it.”

“No, you’re the best cook I know.”

“Then you should tell me that,” she said. “Whenever someone does something nice for you, you should thank that person. If you don’t, they might think they’re not appreciated and stop doing those nice things.”

Something clicked right then. From that day forward, I thanked everyone for literally everything. If you did something that even vaguely helped me, I thanked you profusely. It became a habit, something I didn’t even think about, and that’s when the magic started happening.

People liked me more. They talked to me more, shared with me, were more friendly. In my first year of high school, during the final week, I came home and found a giant ice cream bar waiting for me. “Thanks, mom,” I said instinctively.

“This isn’t from me, she said. “This is from your bus driver.” He had been driving that bus for years, and you were the first person to ever thank him as you got off the bus. Those two simple words made a huge difference, so much so that he went out of his way to tell our mom and give us a present.

Moral:  That’s the power of appreciation. When you have it, all is right in the world, but when its missing life is empty. My mom taught me many things, but taking two seconds to say ‘thank you’ every time, in any situation, was the best.

Pilgrimage

One day, all the students went to their master and said, "Master, Master, we all are going on a pilgrimage.  The master said, “Why do you want to go on a pilgrimage trip?  So that we can improve our devotion said the students.

The Master thought for a second and then said, “OK. Then do me a favor. Please take this horseradish root along with you and wherever you go and whichever temple you visit, place it in the altar of the Deity, take the blessings, and bring it back.  So the students and the horseradish root went on the pilgrimage, from temple to temple.

When they finally came back, the Master said, "cook that root and serve it to me.”  The students cooked it and served it to the master. After having the first bite, the master said, “How Surprising”!!!!! “What is so surprising” asked the students. The master smiled and replied, “Even after the pilgrimage to all those temples and all those blessings the horseradish root is still bitter.  How come”?  All the students replied, “That is the nature of that root.”

The master sat his students down and explained, “That’s exactly the point. Unless you change your nature, the pilgrimage will not make any difference.  So, you & I, if we do not change ourselves, no teacher, guru, holy books, or any pilgrimage can make a difference in our lives.”

Moral:  If you think positively, sound becomes music, Movement becomes dance, Smiles become laughter, Mind becomes meditative and life becomes a celebration.

God is Everywhere

Every day after school, the son of a well-known Rabbi would enter his house, place his backpack on the dining room table, leave the house through the back door and head into the woods behind the house.

At first, the Rabbi gave little thought to his son’s ritual. Until it continued, for days, and then for weeks. Every day, out into the woods for almost a half hour. The Rabbi grew concerned. “My son,” he asked one day. “I notice that every day you leave our home to spend time in the woods. What is it you are doing there?”

“Oh papa,” the son replied. “There is no need to worry. I go into the woods to pray. It is in the woods that I can talk to God.”

Oh,” the Rabbi said, clearly relieved. “But you should know, as the son of a Rabbi, that God is the same everywhere.”

Yes, papa. I know that God is the same everywhere. But I am not.”

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.