Live and Work

Father was a hardworking man who delivered bread as a living to support his wife and three children. He spent all his evenings after work attending classes, hoping to improve himself so that he could one day find a better-paying job. Except for Sundays, Father hardly ate a meal together with his family. He worked and studied very hard because he wanted to provide his family with the best money could buy.

Whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often yearned to spend more time with his family.

The day came when the examination results were announced. To his joy, Father passed, and with distinctions too! Soon after, he was offered a good job as a senior supervisor which paid handsomely.

Like a dream come true, Father could now afford to provide his family with life’s little luxuries like nice clothing, fine food, and vacation abroad.

However, the family still did not get to see father for most of the week. He continued to work very hard, hoping to be promoted to manager. In fact, to make himself a worthy candidate for the promotion, he enrolled in another course at the open university.

Again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often yearned to spend more time with his family.

Father’s hard work paid off and he was promoted. Jubilantly, he decided to hire a maid to relieve his wife from her domestic tasks. He also felt that their three-room flat was no longer big enough, it would be nice for his family to be able to enjoy the facilities and comfort of a condominium. Having experienced the rewards of his hard work many times before, Father resolved to further his studies and work at being promoted again. The family still did not get to see much of him. In fact, sometimes Father had to work on Sundays entertaining clients. Again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often yearned to spend more time with his family.

As expected, Father’s hard work paid off again and he bought a beautiful condominium overlooking the coast of Singapore. On the first Sunday evening at their new home, Father declared to his family that he decided not to take any more courses or pursue any more promotions. From then on he was going to devote more time to his family.  The next day, Father did not wake up.

Moral:  Does the situation sound a little too familiar?  Do we work so hard that we forget to live? Do we sometimes lose sight of the big picture?  This story is a good reminder that there is always an end to this life but we never know when it will come.

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.”