The Most Beautiful Flower

As I walked through the park, I noticed an empty park bench. I sat down to read beneath the long, straggly branches of an old willow tree. I have been disillusioned by life with good reason to frown, It felt like the world was intent on dragging me down.

And if that weren’t enough to ruin my day, a young boy out of breath approached me, all tired from play. He stood right before me with his head tilted down and said with great excitement, “Look what I found!”

In his hand was a flower, and what a pitiful sight, with its petals all worn – not enough rain, or too little light. Wanting him to take his dead flower and go off to play, I faked a small smile and then shifted away.

But instead of retreating he sat by my side and placed the flower to his nose and declared with surprise, “It sure smells pretty and it’s beautiful, too. That’s why I picked it; here, it’s for you.”

The weed before me was dying or dead. Not vibrant of colors, orange, yellow or red. But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave. So, I reached for the flower, and replied, “Just what I need.”

But instead of him placing the flower in my hand, He held it mid-air without reason or plan. It was then that I noticed for the very first time That weed-toting boy could not see: he was blind.

I heard my voice quiver, tears shone like the sun As I thanked him for picking the very best one. “You’re welcome,” he smiled, and then ran off to play, Unaware of the impact he’d had on my day.

I sat there and wondered how he managed to see a self-pitying person beneath an old willow tree. How did he know of my self-indulged plight? Perhaps from his heart, he’d been blessed with true sight.

Through the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see the problem was not with the world; the problem was me. And for all of those times I myself had been blind, I vowed to see beauty, and appreciate every second that’s mine.

And then I held that wilted flower up to my nose and breathed in the fragrance of a beautiful rose and smiled as that young boy, another weed in his hand, was about to change the life of an unsuspecting old man.

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Lightning & The Bus

A bus full of passengers were traveling for a while when suddenly the weather changed and there was a huge downpour and lightening all around.  They could see that the lightning would appear to come towards the bus and then go elsewhere.  After 2 or 3 horrible instances of being saved from lightening, the driver stopped the bus about fifty feet away from a tree and said -

"We have somebody in the bus whose death is a certainty today.”  Now listen carefully what I am saying .  I want each person to come out of bus one by one and touch the tree trunk and come back.  Whom ever’s death is certain will get hit by the lightening and will die & everybody else will be saved".

They had to force the 1st person to go and touch the tree and come back.  He reluctantly got down from the bus and went and touched the tree.  His heart leaped with joy when nothing happened and he was still alive.  This continued for rest of the passengers who were all relieved when they touched the tree and nothing happened.  When the last passenger's turn came, everybody looked at him with accusing eyes.  That passenger was very afraid and reluctant since he was the only one left.  Everybody forced him to get down and go and touch the tree.  With a 100% fear of death in mind, the last passenger walked to the tree and touched it.

There was a huge sound of thunder and the lightening came down and hit the bus - yes the lightening hit the bus, and killed each and every passenger inside the bus.  It was because of the presence of this last passenger that, earlier, the entire bus was safe and the lightening could not strike the bus.

Moral:    At times, we try to take credit for our present achievements, but this could also be because of a person right next to us.  Look around you - Probably someone is there around you, in the form of your parents, your spouse, your children, your siblings, your friends, etc, who are saving you from harm..!  Think About it..You will surely find that Person!

Beautiful Lines

''Alone I can 'Say' but

together we can 'talk'.

'Alone I can 'Enjoy' but

together we can

'Celebrate'.

'Alone I can 'Smile' but

together we can 'Laugh'.

That's the BEAUTY of Human Relations.

We are nothing without each other

Stay Connected !

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Honesty

My friend and proud father was taking his two little boys to play miniature golf. He walked up to the fellow at the ticket counter and said, "How much is it to get in?"

The young man replied, "$3.00 for you and free for any kid who is 6 or younger. How old are they?"

The father replied, "Billy is three and Charlie is seven, so I guess I owe you $6.00."

The man at the ticket counter said, "Hey, Mister, you could have saved yourself three bucks. You could have told me that the older one was six; I wouldn't have known the difference." The father replied, "Yes, that may be true, but the kids would have known the difference."

Moral: As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Who you are speaks so loudly I can't hear what you're saying." In challenging times when ethics are more important than ever before, make sure you set a good example for everyone.

17 Camels

Long ago, there lived an old man with his three sons in a deserted village, located in the desert. He had 17 camels, and they were the main source of his income. He used to rent out camels as a means of shipping goods. One day, he passed away. He had left a will, leaving his assets for his three sons.  After the funeral and the other obligations were over, the three sons read the will. While their father had divided all the property he had into three equal parts, he had divided the 17 camels in a different way. They were not shared equally among the three as 17 is an odd number that cannot be divided by 3.

The old man had stated that the eldest son will own half of the 17 camels, the middle one will get one-third of the 17 camels, and the youngest one will get his share of camels as one-ninth!  All of them were stunned and questioned each other on how to divide the 17 camels. It is not possible to divide 17 camels and give half of the 17 camels to the eldest one. It is not possible also to divide the camels for the other two sons.  They spent several days thinking of ways to divide the camels as mentioned in the will, but none could find the answer.

They finally took the issue to the wise man in their village. The wise man heard the problem and instantly found a solution. He asked them to bring all the 17 camels to him.  After the sons brought the camels to the wise man, the wise man added one of his own camels and made the total number of camels 18.

Per the will, the eldest son got half the camels, which was 9 camels! That left 9 more camels.

The second son was assigned 1 / 3 of the total camels, so he got 6 camels.  1/3 of 18 = 6

The third son was assigned  1/9th of the total number of camels, which was 2 camels – 18 / 9 = 2

In total, there were 9 + 6 + 2 camels shared by the brothers, which counted to 17 camels.

Now, the one camel added by the wise man was taken back and the problem was solved.  The wise man solved this problem with his intelligence.

Moral of the Story:  Intelligence is nothing but finding a common ground to solve an issue. In short, every problem has a solution.

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The Four Candles

Four candles were burning in a dark room. Their ambiance was so soft, you could hear them speak. The first candle said “I am Peace, but these days there is violence, hatred and catastrophes everywhere. It seems like the world doesn’t want me anymore. Therefore, I can’t stay here, and with that the candle of Peace went out.

The Second candle said, “I am trust and today there are lies and deceit and greed everywhere. I don’t think I am needed anymore. Therefore, I can’t stay here, and with that the candle of Trust went out.

The Third candle sadly said, “I am love, I have the power to keep burning, but today, everyone is so busy, no one has time for me. People have even forgotten to love their loved ones. I cannot bear this, therefore I am also going from this world, and with that, the candle of Love went out.

Just then, an innocent boy entered the room and seeing the extinguished candles, he said, “why didn’t you candles burn until the end? The Fourth candle said to the boy, “Dear child, don’t be sad. I am hope, and while I am burning, you can light the rest of the candles again.” Hearing this, the child took the candle of Hope and relit the candles of Peace, Faith and Love

Moral: When everything looks bad and there is darkness all around, don’t give up Hope because it has so much that it can give back to you when you feel everything is lost. Keep you candle of hope lit because if it keeps on burning, it can keep your candles of Peace, Trust and Love burning bright.

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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.

Keeping The Roots Strong

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.

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One Who Reads The Future

A man who lived a long time ago believed that he could read the future in the stars. He called himself an Astrologer and spent his time at night gazing at the sky. He was always busy focused on the future and villagers often came to him, hoping to know what their future holds.

One evening he was walking along the open road outside the village, His eyes fixed on the stars. He thought he saw that the end of the world was at near. Lost in his thoughts about the future, he kept walking without looking down. Suddenly, he fell into a ditch full of mud and water.

He was sinking in the muddy water, and madly trying to claw his way out.  Realizing he was unable to crawl out and fearing for his life, he started screaming for help. His cries for help soon brought the villagers running.

As they pulled him out of the mud, a woman said, “You pretend to read the future in the stars, and yet you fail to see what is at your feet! This may teach you to pay more attention to what is right in front of you, and let the future take care of itself.”

Another man said, “What use is it to read the stars in the sky, when you can’t see what’s right here on the earth?”

Moral: We all want our future to be bright and happy, but time doesn’t stop for anyone. Each tomorrow turns into today, your present is also a part your future. There is always a tomorrow to look forward to and improve, but you can’t go back to yesterday. So, stay in the present moment while you work for a better tomorrow.

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Puzzle To Open The Door

Puzzle To Open The Door

Once upon a time, there lived a mighty king who was growing very old.  Since he didn’t have any children, he worried about who the future heir of the kingdom would be.  He decided to hand the reins over to a qualified youth.  He conducted a merit test to choose his successor.  For the test, he built a magnificent palace with a puzzle written on the main door.  It was announced that all the youth of the kingdom are invited to solve the puzzle and open the door of the palace. The one who opens the door will be given that palace as a gift and will become heir to the kingdom.  From morning until evening, young men came to try to solve the puzzle written on the door, but no one could solve it. Many intelligent young people came from other lands, but one by one they went away in failure.  In the end, only 3 people were left; 2 from another kingdom and the 3rd was a simple young man from the kingdom’s village. While the young men from another kingdom tried to solve the puzzle, the young man from the village was standing in the corner watching them. The king asked, why are you not trying to solve the puzzle? The man said, “ I have come to watch the most intelligent people find the solution and become heir to the kingdom.  What could be more joyous than that?” If they can’t find a solution, then I will try.  Saying this, the young man went back and sat in the corner watching. Finally, the 2 men gave up and left. 

After seeing this, the young man from the village got up, went over to the door, and opened it. As soon as the door opened, people started asking him how he was able to solve the puzzle. The young man replied, “While I was sitting and watching everyone try to solve the puzzle, a thought came to mind that there might not be any puzzle to open the door.  So I went up to the door and just pushed, and it opened. There was no puzzle to be solved.”  The king heard his answer and was very pleased.  As promised, the young man was given the palace as a gift and declared heir to the kingdom. 

Moral:  Many times in life we get caught in a situation where we feel a big problem needs a complex and difficult solution. We think and think and overthink and get entangled in the answer. When the problem gets solved, we realize it was very simple and little effort was needed to solve it.  Therefore, one needs to see the big picture, think calmly and then try to solve a problem. 

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Little Boy’s Meeting with God

There once was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of root beer and started his journey. When he had gone about three blocks, he met an old woman. She was sitting in the park just staring at some pigeons.

The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the old lady looked hungry, so he offered her a Twinkie. She gratefully accepted it and smiled at him. Her smile was so pretty that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered her a root beer. Once again she smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word.

As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was, and he got up to leave but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the old woman, and gave her a hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever. When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, “What did you do today that made you so happy?” He replied, “I had lunch with God.” But, before his mother could respond, he added, “You know what? She’s got the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen!”

Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face and he asked, “Mother, what did you do today that made you so happy?” She replied, “I ate Twinkies in the park with God.” But, before her son responded, she added, “You know, he’s much younger than I expected.”

Moral: God is everywhere.  We just need to share our love and happiness and to make others smile to feel God’s presence..

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You Have Wasted Your Life

There was once a scientific convention where the most respected and accomplished scientists from different fields were invited from across the world. These were the women and men who were number one in their field of work. Even though they were at the top of their fields they were asked on many occasions by their interviewers “Do you ever feel like you have wasted your life?” Every scientist felt very proud of their sacrifices and hard work and simply laughed at the question.

The convention was hosted in an exclusive lakeside resort so that the scientists had a chance to relax in the woods or on the lake after the seminars. On the first day, a mathematician, a physicist, an astronomer, and a molecular biologist hired a boatman to row them around the lake. As they sat in the boat, they discussed string theory, different universes, hypotheses, and other abstruse topics. The biologist noticed the boatman listening to them. He asked him, “What do you think of these ideas?”

The boatman replied, “I didn’t understand any of them.” The astronomer then asked the boatman how far he had gotten with his academic achievements. The boatman told them he couldn’t even read. “I hate to say it,” said the physicist, “but you seem to have wasted your life.” The boatman decided to remain silent as the scientists continued to discuss their theories. After a while, the scientists started to scream with joy as they had just come up with a new theory that would change how all humans viewed the world. This was the discovery of a lifetime. Unfortunately, none of them had a computer, a smartphone, or a piece of paper to write it down. But they were not worried as they would have the chance to write everything down when they would get back.

By now they were out in the middle of the lake, far from shore when a sudden storm whipped up. The waves started churning and heaving and all of a sudden, the boat flipped over. The boatman started swimming for the shore when he heard the scientists cry out, “Help! We can’t swim!” The boatman knowing he can’t help them called back, “I hate to say it, but you seem to have wasted your life.”

Moral:  Sadly, many people think they have the right to tell you that you have wasted your life because you did or didn't do something. But they forget that every person has their own measure of happiness and achievement. 

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The Two Wolves

A Cherokee elder and his grandson are sitting around a fire. The elder speaks to his grandson about life. “A battle rages inside me,” he says. “It is dangerous, and it is between two wolves. One is evil. He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, lies, superiority, and ego.” “The other is good. He is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, empathy, generosity, truth, and faith. The same fight goes on inside of you and inside of everyone else as well.” The grandson pondered his words and asked, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee smiled and replied, “If you feed them right, they both win.” “You see, if I only feed the good wolf, the bad wolf will hide in the dark waiting for me to falter so that it can pounce and get the attention he craves. He will always be angry and will always be fighting the good wolf. But if I acknowledge him, both he and the good wolf can be satisfied, and we all win.

The bad wolf has qualities that I need, something the good wolf lacks: tenacity, courage, fearlessness, strong will, and resourcefulness. The good wolf instead provides compassion, caring, heart, and the ability to value the needs of others over my own. You see, the two wolves need each other. Feeding only one and starving the other will eventually make both uncontrollable. Caring for both wolves allows them both to serve you so that you can do something good with your time on earth. Feed them both and you will quiet their internal struggle for your attention, and, when there is no battle inside, you can then hear the voices of deeper knowledge that will guide you in choosing the right path in every circumstance.

Moral: He who has peace inside has everything. He who harbors a storm within his heart and soul has nothing. How you choose to treat the opposing forces within you will ultimately determine how you live.”

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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.

Black or White

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 and 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.

Moral: You must stand in the other person’s shoes and look at the situation through their eyes in order to truly understand their perspective

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Song of the Bird

A man found an eagle's egg and put it in a nest of a barnyard hen. The eagle hatched with the brood of chicks and grew up with them.  All his life, the eagle did what the barnyard chicks did, thinking he was a barnyard chicken. He scratched the earth for worms and insects. He clucked and cackled. And he would thrash his wings and fly a few feet in the air.

Years passed and the eagle grew very old. One day he saw a magnificent bird above him in the cloudless sky. It glided in graceful majesty among powerful wind currents, with scarcely a beat of its strong golden wings.

The old eagle looked up in awe. "Who's that?" he asked.

"That's the eagle, the king of the birds," said his neighbor. "He belongs to the sky. We belong to the earth -- we're chickens." So the eagle lived and died a chicken, for that's what he thought he was.

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A Cure For Sorrow

There is an old Chinese tale about a woman whose only son died. In her grief, she went to the holy man and said, “What prayers, what magical incantations do you have to bring my son back to life?”

Instead of sending her away or reasoning with her, he said to her, “Fetch me a mustard seed from a home that has never known sorrow. We will use it to drive the sorrow out of your life.” The woman went off at once in search of that magical mustard seed.

She came first to a splendid mansion, knocked at the door, and said, “I am looking for a home that has never known sorrow. Is this such a place? It is very important to me. “They told her, “You’ve certainly come to the wrong place,” and the person began to describe all the tragic things that recently had befallen them. The woman said to herself, “Who is better able to help these poor, unfortunate people than I, who have had misfortune of my own?” She stayed to comfort them, then went on in search of a home that had never known sorrow.

But wherever she turned, in towns, in the countryside, and in other places, she found one tale after another of sadness and misfortune. She became so involved in ministering to other people’s grief that ultimately, she forgot about her quest for the magical mustard seed, never realizing that it had, in fact, driven the sorrow out of her life.

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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.