All Because Of A Smile

She smiled at a sorrowful stranger.
The smile seemed to make him feel better.

He remembered a friend who was very kind
And wrote him a ‘Thank You’ letter in no time.
The friend was so happy with the ‘Thank You’ letter.
The next day he left a large tip for the waiter.
The waiter, surprised at the amount of tip money
Bet half the money on the big local lottery.
The next day he picked up his winnings from the lottery
And gave a part to a beggar in real misery.

The beggar was grateful for this kind deed.
For two days he had had nothing to eat.
After the beggar finished his food
He left for home – a hut of wood.
He was thinking of his little cozy room.
He didn’t know he might be facing his doom.
On the way he picked up a shivering puppy
And carried him home to get warm and be happy.
The puppy was very grateful needless to say.
He had found someone who could love him all the way.
That night the beggar’s house caught fire
Due to a nearby burning tyre.
The puppy barked and barked to sound the alarm.
He saved everyone in the village from harm.
One of the boys that he rescued safely
Grew up to be a great man of history.
See what a simple smile can do.
It brings hope – and happiness too. 

writer: anonymous

Inspiring Short Stories 4

BAD TEMPER

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.The first day, the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence.
Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.
The days passed and the boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence.
He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one."

BLURRED VISION
 
A businessman was highly critical of his competitors' storefront windows. "Why, they are the dirtiest windows in town," he claimed. Fellow business people grew tired of the man's continual criticism and nitpicking comments about the windows. One day over coffee, the businessman carried the subject just too far.
Before leaving, a fellow store owner suggested the man get his own windows washed. He followed the advice, and the next day at coffee, he exclaimed, "I can't believe it. As soon as I washed my windows, my competitor must have cleaned his too. You should see them shine."


Holy Man
 Word spread across the countryside about the wise Holy Man who lived in a small house atop the mountain.
A man from the village decided to make the long and difficult journey to visit him.
When he arrived at the house, he saw an old servant inside who greeted him at the door.
"I would like to see the wise Holy Man," he said to the servant. The servant smiled and led him inside. As they walked through the house, the man from the village looked eagerly around the house, anticipating his encounter with the Holy Man. Before he knew it, he had been led to the back door and escorted outside.
He stopped and turned to the servant, "But I want to see the Holy Man!"
"You already have," said the old man. "Everyone you may meet in life, even if they appear plain and insignificant... see each of them as a wise Holy Man. If you do this, then whatever problem you brought here today will be solved."

It's In Your Hands

Once there was a wise old man who could answer any question anyone asked him. Two young men decided to trick him. "We're going to fool that old man. We'll catch a bird and go to the old man and say, "This that we hold in our hands today, is it alive or is it dead?"
"If he says 'Dead', we'll turn it loose and let it fly, and if he says 'Alive', we'll crush it."
So they caught a bird and carried it to the old man. "This that we hold in our hands today, is it alive or is it dead?" they asked
The old man looked at the men, smiled and replied: "It's in your hands.”


 'MAY BE'

There is a story of a farmer whose horse ran away. That evening the neighbors gathered to console him since this was such bad luck. He said, "May be."
The next day the horse returned, but brought with it six wild horses, and the neighbors came exclaiming at his good fortune. He said, "May be."
And then, the following day, his son tried to saddle and ride one of the wild horses; he was thrown, and broke his leg. Again the neighbors came to offer their sympathy for the misfortune. He said, "May be."
The day after that, conscription officers came to the village to seize young men for the army, but because of the broken leg the farmer's son was rejected. When the neighbors came to say how fortunately everything had turned out, he said, "May be."

How Rich Are You?

One day a rich father took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose to show him how poor people can be. They spent a day and a night on the farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their trip the father asked his son,
"How was the trip?"
"Very good Dad!"
"Did you see how poor people can be?" the father asked.
"Yeah!"
"And what did you learn?"
The son answered, "I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden, they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the garden, they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard, they have a whole horizon."
When the little boy was finishing, his father was speechless.
His son added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are!"

Don’t Wait For 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 drove 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... 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 his fancy 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 little 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!

MOTHER 

A man stopped at a flower shop to order some flowers to be wired to his mother who lived two hundred miles away.
As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing.
He asked her what was wrong and she replied, "I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother.
But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars."
The man smiled and said, "Come on in with me. I'll buy you a rose."
He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother's flowers.
As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home.
She said, "Yes, please! You can take me to my mother."
She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave.
The man returned to the flower shop, canceled the wire order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother's house.

Sand and Stone
 A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face. The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand:
"TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE."

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one, who had been slapped, got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After the friend recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone: "TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE."

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?"

The other friend replied: "When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it."

LEARN TO WRITE YOUR HURTS IN THE SAND, AND TO CARVE YOUR BENEFITS IN STONE.

TWO FROGS

A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.

The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

A Rebellious Little Bird

There was once a little bird who decided to rebel against tradition, and when it came time to fly south for the winter, he decided to stay behind. All the other birds flew south for the warmer weather, leaving the rebellious one alone.

Of course, it wasn't long before the little bird discovered he had made a terrible mistake. Winter set in and it became very cold. So, he decided that he had better take off and fly south like his friends.

He started flying, but didn't get very far before the cold north wind began to freeze his wings, and he went plummeting down, down, down ... He fell straight down from the sky, through an open hole in the rooftop of a nearby barn, and directly into a fresh pile of cow dung.

Well, the warmth thawed out his wings, and soon he was feeling fine again. But, as his little head popped out from the smelly dung, along came a cat who plucked him up and ate him.

A Happy Cat



There is a story told about a cat who discovered that happiness was in his tail.

He kept trying over and over to get it, but all he could do was run around in circles.

Exhausted and frustrated, with this endless pursuit, he eventually stopped.

And then, he discovered that if he'd just go on about his life then the tail would follow him wherever he went.


Right and Wrong
  When a Zen Master held his seclusion-weeks of meditation, pupils from many parts of Japan came to attend. During one of these gatherings a pupil was caught stealing. The matter was reported to the Master with the request that the culprit be expelled. The Master ignored the case.
Later the pupil was caught in a similar act, and again the Master disregarded the matter. This angered the other pupils, who drew up a petition asking for the dismissal of the thief, stating that otherwise they would leave in a body.
When the Master had read the petition he called everyone before him. "You are wise brothers," he told them. "You know what is right and what is not right. You may go somewhere else to study if you wish, but this poor brother does not even know right from wrong. Who will teach him if I do not? I am going to keep him here even if all the rest of you leave."
A torrent of tears cleansed the face of the brother who had stolen. All desire to steal had vanished.

A Useless Life

A farmer got so old that he couldn't work the fields anymore. So he would spend the day just sitting on the porch. His son, still working the farm, would look up from time to time and see his father sitting there.
"He's of no use any more," the son thought to himself, "he doesn't do anything!"
One day the son got so frustrated by this, that he built a wood coffin, dragged it over to the porch, and told his father to get in. Without saying anything, the father climbed inside. After closing the lid, the son dragged the coffin to the edge of the farm where there was a high cliff. As he approached the drop, he heard a light tapping on the lid from inside the coffin. He opened it up. Still lying there peacefully, the father looked up at his son.
"I know you are going to throw me over the cliff, but before you do, may I suggest something?"
"What is it?" replied the son.
"Throw me over the cliff, if you like," said the father, "but save this good wood coffin. Your children might need to use it."

Just Two Words
There once was a monastery that was very strict. Following a vow of silence, no one was allowed to speak at all. But there was one exception to
this rule. Every ten years, the monks were permitted to speak just two words. After spending his first ten years at the monastery, one monk went to
the head monk.
"It has been ten years," said the head monk. "What are the two words you
would like to speak?"
"Bed... hard..." said the monk.
"I see," replied the head monk.
Ten years later, the monk returned to the head monk's office. "It has been ten
more years," said the head monk. "What are the two words you would like to speak?"
"Food... stinks..." said the monk.
"I see," replied the head monk.
Yet another ten years passed and the monk once again met with the head monk
who asked, "What are your two words now, after these ten years?"
"I... quit!" said the monk.
"Well, I can see why," replied the head monk. "All you ever do is complain."

We Can Make A Difference

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house,
The cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.
"I am ashamed of myself, and want to apologize to you."
"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?"
"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path."
Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again he expressed his feeling to the water bearer.
He replied by saying, "Did you notice that flowers were only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house." 

TRANSIENT

  A famous spiritual teacher came to the front door of the King's palace. None of the guards tried to stop him as he entered and made his way to where the King himself was sitting on his throne.
"What do you want?" asked the King, immediately recognizing the visitor.
"I would like a place to sleep in this inn," replied the teacher.
"But this is not an inn," said the King, "It is my palace."
"May I ask who owned this palace before you?"
"My father. He is dead."
"And who owned it before him?"
"My grandfather. He too is dead."
"And this place where people live for a short time and then move on - did I hear you say that it is NOT an inn?"

Working Very Hard

A martial arts student went to his teacher and said earnestly, "I am devoted to studying your martial system. How long will it take me to master it?" 

The teacher's reply was casual, "Ten years." 

Impatiently, the student answered, "But I want to master it faster than that. I will work very hard. I will practice everyday, ten or more hours a day if I have to. How long will it take then?" 

The teacher thought for a moment, "20 years."

It Will Pass

A student went to his meditation teacher and said, "My meditation is horrible! I feel so distracted, or my legs ache, or I'm constantly falling asleep. It's just horrible!"
"It will pass," the teacher said matter-of-factly.
A week later, the student came back to his teacher. "My meditation is wonderful! I feel so aware, so peaceful, so alive! It's just wonderful!'
"It will pass," the teacher replied matter-of-factly.

Heaven and Hell

  A man spoke with the Lord about Heaven and Hell. "I will show you Hell," said the Lord. And they went into a room which had a large pot of stew in the middle. The smell was delicious and around the pot sat people who were famished and desperate. All were holding spoons with very long handles which reached to the pot, but because the handles of the spoons were longer than their arms, it was impossible to get the stew into their mouths. Their suffering was terrible.
"Now I will show you Heaven," said the Lord, and they went into an identical room. There was a similar pot of stew and the people had the same identical spoons, but they were well nourished, talking and happy.
At first the man did not understand.
"It is simple," said the Lord. "You see, they have learned to feed each other."

The Obstacle in Our Path
In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the  huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest people came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the big stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and  tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing
and straining, he finally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his  load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the  boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many others never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one's condition. 

No Shoes - Appreciating what we have ...
There was once a little boy named
La Lo Li.
He was in a way, a spoilt brat, you can see.

He was so lucky to get so many toys.

But he remained one of the most grumpy boys.

“I want this and that,” he would nag his mother most constantly.
To his poor mother, he was a headache and an agony.

One day he told his mother demandingly,
“I must have a pair of shoes – Reebok or Nike !”

“You have so many pairs of shoes already.
You should not be so demanding and greedy!”

But the bad boy kept on complaining. You would think he was good for nothing.

One evening his mother took him for a stroll.
It was at the beach where you could see waves roll.

La Lo Li suddenly heard someone singing.
The melodious voice was a most lovely thing.

“Who is singing so happily Mummy ?”

“Well Lo Li, walk on and we will soon see !”

They came upon a boy with a smile so sweet.
He had sparkling eyes, lovely hair and pure white teeth.

There he was singing happily – so carefree and meek.

When Lo Li looked down, he was shocked – the boy had no feet.
Misty tears flowed out of Lo Li’s little eyes.

He realized that to him, Life had been so nice.

He kissed his mother with these words flowing :“Mummy I’m sorry I’m always wanting.”
Dear Boys and Girls :Think of this carefully .Appreciate what you have happily.

So many suffering ones need our love and care.Count our Blessings – it is time to give and share.

source: dhamma T Intan blogsite

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FLOWER

The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read
Beneath the long,straggly branches of an old willow tree.
Disillusioned by life with good reason to frown,
For 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 next to my side
And placed the flower to his nose and declared with overacted 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 in 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 woman 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 the beauty in life,
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 I watched that young boy, Another weed in his hand,
About to change the life of an unsuspecting old man. 

writer:
anonymous

Inspiring Short Stories 3

Digging A Well

A man wanted to dig a well to water his farm. After digging for some time in a place recommended by water-diviners, he found no water and got disgusted. He had dug only about fifteen feet.

Along came another man who laughed at him for digging there, and pointed to another place. The farmer went over to that spot and dug and dug, for about twenty feet. Still no water, and very tired, he finally took the advice of an old neighbor who assured him there was water at yet another place.
After he had given up that one too, his wife came out and said, "Where are your brains? Does anyone sink a well that way? Stay in one place and go deeper and deeper there!"
Next day, rested, the farmer spent all day on one hole and found abundant water.

Put the Glass Down
by Author Unknown

A lecturer was giving a lecture to his student on stress management.
He raised a glass of water and asked the audience, "How heavy do you think this glass of water is?" The students' answers ranged from 20g to 500gm.
"It does not depend on the absolute weight. It depends on how long you hold it. "
"If I hold it for a minute, it is OK. If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance.
It is the exact same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."
"If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will not be able to carry on; the burden becoming increasingly heavier."
"What you have to do is to put the glass down, rest for a while before holding it up again."
We have to put down the burden periodically, so that we can be refreshed and are able to carry on. So before you return home from work tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it back home. You can pick it up tomorrow.Whatever burden you are having now on your shoulders, let it down for a moment if you can. Pick it up again later when you have rested... Rest and relax.Life is short, enjoy it!!

The Trouble Tree ....
by Author Unknown

The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farm house had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire had caused him to miss an hour of work, his electric saw quit, and now his ancient pick-up truck refused to start.
As I drove him home, he sat in stony silence. When we arrived he invited me in to meet his family. As we walked to the front door, he paused briefly at a small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. When opening the door he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed in smiles; he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss.
Afterward he walked me to the car. We passed by the tree and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.
"Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied. "I know I can't help having troubles on the job, but one thing's for sure, they don't belong in the house with my wife and children. So, I just hang them on the tree when I come home in the evening and then I just pick them up again in the morning."
"Funny thing, though," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick 'em up, there ain't nearly as many as I remembered hanging there the night before."

'Conditional Love'

A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam.
He called his parents from San Francisco. "Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've got a favor to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring with me."
"Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him."
"There's something you should know," the son continued, "he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mined and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us."
"I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live."
"No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us."
"Son," said the father, "you don't know what you're asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He'll find a way to live on his own."
At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him.
A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide.
The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know, their son had only one arm and one leg.

Author Unknown

 THE OAK TREE AND THE REEDS

There is an old fable in which the mighty oak tree which stood for over one hundred years finally was blown over by a storm. The tree fell into a river that floated it downstream until it came to rest among the reeds growing along the riverbank. The fallen giant asked the reeds in amazement, "How is it that you were able to weather the storm that was too powerful for me, an oak tree, to withstand?"
The reeds replied, "All these years you stubbornly resisted the winds that swept your way. You took such pride in your strength that you refused to yield, even a little bit. We, on the other hand, have not resisted the winds, but have always bent with them. We recognized the superior power of the wind and so, the harder the wind blew the more we humbled ourselves before it."

A Gift Of Love

"Can I see my baby?" the happy new mother asked. When the bundle was nestled in her arms and she moved the fold of cloth to look upon his tiny face, she gasped. The doctor turned quickly and looked out the tall hospital window. The baby had been born without ears.
Time proved that the baby's hearing was perfect. It was only his appearance that was marred. When he rushed home from school one day and flung himself into his mother's arms, she sighed, knowing that his life was to be a succession of heartbreaks. He blurted out the tragedy. "A boy, a big boy ... called me a freak."
He grew up, handsome for his misfortune. A favorite with his fellow students, he might have been class president, but not.
He developed a gift, a talent for literature and music.
The boy's father had a session with the family physician.
"Could nothing be done?"
"I believe I could graft on a pair of outer ears, if they could be procured," the doctor decided.
Whereupon the search began for a person who would make such a sacrifice for a young man. Two years went by.
Then,"You are going to the hospital, Son. Mother and I have someone who will donate the ears you need."said the father.
The operation was a brilliant success, and a new person emerged. His talents blossomed into genius, and school and college became a series of triumphs.
Later he married and entered the diplomatic service.
"But I must know!" He urged his father, "Who gave so much for me? I could do enough for him."
"I do not believe you could," said the father, "but the agreement was that you are not to know ... not yet."

The years kept their profound secret, but the day did come ... one of the darkest days that a son must endure. He stood with his father over his mother's casket. Slowly, tenderly, the father stretched forth a hand and raised the thick, reddish-brown hair to reveal that the mother had no outer ears.

"Mother said she was glad she never let her hair be cut," he whispered gently, "and nobody ever thought Mother less beautiful, did they?"

Take Hold of Every Moment
by Author Unknown
 A friend of mine opened his wife's underwear drawer and picked up a silk paper wrapped package: "This, - he said - isn't any ordinary package."He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box. "She got this the first time we went to New York , 8 or 9 years ago. She has never put it on. Was saving it for a special occasion. Well, I guess this is it." He got near the bed and placed the gift box next to the other clothing he was taking to the funeral house, his wife had just died.
He turned to me and said:
"Never save something for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion."I still think those words changed my life.
Now I read more and clean less.
I sit on the porch without worrying about anything.
I spend more time with my family, and less at work.
I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to, not survived through.
I no longer keep anything.
I use crystal glasses every day.
I'll wear new clothes to go to the supermarket, if I feel like it.
I don't save my special perfume for special occasions, I use it whenever I want to.
The words "Someday..." and "One Day..." are fading away from my dictionary.
If it's worth seeing, listening or doing, I want to see, listen or do it now.I don't know what my friend's wife would have done if she knew she wouldn't be there the next morning, this nobody can tell. I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends. She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels. I'd like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favorite food. It's these small things that I would regret not doing, if I knew my time had come. I would regret it, because I'd no longer see the friends I would meet, and the letters...that I wanted to write "one of these days". I would regret and feel sad, because I didn't say to my brother and sisters, son and daughters, not enough times at least, how much I love them.

ONE HOUR OF TIME
A man came home from work late again, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

"Daddy, may I ask you a question?"

"Yeah, sure, what is it?" replied the man.

"Daddy, how much money do you make an hour?"

"That's none of your business. What makes you ask such a thing?" the man said angrily.

"I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?" pleaded the little boy.

"If you must know, I make $20.00 an hour."

"Oh," the little boy replied, head bowed.Looking up, he said, "Daddy, may I borrow $10.00 please?

"The father was furious. "If the only reason you wanted to know how much money I make is just so you can borrow some to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you're being so selfish. I work long, hard hours everyday and don't have time for such childish games."

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even madder about the little boy's questioning. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money? After an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think he may have been a little hard on his son. Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $10.00 and he really didn't ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

"Are you asleep son?" he asked.

"No daddy, I'm awake," replied the boy.

"I've been thinking, may be I was too hard on you earlier," said the man."It's been a long day and I took my aggravation out on you. Here's that $10.00 you asked for."

The little boy sat straight up, beaming. "Oh, thank you daddy" he yelled.Then, reaching under his pillow, he pulled out some more crumpled up bills. The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at the man.

"Why did you want more money if you already had some? " the father grumbled.

"Because I didn't have enough, but now I do," the little boy replied.

"Daddy, I have $20.00 now. Can I buy an hour of your time?"
--- Author Unknown

ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD ...

While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground. "That's my son over there," she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide.
"He's a fine looking boy," the man said. "That's my son on the swing in the blue sweater." Then, looking at his watch, he called to his son. "What do you say we go, Todd?"
Todd pleaded, "Just five more minutes, Dad. Please? Just five more minutes." The man nodded and Todd continued to swing to his heart's content.
Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his son. "Time to go now?"
Again Todd pleaded, "Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes." The man smiled and said, "Okay."
"My, you certainly are a patient father," the woman responded.
The man smiled and then said, "My older son Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy and now I'd give anything for just five more minutes with him. I've vowed not to make the same mistake with Todd.
"He thinks he has five more minutes to swing. The truth is ...
I get five more minutes to watch him play."

Life As A Jewel


One afternoon Guru Nanak and his company were resting on the banks of the Ganges at Patna. Mardana was idly inspecting a stone he had picked up along the road, thinking of the vast throngs who had come to hear the Guru.
"Master," said Mardana, "you teach a way for every person to find liberation. But many of those who listen still seem to spend much of their time in conflict, and in seeking out excitement and other idle pursuits. Why do they waste away their lives so?"
"Most people don't recognize its value," replied the Guru, "although human life is the dearest treasure on this earth."
"Surly everyone can see the value of life," said Mardana.
"No," said Nanak. "Each man places his own value on things according to what he thinks. A different man with different knowledge will place a different value. That stone you found in the dirt will make a good example. Take it to the marketplace and see what you can get for it."
Puzzled, Mardana took the stone to the marketplace and at a stall that sold sweets asked what the vendor would trade for it.
The man laughed. "Go away, you're wasting my time."
He next tried a produce seller. "I have paying customers to wait on," said the grocer.
"I'll give you an onion for it just to get you out of here."
Mardana tried several more shops with no better response.
Finally he came to the shop of Salis Raj, the jeweler. Salis Raj's eyes opened wide when he saw the stone. "I'm sorry," he said, "I don't have enough money to buy your gem. But I will give you a hundred rupees if you will let me look at it a while longer."
Mardana hurried back to the Guru to tell him what had happened.
"See," said Guru Nanak, "how when we are ignorant we mistake a valuable gem for a worthless stone. If someone had told you its value before you knew what it was, you would have thought they were crazy. Such a jewel is human life, and whatever you've traded for it, that is what is yours."

COINS WITH TWO HEADS

Once upon a time, there was a general who was leading his army into battle against an enemy ten times the size of his own.

Along the way to the battle field, the troops stopped by a small temple to pray for victory.

The general held up a coin and told his troops, "I am going to implore the gods to help us crush our enemy. If this coin lands with the heads on top, we'll win. If it's tails, we'll lose. Our fate is in the hands of the gods. Let's pray wholeheartedly."

After a short prayer, the general tossed the coin. It landed with the heads on top. The troops were overjoyed and went into the battle with high siprit.

Just as predicted, the smaller army won the battle.

The soldiers were exalted, "It's good to have the gods on our side! No one can change what they have determined."

"Really?" The general show them the coin--both sides of it were heads.

Faith & Works

There was an old man who operated a rowboat for ferrying passengers between an island and the mainland. One day a passenger noticed that he had painted on one oar the word "Works," and on the other oar the word "Faith." Curiosity led him to ask the meaning of this.

The old man replied, "I will show you," dropping one oar, rowing only with the oar named "Works." Of course, the boat just went around in circles. Then he switched oars, picking up "Faith" and dropping "Works." And the little rowboat went around in circles again—this time in the opposite direction.

After this demonstration, the old man picked up both oars "Faith" and "Works," and rowing with both oars together swiftly coursed over the water. He looked at the passenger and said, "You see, that is the way it is in life as well as in rowing a boat. You got to keep both oars in the water, otherwise, you’ll just go in circles."


The Boy & the Orange

During the darkest hours of the Civil War a tall, thin man with very long legs and a frowning wrinkled face walked along a Washington street. His eyes were fixed on the pavement; his lips were moving and he looked crossed.
There was a ragged young urchin standing barefoot on the curb, his dirty hands clutched behind him, his lips twisting and his big eyes fixed on a pile of oranges in a vendor’s cart. The vendor’s back was turned while he made change for a customer. The tall man passed the boy, stopped suddenly, plunged his hand in his pocket and bought a large orange. He gave it to the boy and went on.
The boy was grinning and had already sunk his teeth into the orange, when a passerby asked him if he knew who gave him the orange. The boy shook his head. "That was President Lincoln," he was informed. "Now, hurry and go thank him."
The boy ran, caught the tails of Lincoln’s long black coat, and as the stern face turned sharply toward him, the boy shouted, "Thank you, Mr. President!’
Suddenly that frowned face beamed into a beautiful smile. "You’re welcome, boy. You wanted to steal that orange while the man’s back was turned, didn’t you? But you wouldn’t because it wasn’t honest. That’s the right way. I wish some men and women I know were more like you."

Love, Wealth and Success

 

A woman came out of her house and saw three old men in her front yard.
She did not recognize them. She said, "I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry.Please come in and have something to eat."
"Is the man of the house home?" they asked.
"No", she said. "He's out."
"Then we cannot come in", they replied.
In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened.
"Go tell them I am home and invite them in," he said.
The woman went out and invited the men in.
"We do not go into a house together," they replied.
"Why is that?" she wanted to know.
One of the old men explained: "His name is Wealth," he said pointing to one of his friends, and said pointing to another one, "He is Success, and I am Love."
Then he added, "Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home."
The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed.
"How nice!" he said. "Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!"
His wife disagreed. "My dear, why don't we invite Success?"
Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house.
She jumped in with her own suggestion: "Would it not be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love!"
"Let us heed our daughter-in-law's advice," said the husband to his wife. "Go out and invite Love to be our guest."
The woman went out and asked the three old men, "Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest."
Love got up and started walking toward the house. The other two also got up and followed him.
Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: "I only invited Love, why are you coming in?"
The old men replied together:
"If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would've stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!"

writer: Anonymous

Inspiring Short Stories 2

A Pile of Dry Shit

One day a famous government officer met a highly respected edlerly master. Being conceited, he wanted to prove that he was the superior person.
As their conversation drew on, he asked the master, "Old monk, do you know what I think of you and the things you said?"
The master replied, "I don't care what you think of me. You are entitled to have your own opinion."
The officer snorted, "Well, I will tell you what I think anyway. In my eyes, you are just like a pile of dry shit!"
The master simply smiled and stayed quiet.
Seeing that his insult had fallen into deaf ears, he asked curiously, "And what do you think of me?"
The master said, "In my eyes, you are just like the Buddha."
Hearing this remark, the officer left happily and bragged to his wife about the incident.
His wife said to him, "You conceited fool! When a person has a heart like a pile of dry shit, he sees everyone in that light. The elderly master has a heart like that of the Buddha, and that is why in his eyes, everyone, including you, is like the Buddha!"

Two Nickels and Five Pennies

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table.
A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.
"How much is an ice cream sundae?"
"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.
The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it.
"How much is a dish of plain ice cream?" he inquired.
Some people were now waiting for a table and the waitress was a bit impatient.
"Thirty-five cents," she said brusquely.
The little boy again counted the coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.
The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and departed.
When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw.
There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies - her tip.


Struggle
by UnknownA man found a cocoon of a butterfly. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through the little hole at the end.Eventually, the butterfly stopped making progress.
It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. The man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily, but it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

'Angry Buddha' - A Lesson In Patience

by Thitch Nhat Hahn

A woman who practiced reciting Buddha Amitabha's name, was very tough and recited "NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA" three times daily. Although she was doing this practice for over 10 years, she was still quite mean, shouting at people all the time. She would start her practice lighting incense and hitting a little bell.
A friend wanted to teach her a lesson, and just as she began her recitation, he came to her door and called out: "Miss Nuyen, Miss Nuyen!".
As this was the time for her practice she got annoyed, but she said to herself: "I have to struggle against my anger, so I will just ignore it."
And she continued: "NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA, NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA..."
But the man continued to shout her name, and she became more and more oppressive.
She struggled against it and wondered if she should stop the recitation to give the man a piece of her mind, but she continued reciting: "NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA, NAMO AMITABHA BUDDHA..."
The man outside heard it and continued: "Miss Nuyen, Miss Nuyen..."
Then she could not stand it anymore, jumped up, slammed the door and went to the gate and shouted: "Why do you have to behave like that? I am doing my practice and you keep on shouting my name over and over!"
The gentleman smiled at her and said: "I just called your name for ten minutes and you are so angry. You have been calling Amitabha Buddha's name for more then ten years now; just imagine how angry he must be by now!" 

As you sow, so shall you reap

Nature never leaves you empty-handed.
There was a farmer named Fleming in Scotland.
One day he heard a call for help. He saw a boy sinking in the quicksand. Fleming pulled the boy out of the quicksand; he affectionately patted him and told him to go home. Then, he returned to his farming job again.
Next day, a well dressed gentleman arrived at his hut. "You saved the life of my son; i wish to present you with a reward," he said. But Fleming said that he had only done his duty. Spotting a boy in rags, the gentleman asked Fleming if that was his son. Fleming nodded. And the gentleman took the responsibility for the boy's education.

Years later the farmer's son became a scientist, Alexander Fleming. He became renowned for his invention of Penicillin. A few months after the invention, the boy who his father saved got a severe attack of pneumonia. And his life was saved, this time by Fleming Jr's invention.
What goes around does come around. As you sow, so shall you reap, in whatever form. Nature returns everything with interest.

THE MARBLE TILES
There was this museum laid with beautiful marble tiles, with a huge marble statue displayed in the middle of the lobby. Many people came from all over the world just to admire this beautiful marble statue.
One night, the marble tiles started talking to the marble statue.
Marble tile: "Marble statue, it's just not fair, it's just not fair! Why does everybody from all over the world come all the way here just to step on me while admiring you? Not fair!"
Marble statue: "My dear friend, marble tile. Do you still remember that we were actually from the same cave?"
Marble tile: "Yeah! That's why I feel it is even more unfair. We were born from the same cave and yet we receive different treatment now. Not fair!" he cried again.
Marble statue: "Then, do you still remember the day when the designer tried to work on you, but you resisted the tools?"
Marble tile: "Yes, of course I remember. I hate that guy! How could he use those tools on me, it hurt so badly."
Marble statue: "That's right! He couldn't work on you at all as you resisted being worked on."
Marble tile: "So???"
Marble statue: "When he decided to give up on you and start working on me instead, I knew at once that I would be something different after his efforts. I did not resist his tools, instead I bore all the painful tools he used on me.."
Marble tile: "Mmmmmm......."
Marble statue: "My friend, there is a price to everything in life. Since you decided to give up half way, you can't blame anybody who steps on you now."
Author Unknown

Peace

 There once was a King who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The King looked at all the pictures, but there were only two he really liked and he had to choose between them.
One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror, for peaceful towering mountains were all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.
The other picture had mountains too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky from which rain fell and in which lightening played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all. But when the King looked, he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest... perfect peace.
Which picture do you think won the prize?
The King chose the second picture. Do you know why? "Because," explained the King, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart. That is the real meaning of peace."

The Rabbi and the Soapmaker . . . .

A rabbi and a soapmaker were walking together. The soapmaker said, "What good is religion? Look at all the trouble and misery of the world! Still there, even after years—thousands of years—of teaching about goodness and truth and peace;
still there, after all the prayers and sermons and teachings; if religion is supposed to be good and true, why can this be?"
The rabbi said nothing, deep in thought. They continued walking until the rabbi noticed children playing. Then the rabbi said, "Look at those children. You say that soap makes children clean, but see the dirt on those children? Of what good is soap? With all the soap in the world, over all these years, the children are filthy. I wonder how effective soap is, after all?"
The soapmaker was quick to protest, "But, Rabbi, soap cannot do any good unless it is used often."
"Exactly!" replied the rabbi.


Drowning Man
 While out to sea, a large boat became shipwrecked and there was only a single survivor. This man prayed and asked God to save his life.
Soon thereafter, another boat came by and offered the man some help. "No thanks," he said. "I'm waiting for God to save me."
The men on the boat shrugged their shoulders and continued.
As the man became more deeply concerned, another boat came by.
Again, the people aboard offered this man some help, and again he politely decline.
"I'm waiting for God to save me," he said again. After some time, the man began to lose his faith, and soon after that he died.
Upon reaching Heaven, he had a chance to speak with God briefly. "Why did you let me die? Why didn't you answer my prayers?"
"Dummy, I sent you two boats!" 

A Box of Kisses
by Author Unknown
 The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree.
Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy." He was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found the box was empty.
He yelled at her, "Don't you know that when you give someone a present, there's supposed to be something inside it?"
The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said,"Oh, Daddy, it is not empty. I blew kisses into the box. All for you, Daddy."
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.
It is told that the man kept that gold box by his bed for years and whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

Life is All About Choices

John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, 'If I were any better, I would be twins!' 

He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.
Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, 'I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?'

He replied, 'Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or .... you can choose to be in a bad mood I choose to be in a good mood.

Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or... I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.'

'Yeah, right, it's not that easy,' I protested.

'Yes, it is,' he said. 'Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life.'

I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.
Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back. I saw him about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, 'If I were any better, I'd be twins...Wanna see my scars?' I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

'The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter,' he replied. 'Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live.'

'Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?' I asked.

He continued, '..the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man'. I knew I needed to take action..'

'What did you do?' I asked.

'Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me,' said John. 'She asked if I was allergic to anything 'Yes, I replied.'

The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply.. I took a deep breath and yelled, 'Gravity'.'

Over their laughter, I told them, 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead.' 

He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude...

I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.'
After all today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

writer: anonymous