May be...

     There was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news his neighbours came to visit. "Such bad luck," they said sympathetically. "May be," the farmer replied.

     The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. "How wonderful !" the neighbours exclaimed. "May be," replied the old man. The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbours again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune. "May be," answered the farmer.

     The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son's leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbours congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. "May be," said the farmer.

Moral :  Whatever happens happens for good !

The Woman and The Stone...

     A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman.

    " I've been thinking,"  he said, " I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone. "

Pan Cakes...

     Six years old Brandon decided one saturday morning to fix his parents pancakes. He found a big bowl and spoon, pulled a chair to the counter, opened the cupboard and pulled out the heavy flour canister, spilling it on the floor. He scooped some of the flour into the bowl with his hands, mixed in most of a cup of milk and added some sugar, leaving alfoury trail on the floor which by now had a few tracks left by his kitten. Brandon was covered with flour and getting frustrated. He wanted this to be something very good for Mom and Dad, but it was getting very bad. He did't know what to do next, whether to put it all into the oven or on the stove, (and he didn't know how the stove worked ! ) . Suddenly he saw his kitten licking from the bowl of mix and reached to push her away, knocking the egg carton to the floor. Frantically he tried to clean up this monumental mess but slipped on the eggs, getting his pajamas white and sticky.


     And just then he saw Dad standing at the door. Big crocodile tears welled up in Brandon's eyes. All he'd wanted to do was something good, but he'd made a terrible mess. He was sure a scolding was coming, maybe even a spanking. But his father just watched him. Then, walking through the mess, he picked up his crying son, hugged him and loved him, getting his own pajamas white and sticky in the process.


     That's how God deals with us. We try to do something good in life, but it turns into a mess. Our marriage gets all sticky or we insult a friend or we can't stand our job or our health goes sour. Sometimes we just stand there in tears because we can't think of anything else to do. That's when God picks us up and loves us and forgives us, even though some of our mess gets all over Him. But just because we might mess up, we can't stop trying like Brandon to 'make pancakes,' for God or for others. Sooner or later we'll get it right, and then they'll be glad we tried.

Destiny...

     During a momentous battle, a Japanese General decided to attack even though his army was greatly outnumbered. He was confident they would win, but his men were filled with doubt.

     On the way to the battle, they stopped at a religious shrine. After praying with the men, the General took out a coin and said, " I shall now toss this coin. If it is heads we shall win. If tails, we shall lose. Destiny will now reveal itself."

     He threw the coin into the air and all watched intently as it landed. It was heads. The soldiers were so overjoyed and filled with confidence that they vigourously attacked the enemy and were victorious. After the battle a lieutenant remarked to the General, " No one can change desiny." "Quite right" the General replied as he showed the Lieutenant the coin, which had heads on both sides.

     Faith can move mountains. There is nothing like the power of positive thinking. If you believe in yourself or that a higher power is on your side, you can accomplish anything.

The Burden...

     Once upon a time many moons ago, two monks were walking in silence through the forest ; a younger monk, Anjan, and an older monk Nanda. Eventually their path led to a stream. There they saw a beautiful young lady, exquisitely clad, standing on the bank. She was in great distress because she wanted to cross the stream, but did not know how, without getting her fine long robes wet.

     Without hesitation, Nanda scooped her up, crossed the stream, and set her down on dry ground. She thanked him and continued on her way, and the monks continued on theirs, again in silence. Anjan was uncertain, distressed and confused.

     He became more and more restless and then finally he spoke. " Brother Nanda," he said, " I do not know what to make of it. You know our order is an austere order, and we cannot so much as speak to a woman. But.... but.... you saw that lady, you.... uh .... picked her up and carried her across the stream ! And yet...." he continued, almost choking, " You just keep on walking as if nothing happened !"

     " It is quite simple," Nanda replied. Our order also instructs us to help people in need. I carried a helpless woman and set her down on the opposite bank, but you, Brother Anjan, are still carrying her !" So who, indeed , had the lighter burder, and the lighter step?

     Purity is a state of mind, an awareness of one's nature and freedom from attachment of any kind. An act is good or bad according to the quality of thoughts.

Unconditional Love...

     A store owner was putting up a sign that read "Puppies for Sale". Soon a little boy came along and asked, " How much are you gonna sell those puppies for ? "  The store owner replied, "Anywhere between $30 to $50." The little boy reached into his pocket and pulled out some change. He said, " I have only $2.37, but can I have a look at them?" The store owner smiled and whistled.
      Out of the kennel came his dog named Lady, running down the aisle followed by five little puppies.

     One puppy was lagging considerably behind. The little boy immediately singled him out. He asked the owner what was wrong with that one and the owner explained that the pup was born with a bad hip socket and would limp all his life.

     The little boy was all set to buy that particular pup. The store owner tried to convince him that he would not really want a lame pup, but the little boy was adamant to buy the same for the same price as the others. He did not want the store owner to give the pup to him free. He looked him straight in the eye and said, " This pup is worth every bit as much as the other dogs and I'll pay the full price. In fact, I will give you $2.37 now and 50 cents every month until I have him paid for." Still the store owner tried to tell the boy that the pup would not be able to run, jump and play like the other puppies. Then the little boy reached down and rolled up his pant leg to reveal a badly twisted, crippled left leg supported by a big metal brace. He looked up at the man and said, "Well, I don't run so well myself and the little puppy will need someone who understands."

      Tears welled up in the store owner's eyes and he smiled and said, "Son, I hope and pray that each and every one of these puppies will have an owner such as you."

     We may never know of a greater character unless there is in ourselves something congenial to it. In life, it does'nt matter who you are, but whether, someone appreciates you for what you are, accepts you and loves you unconditionally.

The Scar That Changed to Beauty...

     A little boy invited his mother to attend his school's first parent-teacher conference. To the little boy's dismay she agreed to go. He immediately felt that this would be the first time his classmates and his teachers would meet his mother and he somehow was embarrassed by her appearance. Although his mother was beautiful; she had a very prominent scar that covered nearly the entire right side of her face. The little boy never had the courage to talk about this scar either with his mom or anyone else. During the conference, he overheard the conversation between his mother and his teacher as he stood hiding a little far away from where his mom stood. In the course of their conversation, the teacher did ask his mother how she got her face scared. And his mother was telling her... When my son was a baby, suddenly one day the room he was in, caught fire. Nobody wanted to go in because the fire was out of control. At that moment, she rushed in. As she ran towards his crib, she saw a beam coming down and so she placed herself over her body to shield him. In the process, she was knocked unconscious and a fireman fortunately came in and saved both of them. She then went on to say that the scar would be permanent and she never regretted doing what she did.

     At that moment, the little boy hearing this ran up to his mother and hugged her with tears in his eyes. At once he felt an overwhelming sense of pride for his mother which changed his feelings for her, all at once. 

      In this story even the scarred appearance changed to beauty.