Take One Step at a Time...

     A farmer's donkey fell into a well and the poor animal brayed piteously for hours, as the farmer did not know what to do. Since the animal was old, the farmer decided that it just wasn't worth retrieving the donkey and decided to cover up the well as well. So he called all his neighbours to help him shovel mud into the well to cover it up. At first the donkey realised what was happening and brayed horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quietened down.

     A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of mud that hit the donkey's back, he was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed to see the donkey stepping up over the edge of the well and trotting off.

     Life is so much like this,  all kinds of dirt is shovelled on our lives. Like the donkey, we too can shake it off and take a step up.  Life isn't easy... that's just the way it is.

A Glass of Milk...

     One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a glass of milk. He drank it slowly and then asked, "How much do I owe you?"
     "You don't owe me anything", she replied. "Mother taught us never to accept pay for a kindness."
     He said, "Then I thank you from my heart."

     Years later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room.

     Dressed in his doctor's gown, he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case. After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally, she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words....

                               " Paid in full with one glass of milk."
                                       
                                                     signed
                                             Dr. Howard Kelly

    



    
   

You Have Two Choices...

     Jerry is the manager of a restaurant. He is always in a good mood. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would always reply, " If I were any better, I would be twins !"

     Many of the waiters at his restaurant quit their jobs when he changed jobs , so they could follow him around from restaurant to restaurant...because Jerry was a normal motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was always 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 to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it ! No one can be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, I have two choices today. I can choose to be in a good mood or I can choose to be in a bad mood. I always choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be victim or I can choose to learn from it. I always choose to learn from it. Everytime someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I always choose the positive side of life."
     "But it's not always that easy," I protested.
     "Yes it is," Jerry 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 will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. It's your choice how you live your life."

     Several years later, I heard that Jerry accidentally did something you are never supposed to do in the restaurant business. He left the back door of his restaurant open and then in the morning, he was robbed by three armed men. While Jerry trying to open the safe box, his hand shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found quickly and rushed to the hospital. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

     I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, " If I were any better, I'd be twins. Want to see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.

     "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have looked the back door," Jerry replied, "Then after they shot me as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices : I could choose to live or could choose to die. I choose to live."
     "Weren't you scared?" I asked. Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the Emergency Room and I saw the expression 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 nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry.
     "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, "Bullets !"
     "Once their laughter," I told them, "I am choosing to live. Please operate on me as if I am alive, not dead !"

     Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that everyday you have the choice to either enjoy your life or to hate it.

Who I am Makes a Difference...

     A teacher in New York, decided to honour each of her seniors in High School by tellling them the difference each of them had made. She called each student to the front of the class one at a time. First she told each of them how they had made a difference to her and the class. Then she presented each of them with a blue ribbon, imprinted with gold letters, which read, "Who I am Makes a Difference."

     Afterwards, the teacher decided to do a class project, to see what kind of impact recognition would have on a Community. She gave each student three more blue ribbons, and instructed them to go out and spread this acknowledgement ceremony. Then they were to follow up on the results, see who honored whom and report to the class in about a week.

     One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby company, and honored him for helping him with his career planning. He gave him a blue ribbon, and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him two extra ribbons and said, "We're doing a class project on recognition, and we'd like for you to go out, find some one to honour, and give them a blue ribbon.

     Later that day, the junior executive went into see his boss, who had a reputation of being kind of a grouchy fellow. He told him that he deeply admired him for being a creative genius. The boss said, "Well sure." The junior executive took one of the blue ribbons and placed it right on his boss's jacket, above his heart, and then he asked, offering him the last ribbon, "Would you take this extra ribbon, and pass it on by honouring somebody else?... the teenager who gave me these is doing a school project, and we want to keep this ribbon cermony going and see how it affects people."

     That night, the boss came home and sat down with his 14 years old son. He said, "The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my office, and one of my employees came in and told me he admired me, and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius. Imagine ! He thinks I am creative genius ! Then he put a blue ribbon on me that says, "Who I am Makes a Difference." He gave me an extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor. As I was driving home tonight, I started thinking about who I would honour with this ribbon, and I thought about you. I want to honour you.....My days are hectic and when I come home, I don't pay a lot of attention to you. I yell at you for not getting good enough grades and for your messy bedroom. Somehow tonight, I just wanted to sit here and , well,  just let you know that you do make a difference to me. Besides your mother, you are the most important person in my life. You're a great kid, and I love you !"

     The startled boy started to sob and sob, and he couldn't stop crying. His whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his tears, "Dad, earlier tonight I sat in my room and wrote a letter to you and Mom, explaining why I had took my life, and I asked you to forgive me. I was going to commit suicide tonight after you were asleep. I just didn;t think that you cared at all. The letter is upstairs. I don;t think I'll need it after all."
     His father walked upstairs and found a heartfelt letter full of anguish and pain.

     The boss went back to work a changed man. He was no longer a grouch, but made sure to let all of his employees know that they made a difference.

     The junior executive helped many other young people with career planning, one being the boss' son, and never forgot to let them know that they made a difference in his life.
     In addition, the young boy and his classmates learned a valuable lesson : "Who you are DOES make a difference."


     I'm passing the blue ribbon to you  ;)

Footprints...

     One night I had a dream. I dreamed I was walking along the beach with GOD... and across the sky flashed scenes of my life. For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand... one belonged to me and the other to GOD.

     When the last scene of my life flashed in the sand, I noticed that at times along the path of life there was only one set of footprints. I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times of my life. This really bothered me and I questioned GOD about it.

     "GOD, you said that once I decided to follow you, you would walk with me all the way. But I noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why. In times when I needed you most, you would leave me."

     GOD replied, " My precious, precious child, I love you and I would never ever leave you during your times of trials and sufferings. When you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."
 
  

True Love...

       It was a busy morning, approximately 8.30 am,  when an elderly gentleman in his 80's arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He stated that he was in hurry as he had an appointment at 9.00 am.

     I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him look at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound.

     On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redness his wound.

     While taking care of his wound, we began to engage in conversation. I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife.

     I then inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease.

     As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

     I was surprised,  and asked him, "And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are?"

     He smiled as he patted my hand and said, "She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is." I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, "That is the kind of love I want in my life."

     True love is neither physical, nor romantic. True love is an acceptance of all that is, has been, will be , and will not be.



    .
    

    

The Bamboo And The Fern Story...

     One day I decided to quit... I quit my job, my relationship , my spirituality... I wanted to quit my life.  I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.
      "God, I said,  "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"
 His answer surprised me...
      "Look around," He said, "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"
      "Yes, I replied. "
     "When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light, I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo." He said, "In the third year, there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. In the fourth year, again,  there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would not quit." He said, "Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern, it was seemingly small and insignificant. But just  6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle," He said to me.
     "Did you know , my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots. I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you. Don't compare yourself to others." He said. "The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern, yet, they both make the forest beautiful."
    "Your time will come," God said to me, "You will rise high !"
     "How high should I rise?" I asked.
     "How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.
     "As high as it can?" I questioned.
     "Yes", He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."

I left the forest and brought back this story. I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you. Never regret a day in your life. Good days give you happiness. Bad days give you experiences. Both are essential to life.
     Keep going...
     Happiness keeps you Sweet, Trials keep you Strong, Sorrows keep you Human, Failures keep you humble, Success keeps you Glowing, but Only God keeps you going !

      Rise as high as you can !