Going With The Flow...

     An old man accidentally fell into a swirling river leading to a high and dangerous waterfall. Onlookers feared for his life. Miraculously, he came out alive and unharmed downstream at the bottom of the falls. People asked him how he managed to survive. " I accomodated myself to the water, not the water to me. Without thinking I allowed myself to be shaped by it. Plunging into the swirl, I came out with the swirl. This is how I survived." This story also reminds us of the water sport their force. The faster and fiercer they are, the higher the thrill the surfer gets. He lets go off all control and fear and moves with the nature's flow.

     When we let go of our petty egos, limited controls and our narrow-minded vision, we are able to perceive and move with the higher forces that guide our destiny towards a better purpose.

Heart of Gratitude...

     A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said :  ' I am blind, please help.'  There were only a few coins in the hat.

     A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

     Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write? "
     The man said, " I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way."
     I wrote : ' Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it.'

     Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

     Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively.
    
     Enjoy your day with a heart of gratitude. :-)

My First Award ! (not a story)... :-)



 
           It's a pleasant surprise for me to receive a 'One Lovely Blog Award' from a lovely blogger LiLing of Malaysia.  Thanks a lot LiLing ! I'm so touched and honoured to have been considered for this Award, despite the fact that we have just got acquainted with each other recently.   I love all her posts especially all video clips ! Do visit LiLing from 'Shadows Overhead' ...you'd love her blog.

     The idea of receiving an Award never came across my mind. This is my first Award :-) ... I'm so lucky...within 3 and a half months of  blogging , I've been selected for Editors Pick (Featured Blogger) and this Lovely Blog Award !  It really boosts n' encourages me and gives happiness as well as a sense of responsibility towards this bloggers world to maintain and do better work.

     Once again, thanks to LiLing for the lovely surprise !

     With regards to the award :
  



      Award Rules :

1.  Accept the Award. Check !

2.  Post it on their blog together with the name and link of the person who granted the Award. Check !

3.  Pass the Award to 15 other blogs that are newly discovered.  Hmm..its quite difficult... as I think all bloggers deserve this Award in their own way. :-)
    

        

    

The Story of a Soldier...

     This 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 a favour to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring home 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 landmine 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. May be 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. Some one 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 !

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.