PARENTS

Beautiful letter written by a father to his son and daughter.
Use this in your teachings to your children - you too can learn something out of it
for sure.

Following is a letter to his son and daughter from a renown Hong Kong TV
broadcaster cum Child Psychologist. The words are actually applicable to
all of us, young or old, children or parents.!

I am writing this to you because of 3 reasons

1. Life, fortune and mishaps are unpredictable, nobody knows how long he
lives. Some words are better said early.

2. I am your father, and if I don't tell you these, no one else will.

3. What is written is my own personal bitter experiences that perhaps
could save you a lot of unnecessary heartaches.
Remember the following as you go through life


1. Do not bear grudge towards those who are not good to you. No one has
the responsibility of treating you well, except your mother and I. To
those who are good to you, you have to treasure it and be thankful, and
ALSO you have to be cautious, because, everyone has a motive for every
move. When a person is good to you, it does not mean he really likes
you. You have to be careful, don't hastily regard him as a real friend.

2. No one is indispensable, nothing in the world that you must possess.
Once you understand this idea, it would be easier for you to go through
life when people around you don't want you anymore, or when you lose
what/who you love most.

3. Life is short. When you waste your life today, tomorrow you would
find that life is leaving you. The earlier you treasure your life, the
better you enjoy life.

4. Love is but a transient feeling, and this feeling would fade with
time and with one's mood. If your so called loved one leaves you, be
patient, time will wash away your aches and sadness. Don't over
exaggerate the beauty and sweetness of love, and don't over exaggerate
the sadness of falling out of love.

5. A lot of successful people did not receive a good education, that
does not mean that you can be successful by not studying hard! Whatever
knowledge you gain is your weapon in life. One can go from rags to
riches, but one has to start from some rags!

6. I do not expect you to financially support me when I am old, either
would I financially support your whole life. My responsibility as a
supporter ends when you are grown up. After that, you decide whether you
want to travel in a public transport or in your limousine, whether rich
or poor.

7. You honour your words, but don't expect others to be so. You can be
good to people, but don't expect people to be good to you. If you don't
understand this, you would end up with unnecessary troubles.

8. I have bought lotteries for umpteen years, but I never strike any
prize. That shows if you want to be rich, you have to work hard! There
is no free lunch!

9. No matter how much time I have with you, let's treasure the time we
have together. We do not know if we would meet again in our next life.

Your Dad and Mum

THE 99 CLUB - Article

The 99 Club

Once upon a time there lived a King, who despite his luxurious lifestyle, was neither happy nor content.  

One day, the King came upon a servant who was singing happily while he worked.  

This fascinated the King;  why was he, the Supreme Ruler of the Land,

unhappy and gloomy, while a lowly servant had so much joy in his heart?

The King asked the servant, "Why are you so happy?"

The man replied, "Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but my family and I don't need too much - just a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummies."

Later in the day, the King sought the advice of his most trusted advisor.  

After hearing the King's woes and the servant's story, the advisor said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the servant has not been made part of The 99 Club."

"The 99 Club? And what exactly is that?" the King inquired.

The advisor replied, "Your Majesty, to truly know what The 99 Club is, place 99 Gold coins in a bag and leave it at this servant's doorstep."

When the servant saw the bag, he took it into his house. When he opened the bag, he let out a great shout of joy... so many gold coins!

He began to count them. After several counts, he was at last convinced that there were 99 coins.

He wondered, "What could've happened to that last gold coin? Surely, no one would leave 99 coins!"

He looked  everywhere he could, but that final coin was elusive.

Finally, exhausted, he decided that he was going to have to work harder than ever to earn that gold coin and complete his collection.

From that day, the servant's life was changed. He was overworked, horribly grumpy, and castigated his family for not helping him make that 100th gold coin.

He stopped singing while he worked.

Witnessing this drastic transformation, the King was puzzled.

 When he sought his advisor's help, the advisor said, "Your Majesty, the servant has now officially joined The 99 Club."

He continued, "The 99 Club is a name given to those people who have enough to be happy but are never contented, because they're always yearning and striving for that extra 1 to round it out to 100!

MORAL OF THE STORY :

==================

"Everyone is trying to accomplish something big, not realizing that life is made up of little things."

Parents are Precious

This was narrated at a Seminar recently onHuman Relations : Venkatesh Balasubramaniam (who works for IIT) describes how his gesture of booking an air ticket for his father, his maiden flight, brought forth a rush of emotions and made him (Venkatesh) realize that how much we all take for granted when it comes to our parents. My parents left for our native place on Thursday and we went to the airport to see them off. In fact, my father had never traveled by air before, so I just took this opportunity to make him experience the same. In spite of being asked to book tickets by train, I got them tickets on  xxx Airways. The moment I handed over the tickets to him, he was surprised to see that I had booked them by air. The excitement was very apparent on his face, waiting for the time of travel. Just like a school boy, he was preparing himself on that day and we all went to the airport, right from using the trolley for his luggage, the baggage check-in and asking for a window seat and waiting restlessly for the security check-in to happen. He was thoroughly enjoying himself and I, too, was overcome with joy watching him experience all these things. As they were about to go in for the security check-in, he walked up to me with tears in his eyes and thanked me. He became very emotional and it was not as if I had done something great but the fact that this meant a great deal to him. When he said thanks, I told him there was no need to thank me. But later, thinking about the entire incident, I looked back at my life. As a child, how many dreams our parents have made come true. Without understanding the financial situation, we ask for cricket bats, dresses, toys, outings, etc. Irrespective of their affordability, they have catered to all our needs. Did we ever think about the sacrifices they had to make to accommodate many of our wishes? Did we ever say thanks for all that they have done for us? Same way, today when it comes to our children, we always think that we should put them in a good school. Regardless of the amount of donation, we will ensure that we will have t give the child the best, theme parks, toys, etc. But we tend to forget that our parents have sacrificed a lot for our sake to see us happy, so it is our responsibility to ensure that their dreams are realized and what they failed to see when they were young. It is our responsibility to ensure that they experience all those and their life is complete. Many times, when my parents had asked me some questions, I have actually answered back without patience. When my daughter asks me something, I have been very polite in answering. Now I realize how they would have felt at those moments. Let us realize that old age is a second childhood and just as we take care of our children, the same attention and same care needs to be given to our parents and elders.Quality time and politely answering them with out making them wait is important. Now I realise that I must look at their eyes and answer them pleasantly and pretend to be reading papers and answer in mono syllables. Rather than my dad saying thank you to me, I would want to say sorry for making him wait so long for this small dream. I do realize how much he has sacrificed for my sake and I will do my best to give the best possible attention to all their wishes. Just because they are old does not mean that they will have to give up everything and keep sacrificing for their grandchildren also. They have wishes, too. Take care of your parents! THEY ARE  PRECIOUS! -

A Strong Woman Vs a Woman of Strength

  
Today I came across this beautiful article on net while I was searching for some health related info. Got inspired by reading this poem and thought of sharing it with women everywhere . I am sure one who reads this poem will be surely inspired.
Enjoy reading....!!!

      A strong Woman versus a woman of strength   

A strong woman works out every day

to keep her body in shape

but a woman of strength looks deep inside

to keep her soul in shape

A strong woman isn’t afraid

of anything

but a woman of strength shows courage

in the midst of her fear

A strong woman won’t let anyone

get the best of her

but a woman of strength gives the best

of her to everyone

A strong woman makes mistakes

and avoids the same in the future

but a woman of strength realizes life’s mistakes

can also be blessings and capitalizes on them

A strong woman walks

sure footedly

but a woman of strength knows

when to ask for help

A strong woman wears the look

of confidence on her face

but a woman of strength

wears grace

A strong woman has faith

that she is strong enough for the journey

but a woman of strength has faith

that it is in the journey that she will become strong

~Dee Cheeks

Marble In The Spoon- Chetan Bhagat

A very inspiring article by Chetan Bhagat :- A very talented Indian Author, who studied at IIT Delhi and then at  IIM-A. I like the way he narrates his stories. I have read all his books and my all time favorite book is "Five Point Someone - What not do at IIT
Here is a wonderful speech given by Chetan @ symbiosis, pune  : Marble in the spoon

Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature’s design. Are you? Goals will help you do that. I must add, don’t just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.

 There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.

 You must have read some quotes – Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school, where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die. 

One last thing about nurturing the spark – don’t take life seriously.Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500 weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? 

It’s ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.

                               Dont be serious , be sincere


 One can read his entire speech at : http://itsfine.wordpress.com/2008/07/24/chetan-bhagats-speech-at-symbiosis/

A Tribute To Mothers - Happy mothers Day

What is a Mother? 
A mother is  someone who guides and inspires.
She helps us  to attain our dreams and desires.
Wisdom and  insight are part of her way,
and her faith  in her children brightens their days.

All  mothers are rich when  they love their children.  There are no poor  mothers, no ugly ones,  no old ones. Their  love is always the  most beautiful of joys.

—Maurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949)

What a mother can do … 

My  mother said to me,  "If you become  a soldier, you'll be  a general; if you  become a monk, you'll  end up as the pope."  Instead I became a  painter and wound up  as Picasso.

      The boy's mother read the note and said, "My son Tom isn't 'too stupid to learn.' I'll teach him myself." And so she did.
      When Tom died many years later, the people of the United States of America paid tribute to him by turning off the nation's lights for one full minute. You see, this Tom had invented the light bulb—and not only that, but motion pictures and the record player. In all, Thomas Edison had more than one thousand patents to his credit. 
A partially deaf boy came home from school one day carrying a note from officials at the school. The note suggested that the parents take the boy out of school, claiming that he was "too stupid to learn."

My mother  was the making of me. 

—Thomas A. Edison (1847-1931)



This is a beautiful telugu song on mother, which I dedicate it to my Mom.
Happy mother's day Amma...

Truly Inspirational : No arms, no limbs and no worries

Nick Vujicic - No arms, no limbs , no worries ..and yet he is happy...!!!!
Loves the way he is and loves living his life to the fullest
- Life without limits says Nick.
 No words - have a look at this video

Sand And Stone

 Sorry ...got stuck with virus on my system today..so couldn't post anything :(

Anyways here is a beautiful article that describes how things should be taken in life and what to write on sand and stone based on the situations that we face in our lives.

Listen to the story about Sand and Stone...!!!

This is a story about 2 friends who were walking through a forest.

At one particular point the two got into an argument and one friend hit the other in the face.The one who was hit was hurt, but without any word he wrote in the sand: 

‘Today my best friend hit me in my face.’
They walked on until they found an oasis where they decided to have a bath.

The one who had been hit got stuck in the mud and was drowning but the friend saved him
When he came to, he carved in a stone:

‘Today my best friend saved my life’

The friend who had hit his best friend then saved him asked:

‘After I hit you you wrote this in the sand and now you carved in the stone that I saved you, why did you do this?’
The other friend answered:

‘When someone hurts us we must write it in the sand where the wind of forgiveness can blow it away’

Learn to write the hurt in the sand and carve your good experiences on stone.

Marble story

A very inspiring and a must read article. Its the conversation between the Marble Tile and the Marble Statue about why people appreciate only the marble statue but not the marble tile though they are made from the same cave. The reply given by the statue defines the moral of the story :)

Marble  Story
There was  this museum laid with beautiful marble  tiles with a huge marble lady statue  displayed in the middle of the lobby.
Many people  came from all over the world just  to admire this beautiful marble lady statue.

One  night, the marble tiles  started talking to the  Marble lady.

Marble tile:  Marble lady, 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 lady:  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!

Marble lady:  Then, do you still remember the day  when the designer tried to work on  you, but you resisted his tool?


Marble tile:  Yes, of course I remember. I hate  that guy! How could he use his tool  on me, it hurt so badly.

Marble lady: That’s  right! He couldn’t work on  you at all as you resisted being  worked on.


Marble tile:  So???

Marble lady: 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 tool, instead I bore all  the painful tools he used on me.


Marble tile:  Mmmmmmmmm…………

Marble Lady: 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

The  moral of the story is:

• The  more hard knocks you go through in  life, the more you’ll learn and  put them to use in the future.
• Do not be discouraged by setbacks, challenges and failures.
• No pain……no gain
• Past is past, you can’t change it, but it is actually a blessing in disguise.
• Past was good, present is better and the future will always be the best.

KEEP  YOURSELF FOCUSED ON  OUR HIGHEST VALUES,  YOUR GOALS, AND YOUR  ASPIRATINS IN LIFE.

Are you a Carrot, an Egg or a Coffee bean?

Here comes another interesting article that motivates you and keeps you inspired. As you start reading the article, u will start analyzing few facts and figure  out what you are....Enjoy reading  it..!!! 

THE  CARROT, THE EGG AND THE COFFEE BEAN

Put  three pots of water over the fire. 

In the first  pot, put some carrots.

In the second  pot, put some eggs.

In the third  pot, put some coffee beans that have been  grounded into coffee powder.

Boil all three  pots for 15 minutes and take out when done.

The carrots  went in hard. They are now soft. 

The eggs went  in soft inside.Now they are hard inside.

But the water has the colour and the wonderful smell of coffee. 

The coffee powder has disappeared.

Now think about  life. 

Life is not always easy. 

Life is not always comfortable. 

Sometimes life is very hard.

We work very hard but get few results.

What happens  when we face difficulties? 

Things don’t  happen like we wish. 

People don’t  treat us like we hope. 

Now think about  the pots. 

The boiling  water is like the problems of life.

We can be  like the carrots.We  go in tough  and strong.  We come out  soft and weak.We get very  tired.
We lose hope.
We give up. 
There is no  more fighting spirit. 

Don’t be  like the carrots!

We can be like the eggs. We start with a soft and sensitive heart. We end up very hard and unfeeling inside. We hate others. We don’t  like ourselves. We become hard-hearted. There is no warm feeling, only bitterness. 

Don’t be  like the eggs!

We can be  like the coffee beans. The  water does not change the coffee powder. The  coffee powder changes the water! The water has  become different because of the coffee powder.

                              See it....... Smell it.....Drink it....:)

                               The hotter the water, the better the taste.

We can be  like the coffee beans.

We make something  good from the difficulties we face. We learn new  things. We have new  knowledge, new skills, new abilities. We grow in  experience. We make the  world around us better.

To succeed,  we must try… and try again.

We must believe  in what we are doing.

We must not give up.

We must be patient.

We must keep pushing..
difficulties problems handle  with care...!!!!!

Problems and  difficulties give us the chance to become stronger… and better… and tougher.

What are we  like when things do not go  well? 

Are we like  the carrot…or the egg… or the coffee  bean? 

Passbook.... A Memory of Moments Cherished

Here comes a beautiful story that states " Life is about correcting mistakes and not just regretting " using passbook as a main source of narration :). This article was fwd by my Mom..unfortunately, I don't know the author ...but he has really given a very good note and narration.


The story goes this way...


Priya married Hitesh this day - 21st Nov. At the end of the wedding  party, Priya's mother gave her a newly opened bank saving passbook.

With Rs.1000 deposit amount.

Mother: 'Priya, take this passbook. Keep it as a record of your marriage life. When there's something happy and memorable happened in your new life, put some money in. Write down what it's about next to the line. The more memorable the event is, the more money you can put in. I've done the first one for you today. Do the others with Hitesh.When you look back after years, you can know how much
happiness you've had.'

Priya shared this with Hitesh when getting home. They both thought it was a great idea and were anxious to know when the second deposit can be made.

This was what they did after certain time:

- 7 Feb: Rs.100, first birthday celebration for Hitesh after marriage
- 1 Mar: Rs.300, salary raise for Priya
- 20 Mar: Rs.200, vacation trip to Bali
- 15 Apr: Rs.2000, Priya got pregnant
- 1 Jun: Rs.1000, Hitesh got promoted
...... and so on...

However, after years, they started fighting and arguing for trivial things.They didn't talk much.. They regretted that they had married the most nasty people in the world.... no more love...Kind of typical nowadays, huh?
One day Priya talked to her Mother:
'Mom, we can't stand it anymore. We agree to divorce.. I can't imagine how  I decided to marry this guy!!!'

Mother: 'Sure, girl, that's no big deal. Just do whatever you want if  you really can't stand it. But before that, do one thing first. Remember the saving passbook I gave you on your wedding day? Take out all money and spend it first. You shouldn't keep any record of such a poor marriage.'

Priya thought it was true. So she went to the bank, waiting at the queue and planning to cancel the account. While she was waiting, she took a look at the passbook record. She looked, and looked, and looked. Then the memory of all the previous joy and happiness just came up her mind. Her eyes were then filled with tears. She left and went home.

When she was home, she handed the passbook to Hitesh, asked him to spend the money before getting divorce. The next day, Hitesh gave the passbook back to Priya.
She found a new deposit of Rs.5000. And a line next to the record: 'This is the day I notice how much I've loved you thru out all these years. How much happiness you've brought me.'

They hugged and cried, putting the passbook back to the safe.

Do you know how much money they had saved when they retired? I did not ask.I believe the money did not matter any more after they had gone thru all the good
years in their life.

"When you fall, in any way, Don't see the place where you fell, Instead see the place from where you slipped.  Life is about correcting mistakes."

The story of a little frog

An inspiring article from the story of a little frog. I read this article from my mother's office.


The story begins this way,.....

Once upon a time there was a group of little frogs who decided to have a race up a huge tower and whoever climbs the top of the tower was considered as the winner. So, a huge crowd gathered around the little  frogs and no one believed that these tiny frogs even had a chance at making it to the top of the tower and started shouting...
" the track is too tough..YOU NEVER GONNA MAKE IT" , you are too small and YOU WILL NEVER MAKE IT..!!!


One by one upon hearing these words, started falling except those that had the spirit of climbing the tower higher and higher slowly.
The crowd heckled louder and louder....IT'S IMPOSSIBLE.. NO ONE CAN MAKE IT..!!!
the rest of the frogs tumbled down except ONE...the crowd continued to berate the little one but he tried hard and slogged his way to the top.


All the contestants naturally wanted to know how this ONE managed to reach the top of the tower and upon asking him , they found out that the frog was DEAF..!!!


There is lesson to learn from this story...
- Never listen to other people's tendencies to be negative or pessimistic, because they take your most wonderful dreams and  wishes from you.
Everything you hear and read will affect  your actions...therefore ALWAYS BE POSITIVE..!!!


Above all be deaf when people tell YOU that YOU cannot make it or fulfill your dreams...
Always Think ..." I can do this " 


Stop Existing..Start Living
Life doesn't turn out the way we plan..Sometimes things happen just out of  your control...!!!!

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take....!!

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take....!!
NICE ARTICLE ABOUT LOVE-by Swami Vivekananda

I once had a friend who grew to be very close to me.Once when we were sitting at the edge of a swimming pool,she filled the palm of her hand with some water and held it before me, and said


"You see this water carefully contained on my hand?It symbolizes Love."
This was how I saw it:As long as you keep your hand caringly open and allow it to remain there, it will always be there.However, if you attempt to close your fingers round it and try to posses it, it will spill through the first cracks it finds. This is the greatest mistake that people do when they meet love...they try to posses it, they demand, they expect... and just like the water spilling out of your hand, love will retrieve from you.For love is meant to be free, you cannot change itsnature.If there are people you love, allow them to be free beings.Give and don't expect.Advise, but don't order.Ask, but never demand.It might sound simple, but it is a lesson that may take a lifetime to truly practice.
It is the secret to true love.
To truly practice it,you must sincerely feel no expectations from those whom you love, and yet an unconditional caring."


Passing thought... Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take;but by the moments that take our breath away.....
Life is beautiful!!! Live it !!!
-- Keep Smiling--

A cup of coffee - Lessons for life !!!!

 Found this article in my email, so thought of sharing it. There is no info about the author but its a very nice article teaching the lessons of life through a cup of coffee!!! Enjoy reading ...


A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor.
Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to hot coffee.


When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups and were eyeing each other's cups.


Now if life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, but the quality of Life doesn't change. Some times, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee in it.


Being happy does not mean everything is perfect.  It means you have decided to see beyond the imperfection.

                 So.."Don't let the cups drive you... Enjoy the coffee instead"