Don't Judge to Quickly

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer and the fourth son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent and twisted.

The second son said, no, that it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful. It was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them. He said it was ripe and drooping with fruit - full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that comes from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

God's Coffee

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 the 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 normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress.

Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.

What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor change the quality of Life we live.

Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."

God brews the coffee, not the cups.......... Enjoy your coffee!

"The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything."

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

11.11.11

 

Usually 11^th hour is synonym for disaster and today its 11/11/11 11:11:11 , I feel it as usual, what is so special about it? Not more than just a another reason to celebrate…enjoy..have fun…

The Clever Boy And The Missing Donkey

On a sunny day a man with his donkey carrying two sacks of wheat was on his way to the market. After traveling at a stretch, the man was tired and decided to rest under a tree. When he woke up from his nap he could not find the donkey and started searching for it everywhere.

While searching he met a boy. Out of sheer curiosity he asked the boy, “Have you seen my donkey?”
The boy in turn asked, “Is the donkey’s left eye blind, his right foot lame and is he carrying a load of wheat?”
The man smiled since the boy’s description exactly matched the description of his donkey. The man replied, “Yes, exactly! Where have you seen it?”
The boy answered, “I haven’t seen it.”

This made the man very angry because he quickly realized that the boy was lying. Hence he took the boy to the village chief for punishment.

After listening to the man, the village chief asked, “Dear boy, if you had not seen the donkey how you could describe it?”

The boy answered, “I saw the tracks of a donkey. Since the right and left tracks were different, I concluded that the donkey which has passed from there was limping. Also I noticed that the grass on the right side of the road was eaten but the grass on the left was not. Hence, I understood that its left eye was blind. There were wheat seeds scattered on the ground seeing which I understood that the donkey must have been carrying a load of wheat.”

The chief, after listening to the clever boy’s logic, was surprised! He decided to award him. He also ruled that the boy was innocent and that the man should be ashamed for bringing the boy to him for punishment without knowing the whole story.

Moral Of the Story:We should not take someone or something at face value.

Joshua Bell at Washington DC Metro Station

Washington DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approx 2 thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 mins a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.
4 mins later the violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the till and, without stopping, continued to walk.
6 minutes, a young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.
10 mins: a 3 year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly, as the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced them to move on.
45 minutes; the musician played. Only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace.
He collected $32.
1 hour; he finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.
No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities. The questions raised: in a common place environment at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

Moral of the Story:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments .... how many other things are we missing?

Kindness Pays

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 very 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 large glass of milk, he drank it slowly, and then asked, "How much do I owe you?". She replied "You don't owe me anything". "Mother has taught us never to
accept payment for a kindness." He said... "Then I thank you from my heart". As the boy left that house, he not only felt; stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

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. An expert Doctor 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. Doctor 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 as she read these words...!"Paid in full with one glass of milk."

Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: "Thank You, GOD, that Your love has spread abroad through human hearts and hands." She too recognized it’s the boy, who came to her door step long years back.

Moral of the Story:
The famous quote “Kindness, like a boomerang, always returns” has been proved. Kindness is the greatest wisdom.

मी कधीच रिस्क घेत नाही

दारु पिताना मी कधीच रिस्क घेत नाही
मी संध्याकाळी घरी येतो तेव्हा बायको स्वयंपाक करत असते,
शेल्फमधील भांड्यांचा आवाज बाहेर येत असतो,
मी चोरपावलाने घरात येतो,
माझ्या काळ्या कपाटातून बाटली काढतो,
शिवाजीमहाराज फोटोतून बघत असतात,
या कानाचा त्या कानाला पत्ता लागत नाही,
कारण मी कधीच रिस्क घेत नाही .... ||१||

वापरात नसलेल्या मोरीतल्या फळीवरुन मी ग्लास काढतो,
पटकन एक पेग भरुन आस्वाद घेतो,
ग्लास धुवून पुन्हा फळीवर ठेवतो,
अर्थात बाटलीही काळ्या कपाटात ठेवतो,
शिवाजीमहाराज मंद हसत असतात,
स्वयंपाकघरात डोकावून बघतो,
बायको कणीकच मळत असते,
तरी या कानाचा त्या कानाला पत्ता लागत नाही,
कारण मी कधीच रिस्क घेत नाही .... ||२||

मी : जाधवांच्या मुलीच्या लग्नाचं जमलं का गं?
ती : छे! दानत असेल तर मिळेल ना चांगलं स्थळ!

मी परत बाहेर येतो, काळ्या कपाटाच्या दाराचा आवाज होतो,
बाटली मात्र मी हळूच काढतो,
वापरात नसलेल्या मोरीतल्या फळीवरुन मी ग्लास काढतो,
पटकन एक पेग भरुन आस्वाद घेतो, बाटली धुवून मोरीत ठेवतो,
काळा ग्लास पण कपाटात ठेवतो,
तरी या कानाचा त्या कानाला पत्ता लागत नाही,
कारण मी कधीच रिस्क घेत नाही .... ||३||

मी : अर्थात जाधवांच्या मुलीचं अजून काही लग्नाचं वय झालं नाही..
ती : नाही काऽऽय! अठ्ठावीस वर्षांची घोडी झालीये म्हणे..
मी : (आठवून जीभ चावतो) अच्छा अच्छा ...

मी पुन्हा काळ्या कपाटातून कणीक काढतो,
मात्र कपाटाची जागा आपोआप बदललेली असते,
फळीवरुन बाटली काढून पटकन मोरीत एक पेग मारतो,
शिवाजी महाराज मोठ्ठ्याने हसतात,
फळी कणकेवर ठेवून, शिवाजीचा फोटो धुवून मी काळ्या कपाटात ठेवतो,
बायको गॅसवर मोरीच ठेवत असते,
या बाटलीचा त्या बाटलीला पत्ता लागत नाही,
कारण मी कधीच रिस्क घेत नाही .... ||४||

मी : (चिडून) जाधवांना घोडा म्हणतेस? पुन्हा बोललीस तर जीभच कापून टाकीन!
ती : उगीच कटकट करु नका... बाहेर जाऊन गप पडा...

मी कणकेमधून बाटली काढतो, काळ्या कपाटात जाऊन एक पेग मळतो,
मोरी धुवून फळीवर ठेवतो,
बायको माझ्याकडे बघून हसत असते,
शिवाजीमहाराजांचा स्वयंपाक चालूच असतो,
पण ह्या जाधवांचा त्या जाधवाना पत्ता लागत नाही,
कारण मी कधीच रिस्क घेत नाही .... ||५||

मी: (हसत हसत) जाधवांनी घोडीशी लग्न ठरवलं आहे म्हणे!
ती: (ओरडून) तोंडावर पाणी मारा!!

मी परत स्वयंपाकघरात जातो, हळूच फळीवर बसतो,
गॅसही फळीवरच असतो..
बाहेरच्या खोलीतून बाटल्यांचा आवाज येतो,
मी डोकावून बघतो ... बायको मोरीत दारूचा आस्वाद घेत असते,
ह्या घोडीचा त्या घोडीला पत्ता लागत नाही,
अर्थात शिवाजी महाराज कधीच रिस्क घेत नाहीत..
जाधवांचा स्वयंपाक होईपर्यंत्...मी फोटोतून बायकोकडे बघून हसत असतो...
कारण मी कधीच रिस्क घेत नाही...||६||

टीप - ही अफलातून रचना माझी नाही.

 

I am with Anna Hazare

 

मी अण्णांच्या सोबत आहे .

 

Free tax return filing

Just filed my income tax return at free of cost. It’s too easy than what I had thought. Visit here for more info.

Once in Life Time

When the school reopened in June, And we settled in our new desks and benches!
When we queued up in book depot, And got our new books and notes!
When we wanted two Sundays and no Mondays, yet managed to line up daily for the morning prayers.
We learnt writing with pencils, and Progressed To fountain pens and ball pens and then Micro tips!
When we began drawing with crayons and evolved to Color pencils and finally sketch pens!
When we started calculating first with tables and then with Clarke's tables and advanced to Calculators and computers!
When we chased one another in the corridors in Intervals, and returned to the classrooms Drenched in sweat!
When we had lunch in classrooms, corridors, Playgrounds, under the trees and even in cycle sheds!
When all the colors in the world, Decorated the campus on the Second Saturdays!
When a single P.T. period in the week's Time Table, Was awaited more eagerly than the monsoons!
When cricket was played with writing pads as bats, And Neckties and socks rolled into balls!
When few played 'kabadi' and 'Kho-Kho' in scorching sun, While others simply played 'book cricket' in the
Confines of classroom!
Of fights but no conspiracies, Of Competitions but seldom jealousy!
When we used to watch Live Cricket telecast, In the opposite house in Intervals and Lunch breaks!
When few rushed at 3:45 to 'Conquer' window seats in our School bus!
While few others had 'Big Fun', 'peppermint' , 'kulfi', ' milk ice !' and 'sharbat !' at 4o Clock!

Gone are the days Of Sports Day, and the annual School Day , And the one-month long preparations for them.
Gone are the days Of the stressful Quarterly, Half Yearly and Annual Exams, And the most enjoyed holidays after them!
Gone are the days Of tenth and twelfth standards, when We Spent almost the whole year writing revision tests!

We learnt, We enjoyed, We played, We won, We lost, We laughed, We cried, We fought, We thought.

With so much fun in them, so many friends, So much experience, all this and more!

Gone are the days When we used to talk for hours with our friends!
Now we don't have time to say a `Hi'!

Gone are the days When we played games on the road!
Now we Code on the road with laptop!

Gone are the days When we saw stars Shining at Night!
Now we see stars when our code doesn't Work!

Gone are the days When we sat to chat with Friends on grounds!
Now we chat in chat rooms......!

Gone are the days Where we studied just to pass!
Now we study to save our job!

Gone are the days Where we had no money in our pockets and still fun filled on our hearts!!
Now we have the ATM as well as credit card but with an empty heart!!

Gone are the days Where we shouted on the road!
Now we don't shout even at home

Gone are the days Where we got lectures from all!
Now we give lectures to all... like the one I'm doing now....!!

Gone are the days But not the memories, which will be Lingering in our hearts forever and ever and
Ever and ever and ever .....

Gone are the Days.... But still there are lot more Days to come in our Life!!

NO MATTER HOW BUSY YOU ARE, DONT FORGET TO LIVE THE LIFE THAT STILL EXISTS........

Keep Your Dream

A person named Monty who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has let me use his house to put on fund-raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.

The last time I was there he introduced me by saying, “I want to tell you why I let Jack use my horse. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was the son of an itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. As a result, the boy’s high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.

“That night he wrote a seven-page paper describing his goal of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and he even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4,000-square-foot house that would sit on a 200-acre dream ranch”.

He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it in to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, `See me after class.

The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, `Why did I receive an F?’
The teacher said, `This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a lot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There’s no way you could ever do it. Then the teacher added, `If you will rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.

The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do. His father said, `Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.’ Finally, after sitting with it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all.

He stated, “You can keep the F and I’ll keep my dream”.

Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, “I tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch. I still have that school paper framed over the fireplace.” He added, “The best part of the story is that two summers ago that same schoolteacher brought 30 kids to camp out on my ranch for a week.” When the teacher was leaving, he said, “Look, Monty, I can tell you this now. When I was your teacher, I was something of a dream stealer. During those years I stole a lot of kids’ dreams. Fortunately you had enough gumption not to give up on yours.”

Moral Of the Story:
Don’t let anyone steal your dreams. Follow your heart, no matter what.