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.