Five More Minutes

Spending Time With Kids – Five More Minutes

While at the park one day, a woman sat down next to a man on a bench near a playground. “That’s my son over there,” she said, pointing to a little boy in a red sweater who was gliding down the slide. “He’s a fine looking boy,” the man said.

“That’s my son on the swing in the blue sweater.” Then, looking at his watch, he called to his son. “What do you say we go, Todd?” Todd pleaded, “Just five more minutes, Dad. Please? Just five more minutes.” The man nodded and Todd continued to swing to his heart’s content.

Minutes passed and the father stood and called again to his son. “Time to go now?” Again Todd pleaded, “Five more minutes, Dad. Just five more minutes.” The man smiled and said, “O.K.”

“My, you certainly are a patient father,” the woman responded.

The man smiled and then said, “My older son Tommy was killed by a drunk driver last year while he was riding his bike near here. I never spent much time with Tommy and now I ‘d give anything for just five more minutes with him. I’ve vowed not to make the same mistake with Todd. He thinks he has five more minutes to swing. The truth is, I get Five more minutes to watch him play.”

Spending time with kids is the most special thing you can ever do for them.

Each Day Is A Gift

A 92-year-old delicate but well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with his hair fashionably coiffed and his face shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.

His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.

‘I love it,’ he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. ‘Mr. Jones, you haven’t seen the room; just wait.’

‘That doesn’t have anything to do with it,’ he replied.

‘Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged… it’s how I arrange my mind.

I already decided to love it. ‘It’s a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.’

‘Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away. Just for this time in my life.’

‘Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you’ve put in.’

‘So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing.’

Remember these five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred
2. Free your mind from worries
3. Live simply
4. Give more
5. Expect less

Reflection Of You

There is a story about a father and his young son who were walking through the mountains. Suddenly, the son fell, hurting his leg on a rock. He screamed, ‘AAhhhh!’

To his surprise, he heard a voice repeating, ‘AAhhhh!’

This made him even more curious. So, he yelled, ‘Who are you?’ Back came the same answer, ‘Who are you?’

Feeling a bit perturbed by this response, he yelled out, ‘Coward!’ Back came the same reply, ‘Coward!’

He looked at his father and asked: ‘What’s going on?’ His father smiled and said: ‘Son, pay attention.’

Looking across the valley, his father yelled to the mountain, ‘I admire you!’ The voice answered: ‘I admire you!’

Again the man cried out: ‘You are a champion!’ The voice replied, ‘You are a champion!’

The boy was amazed, but he was very confused. So, his father explained…

‘You are only hearing an echo, the sound of our voices bouncing back from the mountains. However, this really is how life works. It returns to you what you think, say and do!

Our lives are a reflection of our thoughts and actions. If you want more love in your world, create more love in your heart. If you want to be treated with kindness, treat others with kindness. If you want more competence on your team, become more competent.

This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life. Life will give to you, everything you give to it, only it will give you even more in return. Your life is not ever a coincidence. Each moment is a reflection of you!’ The son listened and grew in understanding, and through the following years, he witnessed the truth of these words in his life!

Swami Vivekananda Smokes With An Untouchable

Swami Vivekananda enjoyed smoking. In the days of his pilgrimage, when he used to walk along the streets of India, here, there and elsewhere, smoking was his great avocation.

One evening, as Vivekananda was walking along a village street in northern India, he came to a small cottage where an old man was smoking an Indian hookah. Vivekananda had a tremendous desire to smoke, and he asked the old man if he would give him his pipe.”

The man said, “Oh, Swami, I am a scavenger, I am an untouchable. How can I give you my hookah? How will you smoke from the hookah of an untouchable? I am so happy to see you. You are so handsome, so spirited. I am so fortunate to see you. But, alas, I come from an untouchable family.”

Vivekananda felt sorry that the old man was an untouchable. He said to him, “I am sorry, I am sorry. Alas, I won’t be able to smoke.” Vivekananda left him and continued walking.

In a few minutes he felt miserable. He said to himself, “What am I doing? What am I doing? What have I done? What have I done? Did not Thakur teach me that wherever there is a human being, there also is Lord Shiva? Each human being embodies God. This is what I have learned from my Master, Sri Ramakrishna. “I have given up everything; I am a sannyasin. So I am one with the rest of the world by virtue of my renunciation. Yet although I have renounced everything, still I have preserved this sense of discrimination. Here is a cobbler, here is a scavenger, here is a Brahmin, here is a Shudra. Low caste, high caste! How can I have the heart to distinguish? Are they not all God’s children? The sense of operative, the sense of superiority and inferiority: How can I have that kind of feeling?”

Vivekananda then went running back to the old man and said, “Please, please, give me your hookah. Each man is God Himself.”

The old man fearfully and, at the same time, happily gave the hookah to Swami Vivekananda. Swami Vivekananda smoked to his heart’s content and then said to the old man, “I am divinely happy, supremely happy, for two reasons. My human desire is fulfilled; I am able to smoke. And my divine desire is fulfilled, because I have been able to realise my inner vision of universal oneness. My Supreme Lord abides in all. This vision of mine I have been able to manifest today by smoking here from your hookah at your house.

“God is for all. He is not only for me, but He is for all. In each individual Him to see, Him to please unconditionally, is my only goal. I shall remain ever grateful to you, for it is through you that my Lord has taught me the supreme lesson: that we are all one, we are all equal, we are all children of our Absolute Lord Supreme.”

Scars Of Love

Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy decided to go for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house. In a hurry to dive into the cool water, he ran out the back door, leaving behind shoes, socks, and shirt as he went.

He flew into the water, not realizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake, an alligator was swimming toward the shore. His mother in the house was looking out the window saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utter fear, she ran toward the water, yelling to her son as loudly as she could. Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a U-turn to swim to his mother. It was too late. Just as he reached her, the alligator reached him. From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as the alligator snatched his legs.

That began an incredible tug-of-war between the two. The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the mother was much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard er screams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator.

Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal. And, on his arms, were deep scratches where his mother’s fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.

The newspaper reporter, who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter, “But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my Mom wouldn’t let go.”

You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. Not from an alligator, but the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret. But, some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle. He’s been there holding on to you.

The Scripture teaches that God loves you. You are a child of God. He wants to protect you and provide for you in every way. But sometimes we foolishly wade into dangerous situations, not knowing what lies ahead. The swimming hole of life is filled with peril – and we forget that the enemy is waiting to attack. That’s when the tug-of-war begins – and if you have the scars of His love on your arms be very, very grateful. He did not and will not ever let you go.

Never judge another person’s scars, because you don’t know how they were made.

Power of Holding Hands

I was sitting on a beach one summer day, watching two children, a boy and a girl, playing in the sand.

They were hard at work building an elaborate sandcastle by the water’s edge with gates and towers and moats and internal passages. Just when they had nearly finished their project, a big wave came along and knocked it down, reducing it to a heap of wet sand.

I expected the children to burst into tears, devastated by what had happened to all their hard work. But they surprised me. Instead, they ran up the shore away from the water, laughing and holding hands, and sat down to build another castle.I realized that they had taught me an important lesson.

All the things in our lives, all the complicated structures we spend so much time and energy creating, are built on sand.

Only our relationships to other people endure. Sooner or later, the wave will come along and knock down what we have worked so hard to build up. When that happens, only the person who has somebody’s hand to hold will be able to laugh.

Sometimes The Problem Lies Within You

A man feared his wife wasn’t hearing as well as she used to and he thought she might need a hearing aid. Not quite sure how to approach her, he called the family doctor to discuss the problem. The doctor told him there is a simple informal test the husband could perform to give the doctor a better idea about her hearing loss.

Here’s what you do,” said the doctor, “stand about 40 feet away from her, and in a normal conversational speaking tone see if she hears you. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and so on until you get a response.”
That evening, the wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he was in the den. He says to himself, “I’m about 40 feet away, let’s see what happens.” Then in a normal tone he asks, ‘Honey, what’s for dinner?” No response.
So the husband moves to closer to the kitchen, about 30 feet from his wife and repeats, “Honey, what’s for dinner?” Still no response.
Next he moves into the dining room where he is about 20 feet from his wife and asks, Honey, what’s for dinner?”
Again he gets no response so, He walks up to the kitchen door, about 10 feet away. “Honey, what’s for dinner?” Again there is no response.
So he walks right up behind her. “Honey, what’s for dinner?”
“James, for the FIFTH time I’ve said, CHICKEN!”

Moral: The problem may not be with the other one as we always think, could be very much within us..!

Fathers Eyes

A teenager lived alone with his father, and the two of them had a very special relationship. The father believed in encouragement. Even though the son was always on the bench, his father was always in the stands cheering. He never missed a game.

This young man was the smallest of the class when he entered high school. His father continued to encourage him but also made it very clear that he did not have to play football if he didn’t want to.

But the young man loved football and decided to hang in there. He was determined to try his best at every practice, and perhaps he would get to play when he became a senior.

All through high school he never missed a practice or a game, but remained a bench warmer all four years. His faithful father was always in the stands, always with words of encouragement for him. When the young man went to college, he decided to try out for the football team as a “walk-on.”

Everyone was sure he could never make the cut, but he did. The coach admitted that he kept him on the roster because he always puts his heart and soul to every practice, and at the same time, provided the other members with the spirit and hustle they badly needed. The news that he had survived the cut thrilled him so much that he rushed to the nearest phone and called his father.

His father shared his excitement and was sent season tickets for all the college games. This persistent young athlete never missed practice during his four years at college, but he never got to play in the game.

It was the end of his senior football season, and as he trotted onto the practice field shortly before the big play off game, the coach met him with a telegram. The young man read the telegram and he became deathly silent.

Swallowing hard, he mumbled to the coach, “My father died this morning. Is it all right if I miss practice today?”

The coach put his arm gently around his shoulder and said, “Take the rest of the week off, son. And don’t even plan to come back to the game on Saturday.” Saturday arrived, and the game was not going well.

In the third quarter, when the team was ten points behind, a silent young man quietly slipped into the empty locker room and put on his football gear. As he ran onto the sidelines, the coach and his players were astounded to see their faithful team-mate back so soon.

“Coach, please let me play. I have just got to play today,” said the young man.

The coach pretended not to hear him. There was no way he wanted his worst player in this close playoff game. But the young man persisted, and finally feeling sorry for young man, the coach gave in. “All right,” he said. “You can go in.” Before long, the coach, the players and everyone in the stands could not believe their eyes. This little unknown, who had never played before, was doing everything right. The opposing team could not stop him. He ran, he passed, blocked and tackled like a star. His team began to triumph.

The score was soon tied. In the closing seconds of the game, this young man intercepted a pass and ran all the way for the winning touchdown. The fans broke loose. His team-mates hoisted him onto their shoulders. Such cheering you have never heard!

Finally, after the stands had emptied and the team had showered and left the locker room, the coach noticed that the young man was sitting quietly in the corner all alone. The coach came to him and said, “Young man, I can’t believe it. You were fantastic! Tell me what got into you? How did you do it?”

Young man looked at the coach, with tears in his eyes, and said, “Well, you knew my dad died, but did you know that my dad was blind?” The young man swallowed hard and forced a smile, “Dad came to all my games, but today was the first time he could see me play, and I wanted to show him I could do it!”

Remember:

“Every accomplishment starts with the decision to try.”

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.”

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.”

Happiness & Luck

Happiness and Luck were smiling widely at him. He got everything that he wanted without any effort. He was tall, strong, handsome man that every woman fought for. He never thought about money, because he regularly was getting an inheritance after an inheritance from an unknown relative.

He was so good at gambling that no one gambled with him anymore, and recently even the Casino owners started sending money to his charity account so that he would not visit their establishments. He lived moving from one country to another, speaking fluently on many languages.

He knew many celebrities, and often he financed their projects, which no one else believed in, and which later turned out to be a success. Spoiled by fortune, he saw, knew and tasted everything that he wanted. The happiness and luck that he had would have been enough for a hundred lucky people, or for a thousand ordinary lives. He loudly celebrated the entrance into his thirties with his friends and a gorgeous wife that adored him. In his happily married life he had two children: a boy that looked just like him, and a girl a copy of her mother.

One day after his 30 birthday, Happiness and Luck visited Destiny. After seeing them on her doorstep she chattered: He is flying alone to Africa for a hunt. He would be flying in a strong side wind and above the rebels. I have arranged everything with the wind. The rebels will miss. Is this that you wanted?

Happiness and Luck looked at each other smiling. Happiness said:

No. Let happen what should happen.

Destiny raised her eyebrows in surprise:

But they will shoot him down. He will die.

Happiness and Luck shook their heads.

Explain, Destiny demanded, you did so much for his well being and now you are leaving him.

Both shook their heads again and Happiness said:

He was happier than everyone else. He reached his peak, after that the fall begins. In the chase for a bigger experience he already tried drugs. It will be the reason for the collapse and breakdown of his family. He will burn fast, but will suffer and torment his closest people; he will ruin the impression of himself.

If he dies now, his life will remain a colorful festival. Everyone will be sorry for him, for the widow and the children, they will say: “He was a one of a kind man, brave, lucky, generous. He did so much good and he could have done even more. Life is a shooting star.”

After carefully listening Destiny uttered thoughtfully:

Well, yes. Leaving on time is also a success.

I ask only one thing, – Luck said, Please ensure that the rebels are accurate and the death is sudden.

He won’t understand anything, Destiny responded.

Won’t understand, agreed Happiness, we were both wrong. He simply cannot understand.

And Luck finished sadly: This is the last thing that we can do for him.

Believe In Your Heart

Believe in your heart that something wonderful is about to happen. Love your life. Believe in your own powers, and your own potential, and in your own innate goodness.

Wake every morning with the awe of just being alive. Discover each day the magnificent, awesome beauty in the world. Explore and embrace life in yourself and in everyone you see each day. Reach within to find your own specialness.

Amaze yourself and rouse those around you to the potential of each new day.

Don’t be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect; this is the essence of your humanity. Let those who love you help you. Trust enough to be able to take.

Look with hope to the horizon of today, for today is all we truly have.

Live this day well. Let a little sun out as well as in.

Create your own rainbows. Be open to all your possibilities; all possibilities and Miracles.

Always believe in Miracles.

Whatever Happens, Happens For A Reason

Dr. Mark, a well-known cancer specialist, was

once on his way to an important conference in another city, where he was going to be honoured by an award in the field of medical research.

He was very excited to attend the conference and was desperate to reach as soon as possible.

He had worked long and hard on his research and felt his efforts deserved the award he was about to obtain.

However, two hours after the plane took off, the plane made an emergency landing at the nearest airport due to some technical snag.

Afraid, that he wouldn’t make it in time for the conference, Dr. Mark, immediately went to the reception counter and found that the next flight to the destination was after ten hours.

The receptionist suggested him, to rent a car and drive down to the conference city which was only four hours drive.

Having no other choice, he agreed to the idea, despite his hatred for driving long distances.

Dr. Mark rented a car and started the journey.

However, Soon after he started, the weather suddenly changed and a heavy storm began.

The pouring rain made it very difficult to see the road and missed a turn he was supposed to take.

After two hours of driving, he was convinced, he was lost.

Driving in the heavy rain on a deserted road, feeling hungry and tired, he frantically began to look for any sign of civilization.

Whatever Happens, Happens For A Reason

After some time, he finally came across a small tattered house.

Desperate, he got out of the car and knocked on the door.

A beautiful young lady opened the door.

He explained the situation and asked her if he could use her telephone.

However, the lady told him that she doesn’t have a phone or any electronic gadget but told him to come inside and wait till the weather improved.

Hungry, wet and exhausted, the doctor accepted her kind offer and walked in.

The lady gave him hot tea and something to eat. He was feeling relaxed.

The lady requested him to join her for prayer.

But, Dr. Mark smiled and said that he believed in hard work only and told her to continue with her prayers.

Sitting on the chair, doctor watched the woman sitting in the dim light of candles as she prayed next to what appeared to be a small baby crib.

Every time she finished a prayer, she would start another one.

Dr. felt that, the woman is in need of some help, and spoke to her as soon as she finished her prayers.

The doctor asked her, what exactly she wanted from the God, and enquired if she thought God will ever listen to her prayers.
He further asked about the small child in the crib for whom she was apparently praying.

The lady gave a sad smile and said that the child in the crib is her son who is suffering from a rare type of cancer and there is only one doctor Mark, who can cure him but she doesn’t have money to afford his fees and moreover, Dr Mark lives in another far off town.

She said that God will certainly answer her prayer one day and will create some way out one day and added that she will not allow her fears to overcome her faith.

Stunned and speechless Dr Mark was in tears, which were rolling down his cheeks.

He whispered, God is great ! and recollected the sequence of events.

4 Steps To Making Better Decisions Every Time

Let’s take the value of “family” as an example. Is the verb you want to attach “provide for my family”? This could mean financially, it could be being present. What if we took the word family and turned it into a sentence? Something like:

“I want to ensure that my wife and daughter will always have a comfortable home; to earn enough money to take care of their needs and provide the best education possible for my daughter; and to be physically and emotionally present, kind, generous, open, and compassionate.”

Now, not only so I know what’s important, but I also know how that information will guide my decisions and actions. Now if I’m presented with an opportunity to invest my time or attention or money in something, I can ask:

Will this move me closer to ensuring a comfortable home for my wife and daughter….? If yes, I’m in. If no, I’m out. And if I’m weighing two options, I can choose the one that gets me closest. It becomes useful in guiding my everyday decisions and actions.

Step 1: Write down your basic values.

Make your list as long as you like. Pure stream-of-consciousness. Do not do any editing yet.

Step 2: Now circle the five values you feel most strongly about.

Go with your gut. This is not about what you wish your answers were, or what you want others to think; it’s about what they truly are.

Step 3: Look at each of your top five values, and write them into a sentence that gives them context and definition.

Be sure to include a verb. Spend a little time refining these sentences. Then, on a new piece of paper, write all five down.

Step 4: Place that piece of paper somewhere you can see it or reference it whenever you want.

As opportunities come your way throughout the day, ask yourself, “Does saying yes move me closer to what I hold most dear?” If the answer is no, whether it’s checking your e-mail every 10 minutes or taking a new job, just say no. And start to say yes to only what genuinely matters most to you.

The Power Of Positive Thinking

Positive thinking is a mental attitude that admits into the mind thoughts, words and images that are conductive to growth, expansion and success. It is a mental attitude that expects good and favorable results. A positive mind anticipates happiness, joy, health and a successful outcome of every situation and action. Whatever the mind expects, it finds.

Many have heard it said that another person cannot make you happy. The happiness will come from within you. Being confident is a choice and it will produce positive emotions. There has been much research done on being in a positive state. It will produce a sense of well-being and has even proven to have multiple health benefits. Successful living today being positive will change your life.

The way that someone feels about themselves shows in the way they act. They always find funny things in everyday life that makes them and others happy. There is joy and cheerfulness that just rubs off on the people who are around them. The way they feel shows in their life because they are more relaxed and sleep better at night. They are not only physically assured but mentally as well. Most people have a spiritual connection that gives them the confident mindset in life.

People who have a confident mindset take full advantage of their work force. They go in everyday with a smile on their face and the confidence that they have the ability to handle anything that comes their way. Their ability to take responsibility and not to blame others when something goes wrong shows that they have a handle on life. Negative emotions have no place with them on their way to success.

Confidence is so much better than looking back and thinking of what could have been. Confident people are ones that you want to be around because they make the most of the present and look forward to the future. They are in awe of the beauty of nature and good things around them.

This behavior comes from choosing the atmosphere that one is around. It is best to surround yourself with assured people that are upbeat and thinking good thoughts. Try to avoid negative news and thinking on unpleasant things. This will be to your advantage in building the blocks in your life of thinking of good wholesome thoughts.

Positive and negative thinking are both contagious.

All of us affect, in one way or another, the people we meet. This happens instinctively and on a subconscious level, through thoughts and feelings transference, and through body language. People sense our aura and are affected by our thoughts, and vice versa. Is it any wonder that we want to be around positive people and avoid negative ones? People are more disposed to help us if we are positive, and they dislike and avoid anyone broadcasting negativity.

Negative thoughts, words and attitude bring up negative and unhappy moods and actions. When the mind is negative, poisons are released into the blood, which cause more unhappiness and negativity. This is the way to failure, frustration and disappointment.

Becoming a Positive Example to All

Being positive, doing the right things and thinking the right things will produce the kind of behavior that is an example to all. It will be an encouragement to those around you and an example that they can follow. Watching your confident living will help those with negative tendencies to change the way they think. If it changes the course of their lives you have done a great thing. Being careful of the things we say also will manifest how we act. Our conversation should be complimentary and uplifting.

Being tolerant of others is another advantage of being confident. We will not always be treated in the manner that is right. We are not responsible for the negative way that people treat us, but we are responsible for how we react to it. A positive person will realize that sometimes people are a product of their environment. Maybe they didn’t have all of the advantages that you did. The right thing to do is to act in a positive way.

It is always positive to think of others. Contributing in positive ways leads to an eternal happiness.

Believe In Yourself

You are super special! Believe in yourself! Certainly you can take action to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills and therefore to produce your desired results. You certainly can produce all the necessary results to reach your full potential, to fulfill your goals, and to build foundations under your dreams to make them a concrete reality. Believe in yourself. Definitively, you can take actions and produce results. You can do it! Don’t worry about being successful. Just do it! You are already a star since the day you were born. The real success is experienced during the process of doing, with passion and love, the task you commit to achieve. The rest is arrogance and vanity – don’t play this game; it is not real and causes unhappiness and insecurity. Do your best, with passion and love. Put your heart in everything you do, but don’t ever worry if you make mistakes, miss, fail or fall on the road. No problem. That’s OK! You are not better or worse than the rest of the people in the world, in reality nobody is! At the beginning, no challenge is easy to cope with or else anybody would do it. If worthwhile things were easy to do, life would be meaningless and senseless. Mistakes or failures are there, and ever will be, to teach us, make us stronger, and help us to mature even more. Nobody is perfect. Mistakes or failures are part of the many teachers we will have during our short journey in the University of Life.

Have a blind faith and never, ever lose your hope because faith and hope are the energies that move our souls. Without faith and hope our lives are meaningless, gloomy, and painful. Inspire yourself by knowing, recognizing, valuing, and embracing your own greatness. You are special as you are, and you don’t need to be like, or compare yourself with anybody else since you are perfectly unique. You are super special! Yes YOU! Believe in yourself. Everybody can and has his or her own opinion about you and the world, but the most important opinion of all is the opinion that you have of yourself. Nothing else matters but how you see yourself. The image you have about yourself is the image you are going to acquire and the life you will live; nothing more, nothing else. If you don’t believe how special, capable, intelligent, valuable, and blessed you are nobody else will. Love yourself and believe in yourself without being consumed by arrogance and greed because whoever is full of himself or herself leaves no room for anybody else in his or her heart.

Don’t let anybody decide who you are and how far you can get by taking full control and responsibility of your life. Live your life with integrity: be honest and responsible for absolutely all your thoughts, all your actions, and all the consequences of such actions. Do only what is right and fair. Take action based on your integrity because nothing tells more about who we are and what move us inside but our daily actions. Our real personality is not expressed in words but in the quality of the actions we take and decisions we make. And only when we face difficulties is when we expose who we really are – our true personality. It is a fact that nobody can change anybody. Our freedom, happiness, and peace depend on accepting people and life as they are, as well as accepting everything that expresses in life itself. Being honest and responsible gives us freedom, happiness, and peacefulness; being honest provides us with emotional fulfillment and stability.

Instead of choosing to be right, choose to be happy, free, and peaceful. Freedom is being able to choose to do exactly what you want to do, without thinking what the rest of the world will think about us. A human being will only be able to make the right choice when he is in control of himself.

Grow Great By Dreams

The question was once asked of a highly successful businessman, “How have you done so much in your lifetime?”

He replied, “I grow great by dreams. I have turned my mind loose to imagine what I wanted to do. Then I have gone to bed and thought about my dreams. In the night I dream about my dreams. And when I awoke in the morning, I saw the way to make my dreams real. While other people were saying, ‘You can’t do that, it is impossible,’ I was well on my way to achieving what I wanted.”As Woodrow Wilson, 28th President of the U.S., said: “We grow great by dreams. All big men are dreamers.”

They see things in the soft haze of a spring day, or in the red fire on a long winter’s evening. Some of us let these dreams die, but others nourish and protect them; nourish them through bad days until they bring them to the sunshine and light which comes always to those who sincerely hope that their dreams will come true.

So please, don not let anyone steal your dreams, or try to tell you they are too impossible.

“Sing your songs, and dream your dreams, hope your hope and pray your prayer.”

Some Wonderful Definitions

Cigarette : A pinch of tobacco rolled in paper with fire at one end & a fool on the other.

Divorce : Future tense of marriage.

Lecture : An art of transferring information from the notes of the Lecturer to the notes of the students without passing through “the minds of either”

Conference : The confusion of one man multiplied by the number present.

Compromise : The art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody believes he got the biggest piece.

Tears : The hydraulic force by which masculine will-power is defeated by feminine water power…

Dictionary : A place where divorce comes before marriage.

Classic : A book which people praise, but do not read.

Smile :- A curve that can set a lot of things straight.

Office :- A place where you can relax after your strenuous home life.

Yawn :- The only time some married men ever get to open their mouth.

Etc. :- A sign to make others believe that you know more than you actually do.

Committee :- Individuals who can do nothing individually and sit to decide that nothing can be done together.

Experience :- The name men give to their mistakes.

Atom Bomb :- An invention to end all inventions.

Philosopher :- A fool who torments himself during life, to be spoken of when dead.

Diplomat :- A person who tells you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip.

Opportunist :- A person who starts taking bath if he accidentally falls into a river.

Optimist : A person who while falling from Eiffel tower says in midway “See I am not injured yet.”

Pessimist :- A person who says that O is the last letter in RO, Instead of the first letter in word Opportunity.

Miser :- A person who lives poor so that he can die rich.

Father :- A banker provided by nature.

Criminal :- A guy no different from the rest… except that he got caught.

Boss :- Someone who is early when you are late and late when you are early.

Politician :- One who shakes your hand before elections and your Confidence after.

Doctor :- A person who kills your ills by pills, and kills you with his bill.

Value Relationships In Time

It was their anniversary, and Aisha was waiting for her husband Rajiv to show up. Things had changed since their marriage, the once cute couple couldn’t-live-without-each-other had turned bitter. Fighting over every little things, both didn’t like the way things had changed. Aisha was waiting to see if Rajiv remembered it was their anniversary!

Just as the doorbell rang she ran to find her husband wet and smiling with a bunch of flowers in his hand. The two started re-living the old days. Making up for fights, then was d plan for champagne, light music And it was raining outside! It was perfect.

But the moment paused when the phone in the bedroom rang.

Aisha went to pick it up and it was a man. “Hello ma’am I’m calling from the police station. Is this Mr Rajiv Mehra’s number?”

“Yes it is!”

“I’m sorry ma’am; but there was an accident and a man died. We got this number from his wallet; we need you to come and identify his body.”

Aisha’s heart sank.!!! She was shocked! But my husband is here with me?”

“Sorry ma’am, but the incident took place at 2 pm, when he was boarding the train.”

Aisha was about to lose her conscience. How could this happen?! She had heard about the soul of the person coming to meet a loved one before it leaves! She ran into the other room. He was not there. It was true!   had left her for good! Oh God she would have died for another chance to mend every little fight! She rolled on the floor in pain. She lost her chance! Forever!

Suddenly there was a noise from the bathroom, the door opened and Rajiv came out and said “Darling, I forgot to tell you my wallet got stolen today”.

Life might not give you a second chance. So never waste a moment when you can still make up your wrongs!!!

Let’s start making amends.

To parents

To siblings

To friends

And many more.

No one has a promised tomorrow. Have a wonderful Life with no regrets!

Please do not forget to share with you loved ones If you liked this story… please share with friends and family and children… You might spark a thought, inspire and possibly change a life forever !!!!

Are You Blessed?

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep… you are richer than 75% of this world.

If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace… you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness… you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death… you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.

If your parents are still alive and still married… you are very rare, even in the United States.

If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful… you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

If you can hold someone’s hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder… you are blessed because you can offer healing touch.

If you prayed yesterday and today……..you are in the minority because you believe God does hear and answer prayers.

If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read at all.

If you are still regretting over anything today, make yourself understand that you are blessed more than many people around you.

Have a good day, count your blessings, and pass this along to remind everyone else how blessed we all are. Try cheering them up in some few, you will be satisfied more with your life. Bless you.

God Answers

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming.

Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky.

The worst had happened ~everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. God, how could you do this to me he cried. Early the next day, however, he was wakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island.

It had come to rescue him. How did you know I was here asked the weary man of his rescuers. We saw your smoke signal, they replied.

It’s easy to get discouraged sometimes when things appear to be going badly. But we shouldn’t lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground, it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God.

For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves, God has a positive answer for it. Pass this on, you never know whose life may be in need of this today. Believe me, there are some weeks that we all feel our huts are burning.