One day I decided to quit...

One day I decided to quit... I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality...

I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.

“God”, I said. “Can you give me one good reason not to quit?”

His answer surprised me. “Look around”, He said. “Do you see the fern and the bamboo?”

“Yes”, I replied. “When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them.

I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth.

Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed.

But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful.

And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.

In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed.

But I would not quit. The same in year four.

Then in the fifth year, a tiny sprout emerged from the earth.

Compared to the fern, it was seemingly small and insignificant.

But just six months later, the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall.

It had spent the five years growing roots.

Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive.

I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle.

“Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots?

I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you.

“Don’t compare yourself to others.” He said. “The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern.

Yet they both make the forest beautiful. Your time will come”, God said to me.

“You will rise high.” “How high should I rise?” I asked.

“How high will the bamboo rise?” He asked in return.

“As high as it can?” I questioned. “Yes.”

He said, “Give me glory by rising as high as you can.”

I left the forest, realizing that God will never give up on me.

And He will never give up on you.

**Moral of the story Never regret a day in your life.

**Good days give you happiness; bad days give you experiences; both are essential to life.

Serenity isn’t freedom from the storm, but peace within the storm.**

Having a Best Friend

A story tells that two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand “Today my best friend slapped me in the face”.

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone “Today my best friend saved my life”.

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?” The other friend replied “When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”

Moral of the story Do not value the things you have in your life. But value who you have in your life.

Play Wise Play Fool

There once lived a great mathematician in a village. He was often called by the local king to advice on matters related to the economy. His reputation had spread as far as Taxila in the North and Kanchi in the South. So it hurt him very much when the village headman told him, "You may be a great mathematician who advises the king on economic matters but your son does not know the value of gold or silver."

The mathematician called his son and asked, "What is more valuable - gold or silver?" "Gold," said the son. "That is correct. Why is it then that the village headman makes fun of you, claims you do not know the value of gold or silver? He teases me every day. He mocks me before other village elders as a father who neglects his son. This hurts me. I feel everyone in the village is laughing behind my back because you do not know what is more valuable, gold or silver. Explain this to me, son."

So the son of the mathematician told his father the reason why the village headman carried this impression. "Every day on my way to school, the village headman calls me to his house. There, in front of all village elders, he holds out a silver coin in one hand and a gold coin in other. He asks me to pick up the more valuable coin. I pick the silver coin. He laughs, the elders jeer, everyone makes fun of me. And then I go to school. This happens every day. That is why they tell you I do not know the value of gold or silver."

The father was confused. His son knew the value of gold and silver, and yet when asked to choose between a gold coin and silver coin always picked the silver coin. "Why don't you pick up the gold coin?" he asked. In response, the son took the father to his room and showed him a box. In the box were at least a hundred silver coins. Turning to his father, the mathematician's son said, "The day I pick up the gold coin the game will stop. They will stop having fun and I will stop making money."

Moral of the story Sometimes in life, we have to play the fool because our seniors and our peers, and sometimes even our juniors like it. That does not mean we lose in the game of life. It just means allowing others to win in one arena of the game, while we win in the other arena of the game. We have to choose which arena matters to us and which arenas do not.

The Truck Driver and the Tire

One truck driver was doing his usual load delivery at a mental hospital, by parking his vehicle beside an open drain. He discovered a flat tire when he was about to return from the mental hospital. He jacked up the truck and removed the flat tire to fix the spare tire.

When he was about to fix the spare tire, he accidentally dropped all the 4 bolts in the open drain. As he cannot fish the bolts in the open drain, he started to panic as to what should be done?

Just then, one patient happened to walk past him and asked the driver as to why he was looking troubled. The driver thought to himself, since there is nothing much he can do or this mental joker can. Just to keep the bugging away, the truck driver informed the whole episode to the mental patient and gave a helpless look.

The patient just laughed at the truck driver and said you just cannot even fix such a simple problem? "No wonder you are destined to remain a truck driver for life".

The truck driver was astonished to hear such a compliment from a mental guy. "Here is what you can do" said the mental guy... "take one bolt from each of the remaining 3 tires / wheels and fix it on to this tire. Then drive down to the nearest workshop and replace the missing ones. Isn't it simple my friend".

The truck driver was so impressed with this quick fix answer and asked the patient "How come you are so smart and intelligent and you are here at the mental hospital?"

The patient replied "Hello friend! I stay here because I am crazy but not stupid".

No wonder, there are some people, who behave like the Truck Driver, thinking that others are just stupid. So, guys, though you all are learned and wise, but, just watch out, there could be some CRAZY guys in our professional / personal lives, who could give us lot of quick fixes and brush our wisdom.

Moral of the story Just do not conclude that you know everything and do not judge people by mere looks/attire stature or academic background!

Reality of Life

A long time ago, there was an Emperor who told his horseman that if he could ride on his horse and cover as much land area as he likes, then the Emperor would give him the area of land he has covered.

Sure enough, the horseman quickly jumped onto his horse and rode as fast as possible to cover as much land area as he could. He kept on riding and riding, whipping the horse to go as fast as possible. When he was hungry or tired, he did not stop because he wanted to cover as much area as possible.

Came to a point when he had covered a substantial area and he was exhausted and was dying. Then he asked himself, "Why did I push myself so hard to cover so much land area? Now I am dying and I only need a very small area to bury myself."

**Moral of the story The above story is similar with the journey of our Life. We push very hard everyday to make more money, to gain power and recognition. We neglect our health , time with our family and to appreciate the surrounding beauty and the hobbies we love.

One day when we look back , we will realize that we don't really need that much, but then we cannot turn back time for what we have missed....**

Bank Account

Imagine there is a bank, which credits your account each morning with Rs 86,400, carries over no balance from day to day, allows you to keep no cash balance, and every evening cancels whatever part of the amount you had failed to use during the day.

What would you do? Draw out every pence, of course! Well, everyone has such a bank. Its name is Time.

Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the records of the day. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against the "tomorrow." Therefore, there is never not enough time or too much time.

Anger

A Hindu saint who was visiting river Ganges to take bath found a group of family members on the banks, shouting in anger at each other. He turned to his disciples smiled 'n asked.

'Why do people shout in anger shout at each other?'

Disciples thought for a while, one of them said, 'Because we lose our calm, we shout.'

'But, why should you shout when the other person is just next to you? You can as well tell him what you have to say in a soft manner.' asked the saint

Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the other disciples. Finally the saint explained, .

'When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other to cover that great distance.

What happens when two people fall in love? They don't shout at each other but talk softly, Because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is either nonexistent or very small...'

The saint continued, 'When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper 'n they get even closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other 'n that's all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.'

He looked at his disciples and said.

The Dirty Laundry

The Dirty Laundry

A young couple moved into a new neighborhood.

The next morning, while they are eating breakfast, the young woman watches her neighbour hang the washed laundry outside.

"That laundry is not very clean", she said, "she doesn't know how to wash correctly.

Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."

Her husband looked on, but remained silent.

Every time her neighbour would hang her washed clothes to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.

About one month later, the woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on the line and said to her husband:

"Look! She has learnt how to wash correctly.

I wonder who taught her this."

The husband said: "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows!"

And so it is with life:

What we see when we are watching others, depends on the purity of the window through which we look.

Our life is a creation of our mind !!!

The Unique Gift

There were once a brother and sister who were each given a gift. The boy, fearful his gift would be lost or stolen, chose to hide his gift under a rock to keep it safe. The girl, on the other hand, took her treasure and bought some seed.

The girl planted and cared for her seeds and soon found herself with a bountiful harvest. She took her goods to a market and sold them for a very tidy profit. With her profit she bought more supplies and equipment and planted even more seeds the next season.

The boy’s gift, in the meantime, remained secure under his rock.

The girl researched and implemented innovative ways to make better use of her acreage. At harvest time, she made an even bigger profit and set out to learn about supply and demand. She discovered how some goods have greater appeal to consumers and began planting those seeds that many people desired.

Her next harvest was the biggest yet and she chose to invest some of her money in buying better farming equipment. Due to her hard work and skill, her product began to be marketed and sold throughout the country. She became a very wealthy woman.

The boy’s gift, in the meantime, remained secure under his rock.

The girl chose not to simply accumulate her money and let it sit in a bank. Instead, she put it to work by establishing programs to help others learn how they too could use their gifts in ways that made the world around them better than they found it. She then built a school that taught business and economics and formed a charitable organization that would help others far and wide benefit from her original gift.

Meanwhile, the boy, who was now a man, still had his original gift. It was safely hidden under the same rock. While his sister grew to become very successful, blessing the lives of countless others with her gift, the boy’s life seemed stagnant and small. With his gift hidden from view, he risked little and achieved less. Falling far short of ever really knowing how things may have been different if he too chose to do as his sister and use his gift to build value into his surroundings.

Moral of the story We all possess unique gifts, talents, and skills meant to be used to help make our world better than we found it.

Story of Sylvester Stallone

Story of Sylvester Stallone

During birth, a wrong gynecological procedure caused Stallone to have one sided paralysis. At school, his middle class being and his facial paralysis became a thing for others to make fun of.

He started body-building because he wanted to frighten those who bullied him. Slowly he started thinking of a career in movies.

Around 1974, he had a pregnant wife, a dog that he loved a lot, a lot of bills to pay and no success in his movie career.

What he still had was a belief in his dream that he will make it big.

Soon a time came when he went broke. He was heavily under debt.

Restless, anxious, stressed and still loaded with hope that he WILL make it big.

Things got so bad that he had to sell his wife’s jewelry and ended up homeless. Sleeping at the New York Bus station for 3 days.

The cold American winter forced him to choose between electricity and his dog. He stood outside a local store and sold his dog for $25.

Two weeks later, on TV he watched a boxing match between Mohammed Ali and Chuck Wepner. That match was like a flash of inspiration… For the next 20 hours he sat and wrote the script of what today is a cult movie, ROCKY.

In the words of Stallone himself, “After nearly 1500 rejections”, he got a production house to offer $125,000 for the script.

Despite the poverty, pains, pregnant wife and lost dog… His dream was to STAR in the movie as the MAIN LEAD.

In an era when heroes were super handsome men and spoke fluently, a body builder with a facial paralysis that made him stammer while speaking, made Stallone the wrong choice for any role.

The studio bluntly rejected his offer… And Stallone went back home with another failure.

A few weeks later,the studio offered him $250,000 for the just the script, and not him.

He refused.

Soon they offered $350,000 for the script but not him.

At that time everyone was pushing him to accept.. It would be MAD not to do so.. He was making a fortune.

He still refused.

Someone in the studio really loved his script, and as fortune favors the brave.. They finally accepted to give $35,000 for the script and have him as the lead star.

The rest as they say is history!

The movie was made for $1 million and went to make around $200 million.

It won the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Direction and Best Film Editing.

Stallone was a “bankable” hero for the next 20yrs, till the late 90s… with his movies making billions of dollars.

And what did he do with the first $35,000?

He stood outside the liquor store, where he sold his dog, for 3 days. Identified the man who had bought it, and finally got him back for $15,000.

Moral of the story AND IN THE WORDS OF ROCKY BALBOA – “Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!” ― Sylvester Stallone, Rocky

Understanding

A cruise ship met with an incident at sea, on the ship was a pair of couple, after having made their way to the lifeboat, they realized that there was only space for one person left.

At this moment, the man pushed the woman behind him and jumped onto the lifeboat himself.

The lady stood on the sinking ship and shouted one sentence to her husband.

The teacher stopped and asked, "What do you think she shouted?"

Most of the students excitedly answered, "I hate you! I was blind!"

Now, the teacher noticed a boy who was silent throughout, she got him to answer and he replied, "Teacher, I believe she would have shouted - Take care of our child!"

The teacher was surprised, asking "Have you heard this story before?"

The boy shook his head, "Nope, but that was what my mum told my dad before she died to disease".

The teacher lamented, "The answer is right".

The cruise sunk, the man went home and brought up their daughter single-handedly.

Many years later after the death of the man, their daughter found his diary while tidying his belongings.

It turns out that when parents went onto the cruise ship, the mother was already diagnosed with a terminal illness. At the critical moment, the father rushed to the only chance of survival.

He wrote in his diary, "How I wished to sink to the bottom of the ocean with you, but for the sake of our daughter, I can only let you lie forever below the sea alone".

The story is finished, the class was silent.

**Moral of the story The teacher knows that the student has understood the moral of the story, that of the good and the evil in the world, there are many complications behind them which are hard to understand.

**Which is why we should never only focus on the surface and judge others without understanding them first.

**Those who like to pay the bill, does so not because they are loaded but because they value friendship above money.

**Those who take the initiative at work, does so not because they are stupid but because they understand the concept of responsibility.

**Those who apologizes first after a fight, does so not because they are wrong but because they value the people around them.

Those who are willing to help you, does so not because they owe you any thing but because they see you as a true friend.....**

Perseverance

Perseverance

An eight-year-old child heard her parents talking about her little brother. All she knew was that he was very sick and they had no money left. They were moving to a smaller house because they could not afford to stay in the present house after paying the doctor's bills. Only a very costly surgery could save him now and there was no one to loan them the money.

When she heard her daddy say to her tearful mother with whispered desperation, 'Only a miracle can save him now', the little girl went to her bedroom and pulled her piggy bank from its hiding place in the closet. She poured all the change out on the floor and counted it carefully.

Clutching the precious piggy bank tightly, she slipped out the back door and made her way six blocks to the local drugstore. She took a quarter from her bank and placed it on the glass counter.

"And what do you want?" asked the pharmacist.

"It's for my little brother," the girl answered back. "He's really very sick and I want to buy a miracle."

"I beg your pardon?" said the pharmacist.

"His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my daddy says only a miracle can save him. So how much does a miracle cost?"

"We don't sell miracles here, child. I'm sorry," the pharmacist said, smiling sadly at the little girl.

"Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I can try and get some more. Just tell me how much it costs."

In the shop was a well-dressed customer. He stooped down and asked the little girl, "What kind of a miracle does you brother need?"

"I don't know," she replied with her eyes welling up. "He's really sick and mommy says he needs an operation. But my daddy can't pay for it, so I have brought my savings".

"How much do you have?" asked the man.

"One dollar and eleven cents; but I can try and get some more", she answered barely audibly.

"Well, what a coincidence," smiled the man, "A dollar and eleven cents - the exact price of a miracle for little brothers."

He took her money in one hand and held her hand with the other. He said, "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the kind of miracle you need."

That well-dressed man was Dr Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specialising in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed without charge and it wasn't long before Andrew was home again and doing well.

"That surgery," her mom whispered, "was a real miracle. I wonder how much it would have cost."

The little girl smiled. She knew exactly how much the miracle cost ... one dollar and eleven cents ... plus the faith of a little child.

Moral of the story Perseverance can make miracles happen! A river cuts the rock not because of its power,but because of its consistency. Never lose your hope & keep walking towards your vision..

The Farmer's Donkey

The Farmer's Donkey

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out a way to get him out. Finally he decided it was probably impossible and the animal was old and the well was dry anyway, so it just wasn't worth it to try and retrieve the donkey. So the farmer asked his neighbors to come over and help him cover up the well. They all grabbed shovels and began to shovel dirt into the well.

At first, when the donkey realized what was happening he cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down and let out some happy brays. A few shovel loads later, the farmer looked down the well to see what was happening and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was shaking it off and taking a step up. (Shifting)

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he continued to shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, to everyone's amazement, the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!

**Moral of the story Life is going to shovel dirt on you. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Every adversity can be turned into a stepping stone. The way to get out of the deepest well is by never giving up but by shaking yourself off and taking a step up.

What happens to you isn't nearly as important as how you react to it.**

Happiness

Happiness

This story is about a beautiful, expensively dressed lady who complained to her psychiatrist that she felt that her whole life was empty, it had no meaning: So, the lady went to visit a counselor to seek out happiness.

The counselor called over the old lady who cleaned the office floors and then said to the rich lady "I am going to ask Mary here to tell you how she found happiness. All I want you to do is listen to her."

So the old lady put down her broom, sat on a chair and told her story:

"Well, my husband died of malaria and three months later my only son was killed by a car. I had nobody - I had nothing left. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I never smiled at anyone, I even thought of taking my own life.

Then one evening a little kitten followed me home from work. Somehow I felt sorry for that kitten. It was cold outside, so I decided to let the kitten in. I got it some milk, and the kitten licked the plate clean. Then it purred and rubbed against my leg and, for the first time in months, I smiled.

Then I stopped to think, if helping a little kitten could make me smile, maybe doing something for people could make me happy.

So the next day I baked some biscuits and took them to a neighbor who was sick in bed.

Every day I tried to do something nice for someone. It made me so happy to see them happy.

Today, I don't know of anybody who sleeps and eats better than I do. I've found happiness, by giving it to others."

When she heard that,the rich lady cried. She had everything that money could buy, but she had lost the things which money cannot buy.

A Pound of Butter

A Pound of Butter

There was a farmer who sold a pound of butter to the baker.

One day the baker decided to weigh the butter to see if he was getting a pound and he found that he was not. This angered him and he took the farmer to court.

The judge asked the farmer if he was using any measure.

The farmer replied, amour Honor, I am primitive. I don't have a proper measure, but I do have a scale."

The judge asked, "Then how do you weigh the butter?"

The farmer replied "Your Honor, long before the baker started buying butter from me, I have been buying a pound loaf of bread from him. Every day when the baker brings the bread, I put it on the scale and give him the same weight in butter. If anyone is to be blamed, it is the baker."

**Moral of the story Whenever you take an action, ask yourself this question: Am I giving fair value for the wages or money I hope to make?

**Honesty and dishonesty become a habit. Some people practice dishonesty and can lie with a straight face. Others lie so much that they don’t even know what the truth is anymore.

But who are they deceiving? Themselves.**

Family

Family

8 years ago they, dragged me into their gang and we formed a kitty group-my first ever. I wanted to leave after the first round. Not that I had anything against them but because I had nothing in common with them. It was like being in the wrong orbit. I must be older than their mothers-in-law.

For all you know they must be thinking what was I doing in the group. My husband just advised that if they are ok then what's the harm. Carry on. My daughter told me to just go and enjoy. And I continued. I realized that they were quite fun to be. Kept me vibrant, crazy and young. I actually started enjoying their company and eight years have gone by.

A week ago when there was no one with me I fell sick. The way they are standing by me has made me realize what all I would have lost had I parted ways 8 years ago. Since 30th they have not allowed me to cook a single meal. I know I am not alone and that is the best feeling one can get.

Moral of the story Family is not only blood relations. It is people who are with you when you need them the most. Blessed am I for having them around. If ever you want to leave, think twice

Viewpoint

Viewpoint

A famous writer was in his study room. He picked up his pen and started writing:

Last year, I had a surgery and my gall bladder was removed. I had to stay stuck to the bed due to this surgery for a long time.

The same year I reached the age of 60 years and had to give up my favourite job. I had spent 30 years of my life in this publishing company.

The same year I experienced the sorrow of the death of my father.

And in the same year my son failed in his medical exam because he had a car accident. He had to stay in bed at hospital with the cast on for several days. The destruction of car was another loss.

At the end he wrote: Alas! It was such bad year!!

When the writer's wife entered the room, she found he husband looking sad lost in his thoughts. From behind his back she read what was written on the paper. She left the room silently and came back with another paper and placed it on side of her husband's writing. When the writer saw this paper, he found this written on it:

Last year I finally got rid of my gall bladder due to which I had spent years in pain.

I turned 60 with sound health and got retired from my job. Now I can utilize my time to write something better with more focus and peace.

The same year my father, at the age of 95, without depending on anyone or without any critical condition met his Creator.

The same year, God blessed my son with a new life. My car was destroyed but my son stayed alive without getting any disability.

At the end she wrote: This year was an immense blessing of God and it passed well!!

Moral of the story In daily lives we must see that its not happiness that makes us grateful but gratefulness that makes us happy...

Black or White

Black or White

When I was in elementary school, I got into a major argument with a boy in my class. I have forgotten what the argument was about, but I have never forgotten the lesson I learned that day.

I was convinced that “I” was right and “he” was wrong – and he was just as convinced that “I” was wrong and “he” was right. The teacher decided to teach us a very important lesson.

She brought us up to the front of the class and placed him on one side of her desk and me on the other. In the middle of her desk was a large, round object. I could clearly see that it was black. She asked the boy what color the object was. “White,” he answered.

I couldn’t believe he said the object was white, when it was obviously black! Another argument started between my classmate and me, this time about the color of the object.

The teacher told me to go stand where the boy was standing and told him to come stand where I had been. We changed places, and now she asked me what the color of the object was. I had to answer, “White.”

It was an object with two differently colored sides, and from his viewpoint it was white. Only from my side it was black.

Moral of the story Sometimes we need to look at the problem from the other person’s view in order to truly understand his/her perspective.

The Mango Tree

The Mango Tree

Once upon a time, there lived a big mango tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it everyday.

He climbed to the tree top, ate the mangoes, took a nap under the shadow… He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.

Time went by… The little boy grew, and he no longer played around the tree.

One day, the boy came back to the tree with a sad look on his face.

“Come and play with me,” the tree asked the boy.

“I am no longer a kid, I don’t play around trees anymore.” The boy replied, “I want toys. I need money to buy them.”

“Sorry, I don’t have money… but you can pick all my mangoes and sell them so you will have money.”

The boy was so excited. He picked all the mangoes on the tree and left happily. The boy didn’t come back. The tree was sad.

One day, the boy grown into a man returned. The tree was so excited.

“Come and play with me,” the tree said.

“I don’t have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?”

“Sorry, I don’t have a house, but you can chop off my branches to build your house.”

So the man cut all the branches off the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy didn’t come back afterward. The tree was again lonely and sad.

One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was delighted.

“Come and play with me!” The tree said.

“I am sad and getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?”

“Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy.”

So the man cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and didn’t come back for a long time.

Finally, the man returned after he had been gone for so many years.

“Sorry, my boy, but I don’t have anything for you anymore. No more mangoes to give you.” The tree said.

“I don’t have teeth to bite,” the man replied.

“No more trunk for you to climb on.”

“I am too old for that now,” the man said.

“I really can’t give you anything… the only thing left is my dying roots,” the tree said with sadness.

“I don’t need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years,” the man replied.

“Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest. Come sit down with me and rest.”

The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled.

Moral of the story The tree in the story represents our parents. When we are young, we love to play with them. When we grow up, we leave them and only come back when we need help. Parents sacrifice their lives for us.

A bus and the lightening

A bus and the lightening

A bus full of passengers was traveling while suddenly the weather changed and there was a huge downpour and lightening all around. They could see that the lightening would appear to come towards the bus and then go elsewhere.

After 2 or 3 instances, the driver stopped the bus about fifty feet away from a tree and said - "We have somebody in the bus whose death is a certainty today. Because of that person everybody else will also get killed. I want each person to go one-by-one and touch the tree trunk and come back. Whom so ever death is certain will get caught up by the lightening and will die. But everybody else will be saved".

They had to force the 1st person to go and touch the tree and come back. He reluctantly got down from the bus and went and touched the tree. His heart leaped with joy when nothing happened and he was still alive. This continued for rest of the passengers who were all relieved when they touched the tree and nothing happened.

When the last passengers turn came, everybody looked at him with accusing eyes. This passenger was also very afraid and reluctant. Everybody forced him to get down and go and touch the tree. With a fear of death, the last passenger walked to the tree and touched it. There was a huge sound of thunder and the lightening came down and hit the bus - yes the lightening hit the bus, and killed each and every passenger inside the bus.

It was because of the presence of this last passenger that earlier, the entire bus was safe and the lightening could not strike the bus.

**Moral of the story Sometimes we try to take credit for our achievements, but this could also be because of a person and his aura who is right next to us.

Look around, probably GOD is there in the form of parents, wife, children, siblings, relatives, friends, teachers and others who are trying save us from bad things to happen to us. Respect all, love all and be grateful to all, always.**