Monday, January 30, 2017

A Legend About A Dictador

There is a legend about and old dictator, that when he knew he would die soon, he picked two men whom he felt he could trust as potential successors to his throne. As he lay on his deathbed, he summoned the two men and asked his servant to bring him two birds.

When the two men came to his deathbed, he said, "I called you here to see which one of you is worthy to be the heir to my throne. In order to prove yourself, you must  take one of these birds and make it remain in the palm of your hand for five minutes without killing it."

One of the men took a bird from its cage, but he held it so tightly, he suffocated. The other man, determined not to make the same mistake, took out the other bird and held it firmly but made no attempt to restrain it. Therefore, it quickly flew away through one of the room's windows.

"Fools! I will show you how to do it properly," said the dictator. "Bring me a bird!" he ordered his servant.

When the servant came back, the dictator took the bird, plucked out all of its feathers, then held the birds in his hands. The bird was now shivering without its heathers to warm him, and although he was unmistakably terrified, he did not fly away.

"Do you see it? It is now helpless. It is terrified. It is freezing. It is vulnerable. I have stripped it of everything, and now it is thankful for the warmth I am giving it in the palms of my hands," the dictator said.

The legends ends here, but the assumption is that this how the dictator  controlled his people - by taking everything away from them, then making them fell thankful for his protection. He essentially got those people to "play frozen," just as the bird was "playing frozen" in his hands.

And he was able to take advantage of an emotion that all animals and human beings have.

This emotion is FEAR.

From jamesmw.com



Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Promise Yourself

To be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.

To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel that there is something in them.

To look at the sunny side of everything and make your optimism come true.

To think only the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best.

To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.

To wear a cheerful countenance at all the times and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself that you have no time to criticize others.

To be too large for worry, to noble for anger, too strong for fear; and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world, not in loud words, but in greet deeds.

To live in the faith that the whole world is on your side so long as you are true to the best that is in you.

by C.D. Larson
"Your Forces and How to Use Them"




Tuesday, January 17, 2017

A Lesson About Judgement

A father and his daughter were playing in the park. His young daughter spotted an apple vendor. She asked her father to buy her an apple. The father didn't bring much money with him, but it was enough to purchase two apples. So, he bought two apples and gave them to his daughter.

His daughter held one apple each in her two hands. Then the father asked her if she can share one apple with him. Upon hearing, his daughter quickly took a bite from one apple. And before her father could spear, she also took a bite from the second apple.

The father was surprised. He wondered what mistake he made raising her daughter that she acted in such a greedy way. His mind was lost in thoughts, that perhaps he is just thinking to much, his daughter is too young to understand about sharing and giving. A smile had disappeared from his face.

And suddenly his daughter with an apple in her hand said, "Father have this one, this one is the most juiciest and sweeter". Her father was speechless. He felt bad about reaching to the judgement so quickly about a small child. But, his smile came back now knowing why his daughter quickly took a bite from each apple.

Moral: Don't judge anything too quickly or reach a conclusion. Always spare a time to understand things better.



Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Peace Of Mind

Once Buddha was walking from one town to another with a few of his followers.  While they were travelling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples, I am thirsty. Give me some water from that lake there.

The disciple walked there up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that some people were washing clothes in the water and, right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, how can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink! So he come back and told Buddha, the water is very muddy. I don't think it is fit to drink.

After about a half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake. This time he found that the lake had absolutely clear water on it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water, and he looked up at the disciple and said, see what you did to make the water clean. You let it be...and the mud settled down on its own and you got clear water.
Your mind is also like that. When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don't have to put any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless.

What did Buddha emphasize here? He said, it is effortless. Having "peace of mind" is not a strenuous job; it is an effortless process. When there is peace inside you, that peace permeates to the outside. It spreads around you and in the environment, such that people around start feeling that peace and grace.

From Roger Darlington's World


Tuesday, January 3, 2017

The Power Of One

One SONG can spark a moment
One FLOWER can wake the dream
One TREE can start a forest
One Bird can herald spring
One SMILE begins a friendship
One HANDCLASP lifts a soul
One START can guide a ship at sea
One WORD can frame the goal
One VOTE can change a nation
One SUNBEAM lights a room
One CANDLE wipes out darkness
One LAUGH will conquer gloom
One STEP must start each journey
One WORD must start a prayer
One HOPE will raise our spirits
One TOUCH can show you care
One VOICE can speak with wisdom
One HEART can know what is true

AND

One LIFE can make a different

Author Unknown


Anam Cara