THE TRUE STORY OF A GRATEFUL WHALE

A  female humpback whale had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines.

The fifty foot whale was weighed down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her tail, her torso and a line tugging in her mouth.

 A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farallone Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that  she was so bad off; the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her – a very dangerous proposition. One slap of the tail could kill a rescuer.

 They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her. When she was free, the divers saw that she swam in what seemed like joyous circles. She then came back to each and every diver, one at a time, she thanked them. Some said it was the most incredible beautiful experience of their lives. 

The guy who cut the rope out of her mouth says her eye was following him the whole time, and he would never be the same. 

May you, and all those you love, be so blessed and fortunate to be surrounded by people who will help you get untangled from the things that are binding you! And, may you always know the joy of giving and receiving gratitude.

Self Appraisal a short story

A little boy went to a telephone booth which was at the cash counter of a  store and dialed a number. The store-owner observed and listened to the  conversation:  

Boy                 : "Lady, Can you give me the job of cutting your lawn?
Woman           : (at the other end of the phone line) "I  already have someone to cut my

                         lawn."
Boy                 : "Lady, I will cut your lawn for half the price than the person who cuts your

                          lawn now."
Woman           : I'm very satisfied with the person who is  presently cutting my lawn.
Boy                 : (with more perseverance) "Lady, I'll even sweep the floor  and the stairs

                          of your house for free.
Woman           : No, thank you.

With a smile on his face, the little  boy replaced the receiver. The store-owner, who was listening to all this,  walked over to the boy. 

 Store Owner   : "Son... I like  your attitude; I like that positive spirit and would like to

                                offer you a  job."
Boy                 : "No thanks,
Store Owner   :  But you were really pleading for one.
Boy                : No Sir, I was just  checking my performance at the job I already have.

                         I am the one who is  working for that lady I was talking to!"

Mountain Story

"A son and his father were walking on the mountains.
Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams : "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh!!!"
Curious, he yells: "Who are you?"
He receives the answer: "Who are you?"
And then he screams to the mountain: "I admire you!"
The voice answers: "I admire you!"
Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!"
He receives the answer: "Coward!"
He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?"
The father smiles and says: "My son, pay attention."
Again the man screams: "You are a champion!"
The voice answers: "You are a champion!"
The boy is surprised, but does not understand.
Then the father explains: "People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE.
It gives you back everything you say or do.
Our life is simply a reflection of our actions.
If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart .
If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence.
This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life;
Life will give you back everything you have given to it."
YOUR LIFE IS NOT A COINCIDENCE. IT'S A REFLECTION OF YOU!"

EAGLES IN A STORM

Did you know that an eagle knows when a storm is approaching long before it breaks?

The eagle will fly to some high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, it sets its wings so that the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. While the storm rages below, the eagle is soaring above it.

The eagle does not escape the storm. It simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It rises on the winds that bring the storm.

When the storms of life come upon us - and all of us will experience them - we can rise above them by setting our minds and our belief toward God. The storms do not have to overcome us. We can allow God's power to lift us above them.

God enables us to ride the winds of the storm that bring sickness, tragedy, failure and disappointment in our lives. We can soar above the storm.

Remember, it is not the burdens of life that weigh us down, it is how we handle them.

A Story of Appreciation

This is a powerful message in our modern society. 

We seemed to have lost our bearing & our sense of direction.

**Story of Appreciation**


One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.

He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview, made the last decision.


The director discovered from the CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never had a year when he did not score.

The director asked,

"Did you obtain any scholarships in school?"

the youth answered "none".

The director asked,

 " Was it your father who paid for your school fees?"

The youth answered,

"My father passed away, when I was one year old, it was my mother, who paid for my school fees.

The director asked,

 " Where did your mother work?"

The youth answered,

 "My mother worked as clothes cleaner.

The director requested the youth to show his hands.

The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

The director asked,

 " Have you ever helped your mother wash the clothes before?"

The youth answered,

"Never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books.

Furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me.

The director said,

"I have a request. When you go back today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.*

The youth felt that his chance of landing the job was high. When he went back, he happily requested his mother to let him clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she showed her hands to the kid.

The youth cleaned his mother's hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother shivered when they were cleaned with water.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fee. The bruises in the mother's hands were the price that the mother had to pay for his graduation, academic excellence and his future.

After finishing the cleaning of his mother's hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.

That night, mother and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director's office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, asked:

" Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered,

 "I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes'

The Director asked,

 " please tell me your feelings."

The youth said,

Number 1,

 I know now what appreciation means.. Without my mother, there would not the successful me today.

Number 2,

 by working together and helping my mother, only I now realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done.

Number 3,

I have come to appreciate the importance and value of family relationship.

The director said,

" This is what I am looking for to be my manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life. You are hired.

Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked diligently and as a team. The company's performance improved tremendously.

A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop"entitlement mentality" and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts.

When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of his employees and would always blame others.

For this kind of people, who may be good academically, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement.

He will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying the kid instead?*

You can let your kid live in a big house, give him a Driver & Car for going around, Eat a Good Meal, learn Piano, Watch a Big Screen TV. But when you are Cutting Grass, please let them experience it. After a Meal, let them Wash their Plates and Bowls together with their Brothers and Sisters. Tell them to Travel in Public Bus, It is not because you do not have Money for Car or to Hire a Maid, but it is because you want to Love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will Grow Grey, same as the Mother of that young person. The most important thing is your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done. 

Sharpen Your Axe first

 

Jo John, a woodcutter, worked for a company for five years but never got a raise. The company hired Bill and within a year he got a raise. This caused resentment in John and he went to his boss to talk about it. The boss said, "You are still cutting the same number of trees you were cutting five years ago. We are a result-oriented company and would be happy to give you a raise if your productivity goes up." John went back, started hitting harder and putting in longer hours but he still wasn't able to cut more trees. He went back to his boss and told him his dilemma. The boss told John to go talk to Bill. "Maybe there is something Bill knows that you and l don't." John asked Bill how he managed to cut more trees. Bill answered, "After every tree l cut, l take a break for two minutes and sharpen my axe. When was the last time you sharpened your axe?" This question hit home like a bullet and John got his answer.

 

A small story but with a very deep message. I got inspired to share this story with you because of it practicality in my life. I read it a few years ago, when I came across this wonderful book "THE 7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE". I hope you will like it.

Jo John, a woodcutter, worked for a company for five years but never got a raise. The company hired Bill and within a year he got a raise. This caused resentment in John and he went to his boss to talk about it. The boss said, "You are still cutting the same number of trees you were cutting five years ago. We are a result-oriented company and would be happy to give you a raise if your productivity goes up." John went back, started hitting harder and putting in longer hours but he still wasn't able to cut more trees. He went back to his boss and told him his dilemma. The boss told John to go talk to Bill. "Maybe there is something Bill knows that you and l don't." John asked Bill how he managed to cut more trees. Bill answered, "After every tree l cut, l take a break for two minutes and sharpen my axe. When was the last time you sharpened your axe?" This question hit home like a bullet and John got his answer.

We must also do the same in life, if we want to keep on increasing our effectiveness and if we want to live a happy life.

Small Stories With Great Lessons

A child told the mother “Mum you are very beautiful today.” 

Replied the mother  “Why” 

The child said  “ Because you did not get angry today .”

Moral of the story

1. It is easy to possess beauty- do not get angry.

2. Anger is temporary madness.

A man attended an interview for a job. 

Along the corridor, he picked up a piece and threw it into a dustbin. 

The interviewer passed by and saw it.

This man got the job. 

Moral of the story  
Live with good habits, and you will be recognized. 

A shop is always brightly lit up. 

Someone asked  “What brand of bulb are you using  It is so lasting.”

The shop owner replied  “Our bulbs blew out frequently. We replaced them once a bulb blew out.”
Moral of the story 
1. It is simple to maintain brightness , change the bulbs regularly.
2. To brightening up everyday life Endeavor to abandon unwholesome states of mind and make an effort to encourage wholesome states to grow.
 

A man asked a sculptor :: – How do you make such beautiful idols from stone.??
He replied :: Idols & images are already hidden there.., i just remove unwanted stones..

Moral : Your happiness is hidden within you.., just remove your worries..♥♥

A small boy worked as an apprentice in a bicycle shop.
A man sent a bicycle for repair.
After repairing the bicycle, this boy cleaned up the bicycle and it looked like a new one.
Other apprentices laughed at him for doing redundant work.
The second day after the owner claimed the bicycle back, this boy was pinched and offered a job.

Moral of the story :

1.Go the extra mile to be successful.

2. Doing more gains more & Doing less loses more.

The owner of a farm asked his child to work everyday at the farm.

His friend said to him  “ You do not have to make your son work so hard. The crops would grow just as good.”

Owner of the farm replied “ I am not cultivating my crops, but my child.”

Moral of the story

1. A simple way to groom a child is to let him experience some hardships.

2. If not cut, jade would not turn into useful ware.

Happiness is a Journey

Happiness is a Journey 
We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we're frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are.

After that, we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with.

We'll certainly be happy when they're out of that stage.

We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car,

are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire.

The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.

One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D. Souza. He said, "For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life."

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with...and remember that time waits for no one.

So, stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until you're off welfare, until the first or fifteenth, until your song comes on, until you've had a drink,

until you've sobered up, until you die,

until you're born again to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy.

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

So work like you don't need money,
Love like you've never been hurt,
And dance like no one's watching.