“THIS IS GOOD. IT IS REALLY GOOD!”

There was a servant to the king who accompanied him always.  He had a peculiar way of seeing things. He always commented to everything whether ‘good’ or ‘bad’,   “This is good. It is really good!”  

The king would wake up in the morning and his servant would run to him and say: "This is a good day! We are alive. This is good. It is really good!” 

The king ate breakfast and the servant would say: "This is good. It is really good.”  

When the king came out in his royal clothes: His servant would say: "You look so good today! This is good, really good.” 

When people came to the king and complained, this servant would tell him how blessed they were and nothing was as bad as it first appeared. Then the servant would say: "This is good, it is really good!”   

The King loved hunting with his bow and arrow. His little servant was there by his side. The King would succeed and his servant would say: This is good, it is really good!”

 
At night, as the servant prepared the King for his rest, the servant would always say: “This was a good day; it has been really good!”

 One day, as the king was riding his horse through a village near the forest, he decided to go for hunting.  The king decided to practice with his bow and arrows. One of his servants gave him his bow and the razor sharp arrows. While handling it, one sharp arrow fell on the right thumb and was cut off.  The King was bleeding and the situation looked terrible.

The attendants got the bleeding stopped and the king was in great pain.  Then also, his servant said: "This is good, it is really good!”   

In great rage the king threw his servant into a deep abandoned well nearby.

 
The king went further for hunting and lost his way and ended up in the middle of cannibals.  The King knew he was in for big trouble when the flesh eating human beings gathered around him.
 

As they were preparing for the pooja to appease their gods before cooking the king, one of the cannibals noticed his right thumb was cut off.  They were panicked because they believed that their gods will be angry at them if they gave a maimed object for sacrifice. They immediately released the king.  He jumped on his horse and returned to his camp. As riding the horse, the king thought of the servant’s words when his thumb was cut off: “This is good; it is really good!” Then he realized that it was that ‘accident’ that saved his life.

The king immediately reached the pit his servant was in and rescued him from it. As the servant came out of the well, he said, “This is good, it is really good!”

The king asked him, “How can this be good? I had thrown you into the deep well and you had suffered so much because of my rage!”

The servant replied, “If I had been with you, when they rejected you because of your missing thumb, they would have cooked me instead of you. This is good, it is really good!”

 
Life is about your attitude. Your attitude determines your altitude. 

 INTEGRITY PAYS

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business.

Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided to do something different. He called all the young executives in his company together.

He said, “It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you.”

The young executives were shocked, but the boss continued. “I am going to give each one of you a seed today – one very special seed.  I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here six months from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.”

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Every day, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.

Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.

Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing.

By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn’t have a plant and he felt like a failure.

The time has arrived finally and every executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection.

Jim told his wife that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened.  When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful — in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives.

Jim just tried to hide in the back. “My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown,” said the CEO. “Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!”

All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified. He thought, “The CEO knows I’m a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!”

When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed – Jim told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, “Behold your next Chief Executive Officer!

His name is Jim!” Jim couldn’t believe it. Jim couldn’t even grow his seed.

“How could he be the new CEO?” the others said.

Then the CEO said, “Six months ago, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead – it was not possible for them to grow.

All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!”

  If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
  If you plant goodness, you will reap friends
  If you plant humility, you will reap greatness
  If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
  If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective
  If you plant hard work, you will reap success
  If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation
  If you plant faith in God, you will reap a harvest 

Be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.

CLEAN THE SPECTACLES BEFORE YOU CRITICISE!

A man and wife were on a long trip. They stopped at a full-service fuel station. After the attendant washed the windshield, the man leaned out of the window and said, “It’s still dirty. Wash it again.”

The attendant complied. When he finished, the man leaned out the window again, and said, “It’s still dirty. Don’t you know how to wash a windshield?”

At that time, the man’s wife reached over, removed her husband’s glasses, cleaned them with a tissue, and slipped them back on him. What a difference: the windshield was clean!

Most of the times,  it’s not our circumstances that need changing, but how we’re viewing them. A proper attitude can make all the difference.

If only the husbands saw their wives and their wives looked at their husbands after cleaning their specs!

If only the children saw their parents and the parents saw their children after cleaning their specs!

If only the neighbors looked at each other after cleaning their specs!

What a different and beautiful community would our world have turned out to be if we were willing to 'clean our specs'!

Jesus has cautioned the disciples: “Do not judge, or you too will be judged.  For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.  Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye" (Mtt. 7:1-5).

A JOB WITHOUT PAY BUT MOST REWARDING

Sometime ago, a US-based company placed a classified ad for a Director of Operations position and posted it online and in newspapers. Millions of people saw the ad and many inquired. The interviews were conducted via webcam, where the interviewer detailed the requirements and benefits:

1. 135+ hours each week,

2. No breaks,

3. Preferred degrees: Medicine/ finance/ culinary arts,

4. No vacations/ workload increases during the holidays,

5. No pay.

The applicants responded to this job with adjectives such as "insane" and "inhumane."

The interviewer then shared that there are billions who currently hold this position: Moms.

Truly they are the unsung heroines who quietly go about their God-given responsibilities without seeking or looking for any public applause.

May I also bring to your attention my earlier post MY WIFE DOES NOT WORK! (dt. January 26, 2017)

GOD IS AT THE WINDOW

A family with father, mother, their son and family with their son and daughter lived in a farm. One day, the boy found a catapult and he took it to practice it in the woods.  He tried and tried but could not hit the target. He was a little disappointed and went back home as it was lunch time and the parents would be searching for him.

On his way back, he saw the duck grown by his grandma. He pelted a stone at the duck with the catapult; it hit the target straight on the head and the duck fell and died. He looked around and found that his sister was watching. He pleaded with his sister not to tell anybody and she agreed. They hid it in a wood pile nearby and went back home to have the lunch. The day went off without any incident.

Next day, after breakfast, the grandma said, “Mary, let us wash the dishes.” But Mary said, “Grandma, Tom told me he is happy to wash the dishes. Haven’t you Tom?” Turning towards Tom who had a frown face, she said, “Don’t forget the duck!” So Tom said that he is happy to wash and helped his grandmother since there was no other go.

Next day evening, the grandpa wanted to take the children for fishing. He said, “Let us go for fishing.” But the grandma told, “I need Mary to help me make dinner. So you take Tom along.” Mary grinned and said, “Tom, you have told me that you love to help grandma make dinner! Hence I shall go with grandpa for fishing.”  She spoke in a low voice to Tom, “You remember the duck!” Tom was helpless and he stayed back.

This drama went on for some more days. He could not stand it any longer. So he decided to confess the matter to his grandma. He went to his grandma and told with tearful eyes, “Grandma, I have committed something wrong. I cannot hide it any longer. I had accidently killed your duck. I am sorry about that.”

Grandma gave him a warm hug and said, “My son, I knew it. I was standing at the window and I have seen everything. I saw you coming from the woods, you using the catapult at the duck and it being killed. I knew it was an accident and I forgave you. I saw Mary also. I was just curious to know how long Mary shall enslave you for this.”

What a relief for Tom! Next day, Mary tried to transfer her errand to Tom and he resisted doing it. Mary threatened as usual, “Remember the duck” to which Tom told, “I don’t care. You tell anyone about it.” She went straight to her grandma and told the incident. She was surprised to see her grandma take the matter very unruffled. She asked her grandma, “Aren’t you distressed to hear that your duck was killed?”

The grandma told, “I knew it and he had already confessed the matter to me. I was curious just to know how long you shall make Tom a slave for this matter. Never try to cash on the weakness of others. To teach you a lesson, I am going to give some extra chores from this day!”

Whatever wrong you commit, it is better to confess to be relieved of the burden. So also, it is not fair to cash on the weakness of others!

Be aware that God is standing at the window and He sees the whole thing. He is seeing your whole life. He wants you to know that He loves you and that you are forgiven. He’s just wondering how long you will let the devil make a slave of you. When you ask for forgiveness; He also forgets!

DO NOT DIG CREEKS; BUT BUILD BRIDGES  

Two brothers, Tom and David, lived on adjoining farms fell into a serious conflict. When they were cordial, they used to share their machinery, labor and goods with each other.   

The long collaboration fell apart with a small misunderstanding (It is always so in many cases)! It grew into a major difference, and finally it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence and final separation. Farming of both were affected because of the want of machinery, labor and goods. Still they were not willing to amend.

One morning there was a knock on Tom’s door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter’s toolbox. “I’m looking for a few days work,” he said.

“Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there. Could I help you?”

“Yes,” said the older brother. “I do have a job for you. Look across the creek at that farm. That’s my neighbor, in fact, it’s my younger brother. Last week there was a meadow between us and he took his bulldozer to the river levee and now there is a creek between us. Well, he may have done this to spite me, but I’ll go him one better. See that pile of lumber curing by the barn? I want you to build me a fence – an 8-foot fence – so I won’t need to see his place anymore. Cool him down, anyhow.”

The carpenter said, “I think I understand the situation. Show me the nails and the post-hole digger and I’ll be able to do a job that pleases you.”

The older brother had to go to town for supplies, so he helped the carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day.

The carpenter worked hard all that day measuring, sawing, nailing.

About sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer’s eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped.

There was no fence there at all. It was a bridge… a bridge stretching from one side of the creek to the other! A fine piece of work handrails and all – and David, was coming across, his hand outstretched.

“You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all I’ve said and done.”

The two brothers stood at each end of the bridge, and then they met in the middle, taking each other’s hand. They turned to see the carpenter hoist his toolbox on his shoulder. “No, wait! Stay a few days. I’ve a lot of other projects for you,” said the older brother.

“I’d love to stay on,” the carpenter said, “but, I have many more bridges to build.

BE DEAF TO PESSIMISTIC PEOPLE

 A Frog decided to reach the top of a tree. The frogs that saw him climb shouted, “It’s impossible, it’s impossible. You will fall down and break your bones.”  A few said, “What a foolish fellow is he?” Some other frogs hooted at him.  Some scornfully said, “Let us see him succeed in his next to impossible attempt!” Some were not at all bothered and were busy with the mundane matters.

Still that frog reached the top of the tree! 

Why….? He was deaf and did not hear what others said!

When others discouraged him from climbing, he thought: “everyone is encouraging me to climb and reach the top.”

It is a widely circulated story that one day, as a small child, Thomas Edison came home from school and gave a paper to his mother. He said to her “Mom, my teacher gave this paper to me and told me only you are to read it. What does it say?”

Her eyes welled with tears as she read the letter out loud to her child, “Your son is a genius. This school is too small for him and doesn’t have good enough teachers to train him. Please teach him yourself.”

Many years after Edison’s mother had died; he became one of the greatest inventors of the century.

One day he was going through a closet and he found the folded letter that his old teacher wrote his mother that day. He opened it.  The message written on the letter was “Your son is mentally deficient. We cannot let him attend our school anymore. He is expelled.”

Edison became emotional reading it and then wrote in his diary:

“Thomas A. Edison was a mentally deficient child whose mother turned him into the genius of the Century.”

A positive word of encouragement can help change anyone’s destiny.

As the history tells, Thomas Alva Edison was the most prolific inventor in American history. He amassed a record 1,093 patents covering key innovations and minor improvements in wide range of fields, including telecommunications, electric power, sound recording, motion pictures, primary and storage batteries, and mining and cement technology. As important, he broadened the notion of invention to encompass what we now call innovation-invention, research, development, and commercialization-and invented the industrial research laboratory. Edison's role as an innovator is evident not only in his two major laboratories at Menlo Park and West Orange in New Jersey but in more than 300 companies formed worldwide to manufacture and market his inventions, many of which carried the Edison name, including some 200 Edison illuminating companies.

If Edison’s mother or he succumbed to negative thoughts…!

“BE DEAF TO NEGATIVE THOUGHTS IF YOUR AIM IS TO REACH YOUR GOAL! ALSO, DO NOT BLAME OTHERS FOR YOUR FAILURES!”

“HOW MUCH DO YOU EARN FOR AN HOUR?”

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his five year old son waiting to see him at the door.

Son: “Dad, may I ask you something?”

Dad: “Sure, why don’t you?”

Son: “How much do you earn for an hour in your work?”

Dad: “Why are you asking this?”

Son: “I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make in an hour?”

Dad: “If you must know; I make Rs. 100 an hour.”

The son went into the house. After some time he returned and asked: “Dad, may I please borrow some money from you…           Rs.  50 exactly?”

The father was annoyed. He shouted at the boy, “Is it for this you asked about my one hour’s pay? I am not going to pay a single paisa for whatever reason! You go to your room and study.”

Then the man started to think over about his reaction. “Oh! I should not have been so rash on my son.  He usually does not ask for money. So there may be something he really wanted to buy. Who else can he ask?”

He went to his son’s room, opened the door and found the boy lying on his bed. The man tenderly asked, “Are you asleep my son?” The son replied that he is not sleeping.

The man said, “I am sorry that I talked to you so irritated. Here is Rs. 50 you asked for.”

The boy got up; hugged his father and said, “Thank you Dad!”

He took out some crumpled currency notes from underneath the pillow; counted the money again and exclaimed, “Now I have enough I wanted!” He further said, “Dad, now I have Rs. 100 which is enough to buy an hour of your time. Will you kindly come tomorrow evening one hour early from your work? I need to spend some free time with you and have a nice dinner along.”

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son and begged for forgiveness.

This is a reminder for all of us who work so hard for the ‘welfare’ of our children. We are so concerned about the future welfare of our children that many a times we forget the immediate needs of our children. Let us be reminded that we should not let time slip through without having spent some time with those who really matter to us. Who knows how much time is left for us to love and be loved!

LEARN THE ART OF  ADDING THE 18^TH CAMEL

A father in Syria died! He had 17 camels as an asset for his three sons.

His sons opened up the ‘will’. The will of the father stated that the eldest son should get half of 17 camels while the middle son should be given 1/3^rd (one-third).The youngest son should be given 1/9^th (one-ninth) of the 17 camels.

They tried and tried but it was not possible to divide 17 into half or 17 by 3 or 17 by 9. Since no one was willing to give in, they started to fight with each other.

So, the three sons decided to go to a wise man.

The wise man listened patiently about the will. He, after giving due thought, brought one of his camels and added the same to 17. That increased the total to 18 camels.

                                                                                                      

Now, he started reading the deceased father’s will: half of 18 is 9; so he gave the eldest son 9 camels. Since 1/3rd of 18 is 6, he gave the middle son 6 camels. The youngest son got 2 since 1/9th of 18 is 2.

Now, when added this up: 9 plus 6 plus 2 is 17 and this leaves one camel, which the wise man took back. Thus a seemingly herculean task was solved!

There is no problem which cannot be solved. But the art of adding the 18^th camel is important. An attitude of negotiation and problem solving; an attempt to find the common ground is very essential.  

                                                     

It is difficult at times. However, to reach a solution, the first step is to believe that there is a solution. If we think that there is no solution, we won’t be able to reach any!

When you come to the ‘dead ends’ in life, remember that there shall be a way; if not, as the wise man did, make a way.