Be there for friends

There were two childhood buddies who went through school and college and even joined the army together.

War broke out and they were fighting in the same unit. One night they were ambushed. Bullets were flying all over and out of the darkness came a voice, "Harry, please come and help me."

Harry immediately recognized the voice of his childhood buddy, Bill. He asked the captain if he could go. The captain said, "No, I can't let you go, I am already short-handed and I cannot afford to lose one more person. Besides, the way Bill sounds he is not going to make it." Harry kept quiet.

Again the voice came, "Harry, please come and help me." Harry sat quietly because the captain had refused earlier. Again and again the voice came. Harry couldn't contain himself any longer and told the captain, "Captain, this is my childhood buddy. I have to go and help." The captain reluctantly let him go. Harry crawled through the darkness and dragged Bill back into the trench. They found that Bill was dead.

Now the captain got angry and shouted at Harry, "Didn't I tell you he was not going to make it? He is dead, you could have been killed and I could have lost a hand. That was a mistake."

Harry replied, "Captain, I did the right thing. When I reached Bill he was still alive and his last words were 'Harry, I knew you would come.'

Good relationships are hard to find and once developed should be nurtured. We are often told: Live your dream. But you cannot live your dream at the expense of others. People who do so are unscrupulous.

We need to make personal sacrifices for our family, friends, and those we care about and who depend on us.

The perfect boss

There were about 70 scientists working on a very hectic project. All of them were really frustrated due to the pressure of work and the demands of their boss but everyone was loyal to him and did not think of quitting their job.

One day, one scientist came to his boss and told him, "Sir, I have promised my children that I will take them to the exhibition going on in our township so I want to leave the office at 5:30 pm."

His boss replied, "OK, You're permitted to leave the office early today."

The Scientist started working. He continued his work after lunch. As usual, he got involved to such an extent that he looked at his watch only when he felt he was close to completion. The time was 8.30 PM.

Suddenly he remembered the promise he had made to his children.

He looked for his boss but he was not there. Having told him in the morning himself, he closed everything and left for home. Deep within himself, he was feeling guilty for having disappointed his children. He reached home. The children were not there.

His wife alone was sitting in the hall and reading magazines. The situation was explosive; any talk would boomerang on him. His wife asked him, "Would you like to have coffee or shall I straight away serve dinner if you are hungry?"

The man replied, "If you would like to have coffee, I too will have but what about the children?"

Hi wife replied, "You don't know? Your boss came here at 5.15 PM and has taken the children to the exhibition."

What had really happened was ... The boss who granted him permission was observing him working seriously at 5.00 PM. He thought to himself, this person will not leave the work, but if he has promised his children they should enjoy the visit to exhibition. So he took the lead in taking them to exhibition.

The boss does not have to do it every time. But once it is done, loyalty is established.

The real failure

The only real failure is failing to learn from failure.

There is a story of a young reporter who was commissioned to interview an old and successful businessman.

`Sir,' he asked politely, `what has been the secret of your success?' 

The older man leaned back on his leather swivel chair, behind his shining mahogany desk, and replied, `Two words, son, two words: right decisions.'

The reporter wrote it down. Then he asked another question. `And how do you learn how to make right decisions, sir?' he asked.

The successful business man leaned back further and replied, `One word, son, one word: experience.'

The reporter wrote this down, too, and then asked, `Well, sir, how do you acquire experience?'

The older man leaned forward over his desk and whispered conspiratorially, `Two words, son, two words: wrong decisions!'

The only real failure is failing to learn from failure. 

5 grains of Rice

A rich man has four sons. As he grows old, he decides to give his property to the son who would value the wealth he had earned. He calls his four sons and gives them each five grains of rice. He tells them that he shall ask for these grains at the end of 5 years & he would give his property to the son who would value these grains the most.

The first son throws away the grains. He decides to show his father some other grains when he would ask for them after 5 yrs, in anticipation that his father would not be able to see the difference between the two sets of grains.

The second son eats the grains. He too decides to show his father some other grains when he would ask for them after 5 yrs, in anticipation that his father would not be able to see the difference between the two sets of grains.

The third son preserves these grains in a silver box and keeps the silver box in the 'puja sthaan' at home, and offers prayers to the box while offering his prayers to God for 5 yrs.

The fourth son sows these grains and cultivates them in the backyard of his house. They grow into crops during the harvest season. He keeps re sowing the grains from these crops. In due course, he has a vast plot of land cultivated with rice.

As apparent from the above mentioned, at the end of 5 yrs, the father gives his property to his fourth son, as he was the most deserving among his four sons.

Moral of the Story: 
When you have anything little in your hands, look at opportunity to grow it. Don't feel sad if you have less money today, know that you have it and you can grow it. 

Stress Management

A lecturer was giving a lecture to his student on stress management. He raised a glass of water and asked the audience, "How heavy do you think this glass of water is?"

The students' answers ranged from 20g to 500gm. 

It does not matter on the absolute weight. It depends on how long you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is OK. If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance.

It is the exact same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will not be able to carry on, the burden becoming increasingly heavier.

What you have to do is to put the glass down, rest for a while before holding it up again. We have to put down the burden periodically, so that we can be refreshed and are ! able to carry on.

So before you return home from work tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it back home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you are having now on your shoulders, let it down for a moment if you can. Pick it up again later when you have rested.

Rest and relax. Life is short, enjoy it!!

Trust Yourself

Trust yourself. You know what you want and need.

Put yourself first. You can't be anything for anybody else unless you take care of yourself.

Let your feelings be known. They are important.

Express your opinions. It's good to hear yourself talk.

Value your thinking. You do it well. If you don't value it, no one else will.

Take the time and space you need.. Even if other people are wanting something from you.

When you need something, don't talk yourself out of it. Even if you can't have it, it's OK to need.

When you are scared, let someone know. Isolating yourself when you're scared makes it worse.

When you feel like running away, let yourself feel the scare. Think about what you fear will happen and decide what you need to do.

When you're angry, let yourself feel the anger. Decide what you want to do; just feel it, express it, or take some action.

When you're sad, think about what would be comforting. When you're hurt, tell the person who hurt you. Keeping it inside makes it grow.

When you have work to do and you don't want to do it, decide what really needs to be done and what can wait.

When you want something from someone else, ask. You'll be okay if they say no. Asking is being true to yourself.

When you need help, ask. Trust people to say no if they don't want to give.

When people turn you down, it usually has to do with them, and not with you. Ask someone else for what you need.

When you feel alone, know there are people who want to be with you. Fantasize what it would be like to be with each of them. Decide if you want to make that happen.

When you feel anxious, let yourself know that in your head. You've moved into the future to something scary your body has gotten up the energy for it. Come back to the present.

When you want to say something loving to someone, go ahead. Expressing your feeling is not a commitment.

When someone yells at you, physically support yourself by relaxing into your chair or putting your feet firmly on the floor. Remember to breathe. Think about the message they are trying to get across to you.

When you're harassing yourself, stop. You do it when you need something. Figure out what you need and get it.

When everything seems wrong, you are overwhelmed and need some comforting. Ask for it. Afterwards, you can think about what you need to do.

When you want to talk to someone new and are scared, breathe. Don't start rehearsing, just plunge in. If it doesn't go well, you can stop.

If you're doing something you don't like to do, (such as smoking or overeating), Stop. Think about what you really want. If you're stuck and can't think clearly, talk out loud to someone.

When you can't think straight, Stop thinking. Feel.

When you're in need of love, reach out. There are people who love you.

When you're confused, it's usually because you think you should do one thing and you want to do another. Dialogue with yourself or present both sides to a friend.

When you feel harried, slow down. Deliberately slow your breathing, your speech, and your movements.

When you have tears, cry. When you feel like crying and it's not a safe place to cry, acknowledge your pain and promise yourself a good cry later. Keep your promise.

When everything seems gray, look for color.

If one of these rules seems wrong for you, talk about it with someone. Then, rewrite it so it fits you. 

A lesson to teach

Her name was Mrs. Thompson. As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children a lie.

Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. But that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs.Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he didn't play well with the other children that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. And Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs.Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big "F" at the top of his
papers.

At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.

Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners... he is a joy to be around."

His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle."

His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."

Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class."

By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a
grocery bag.

Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one quarter full of perfume.

But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist.

Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, "Mrs.Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to," After the children left she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, and writing, and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach
children.

Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded.

By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her "teacher's pets."

A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs.Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had in his whole life.

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer -- the letter was
signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.

The story doesn't end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he'd met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the place at the wedding that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs.Thompson did.

And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. And she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together. They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, "Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference."

Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, "Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't really know how to teach until I met you."

Please remember that wherever you go, and whatever you do, you will have the opportunity to touch and/or change a person's outlook.

Please try to do it in a positive way:
"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly"