The Stranger

A while ago, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From
the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon
invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted
and was around from then on.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young
mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors:
Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the
stranger...he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours
on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies.
If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always
knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed
able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league
ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never
stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.

Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing
each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the
kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the
stranger to leave.)

Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger
never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not
allowed in our home... Not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our
longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my
ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. My Dad didn't permit the
liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a
regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes
distinguished.
He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were
sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.

I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced
strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my
parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... And NEVER asked to leave.

More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our
family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he
was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you
would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to
listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.

Categorically, he destroyed all the moral values, ethics, love, time for
each other and other good qualities we had in our family…..whilst adding
some unnoticeable quantity of positive stuff also, which any way we would
have had even without him……



His name?.... .. .


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We just call him 'TV.'

(Note: This should be required reading for every household!)
He has a wife now....We call her 'Computer.'
Their first child is "Cell Phone".
Second child "I Pod"

Finding strength in weakness

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on the end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots was perfectly made and never leaked. The other pot had a crack in it and by the time the water bearer reached his master's house it had leaked much of its water and was only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.
After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."
"Why?" asked the bearer. "What are you ashamed of?" "I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to
leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path." Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again the pot apologized to the bearer for its failure. The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house." Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. But if we will allow it, God will use our flaws to grace his table. In God's great economy, nothing goes to waste. Don't be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them, and you too can be the cause of beauty. Know that in our weakness we find our strength.

Buddha’s Advice to Calm a Disturbed Mind

Once Buddha was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers.. This was in the initial days. While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples, “I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there.”

The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that 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 came back and told Buddha, “The water in there is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink.” After about 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 too he found that the lake was muddy. He returned and informed Buddha about the same. After sometime, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back. The disciple reached the lake to find the lake absolutely clean and clear with pure water in 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 then 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 in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless.

Today is very important, Dont Miss it

Live your life

Be Positive.. Accept only what you want

Once Gautama Buddha and his student Ram went to a small village to preach religious teachings. Since they walked a long distance, they felt thirsty. They went towards a small house and asked the woman inside for some water. The woman came out and started scolding as she thought they were beggars, but Buddha smiled and moved to the next house.

The student got confused with Buddha’s calm behavior and got angry with the lady. Buddha noticed his student’s facial expression and understood him. He called him and told "Ram keep this Gold Coin with you and give it to me when I ask for it". The student accepted and got the coin. Still the student had the confusion in his mind about the incident.

Hours passed, they were done with their work and started their journey towards their place. Ram was still puzzled by the incident and his swamiji's strange behavior. Now Buddha asked his student "Ram! Can you please give me the gold coin?” The student gave the coin and Buddha received it with a smile. Now Buddha appreciated his student for his extra efforts towards the preaching for the day and rewarded the same gold coin to Ram and he received it with a smile.

Before going to bed, Ram came to Buddha’s place and wanted to talk to him. Buddha took him to the garden and listened. "Swamiji! That lady scolded us in the morning but you were so silent; I’m upset. But you seem to not be affected by it! How is this possible? Buddha now had the same smile and replied "Ram, this morning I had given you that gold coin for you to keep for a while. Now tell me to whom did that coin belong at that instance?" Ram replied quickly "it was yours because you told me to keep it just for some time".
Buddha : "That's right, now can you tell me to whom this coin belongs, after I gave it to you the second time?"
Ram: "This coin now belongs to me as you have gifted it to me for my work and I accepted it"
Buddha now held Ram's hand and said "This can be applied to our life also. The lady scolded me but I did not accept anything and so those words do not belong to me !”
The Student got his doubts clarified and then worshipped his guru for his precious words.

The Moral of the story: Keep positive thoughts and skip the negative ones, develop a positive attitude and diminish pessimism.