How much are your worth ?

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?"



Hands started going up.


He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up.


He then asked, "Who still wants it?"


Still the hands were up in the air.


"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe.


He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.


"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way.
We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. You are special - Don't ever forget it!

Inspirational and Motivational Quotes on Complaining Part 2

“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain – and most fools do.” – Dale Carnegie (1888-1955, author of How to Win Friends and Influence People)






Man spends his life in reasoning on the past, in complaining of the present, in fearing future.” – Antoine de Rivarol (1753-1801, French writer)




“We need two kinds of acquaintances, one to complain to, while to the others we boast.” – Logan Pearsall Smith (1865-1946, American born essayist and critic)




“Complain to one who can help you.” – Yugoslavian proverb




“When a person finds themselves predisposed to complaining about how little they are regarded by others, let them reflect how little they have contributed to the happiness of others.” – Samuel Johnson (1709-1784, English author)




“It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness.” – Confucius (BC 551-479, Chinese thinker and social philosopher)






“Realize that if you have time to whine and complain about something then you have the time to do something about it.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo, (author of The College Blue Book)






“Constant complaint is the poorest sort of pay for all the comforts we enjoy.” – Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790, American author, scientist, diplomat, and much more)






“The usual fortune of complaint is to excite contempt more than pity.” – Samuel Johnson (1709-1784, English author)






“When you consistently maintain a positive frame of mind, you’ll become known as a problem-solver rather than a complainer. People avoid complainers. They seek out problem-solvers.” – Joseph Sommerville (author of Rainmaking Presentations)






“Do not listen to those who weep and complain, for their disease is contagious.” – Og Mandino (1923-1996, author of The Greatest Salesman in the World)






“Man invented language to satisfy his deep need to complain.” – Lily Tomlin (born 1939, American actress, comedian, writer and producer)






“He that falls by himself never cries.” – Turkish proverb




“If all complaints had to be accompanied by the submission of a delicious sandwich then fewer people would voice them while more would be willing to listen.” – Michael Wakcher (comic creator, writer, and satirist)






“He that blows the coals in quarrels that he has nothing to do with, has no right to complain if the sparks fly in his face.” – Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790, American author, scientist, diplomat, and much more)

Always Remember

It takes a minute to have a crush on someone and it takes an hour to like someone and a day to love some one but it takes lifetime to forget some one.



You meet some people in your life who change you for the better, REMEMBER them kindly. And as for FRIENDS just be LOYAL -nothing more nothing less.


Its true that we don't know what we've got until we loose it but it is also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.


When one door of happiness closes, another opens but often we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one, which opens to us.


There are things u love to hear but you would NEVER hear it from the person from whom you would like to hear it but don't be DEAF to hear it from the person who says it with HIS HEART


Never say GOODBYE when u still want to TRY, Never give up when u still fell u can take it, never say you don't LOVE that person anymore when you can't let go

LEARN TO LISTEN

Opportunity sometimes knocks very softly

At the prodding of my friends, I am writing this story. My name is Mildred Hondorf. I am a former elementary school music teacher from DeMoines, Iowa. I've always supplimented my income by teaching piano lessons--something I've done for over 30 years.

Over the years I found that children have many levels of musical ability. I've never had the pleasure of having a protege though I have taught some talented students. However I've also had my share of what I call "musicically challenged" pupils. One such student was Robby. Robby was 11 years old when his mother (a single mom) dropped him off for his first piano lesson.


I prefer that students (especially boys!) begin at an earlier age, which I explained to Robby. But Robby said that it had always been his mother's dream to hear him play the piano. So I took him as a student. Well, Robby began with his piano lessons and from the beginning I thought it was a hopeless endeavor. As much as Robby tried, he lacked the sense of tone and basic rythm needed to excel. But he dutifully reviewed his scales and some elementary pieces that I require all my students to learn.


Over the months he tried and tried while I listened and cringed and tried to encourage him. At the end of each weekly lesson he'd always say, "My mom's going to hear me play some day." But it seemed hopeless. He just did not have any inborn ability. I only knew his mother from a distance as she dropped Robby off or waited in her aged car to pick him up. She always waved and smiled but never stopped in. Then one day Robby stopped coming to our lessons. I thought about calling him but assumed, because of his lack of ability, that he had decided to pursue something else. I also was glad that he stopped coming. He was a bad advertisement for my teaching!


Several weeks later I mailed to the student's homes a flyer on the upcoming recital. To my surprise Robby (who received a flyer) asked me if he could be in the recital. I told him that the recital was for current pupils and because he had dropped out he really did not qualify.


He said that his mom had been sick and unable to take him to piano essons but he was still practicing. "Miss Hondorf...I've just got to play!" he insisted. I don't know what led me to allow him to play in the recital.


Maybe it was his persistance or maybe it was something inside of me saying that it would be alright.


The night for the recital came. The high school gymnasium was packed with parents, friends and relatives. I put Robby up last in the program before I was to come up and thank all the students and play a finishing piece. I thought that any damage he would do would come at the end of the program and I could always salvage his poor performance through my "curtain closer."


Well the recital went off without a hitch. The students had been practicing and it showed. Then Robby came up on stage. His clothes were wrinkled and his hair looked like he' run an egg-beater through it.


"Why didn't he dress up like the other students?" I thought. "Why didn't his mother at least make him comb his hair for this special night?"


Robby pulled out the piano bench and he began. I was surprised when he announced that he had chosen Mozart's Concerto #21 in C Major. I was not prepared for what I heard next. His fingers were light on the keys, they even danced nimbly on the ivories. He went from pianissimo to fortissimo...from allegro to virtuoso. His suspended chords that Mozart demands were magnificent! Never had I heard Mozart played so well by people his age After six and a half minutes he ended in a grand crescendo and everyone was on their feet in wild applause. Overcome and in tears I ran up on stage and put my arms around Robby in joy. "I've never heard you play like that Robby!


How'd you do it?" Through the microphone Robby explained: "Well Miss Hondorf...remember I told you my mom was sick? Well actually she had cancer and passed away this morning. And, well....she was born deaf so tonight was the first time she ever heard me play. I wanted to make it special." There wasn't a dry eye in the house that evening.


As the people from Social Services led Robby from the stage to be placed into foster care, I noticed that even their eyes were red and puffy and I thought to myself how much richer my life had been for taking Robby as my pupil. No, I've never had a progege but that night I became a protege...of Robby's. He was the teacher and I was the pupil. For it is he that taught me the meaning of perseverance and love and believing in yourself and maybe even taking a chance in someone and you don't know why.

 
 
 
 

The Window

A young couple moves into a new neighborhood. The next morning, while they are eating breakfast, the young wife sees her neighbor hang the wash outside.


"That laundry is not very clean," she said to her husband. "The neighbor doesn't know how to wash correctly. Perhaps she needs better laundry soap."


Her husband looked on, but remained silent.


Every time her neighbor hung her wash to dry, the young woman would make the same comments.


About one month later, the young woman was surprised to see a nice clean wash on her neighbor's line and said to her husband, "Look! She has learned how to wash correctly. I wonder who taught her this?"


The husband said, "I got up early this morning and cleaned our windows!"


Can you see how it might be a good idea to check first, to see if your windows are clean? What we see when watching others depends on the purity of the windows through which we look.


Before we give any criticism, it might be a good idea to check our state of mind and ask ourselves if we are ready to see the good rather than just look for something wrong in the people we encounter.






--- Author Unknown --- Submitted by Kartik Bodawala --- India

Self Worth

In a brief conversation, a man asked a woman he was pursuing the question: "What kind of man are you looking for?"

She sat quietly for a moment before looking him in the eye & asking, "Do you really want to know?"


Reluctantly, he said, "Yes."


She began to expound:


"As a woman in this day & age, I am in a position to ask a man what can you do for me that I can't do for myself?


I pay my own bills. I take care of my household without the help of any man.... or woman for that matter.


I am in the position to ask, "What can you bring to the table?"


The man looked at her. Clearly he thought that she was referring to money.


She quickly corrected his thought & stated, "I am not referring to money. I need something more."


"I need a man who is striving for excellence in every aspect of life."


He sat back in his chair, folded his arms, & asked her to explain.


She said:


"I need someone who is striving for excellence mentally because I need conversation & mental stimulation. I don't need a simple-minded man.


I need someone who is striving for excellence spiritually because I don't need to be unequally yoked...believers mixed with unbelievers is a recipe for disaster.


I need a man who is striving for excellence financially because I don't need a financial burden.


I need someone who is sensitive enough to understand what I go through as a woman, but strong enough to keep me grounded.


I need someone who has integrity in dealing with relationships. Lies and game playing are not my idea of a strong man.


I need a man who is family-oriented. One who can be the leader, priest and provider to the lives entrusted to him by God.


I need someone whom I can respect. In order to be submissive, I must respect him.


I cannot be submissive to a man who isn't taking care of his business.


I have no problem being submissive...he just has to be worthy.


And by the way, I am not looking for him...He will find me. He will recognize himself in me. He may not be able to explain the connection, but he will always be drawn to me. God made woman to be a helpmate for man. I can't help a man if he can't help himself."


When she finished her spill, she looked at him.


He sat there with a puzzled look on his face.


He said, "You are asking a lot."


She replied, "I'm worth a lot."






--- Author Unknown --- Submitted by George Wachira --- California

Inspirational and Motivational Quotes on Complaining Part 1

“Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving.” – Dale Carnegie (1888-1955, author of How to Win Friends and Influence People)

“A pessimist is somebody who complains about the noise when opportunity knocks.” – Oscar Wilde (1854-1900, author of The Picture of Dorian Gray)

“Don’t find fault, find a remedy; anybody can complain.” – Henry Ford (1863-1947, American founder of the Ford Motor Company)

“To tendency to whining and complaining may be taken as the surest sign symptom of little souls and inferior intellects.” – Lord Jeffrey (1973-1850, Scottish judge and literary critic)

“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.” – William Arthur Ward (1921-1994, one of America’s most quoted writers of inspirational maxims)

“The people who live in a golden age usually go around complaining how yellow everything looks.” – Randall Jarrell (1914-1965, American poet)

“You don’t make progress by standing on the sidelines, whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.” – Shirley Hufstedler (born 1925, American lawyer and US Secretary of Education under President Jimmy Carter)

“The very fact that your a complainer, shows that you deserve your lot.” – James Allen (1864-1912, author of As a Man Thinketh)

What Motivates Me?

What motivates me? … turned into a good question. When I was younger and raising a family, taking care of them and trying to be a positive role model and good father was a key and intrinsic part of my "drivers." As the family grew up and out on their own, and married and had my blessed grandchildren (even "Satan Junior" has turned into a great kid), being a good grandparent and father-in-law, was the paradigm shift from that perspective.


But to do these things against a backdrop of national change and troubles, international issues that affect us, an economy run amuck, and in the face of the myriad of health problems that beset my wife and I, I had to look deeper for the strength and sometimes the will to keep going. God is no stranger to me, nor at this point, and I am stranger to him, I think. Though I am Jewish and my wife Catholic, faith and "God" seen from different perspectives resides with us and our families.


You have heard the phrase "that which does not kill you makes you stronger." I have found it true, so true. But I also believe in the philosophy that we are not defined but what happens to us, but what we do when things happen to us. And in these past few years we have had a lot of negative things happen to us.


Some friends think we have had far more than our "share" of bad things occur, but I don't think bad things are "shared." They are events that occur as the result of a confluence of factors, sometimes far past our control or even knowledge of them. I am also a firm believer in the laws of unintended consequences - that one act event triggers "things" that are quite unexpected, sometimes positive, sometimes not.


So as I pondered the question of "what motivates me?" and sought an answer, it struck me that I simply refuse to be defeated. I won't let life or events tear me down to the point at which I am no longer me, or simply stop being.


In 2008 I battled three types of cancer, had four cancer surgeries, the firm I worked for closed without notice (and could not pay any severance or back pay), my wife was in a horrible car accident, got laid off from her downsizing company, the economy devastated our life savings, … and that was for starters.


We also lost two family members and my closest friend for nearly 35 years who was the last person I would expect to pass on out of our core of friends. But a disease took hold of him 9 years earlier, and took its time bringing him to a quiet peace. His memorial service was filled with love, and at the repast many of us recounted his joy of life, humor, his achievements modest and great, and the challenges he had overcome in his life -- which were many, and painful. He would not be defeated in his life either.


Today, my wife and I are hand-in-hand, persevering in living our lives with dignity, albeit living it differently than from the end of 2007.


God lets me awaken to face each new day, some positive and some with their challenges, some mixed. I don't think of myself as a courageous person, but all of us living in these times and facing futures different than we had planned demonstrate a will to go on, to be, and maybe that is a form of personal courage. Or perhaps it is the demonstration of that non-defeatist attitude in me and the rest of us who will not give in or give up.


What motivates me?


Having a better tomorrow by not being defeated today.






--- Copyright © 2010 Howard Nevin

Live and Work

Father was a hardworking man who delivered bread as a living to support his wife and three children. He spent all his evenings after work attending classes, hoping to improve himself so that he could one day find a better paying job. Except for Sundays, Father hardly ate a meal together with his family. He worked and studied very hard because he wanted to provide his family with the best money could buy.



Whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often yearned to spend more time with his family.


The day came when the examination results were announced. To his joy, Father passed, and with distinctions too! Soon after, he was offered a good job as a senior supervisor which paid handsomely.


Like a dream come true, Father could now afford to provide his family with life’s little luxuries like nice clothing, fine food and vacation abroad.


However, the family still did not get to see father for most of the week. He continued to work very hard, hoping to be promoted to the position of manager. In fact, to make himself a worthily candidate for the promotion, he enrolled for another course in the open university.


Again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often yearned to spend more time with his family.


Father’s hard work paid off and he was promoted. Jubilantly, he decided to hire a maid to relieve his wife from her domestic tasks. He also felt that their three-room flat was no longer big enough, it would be nice for his family to be ablt to enjoy the facilities and comfort of a condominium. Having experienced the rewards of his hard work many times before, Father resolved to further his studies and work at being promoted again. The family still did not get to see much of him. In fact, sometimes Father had to work on Sundays entertaining clients. Again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often yearned to spend more time with his family.


As expected, Father’s hard work paid off again and he bought a beautiful condominium overlooking the coast of Singapore. On the first Sunday evening at their new home, Father declared to his family that he decided not to take anymore courses or pursue any more promotions. From then on he was going to devote more time to his family.


Father did not wake up the next day.

The important things in life ( set your priority today, it is TODAY or NEVER - You Decide ! )


A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in diameter.



He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.


So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.


He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.


The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.


He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “Yes.”



“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.



The pebbles are the other things that matter – like your job, your house, your car.


The sand is everything else. The small stuff.”


“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued “there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life.


If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.


Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.”

Dont hope, Decide! ( simply amazing! )

While waiting to pick up a friend at the airport in Portland, Oregon, I had one of those life-changing experiences that you hear other people talk about — the kind that sneaks up on you unexpectedly. This one occurred a mere two feet away from me.



Straining to locate my friend among the passengers deplaning through the jet way, I noticed a man coming toward me carrying two light bags. He stopped right next to me to greet his family.


First he motioned to his youngest son (maybe six years old) as he laid down his bags. They gave each other a long, loving hug. As they separated enough to look in each other’s face, I heard the father say, “It’s so good to see you, son. I missed you so much!” His son smiled somewhat shyly, averted his eyes and replied softly, “Me, too, Dad!”


Then the man stood up, gazed in the eyes of his oldest son (maybe nine or ten) and while cupping his son’s face in his hands said, “You’re already quite the young man. I love you very much, Zach!” They too hugged a most loving, tender hug.


While this was happening, a baby girl (perhaps one or one-and-a-half) was squirming excitedly in her mother’s arms, never once taking her little eyes off the wonderful sight of her returning father. The man said, “Hi, baby girl!” as he gently took the child from her mother. He quickly kissed her face all over and then held her close to his chest while rocking her from side to side. The little girl instantly relaxed and simply laid her head on his shoulder, motionless in pure contentment.


After several moments, he handed his daughter to his oldest son and declared, “I’ve saved the best for last!” and proceeded to give his wife the longest, most passionate kiss I ever remember seeing. He gazed into her eyes for several seconds and then silently mouthed. “I love you so much!” They stared at each other’s eyes, beaming big smiles at one another, while holding both hands.


For an instant they reminded me of newlyweds, but I knew by the age of their kids that they couldn’t possibly be. I puzzled about it for a moment then realized how totally engrossed I was in the wonderful display of unconditional love not more than an arm’s length away from me. I suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if I was invading something sacred, but was amazed to hear my own voice nervously ask, “Wow! How long have you two been married?


“Been together fourteen years total, married twelve of those.” he replied, without breaking his gaze from his lovely wife’s face. “Well then, how long have you been away?” I asked. The man finally turned and looked at me, still beaming his joyous smile. “Two whole days!”


Two days? I was stunned. By the intensity of the greeting, I had assumed he’d been gone for at least several weeks – if not months. I know my expression betrayed me.


I said almost offhandedly, hoping to end my intrusion with some semblance of grace (and to get back to searching for my friend), “I hope my marriage is still that passionate after twelve years!”


The man suddenly stopped smiling.


He looked me straight in the eye, and with forcefulness that burned right into my soul, he told me something that left me a different person. He told me, “Don’t hope, friend… decide!” Then he flashed me his wonderful smile again, shook my hand and said, “God bless!”






- By Michael D. Hargrove and Bottom Line Underwriters, Inc. Copyright 1997

 
 

The seeker of truth

After years of searching, the seeker was told to go to a cave, in which he would find a well. 'Ask the well what is truth', he was advised, 'and the well will reveal it to you'. Having found the well, the seeker asked that most fundamental question. And from the depths came the answer, 'Go to the village crossroad: there you shall find what you are seeking'.


Full of hope and anticipation the man ran to the crossroad to find only three rather uninteresting shops. One shop was selling pieces of metal, another sold wood, and thin wires were for sale in the third. Nothing and no one there seemed to have much to do with the revelation of truth.


Disappointed, the seeker returned to the well to demand an explanation, but he was told only, 'You will understand in the future.' When the man protested, all he got in return were the echoes of his own shouts. Indignant for having been made a fool of - or so he thought at the time - the seeker continued his wanderings in search of truth. As years went by, the memory of his experience at the well gradually faded until one night, while he was walking in the moonlight, the sound of sitar music caught his attention. It was wonderful music and it was played with great mastery and inspiration.


Profoundly moved, the truth seeker felt drawn towards the player. He looked at the fingers dancing over the strings. He became aware of the sitar itself. And then suddenly he exploded in a cry of joyous recognition: the sitar was made out of wires and pieces of metal and wood just like those he had once seen in the three stores and had thought it to be without any particular significance.


At last he understood the message of the well: we have already been given everything we need: our task is to assemble and use it in the appropriate way. Nothing is meaningful so long as we perceive only separate fragments. But as soon as the fragments come together into a synthesis, a new entity emerges, whose nature we could not have foreseen by considering the fragments alone.

A sense of a goose

Next Autumn, when you see geese heading south for the winter, flying in a "V" formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way. As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following. By flying in a "V" formation, the whole flock adds at least 71 percent greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.




People who share a common direction and sense of community can get where they are going more quickly and easily, because they are travelling on the thrust of one another.






When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.


If we have the sense of a goose, we will stay in formation with those people who are heading the same way we are.






When the head goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point.


It is sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs, whether with people or with geese flying south.






Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.


What message do we give when we honk from behind?






Finally - and this is important - when a goose gets sick or is wounded by gunshot, and falls out of the formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly or until it dies; and only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their own group.


If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that.

In the same boat

Two men were out on the ocean in a boat.

One of them began drilling in the bottom of the boat, and the other, aghast said "What are you doing? Stop drilling!".

And the first man replied: "It's all right. I'm only drilling on my side."


Renung-renung kan ....

The frogs and the tower

There once was a bunch of tiny frogs...

... who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower. A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants...


The race began...


Honestly, no-one in crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower. You heard statements such as:


"Oh, WAY too difficult!!"


"They will NEVER make it to the top".


"Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!"


The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one...


... Except for those who in a fresh tempo were climbing higher and higher...


The crowd continued to yell


"It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!"


More tiny frogs got tired and gave up...


...But ONE continued higher and higher and higher...


This one wouldn't give up!


At the end, everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top!


THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it?


A contestant asked the tiny frog how the one who succeeded had found the strength to reach the goal?


It turned out...


That the winner was deaf.

The Japanese master

A great Japanese master received a university professor who came to enquire about wisdom. The master served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he could no longer restrain himself. 'It is overfull. No more will go in!' 'Like this cup,' the master said, 'you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you wisdom unless you first empty your cup?'

The house with the golden windows

The little girl lived in a small, very simple, poor house on a hill and as she grew she would play in the small garden and as she grew she was able to see over the garden fence and across the valley to a wonderful house high on the hill - and this house had golden windows, so golden and shining that the little girl would dream of how magic it would be to grow up and live in a house with golden windows instead of an ordinary house like hers.


And although she loved her parents and her family, she yearned to live in such a golden house and dreamed all day about how wonderful and exciting it must feel to live there.


When she got to an age where she gained enough skill and sensibility to go outside her garden fence, she asked her mother is she could go for a bike ride outside the gate and down the lane. After pleading with her, her mother finally allowed her to go, insisting that she kept close to the house and didn't wander too far. The day was beautiful and the little girl knew exactly where she was heading! Down the lane and across the valley, she rode her bike until she got to the gate of the golden house across on the other hill.

As she dismounted her bike and lent it against the gate post, she focused on the path that lead to the house and then on the house itself...and was so disappointed as she realised all the windows were plain and rather dirty, reflecting nothing other than the sad neglect of the house that stood derelict.


So sad she didn't go any further and turned, heart broken as she remounted her bike ... As she glanced up she saw a sight to amaze her...there across the way on her side of the valley was a little house and its windows glistened golden ...as the sun shone on her little home.


She realised that she had been living in her golden house and all the love and care she found there was what made her home the 'golden house'. Everything she dreamed was right there in front of her nose!

Nothing is written

My all-time favourite film is "Lawrence Of Arabia" and, if I have a favourite scene from the movie, then I guess it is the one of Lawrence's triumphal return from the Nefud desert, having gone back to rescue the Arab Gasim. The crossing of the Nefud desert is considered impossible, even by the local Arabs, but Lawrence persuades them that, in this way, they can take the Turkish port at Aqaba from the rear.


Having carried out the superhuman feat of traversing this furnace, it is discovered that one of the Arabs, Gasim, has fallen off his camel and is no doubt dying somewhere back in the desert. Lawrence is told that any idea of rescue is futile and, in any event, Gasim's death is "written". When Lawrence achieves the impossible and returns with Gasim still alive, Sherif Ali admits to him: "Truly, for some men nothing is written unless they write it".


As an impressionable teenager when this film was first released, I was stunned by Lawrence's courage and unselfishness in going back into the hell of the Nefud to attempt to find a man he hardly knew among the vast expanse of a fiery terrain and I was so moved by the sense of purpose of a man who is determined to take nothing as "written" but to shape his own destiny. This sense of anti-determinism and this belief that anything is possible has stayed with me always and continues to inspire me in small ways and large.






Author: Roger Darlington

The Chinese farmer

There is a Chinese story of an old farmer who had an old horse for tilling his fields. One day the horse escaped into the hills and, when all the farmer's neighbours sympathised with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, 'Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?'


A week later the horse returned with a herd of wild horses from the hills and this time the neighbours congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, 'Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?'


Then, when the farmer's son was attempted to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, 'Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?'


Some weeks later the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found there. When they saw the farmer's son with his broken leg they let him off. Now was that good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?

King Solomon and the baby

One day, the wise King Solomon was approached by two women arguing over a baby. Each claimed the child was hers. Unable to judge, King Solomon thought up a plan - he offered to cut the baby in half, giving half to the one and half to the other.


The first women agreed with the King: "Let the baby be neither mine nor hers, but divide it. If I can't have the child", she cried, "she can't have it either". The second women pleaded with Solomon not to hurt the child. "Give her the baby. I'd rather lose the child that see it slain".


Solomon knew immediately that this was the rightful mother. He returned the baby to her.

The wise teacher and the jar

There was once a very wise teacher, whose words of wisdom students would come from far and wide to hear. One day as usual, many students began to gather in the teaching room. They came in and sat down very quietly, looking to the front with keen anticipation, ready to hear what the teacher had to say.


Eventually the teacher came in and sat down in front of the students. The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. On one side of the teacher was a large glass jar. On the other side was a pile of dark grey rocks. Without saying a word, the teacher began to pick up the rocks one by one and place them very carefully in the glass jar (Plonk. Plonk.) When all the rocks were in the jar, the teacher turned to the students and asked, 'Is the jar full?' 'Yes,' said the students. 'Yes, teacher, the jar is full'.


Without saying a word, the teacher began to drop small round pink pebbles carefully into the large glass jar so that they fell down between the rocks. (Clickety click. Clickety click.) When all the pebbles were in the jar, the teacher turned to the students and asked, 'Is the jar now full?' The students looked at one another and then some of them started nodding and saying, 'Yes. Yes, teacher, the jar is now full. Yes'.


Without saying a word, the teacher took some fine silver sand and let it trickle with a gentle sighing sound into the large glass jar (whoosh) where it settled around the pink pebbles and the dark grey rocks. When all the sand was in the jar, the teacher turned to the students and asked, 'Is the jar now full?'

The students were not so confident this time, but the sand had clearly filled all the space in the jar so a few still nodded and said, 'Yes, teacher, the jar is now full. Now it's full'.


Without saving a word, the teacher took a jug of water and poured it carefully, without splashing a drop, into the large glass jar. (Gloog. Gloog.)


When the water reached the brim, the teacher turned to the students and asked, 'Is the jar now full?' Most of the students were silent, but two or three ventured to answer, 'Yes, teacher, the jar is now full. Now it is'.


Without saying a word, the teacher took a handful of salt and sprinkled it slowly over the top of the water with a very quiet whishing sound. (Whish.) When all the salt had dissolved into the water, the teacher turned to the students and asked once more, 'Is the jar now full?' The students were totally silent. Eventually one brave student said, 'Yes, teacher. The jar is now full'. 'Yes,' said the teacher 'The jar is now full'.


The teacher then said: 'A story always has many meanings and you will each have understood many things from this demonstration. Discuss quietly amongst yourselves what meanings the story has for you. How many different messages can you find in it and take from it?'

The students looked at the wise teacher and at the beautiful glass jar filled with grey rocks, pink pebbles, silver sand, water and salt. Then they quietly discussed with one another the meanings the story had for them. After a few minutes, the wise teacher raised one hand and the room fell silent. The teacher said: 'Remember that there is never just one interpretation of anything. You have all taken away many meanings and messages from the story, and each meaning is as important and as valid as any other'.


And without saying another word, the teacher got up and left the room.

And another version of the same story ...

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of small pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.


The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "Yes." The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.


"Now", said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things - your family, your children, your health, your friends, your favorite passions - things that, if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car.


The sand is everything else - the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first" he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out to dinner. There will always be time to clean the house, and fix the rubbish. Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand".


One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that, no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers".

Boyce Avenue Biography : Who are they ?

Boyce Avenue, a Florida-based band popular for its strong acoustic roots and melodic rock sound, consists of the three brothers Alejandro, Fabian, and Daniel Manzano. The band first came together in 2000, when Alejandro (lead vocals, guitar, piano) and Fabian (guitar, vocals), then 14 and 16 years old, respectively, started playing guitar. Within 3 months, Alejandro and Fabian took to the stage with their older brother Daniel (bass, percussion, vocals), then 20 years old, to perform before an audience of over 350 at a Pine View High School show. This would be the first of many public performances for the band at the school where its members had all been students together throughout their childhoods.






In the years that followed, the band was separated geographically, while Fabian pursued an Architecture degree at the University of Florida and Daniel left Florida to attend Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Nonetheless, during this period, Boyce Avenue assembled at every available opportunity to collaborate musically. It was not until October of 2004 and the subsequent months, however, that Boyce Avenue would really come into its own. Daniel, who had recently graduated from law school, reconnected with the band in Florida as its full-time bassist, and Alejandro, at the age of 18, launched into writing the band’s first original song, “Find Me.” In the following months, the band performed locally in its hometown of Sarasota, and in April of 2005, the band hit the stage at Pine View High School for the last time. The band’s performance at the Mr. Pine View competition, an event which Alejandro would go on to win, was covered in the local press.






Upon Alejandro’s graduation from high school, he joined Fabian at the University of Florida, in Gainesville, where the band refined its signature sound playing out in traditional venues like Market Street and Side Bar. In October of 2006 and the months that followed, the band recorded its first three singles at Nickel and Dime Studios near Atlanta, Georgia. The project was engineered by Kris Sampson (Train, the Black Crowes) and produced by Don McCollister (Sister Hazel, Third Day). In 2007 and 2008, Boyce Avenue was honored in several songwriting competitions judged by a host of accomplished and renowned music industry artists, professionals, and executives. The band qualified as a Southeast Semifinalist in the 2007 IMWS competition; “All The While” was selected as a Semi-Finalist in the 2007 International Songwriting Competition, and as one of twelve Lennon Award Winners in the 2007 John Lennon Songwriting Contest; “Find Me” was selected as a Finalist in the Pop category for the U.S.A. Songwriting Competition; and “Hear Me Now (piano acoustic)” was selected as a finalist in the Best Group/Duo category for the IAMA songwriting competition, and as a finalist in the 2008 International Songwriting Competition.






Focused on the completion of a debut album, Boyce Avenue took a hiatus from its public performance schedule to write, produce, and record additional singles. In July of 2007, the band returned to Atlanta, Georgia, this time to record three songs at the Electron Gardens Studio in the historic Biltmore Hotel. These songs were engineered by Gary Pfaff and Tim Delaney, and were produced by Boyce Avenue. In October of the same year, the band finished tracking for the debut album with the recording of two songs at RMP Studios in Orlando, Florida. The final three songs for the album, “Dare To Believe,” “On My Way,” and “Hear Me Now (piano acoustic)” were engineered at RMP Studios by Veit Renn (Jennifer Hudson) and Adam Barber (Creed, Shinedown, Alterbridge), and were produced by Boyce Avenue.






The debut album, titled “All You’re Meant To Be,” was released by Boyce Avenue on March 25, 2008. All of the songs were mixed by Austin Deptula (Eisley, New Found Glory), and the entire project was mastered by Rodney Mills (Pearl Jam, REM, Sheryl Crow). The physical album is available worldwide exclusively through Storenvy, while the download versions can be found on iTunes/Amazon.com/Rhapsody/Napster/eMusic. Since the album’s release, it has been written about in CNN Money, the Kings of A&R, and in other press, its songs have been featured on various MTV shows, and the band has established itself as one of the top 8 Artists of All-Time on YouTube, with over 90 million hits. Most recently, “All You’re Meant To Be” has been licensed for sale nationwide in the Philippines through MCA Music, and is on path to Gold status. On the strength of the band’s touring success in the United States and the Philippines, the band launched a worldwide tour in 2009.


Edited by joemochas on 21 Oct 2009, 16:29