First Time Flying - I believe I Can Fly

Once on the west coast of Ireland there lived a seagull bird whose name was Seamus.

Seamus was a healthy, handsome, and intelligent seagull bird, but he was not able to fly.

When he was just a wee seagull bird, Seamus’s parents and siblings had been lost in a severe storm and he had no one to teach him.

He grew older and decided to try to learn by himself. He watched other seagull birds and, imitated them.

He ran along the ground and flapped his wings and hopped up and down, trying to get into the air, but nothing would happen, and the young seagull birds laughed at him because Seamus looked so funny.

Some of the older seagulls tried to teach him, but each one told Seamus a different way of learning to fly, and Seamus tried to think of all the ways each of the seagulls had told him:

“Flap your wings more, get your feet back, head straight,” and all the other instructions.

He was thinking so hard about what everyone had told him that he wasn’t able to get off the ground. He began to believe something was wrong with him, that he would never fly.

He tried going to the top of a cliff and jumping off, but he simply fell to the bottom. He went to higher cliff, over the sea, closed his eyes, and jumped.

Again, he fell.

Other seagulls took pity on Seamus and tried to take care of him.

But this made him feel more discouraged than ever . . .

One day, a very old and wise seagull flew in to the western coast where Seamus lived. He listened to Seamus’s problem and told him to climb to the top of a special cliff, the highest and steepest one. On the top of this cliff he would find a large boulder, and on this boulder was written a secret message. This was the message Seamus needed in order to fly, the wise bird told him.

No seagull had ever climbed such a steep cliff before. Seamus had to tie starfish to his feet to help him with the suction. He climbed slowly, painfully, and finally reached the top. He saw the large boulder.

On it was written:

What you believe — you can do! 

Seamus looked down from the dizzying cliff and was terrified, but he closed his eyes and jumped. He started to drop, and as he did, he remembered to say to himself, “I believe I can fly, I believe I can fly.” He was so busy saying it that he forgot to doubt himself.

Instead of paying attention to all the different things he’d been told to do, he just did it. And he found himself flying — flying like any other seagull birds, with wings outstretched, gliding on the winds. It was his first time flying! It was the most wonderful moment of his life. He flew and
dipped and never once wondered if he was doing it right. Far below on the sand, the other seagulls, who were watching him, heard him sing out, “I can fly! I believe!” 

Freedom To Choose: A Demolition Crew Story

One day as I was walking around my home town, I saw a group of men tearing a building down.
With a “heave” and a “ho” and a mighty yell, they swung a huge steel ball and a tall building
fell.

And I asked the foreman, “Are your men skilled? Are they the ones you’d hire if you were going
to build?”

“Oh no,” he laughed, “Oh no, indeed!

Just unskilled labourers are all I need.”

“These men can easily wreck in a day or two,

What it takes skilled builders many years to do.”

And I asked myself as I walked away,

“Which one of these roles do I want to play?”

Do I want to be known as one who constantly tears down,

As I waste my time spreading negativity around.

Or do I want to be known as one who skilfully builds with care,

In hope that my team will always be glad that I’m there?

Carefully using a positive plan

And putting it into practice the very best that I can.

Or am I a wrecker who roams the town

With the intent of just tearing down.

How To Do Things: Moving The Big Rock Story

One spring day, a small boy tried to move a big rock in his backyard so he could start his garden.
He tried, and tried, and tried, but the he couldn’t budge the rock even a little bit.

His father watched from the porch, and finally he asked his son whether he was using all of his
strength.

The boy said, “Yes, I am.”

“No, you’re not,” said the father. “You haven’t asked me to help you!”

T = Together
E = Everyone
A = Achieves
M = More”

The Art Of Asking: A Golf Instructor Story

A few years ago, a struggling golf pro was hired for one week to go to the Middle East to instruct a rich Arab sheikh how to play the game of golf.

The golf instructor was promised a large sum of money and offered an even larger bonus if the sheikh could break 100 by the end of their week of lessons.

As soon as the golf instructor arrived at the sheikh’s private airport, he was treated like royalty. Anything he wanted was immediately given to him free of charge.

At the first session, the golf instructor and the sheikh became friends almost instantly.

They met for three hours every morning and three hours every afternoon.

By the end of the week, the sheikh, who had never played golf before, broke 100.

The golf instructor would get his huge bonus!

When the golf instructor was getting ready to leave, the sheikh gave him his check for the week of lessons and the huge bonus.

And then the sheikh said to the instructor, “I must also give you a present for your kindness and help. What would you like?”

The golf instructor said, “This is the most money I’ve ever made — you don’t owe me
anything.”

The sheikh said, “No, I must get you a present.”

The instructor said “OK —just buy me a golf club.”

The sheikh said, “Consider it done.”

After a few months had passed, the golf instructor received a registered letter in the mail. It was from a South Carolina law firm. The instructor opened the formal-looking letter. Inside was a legal document making him the owner of a golf club in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. 

Penguins Can Fly: A Knowing Vs Doing Story

Once upon a time, there was a penguin who was surfing the internet.

He came across the website of a motivational speaker who specialised in teaching pigs how to
fly with his seminar titled Pigs Can Fly!

The penguin was amazed and thought, “If this person can teach pigs to fly,
maybe he can perform a miracle and also teach penguins to fly.”

The penguin emailed the motivational speaker and asked him if he had a seminar
titled “Penguins Can Fly.”

“Of course. No problem,” The speaker responded.

The penguin then asked him if he would be interested in coming to the South Pole.

The speaker said it would be very expensive.

The money was raised.

The travel arrangements were made.

Everything was all set.

On the big day, 100 excited penguins showed up at a hotel for the
“Penguins Can Fly” seminar.

The motivational speaker began the ’’Penguins Can Fly” seminar by telling
the penguins that there were only two things they had to do to fly:

1. Flap your wings harder.

2. Believe in yourself.

He started teaching them how to flap really, really, really hard.

The penguins learned how to flap harder, but not one of the penguins left the ground.

Then the motivational speaker had ladders set up all around the room.

He explained that he wanted the penguins to start on the first rung, jump off and flap really hard.

They started on the first rung. They jumped off and flapped.

And then they all fell flat on their beaks.

Next, then they progressed to the second rung.

They jumped off, flapped really hard, but no success.

When they got to the third rung, all of a sudden some one of the penguins yelled out,

“Look at Ralph! Look at Ralph!”

Ralph was up and flying for about 10 seconds.

That did it!

As soon as the penguins saw that it was possible, they started to believe!

One after another, they started flying. They were up in the air for five seconds . . .

10 seconds ... 30 seconds...

By the end of the day, every single one of the penguins was flying for as long as they wanted!
The “Penguins Can Fly” seminar was a resounding success.

When it ended, the speaker didn’t just get a standing ovation - he received a flying one, too!

After it was all over, the most amazing thing happened.

When all the penguins left the hotel, each and every one of them walked. 

The Pearly Gates Of Heaven: Saint Peter’s Shoe Salesman Story

One day an old man who, was an expert in the world of art, died and went to heaven
where he was met by Saint Peter at the pearly gates.

The old man asked Saint Peter to introduce him to other people who were interested in art.

Saint Peter, standing at the pearly gates of heaven said, “See that man with the beard?

He was the greatest artist who ever lived. Want to meet him?”

The old man said, “Saint Peter, I know that man and I know art. That man worked in his father’s
shoe store and he sold me all my shoes for years. And he’s not an artist!”

Saint Peter still standing at the pearly gates of heaven replied,

“Oh, he could have been the greatest artist who ever lived,
but he thought he was a shoe salesman.” 

Smart Monkey: An Animal Experiment FAIL Story

A team of research scientists had selected four groups of monkeys for a pharmaceutical
experiment.

The animals in the first group were to receive a high dose of the drug being studied.

Those in the second group were to get a moderate dose.

The monkeys in the third group were scheduled to receive a low dose of the drug.

And those in the fourth group were to be injected with a placebo.

The day before the experiment was to begin, the monkeys in the high-dose group were
deprived of food while those in the other three groups were fed as usual.

On the morning of the experiment, tests revealed unexpected nutrients in the blood of the fasting
monkeys. The researchers were surprised. They decided to repeat the previous day’s procedure,
but this time they were going to observe the behaviour of the monkeys at night when the lights
were off.

The researchers made a touching discovery.

The monkeys who were being fed were passing their food to their hungry friends who were
being deprived of food. 

How To Climb A Mountain...or anything else: The True Inner Story

Once upon a time there was a world-class climber who gave classes and lessons to a small
number of students.

For several weeks, they studied the technical and safety aspects of the sport and conducted
several climbs.

As the class came to an end, the instructor informed his students that there were more advanced
classes, but that to get into the class they would have to do one last climb in which their
performance would be evaluated.

On the day set for the climb, the students arrived at the appointed place. They were met by
people who said the instructor was delayed and that they should begin the climb without him.

The route was a long and difficult one, and required all the skills they had learned during the
class.

After several hours of exhausting climbing, each student reached what appeared from below to
be the last face at the end of the climb.

As each one pulled himself up over the top of this face, they saw that the mountain continued
to rise up before them.

The instructor, who was hidden from the students, watched the face of each student carefully as
they realized that the climb was not over.

Many of them sighed with disappointment that they had yet more to do.

However, a few looked up with eagerness and anticipation that there were new heights to reach,
and these were the ones the instructor accepted into the advanced class.

He wanted to climb with people who were attracted to higher and higher peaks in the world -
and in themselves. 

The King’s Rock Story: Every Obstacle Is An Opportunity

In ancient times, a king had a huge boulder placed in a roadway, then he hid and watched to see if anyone would remove it.

Some of the kingdom’s biggest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around the
boulder.

Many of them loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none of them did anything about getting the big stone out of the way.

Then a peasant farmer came along, carrying a load of vegetables on his back.

When he came to the boulder, he laid down his vegetables and began trying to move the boulder to the side of the road.

After much struggling and straining, he finally succeeded.

As he was picking up his vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had
been.

The purse contained many gold pieces and a note from the king indicating the gold was for the person who removed the stone from the roadway.

The farmer had learned what many others have learned since:

Every obstacle presents an opportunity.

Life will throw up obstacles, but instead of going around them or trying to avoid them all together, take the opportunity to confront them and learn in the process. Facing obstacles and challenges makes us stronger and aids us on our spiritual path. Oftentimes, when we avoid something we are only putting off the time until we will meet it again. It is best to bite the bullet and face these challenges head on, improving your self and learning the lessons that are meant to be learnt.

No Risk No Reward: A Cautious Farmer’s Story

A backwoods farmer, sitting on the steps of his shack, was approached by a stranger who was
passing through.

“How’s your wheat coming along?” asked the stranger.

Didn’t plant any.” Really? I thought this was good wheat country.”

“I didn’t plant because I was afraid it wouldn’t rain.”

“How’s your com coming along?”

“Didn’t plant any.”

“Really? I thought this was good corn country.”

“I didn’t plant any because I was afraid of com blight.”

“What did you plant?”

“Nothing,” said the farmer, “I just played it safe.” 

The Butterfly Predicament: A Story About Struggle

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the
butterfly for several hours as it struggled to squeeze its body through the tiny hole.

Then it stopped, as if it couldn't go further.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining
bits of cocoon.

The butterfly emerged easily but it had a swollen body and shrivelled wings.

The man continued to watch it, expecting that any minute the wings would enlarge
and expand enough to support the body, Neither happened!

In fact the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around. It was never able to fly.

What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was the restricting cocoon and the
struggle required by the butterfly to get through the opening was a way of forcing the fluid from
the body into the wings so that it would be ready for flight once that was achieved.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives. Going through life with no obstacles
would cripple us. We will not be as strong as we could have been and we would never fly. 

Journey of Awakening: A Life Saving Story

“There was once a king who was going to put to death many people,
but before doing so he offered a challenge.

If any of them could come up with something which would make him
happy when he was sad, and sad when he was happy, he would spare their lives.

All night the wise men meditated on the matter.

In the morning, they brought the king a ring.

The king said that he did not see how the ring would serve to make him
happy when he was sad and sad when he was happy.

The wise men pointed to the inscription.

When the king read it, he was so delighted that he spared them all.

And the inscription read...

“This too shall pass.”

The Story Of Two Monks And A Beautiful Woman

Two monks were returning to the monastery in the evening.

It had rained and there were puddles of water on the road sides.

At one street a beautiful young woman was standing unable to walk across because of a large
puddle of water. The elder of the two monks went up to her, lifted her, and then dropped her off
on the other side of the road. After that he continued on his way to the monastery.

In the evening the younger monk came to the elder monk and asked,

“Sir, as monks, we cannot touch a woman?”

The elder monk answered “Yes, brother.”

Then the younger monk asks again, “But then Sir, how is that you lifted that woman on the
roadside?”

The elder monk smiled at him and told him, “I lifted her to the other side of the road,
but you are still carrying her.” 

The Guru’s Directions: A Story About Success

A man met a guru. The man asked the guru - ‘Which way should I go to achieve success?’ 

The robed, bearded sage said nothing, but he pointed to a place in the distance. 

The man, thrilled by the prospect of quick and easy success, rushed in the appropriate direction. 

Suddenly, there came a loud ‘Splat.’ 

Soon, the man limped back, tattered and stunned, assuming he must have misinterpreted the 

message. He repeated his question to the guru. ‘Which way should I go to achieve success?’ The 

guru again pointed silently in the same direction. 

The man obediently walked off once more. This time the ‘splat’ was deafening. 

When the man crawled back, he was bloody, broken, tattered, and irate. 

‘I asked you which way I should go to achieve success,’ he screamed at the guru. 

‘I followed the direction you gave me, and all I got was splatted! 

No more of this pointing! Talk! ’ 

Only then did the guru speak. What he said was: 

‘Success is that way. Just a little past splat.’ 

The Woodcutter’s Axe: A Story About Being Busy

Once upon a time a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant, and he got it.
The pay was really good and so were the work conditions and for that reason, the woodcutter
was determined to do his best.

His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he was to work and the first day,
the woodcutter cut down 18 trees.

‘Congratulations,’ the boss said. ‘Go on that way! ’

Very motivated for the boss words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he only could
cut down 15 trees. The third day he tried even harder, but he only could cut down 10 trees. Day
after day he was cutting less and less trees.

‘I must be losing my strength,’ the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologised,
saying that he could not understand what was going on.

‘When was the last time you sharpened your axe?’ the boss asked.

‘Sharpen! I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut down trees.’

Life gets like that. Sometimes we get so busy that we don’t take time to ‘sharpen the axe.’

Which Wolf Will Win?

An elder Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life.

He said to them, ‘A fight is going on inside me ... it is a terrible fight and it is between two
wolves. One wolf represents fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt,
resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other stands for joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence,
friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. This same fight is going on inside
you, and inside every other person, too.’

They thought about it for a minute and then one child asked his grandfather, ‘Which wolf will
win?’

The old Cherokee simply replied . . . ‘The one you feed.’ 

The King’s Picture Of Peace: A Story About Calming The Heart

There once was a King who offered a prize to the artist who would paint the best picture of 
peace. Many artists tried. The King looked at all the pictures, but there were only two he really
liked and he had to choose between them.

One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror, for peaceful towering mountains
were all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture
thought that it was a perfect picture of peace.

The other picture had mountains, too. But these were rugged and bare. Above was an angry sky
from which rain fell and in which lightening played. Down the side of the mountain tumbled a
foaming waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all. But when the King looked, he saw behind
the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her
nest. There, in the midst of the rush of angry water, sat the mother bird on her nest in perfect
peace.

Which picture do you think won the prize? The King chose the second picture. Do you know
why?

‘Because’ explained the King, ‘peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise,
trouble, or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your
heart. That is the real meaning of peace.’ 

Punching The Balloon Clown: A Story About Bouncing Back

A father took his young son into a toy shop to give him a chance to look at some special gifts he
would like to receive from Santa Claus. The father told the boy to have a wander around on his
own for a few minutes to see what he would like. At the back of the shop, his young son found a
statue of a clown made out of lot of colourful balloons.

He looked at the balloon clown for a minute, and then he drew back his fist and hit him just as
hard as he could. The balloon clown fell back and hit the floor, then rocked backwards and
forwards and after a few seconds he stood upright again.

The confused boy backed off and looked at the balloon clown and then hit him again, as hard as
he could. The balloon clown fell back once more and hit the floor, but was soon standing upright
again.

The father saw his young son hit that balloon clown and asked, ‘Why do you think he comes
bouncing back up when you hit him and knock him down?’

The boy thought for a minute and said, ‘I don’t know Dad, I guess it’s because he’s standing up
on the inside.’ 

Merlin The Magician: The Magic Of Believing Story

Once upon a time, there was a young man who dreamed of becoming a knight for
King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table.

Before he could become a knight, he had to pass one last test - he had to slay a dragon.

The young man was scared to death.

He asked one of the knights what he should do about his tremendous fear.

This knight advised him to see Merlin the Magician because Merlin had a magic sword.

When the young man told Merlin about his problem, Merlin went to his back room and brought
out a beautiful, gilded sword.

Merlin then instructed him, “This sword is magic and the day that you go out to slay your
dragon, come see me and I will give you this magic sword. But make sure that your scabbard is
empty. And remember that this sword only works its magic if you are in danger.”

One week later, the would-be knight returned. He was dressed for battle and, as Merlin
instructed, his scabbard was empty.

As Merlin went to the back room again, he told the young man to close his eyes.

Then Merlin returned and put the sword into his scabbard.

As the young man left. Merlin reminded him, “This sword will only work its magic if you are in
danger.”

The young man, now more confident, rode his horse out onto the plains where he confronted his
dragon.

It was a fierce battle. The dragon was breathing fire. The dragon’s tail knocked the young man
off his trusty steed.

The young man was on the ground and the dragon came in for the kill.

Just at that moment, the young man remembered about the magic sword. He took the sword out
of his scabbard and started slashing the dragon’s legs.

The dragon was hurt and fell down. The young man jumped onto the dragon and put the sword
into the dragon’s heart and killed the dragon.

The young man returned home victorious.

The first person he went to see was Merlin.

He told Merlin about how the magic sword saved his life.

As he took it out of his scabbard to return it, he looked at it in amazement. “Merlin this isn’t the
same sword you showed me last week. This isn’t the beautiful, gilded magic sword. It’s just an
ordinary sword!”

Merlin nodded and said, “There is no magic sword. The magic is believing.” 

Zen Martial Arts Academy Training Story

A young boy travelled across Japan to the school of a famous martial artist.

When he arrived at the dojo, he was given an audience with the sensei.

“What do you wish from me?” the master of the zen martial arts academy asked.

“I wish to be your student and become the finest karateka in the land,” the boy said.

“How long must I train?”

“Ten years at least,” the master replied.

“Ten years is a long time,” said the boy. “What if I studied twice as hard as all your other
students?”

“Twenty years,” replied the master.

“Twenty years! What if I practice day and night with all of my effort?”

“Thirty years,” was the master’s reply.

“How is it that every time I tell you I will work harder, you tell me that it will take longer?” said
the boy.

“The answer is clear. When you have one eye fixed upon your destination,
there is only one eye left with which to find the way.” 

How To Overcome: The Classic Carrot, Egg, and Bean Coffee Story

You may never look at a cup of coffee the same way again!

A young woman told her mother how difficult things were for her.

She did not know how she was going to make it and felt like giving up.

Her mother took her to the kitchen and filled three pots with water. Soon the water started
boiling. In the first pot, she placed carrots. In the second, she put eggs. And in the third, she
placed coffee beans. She let them sit and boil.

In about twenty minutes, she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them
on a plate. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and
placed it in a mug.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, “What do you see?”

“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” her daughter replied.

Her mother handed her some carrots. They were soft.

The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it.

After pulling off the shell, she observed that the egg was now hard boiled.

Then the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich
aroma.

Then the daughter asked, “What does all this mean?”

Her mother said that each of these had faced the same adversity—boiling water. But each reacted
differently.

“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you
respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose
my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with an open heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit,
but after a death, a break-up, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened
and stiff?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water — the very circumstance
that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like
the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest, do you elevate yourself to another
level?

How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Donkey In The Well: A Classic Short Motivational Story

Once upon a time, there was a little donkey that lived on a ranch. The little donkey spent all of
his time in a pen with his grandfather. One day, the little donkey said, “Grandpa, I want to grow
up to be big and strong like you.

What do I have to do?”

Grandpa said, “All you have to do is learn how to shake it off and step up.”

That confused the little donkey so he asked his grandfather what that meant.

Grandpa said, “Let me tell you a classic short motivational story! One day, when I was just about
your age, I was right here in this pen when someone left the gate open by mistake. Well, I
escaped and started walking out on the prairie. I was admiring the big mountains and the huge
sky.

Then, all of a sudden, when I wasn’t looking at where I was going, I fell into an old, abandoned
well. I was trapped at the bottom of the well, scared to death, thinking I was going to die. I was
the donkey in the well. Then, within a few minutes, I heard a truck and looked up and saw an old
farmer. I thought he would surely save me. But he just looked down at me, shook his head, got
back into his truck, and left.

“A few hours later, I heard what sounded like four or five trucks. I looked up and saw the farmer
and several of his friends. The old farmer said, ‘Boys, the well’s abandoned and that little
donkey ain’t worth anything, so let’s get to work.’

“They got their pick axes and shovels and started burying me alive. Now I knew I was going to
die! The dirt started burying my hooves and then it started covering my lower legs and then I
suddenly realised something — every time a shovel-full of dirt landed on my back, I could shake
it off and step up on it. So I shook it off and stepped up, and shook it off and stepped up, and I
continued shaking and stepping, and shaking and stepping, until I eventually shook off enough
and stepped up enough that I was able to step out of the well and save my life!”

Then the grandfather looked right at the little donkey and said,

“Remember, if you want to grow up to be big and strong, you have to learn how to shake it off
and step up.” 

Nails In The Fence: A Story About Anger

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper.

His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper,
he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned
to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He
discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and
the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his
temper.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.
The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence.

He said, ‘You’ve done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be
the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one.

You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m
sorry, the wound is still there and a verbal wound is just as bad as a physical one. 

The Fox and the Grapes

One afternoon, a fox was walking through the forest and spotted a bunch of grapes hanging from a lofty branch.

“Just the thing to quench my thirst,” he thought.

Taking a couple of steps back, the fox jumped and just missed the hanging grapes. The fox tried again but still failed to reach them.

Finally, giving up, the fox turned his nose up and said, “They’re probably sour anyway,” and walked away.

Moral of the story: It’s easy to despise what you can't have.

Two Friends and the Bear

Vijay and Raju were friends. One day while on holiday, exploring a forest, they saw a bear coming towards them.

Naturally, they were both frightened, so Raju, who knew how to climb trees, climbed one quickly. He didn’t spare a thought for his friend who had no idea how to climb.

Vijay thought for a moment. He had heard that animals don’t attack dead bodies, so he fell to the ground and held his breath. The bear sniffed him, thought he was dead, and went on its way.

Raju, after he had climbed down from the tree asked Vijay, “What did the bear whisper in your ears?”

Vijay replied, “The bear asked me to keep away from friends like you.”

Moral of the story: A friend in need is a friend indeed.

The Greedy Lion

It was an incredibly hot day and a lion was feeling very hungry.

He crawled out of his den and searched here and there, but he could only find a small hare. He caught the hare, but with some hesitation as he knew the hare wouldn’t fill him up.

As the lion was about to kill the hare, he spotted a deer coming his way and thought, “Instead of eating this small hare, let me eat that big deer.”

So he let the hare go and went after the deer, but it vanished in the forest. The lion now had nothing to eat as the hare was also long gone.

Moral of the story: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

Having a Best Friend

Two friends were walking through the desert. At one stage in their journey, they had an argument and one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything he wrote in the sand, “Today my best friend slapped me in the face.”

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to have a wash. The one who had been slapped got stuck in a mire and started drowning, but his friend saved him. After he had recovered from his shock, he wrote on a stone, “Today my best friend saved my life.”

The friend who slapped and saved his best friend asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write in stone, why?”

The other friend replied, “When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”

Moral of the story: Don’t value the things you have in your life. Value those who you have in your life.

The Wise Man

People visit a wise man complaining about the same problems over and over again. One day, he decided to tell them a joke and they all roared with laughter.

After a few minutes, he told them the same joke and only a few of them smiled.

Then he told the same joke for a third time, but no one laughed or smiled anymore.

The wise man smiled and said: “You can’t laugh at the same joke over and over. So why are you always crying about the same problem?”

Moral of the story: Worrying won’t solve your problems, it’ll just waste your time and energy.

An Old Man Lived in the Village

An old man lived in the village. The whole village was tired of him; he was always gloomy, he constantly complained and was always in a bad mood. The longer he lived, the viler he became and more poisonous were his words. People did their best to avoid him because his misfortune was contagious. He created the feeling of unhappiness in others.

But one day, when he turned eighty, an incredible thing happened. Instantly everyone started hearing the rumour: “The old man is happy today, he doesn’t complain about anything, smiles, and even his face is freshened up.”

The whole village gathered around the man and asked him, “What happened to you?”

The old man replied, “Nothing special. Eighty years I’ve been chasing happiness and it was useless. And then I decided to live without happiness and just enjoy life. That’s why I’m happy now.”

Moral of the story: Don’t chase happiness. Enjoy your life.

Box Full of Kisses

Some time ago, a man punished his young daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became angry when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree.

Nevertheless, the girl brought the gift to her father on Christmas day and said, “This is for you, daddy.”

The man became embarrassed by his overreaction a few days before, but his rage continued when he saw that the box was empty. He yelled at her, “Don’t you know, when you give someone a gift, there’s supposed to be something inside?”

The little girl looked up at her dad with tears in her eyes and cried; “Oh, daddy, it’s not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They’re all for you, daddy.”

The father was devastated. He put his arms around his daughter, and begged for her forgiveness.

A little while later, the girl died in an accident. Her father kept the gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was feeling down, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

Moral of the story: Love is the most precious gift in the world.

The Blind Girl

There once was a blind woman who hated herself purely because she could not see. The only person she loved was her boyfriend, as he was always there for her. She said that if she could only see the world, then she would marry him.

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her – now she could see everything, including her boyfriend. Her loving boyfriend asked her, “now that you can see the world, will you marry me?”

The woman was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend was blind too, and refused to marry him. Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and wrote a short note to her saying: “Just take care of my eyes, dear.”

Moral of the story: When our circumstances change, so does our mind. Some people may not be able to see the way things were before, and might not be able to appreciate them.

The Butterfly

Once upon a time, a man found a butterfly that was starting to hatch from its cocoon. He sat down and watched the butterfly for hours as it struggled to force itself through a tiny hole. Then, it suddenly stopped making progress and looked like it was stuck.

Therefore, the man decided to help the butterfly out. He took a pair of scissors and cut off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily, although it had a swollen body and small, shrivelled wings.

The man thought nothing of it, and he sat there waiting for the wings to enlarge to support the butterfly. However, that never happened. The butterfly spent the rest of its life unable to fly, crawling around with small wings and a swollen body.

Despite the man’s kind heart, he didn’t understand that the restricting cocoon and the struggle needed by the butterfly to get itself through the small hole were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings to prepare itself for flying once it was free.

Moral of the story: Our struggles in life help to develop our strengths. Without struggles, we never grow and get stronger, so it’s important for us to tackle challenges on our own, and not rely on help from others all the time.

The Obstacle in Our Path

In ancient times, a king had his men place a boulder on a roadway. He then hid in the bushes, and watched to see if anyone would move the boulder out of the way. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers passed by and simply walked around it.

Many people blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none of them did anything about getting the stone removed.

One day, a peasant came along carrying vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to push the stone out of the way. After much pushing and straining, he finally managed.

After the peasant went back to pick up his vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and note from the King explain that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the road.

Moral of the story: Every obstacle that we come across gives us an opportunity to improve our circumstances, and while the lazy complain, others are creating opportunities through their kind hearts, generosity, and willingness to get things done.

A Pound of Butter

Once, there was a farmer who regularly sold butter to a baker. One day, the baker decided to weigh the butter to see if he was getting the exact amount that he asked for. He found out that he wasn’t, so he took the farmer to court.

The judge asked the farmer if he uses any measure to weigh the butter. The farmer replied, “Your Honor, I’m primitive. I don’t have a proper measure, but I do have a scale.”

The judge replied, “Then how do you weigh the butter?”

The farmer replied; “Your Honor, long before the baker started buying butter from me, I have been buying a pound loaf of bread from him. Every day, when the baker brings the bread, I put it on the scale and give him the same weight in butter. If anyone is to be blamed, it’s the baker.”

Moral of the story: In life, you get what you give. Don’t try to cheat others.

What is the meaning of True Love?

What is the meaning love? Love is what we experience in any moment that we are with someone without having or believing any judgements about that person (“good” or “bad”).

What Is The Meaning of Love – The 7 Inherent Qualities of Love

Love is complete acceptance: When we allow someone to be exactly as they are, without any belief that they aren’t good enough, without any belief that they would be “better” if they were different, this is love.

Love is completely unconditional: Love has no conditions. 

When we truly love someone, we can’t stop loving them, regardless of what they do or say. If our love is dependent upon the other person acting and speaking how we want, then this love is completely conditional. We often confuse this to be love, but this is just positive thoughts about someone. This is just loving what a person says or does, not loving them. Positive thoughts or the thought “I love you” isn’t necessary to love. Sometimes it even gets in the way.

Love is selfless: True love doesn’t want anything in return, because there is nothing it needs. We just love for the sake of love. When we love someone, we don’t look for them to fill our needs, love us back, and all those types of things. If that is what we are looking for, then we are just using the other person. What is the meaning of love? Love is completely selfless.

What Prevents Us From Loving

To understand what is the meaning of love, we really need to understand what prevents us from loving. When we believe our judgements about someone, we can feel anger, disappointment, or resentment, or we can just feel separate from that person. All of this blocks us or prevents us from loving the person we are with.

When we are with someone, and believing our judgements, commentary, or labels about them, this puts up a wall or a barrier between us. We aren’t connecting with them, loving them, and truly being with them. We are just experiencing our thoughts about them. For example, we might experience our thoughts about how they aren’t appreciative enough, aren’t in good enough shape, aren’t a good enough father etc. But these thoughts just get in the way of love.

Love Eliminates The Sense Of Separation or Loneliness

When we believe our judgements about people, it can seem as if we are alone or separate from others. This creates this longing for connection and love. All it takes to have this connection we yearn for is to just be with people without judgement. In the absence of judgement, love is what remains.

When we are not believing our judgements about someone, we are loving them, or in other words, we are being present with them (i.e. living in the moment with them). When we are present with someone, we automatically feel a closer connection to, and more intimacy with, the people around us. Our feeling of separateness from people disappears.

You Always Wanted To Love… Not To Be Loved

If you want to feel love, it is helpful to first understand what is the meaning of love. If someone else loves you, but you don’t care about that person, how much impact does that person’s love have on your level of happiness? You may have noticed, it has very little impact. If receiving love from someone else had the power to make us feel good, then anyone’s love would give us the same good feeling. But, clearly this isn’t how life works.

The reason is because fulfilment doesn’t come from receiving love; the feeling of happiness and completion we have always wanted comes from loving others. When we love someone without wanting or expecting anything in return, we feel free, open, and wonderful.

To read my full blog post all about how the feeling you want in life doesn’t come from being loved, but actually from giving love, please click here

To Live In The Moment Is To Love

Generally, we are seeking love from others to make us happy. When we are living in the moment, we are already happy because the thoughts that would normally make us unhappy aren’t there. Since we are naturally happy when we are living in the moment, there is nothing we need or want from others. We can stop looking for others to make us happy… whether that is looking to them to love us, or just fill our needs.  If there is nothing we want from others, then we are just free to love.

We don’t have to worry about whether other people will love us, leave us, or make us happy, because we are already happy. None of that matters when we are already content. We are free to purely love others, and we completely forget about the idea of seeking love.

It Is Helpful To First Understand What Love Is Not

Here are 7 things that many of us innocently mistake to be love. To read the full blog post of what love is not, with explanations of each misconception, please click here

1. When we look for someone to love us, we are looking for someone we can use to make us happy
2. If we are trying to change or improve our partner, in that moment, we are not loving them
3. Positive thoughts is not love
4. Excitement about our future with someone creates butterflies and nice feelings, but it isn’t based on love
5. If we require our partner to do things for us, in that moment, it’s not love
6. Loving how someone seems to make us feel isn’t love
7. The fear of getting hurt isn’t part of love

Love Has No Limits

We tend to think that the meaning of love is to love one person. But truly, what is the meaning of love? The beautiful thing about love is that we don’t have to limit our loving to just our romantic partner or our family. We can love everyone we encounter. When we are present, we have nothing to fear, so we don’t have to create any boundaries about who can receive our love. When we are with anyone without judging them in any way, we feel love for them. It doesn’t matter if this person is our spouse or our waiter in a restaurant.

Love you all!

Thank you so much my dear Friends.

God Bless !!

How to stop hating yourself

“Why do I hate myself?” and “How to stop hating yourself?”

I’m going to provide you with 9 different reasons and explanations to help show you why you hate yourself, and how to stop hating yourself is going to be embedded within that.

1) You don’t hate yourself in every moment

When you say “I hate myself”, it is said as if this is some permanent thing, as if this is some factual part of your existence. “I hate myself”—that’s true and factual—“I hate myself”. Let me ask you a question. Do you hate yourself in every moment? When you’re having fun, do you hate yourself? When you’re enjoying yourself: when you’re watching TV, when you’re playing video games, when you’re eating something you like, when you’re with friends and having fun with them, when you’re playing a sport, when you’re dancing, do you hate yourself in all of those moments? Probably not.

I’m sure there are some breaks in your life when you don’t hate yourself. When we say “I hate myself”, it seems really powerful and strong as if that’s some factual, consistent, steady, and stable part of our existence. But that’s not true.

When a thought arises that says “I hate myself” we feel hatred towards ourselves and shame. But, when that thought doesn’t pop up in our minds, there is no feeling of hating ourselves. It’s not as though hating ourselves is part of who we are, and therefore that’s going to be part of our life forever. Hatred comes and goes as thoughts come and go. The feeling of hatred stays exactly as long as the thought “I hate myself” keeps our attention. When that thought doesn’t show up in our minds, we are already fine with ourselves and life. In addition, in any moment that we’re distracted by from the thought that says “I hate myself”, we feel fine. There is no hatred at all.

Hating ourselves only exists as a thought, not as a fact. This is why you don’t feel hatred when you are distracted from your thoughts through entertainment, food, or some other thing that you enjoy.

2) You are not the one who hates yourself

The second thing to understand about hating yourself is to be clear about who is the one hating. When you say “I hate myself”, there are two characters there. There is the “I” that hates, and the one that is being hated. So, which one are you? And which is the one that hates?

When a thought doesn’t show up in our minds, there is no hatred at all. When our full attention is on TV, music, or video games, there is no hatred. We are just here being as we are.

But, then thoughts pop up and say “I hate that I do this”, “I hate that I’m like”, “I hate that my life is like”. As soon as thoughts say “I hate”, hatred appears. You exist in every moment, but hatred only exists when a thought pops up to say “I hate”. Therefore, thoughts are hating here, not you. Because when those thoughts aren’t here, there’s no hate. When the thought is here, there is hate.

3) The thoughts that hate aren’t you or yours

Who is this one that hates? Thoughts. But are these thoughts yours? Well, did you pick the thought I hate myself? Did you look into a basket of potential thoughts and then pick the one that says “I hate myself” to put into your mind. No, of course not. It just showed up. Where did it come from? You have no idea. One second there’s no thought here, the next second there is.

The most important thing to you and every human being is to have peace and happiness. Therefore, you would never choose to have a thought show up in your mind that hates. Why would you? It creates suffering, not peace. Nobody wants to hate themselves.

Since you didn’t pick to have the thought “I hate myself”, it has nothing to do with you. That thought is not yours.

4) Thoughts hate because society teaches us million ideas of “good” and “bad”

Why thoughts show up to hate? It all comes from our conditioning. In other words, our unique set of experiences in life, our life history. When you were young, when you were two-years-old, did you hate yourself? No, almost certainly not. We’re all just going through life enjoying ourselves at: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 more-or-less. Just having fun, regardless of whether we’re fat or skinny, we’re just there being ourselves. If we’re overweight, we don’t feel ashamed about being overweight, we’re just whatever weight we are. If we’re shy, we don’t feel it’s bad that we’re shy, we’re just happy as we are.

But, then what happens is we get taught all of these ideas of “perfect”, all of these ideas of the way things “should be”, and the “right way”. We learn that skinny is “good”; but fat is “bad”. So, then, if we’re overweight, we say that “it’s bad I’m overweight”; and we learn to hate ourselves. We learn that “shy is bad” and “outgoing is good”. So, then, if we’re shy, we learn to feel ashamed and hate ourselves. We learn that being in a relationship is “perfect”, being single is “bad”. When we’re young, before we learn that, of course we’re happy. It doesn’t matter that we’re single. But then, once we learn this, we feel bad about being single.

When thoughts say “I hate myself that I’m like this”, “it’s bad that I’m like that”, “it’s not good enough that my life is like this”, all of that is just comparing our life to what our particular society and upbringing has taught is the “right”, “perfect”, and “good” way to be and live.

5) You can stop believing the thoughts that hate

If someone approached you on the street and said “There is going to be a big earthquake in 5 minutes”, how would you react? Well, if you believed them, you might feel afraid. But, if you didn’t believe them, you would feel nothing. The same is true with the words in your mind, when you believe the words in your mind, they create emotions. But, when you don’t believe those words, they don’t create emotions.

When a stranger approaches you and says something, you don’t just automatically believe them. You would evaluate whether they were trustworthy, and you would look for evidence to see if what they are saying is true. However, when it comes to the thoughts in your mind, you automatically just believe everything that is said. We need to approach thoughts with the same skepticism as we would the words of a stranger.

When a thought says “Something about me is bad” or “It is bad that I do this” or “It is bad that I live here” or “It is bad that I don’t have that”, you just believe that this must be true. It showed up in your mind, so it just must be true. But, how do you know it’s true? How do you know it’s bad to act like this, live like this etc? What is the evidence that it is bad? Where did that thought come from?

In order to see that this thought might not be true, you could ask yourself “Can I think of a few reasons or examples as to why the opposite could be true?” Or, you could ask yourself “Could somebody else think the opposite?” You might think something about you or your life is “bad” because the people around you also think it is “bad”. But, this is the case because you have all been trained in the same way, by the same media, culture, etc.

So you think you’re boring, but somebody might think you’re fun. In some cultures, they consider it to be “good” to have more fat or weight in certain areas, and think it is “bad” to be skinny. In some societies in Asia, they consider to be “bad” to have darker skin, whereas in America, everyone wants to get a tan and think it is “bad” to be pale skinned. Some cultures decide it is best to get married in low 20s, some think in late 30s. Some cultures think it is “best” to become wealthy and successful, while others decide that this is selfish and “bad” way to live. Some people want a shy and introspective romantic partner, some want an outgoing one.

No belief about what is “good” and “bad” are true and real. They are all perspectives based on where and how you were raised. It’s all just beliefs. Just beliefs of what we were taught. The thoughts just come from society, from the media, from parents, and everything else we were exposed to in our life. There is nothing about you or your life that is actually “bad”.

6) You’re not to blame for your thoughts because you don’t pick them

Since these thoughts come from what we’re taught; we don’t control them. They’re not our fault. You didn’t decide to be brought up with the parents you had. You didn’t decide to be brought up in the place, or in the society that you had. You didn’t decide what the TV shows and movies taught you. You didn’t decide any of that. Therefore, you don’t control the thoughts that arise in your mind. If every person, movie, and magazine didn’t teach you that skinny was good , fat is bad; shy is bad, outgoing is good; big houses mean you’re successful, small houses means you’re a failure; married is best, single is bad; then you wouldn’t have any of these thoughts/beliefs.  The same is true with every single idea your mind has about what is a “bad” way to look, act, speak, and interact… what types of jobs, living situations, and marital status are “bad”.

But if you didn’t get a choice in what beliefs you were taught, then you didn’t pick what thoughts show up in your mind. You don’t control the thoughts that come up. And that means something. Do you know what that means? That means it’s not your fault that you seem to hate yourself.

It’s not your fault that all of these negative thoughts are going on in your mind. It has nothing to do with you. So you can let yourself off of the hook. It doesn’t mean that you’re stupid that you hate yourself. It doesn’t mean that there’s something wrong with you, that you hate yourself. It doesn’t mean anything, it’s not personal. You were just brought up in a society that taught you a million ideas about what is “bad”.

7) The hated qualities don’t exist in reality

The fifth thing to look at with hating ourselves is to investigate the qualities that we hate. First of all, where do these qualities exist? So we think “I am shy”, where does that exist in this moment? Shyness. Can you see it? Can you touch it? “I am shy”. It’s only a thought, it’s not real. “I am unlikable”. Where does unlikable exist? Show me it, find it. “I am unlikable”. Does it exist as a fact? Is it real? “I am boring”. Where does boring exist? How do you know? Where does failure exist? You think, “I am a failure.” Show me failure. Does it exist in reality? Is it tangible? Is it factual? Show me. Where is it? Can you find it? Locate it. It’s just a thought, it’s not real. All these qualities that we think are factually who we are truly only exist in our imagination.

The strange thing about this is that the qualities we hate aren’t even qualities at all. They’re just thoughts, that come sometimes, and then go. If the only time “I am boring” exists is when a thought shows up, then that can’t be who you are. If the only time “I am a failure” exists is when a thought says it, then it can’t be who you are. Your hand continues to exist whether or not you’re thinking about it because it is a real thing. It is not a figment of your imagination.

8) The qualities that are hated are not who you are

To approach this from a different angle, you are always you. You have always been you. When you were born, were you you? When you were five, were you you? When you were ten, were you you? Of course, you were always you. Throughout changes to your body, feelings, thoughts, actions, and everything you were always there. There was something that never changed, the fundamental you. You have always been there. Therefore, if something comes and goes, while you remain, then that thing can’t be you.

For example, you may think “I am shy. That is who I am”. But, take a moment to ask yourself the following questions: “Am I always shy? Or sometimes am I outgoing with some people, and then I’m shy with others? Am I outgoing in some situations? At some ages was I not shy?” If shyness is here sometimes, and not here at all during other times, then that can’t be a part of who you are. You have always been you. So, you can’t BE shy, you can’t BE boring because you weren’t that in every moment. In some moments there is shyness and other moments outgoingness, but that isn’t who you are.

You exist right now, therefore anything that doesn’t exist right now isn’t real or you. So, where is hated quality right now?

9) Separating the facts from your thoughts about the facts

To show you the difference between facts and thoughts, please take a moment to look at my nose in the video above. Now tell me, is it an attractive nose or an ugly nose? The truth is that attractive and ugly don’t exist as part of the facts. If you think it is ugly, ugly doesn’t exist as part of the nose. The nose is located in NY (most of the time), but “ugly” is located in your mind wherever you are. “Ugly” is not part of the nose, the facts, or reality. “Ugly” is a thought about a fact. It is a concept.

When we say that we are suffering because something about our life or who we are is “bad”, we are saying that the facts have made me unhappy. But, the facts haven’t made you unhappy. You have confused the facts with your thoughts about the facts. “Bad” doesn’t exist as part of the facts. That is a strong about the facts. We superimpose “bad” (or “ugly”) onto the facts and claim it is actually part of what we are seeing.

The facts themselves are completely neutral. There’s nothing to hate about yourself because you’re just here being. Who are you? We’re just here, being; nothing else. There is nothing “bad” about you in reality. “Bad” only exists as a thought about something.

I hope this post about how to stop hating yourself was helpful
So why we hate ourselves is because we follow the thoughts in our mind and believe that they’re true. But it has nothing to do with us because we didn’t pick the thoughts, we didn’t put them in our minds, and we didn’t control the teachers (formal and informal) that told us what is good and bad.

Now, come back to this moment. You’re just here; nothing “bad”, nothing to hate my dear Friends.

God Bless !!