The Obstacles in our Path

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway.
Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it.
Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but no one did anything to move the big stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables.
On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been.
The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many others never understand.

Reflections :
“Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one's condition”.
Blaming others is not the solution for all the problems.
The story portrays the importance of taking initiative.

It’s Never Too Late

It was an unusually busy day for the hospital staff on the sixth floor. Ten new patients were admitted and Nurse Susan spent the morning and afternoon checking them in. Her friend Sharron, an aide, prepared ten rooms for the patients and made sure they were comfortable. After they were finished she grabbed Sharron and said, “We deserve a break. Let’s go eat.”  Sitting across from each other in the noisy cafeteria, Susan noticed Sharron absently wiping the moisture off the outside of her glass with her thumbs. Her face reflected a weariness that came from more than just a busy day.

“You’re pretty quiet. Are you tired, or is something wrong?” – Susan asked. Sharron hesitated. However, seeing the sincere concern in her friend’s face, she confessed, “I can’t do this the rest of my life, Susan. I have to find a higher-paying job to provide for my family. We barely get by. If it weren’t for my parents keeping my kids, well, we wouldn’t make it.” Susan noticed the bruises on Sharron’s wrists peeking out from under her jacket.

“What about your husband?” “We can’t count on him. He can’t seem to hold a job. He’s got . . . problems.” “Sharron, you’re so good with patients, and you love working here. Why don’t you go to school and become a nurse? There’s financial help available, and I’m sure your parents would agree to keep the kids while you are in class.” “It’s too late for me, Susan; I’m too old for school. I’ve always wanted to be a nurse, that’s why I took this job as an aide; at least I get to care for patients.”

“How old are you?” – Susan asked. “Let’s just say I’m thirty-something.”

Susan pointed at the bruises on Sharron’s wrists. “I’m familiar with ‘problems’ like these. Honey, it’s never too late to become what you’ve dreamed of. Let me tell you how I know.” Susan began sharing a part of her life few knew about. It was something she normally didn’t talk about, only when it helped someone else. “ I had an abusive husband….”Now it didn’t matter if the bruises showed. Susan continued, “I soon discovered that waitresses with grim faces didn’t get tips, so I hid behind a smiling mask and pressed on. I remarried and had a daughter. She became my reason for living, until she went to college.

“Then I was back where I started, not knowing what to do with myself – until the day my mother had surgery. I watched the nurses care for her and thought: I can do that. The problem was, I only had an eighth-grade education. Going back to high school seemed like a huge mountain to conquer. I decided to take small steps toward my goal. The first step was to get my GED. My daughter used to laugh at how our roles reversed. Now I was burning the midnight oil and asking her questions.” Susan paused and looked directly in Sharron’s eyes. “I received my diploma when I was forty-six years old.”

Tears streamed down Sharron’s cheeks. Here was someone offering the key that might unlock the door in her dark life. “The next step was to enroll in nursing school. For two long years I studied, cried and tried to quit. But my family wouldn’t let me. I remember calling my daughter and yelling, ‘Do you realize how many bones are in the human body, and I have to know them all! I can’t do this, I’m forty-six years old!’ But I did. Sharron, I can’t tell you how wonderful it felt when I received my cap and pin.”

Sharron’s lunch was cold, and the ice had melted in her tea by the time Susan finished talking. Reaching across the table and taking Sharron’s hands, Susan said, “You don’t have to put up with abuse. Don’t be a victim – take charge. You will be an excellent nurse. We will climb this mountain together.”

Sharron wiped her mascara-stained face with her napkin. “I had no idea you suffered so much pain. You seem like someone who has always had it together.”

“I guess I’ve developed an appreciation for the hardships of my life,” Susan answered. “If I use them to help others, then I really haven’t lost a thing. Sharron, promise me that you will go to school and become a nurse. Then help others by sharing your experiences.”

Sharron promised. In a few years she became a registered nurse and worked alongside her friend until Susan retired. Sharron never forgot her colleague or the rest of her promise. Now Sharron sits across the table taking the hands of those who are bruised in body and soul, telling them,

“It’s never too late. We will climb this mountain together.”

Tips to keep cool in summer

Visit amusement parks
As an example - Wonderla in Bangalore

Water sports and amusement parks in metro cities and other major cities offer loads of fun along with adventure and at the same time allows you to sooth your sweat glands.

Fruits, coconut, special Indian summer drinks and soothing foods are what you need to replace your high calorie and fatty foods to stay cool and enjoy your travel in India.

Green tea is a good option which also is a great source of antioxidants.

Water intake should be over 8 glasses. Due to excessive sweating water, salts and mineral lose is high hence a glass of lemonade made of lemon extract, sugar and salt would be helpful to replenish vital substances required for active life during hot days.

“Ragi” a drink rich in iron and calcium makes a very enriching drink to beat the heat in the India summer. This drink made with ground ragi and buttermilk is a popular drink for many Indians.

Another popular drink is the “lassi” and is a life saver for many Indians during the summer.

Try to eat high water content raw salad over cooked meals. Eating a lot of cucumbers and lettuce is a good idea when eating out. If you’re not used to eating street food then its best avoided.

Butter milk and “shrikhand” are other great refreshing Indian summer drinks that you must give them a try.

Always carry bottle with you.

Protect yourself from the heat
Wear shades in the Indian summer

Wear shades
Sun tanning and rashes due to harsh sun rays is a common in Delhi and Rajasthan. If you are not from a topical country then barring the heat in some of the hottest places in India becomes even more difficult.

Apply some sun cream lotion to protect yourself from the sun. Make sure that the SPF is at least 30.

In addition to modern spas, you will also get a chance to treat yourself with the traditional Ayurvedic massages typically the cooling mud baths and packs, shirodhara, herbal spa etc which are known for its soothing sensations to beat the heat while also helping to remove skin toxins.

Beware of sunstrokes in the summer, wear loose fitting cotton clothes, and cover your head preferably with cotton scarf or cap to prevent direct exposure of your head to sun. Light colour clothes work even better and reflect away the sun rays keeping you cool.

Nice, aerating shoes should be the preferred footwear to avoid sweat and grime developing into fungus or athlete’s foot. I wear flip flops or leather sandals in the summer.

A pair of sunglasses will do wonders to keep that glaring heat away from eyes.

You can also wear a cap to prevent the sun getting to your face.
Choose the right place to visit in the summer

It is best time of the year to enjoy your stay is by choosing to hide in the hill stations of the country. Help yourself to get the glimpse of the beauty of the hills while keeping away from heat of the plains. The hill stations  are splendid getaways.
Dal Lake Srinagar

Dal Lake Srinagar. Source: shahbasharat's photostream Flickr

Some of the popular hill stations are:

Manali – It was also known as summer capital by the British. Manali is situated at an altitude of 2,050 metres in the valleys of River Beas in the state of Himachal Pradesh.

Gulmarg Hill Station – It is also known as the “Meadow of Flowers” situated in the Baramula district of Jammu and Kashmir. Its scenic beauty with the lush green slopes, flowers of different colours and the valleys come together to create an illusion of a dreamland.

Leh in Ladakh – Leh is the capital of Ladakh and is the centre of Tibetan-Buddhist culture. Ladakh is also favourite destination for adventurous people. Some of the places to visit in Ladakh include Khardung La, Pangong Tso, Nubra Valley and Zanskar.

Srinagar – Srinagar is the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir. It is set around the beautiful Dal Lake, where houseboats (or shikharas), carry tourists on boat rides around the lake.

Munnar, Ooty and Kodikanal are popular hill stations situated in South India. These places provide great summer vacations ideal for summer getaways both natives and tourists alike.

We have some great summer getaways. Even if you do wish to travel, all you need to do is to keep yourself cool.

Laughter is indeed the Best Medicine

Many years ago, Norman Cousins was diagnosed as “terminally ill”. He was given six months to live. His chance for recovery was 1 in 500.He could see the worry, depression and anger in his life contributed to, and perhaps helped cause, his disease. He wondered, “If illness can be caused by negativity, can wellness be created by positivity?”

He decided to make an experiment of himself. Laughter was one of the most positive activities he knew. He rented all the funny movies he could find – Keaton, Chaplin, Fields, the Marx Brothers. (This was before VCRs, so he had to rent the actual films.) He read funny stories. He asked his friends to call him whenever they said, heard or did something funny. His pain was so great he could not sleep. Laughing for 10 solid minutes, he found, relieved the pain for several hours so he could sleep. He fully recovered from his illness and lived another 20 happy, healthy and productive years. (His journey is detailed in his book, Anatomy of an Illness.) He credits visualization, the love of his family and friends, and laughter for his recovery.

Give yourself permission to laugh – long and loud and out loud – whenever anything strikes you as funny. The people around you may think you’re strange, but sooner or later they’ll join in even if they don’t know what you’re laughing about. Some diseases may be contagious, but none is as contagious as the cure. . . laughter.

By Peter McWilliams -From “Chicken Soup for the Surviving Soul”

The Three Dolls

A sage presented a prince with a set of three small dolls. The prince was not amused. “Am I a girl that you give me dolls?” – He asked.

“This is a gift for a future king,” Said the sage. “If you look carefully, you’ll see a hole in the ear of each doll.” The sage handed him a piece of string. “Pass it through each doll.” – He said. Intrigued, the prince picked up the first doll and put the string into the ear. It came out from the other ear. “This is one type of person,” said the sage, “whatever you tell him, comes out from the other ear. He doesn’t retain anything.” The prince put the string into the second doll. It came out from the mouth. “This is the second type of person,” said the sage, “whatever you tell him, he tells everybody else.”

The prince picked up the third doll and repeated the process. The string did not come out. “This is the third type of person,” said the sage, “whatever you tell him is locked up within him. It never comes out.” “What is the best type of person?” – Asked the prince.

The sage handed him a fourth doll, in answer. When the prince put the string into the doll, it first came out from the other ear. “Do it again.” – Said the sage.
The prince repeated the process. This time the string came out from the mouth. When he put the string in a third time, it did not come out at all.

“This is the best type of person,” said the sage. “To be trustworthy, a man must know when not to listen, when to remain silent and when to speak out.

The Ripples

A man was sitting by a lake. He was throwing small pebbles into it from time to time. A young boy happened to cross by. He was intrigued to see that after every few minutes or so, the man would toss a pebble into the lake.

The boy went up to the man and said, "Good pastime, this stone throwing, huh?" "Hmmm," said the man. He seemed to be deep in thought and obviously did not wish to be disturbed. Sometime later, the man said softly, "Look at the water, it is absolutely still." The boy said, "Yeah, it is."

The man tossed a pebble into the water and continued, "Only till I toss a pebble into it now do you see the ripples?" "Yeah," said the boy, "they spread further and further."

"And soon, the water is still again," offered the man. The boy said, "Sure, it becomes quiet, after a while." The man continued, "What if we want to stop the ripples? The root cause of the ripples is the stone. Let's take the stone out. Go ahead and look for it." The boy put his hand into the water and tried to take the stone out. But he only succeeded in making more ripples. He was able to take the stone out, but the number of ripples that were made in the process were a lot more than before.

The wise man said, "It is not possible to stop the movement of the water once a pebble has been thrown into it. But if we can stop ourselves from throwing the pebble in the first place, the ripples can be avoided altogether! So too, it is with our minds. If a thought enters into it, it creates ripples. The only way to save the mind from getting disturbed is to block and ban the entry of every superfluous thought that could be a potential cause for disturbance. If a disturbance has entered into the mind, it will take its own time to die down. Too many conflicting thoughts just cause more and more disturbances. Once the disturbance has been caused it takes time to ebb out. Even trying to forcibly remove the thought may further increase the turmoil in the mind. Time surely is a great healer, but prevention is always better than cure."

Before you allow a thought or a piece of information to enter your mind, put it through the triple filter test of authenticity, goodness and value.

Learn to Live While you 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 able 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. Try to be content with the little you have if it comes at the cost of your family. Try and spend as much time as possible with your family and loved ones. For the company in which we work can replace us in a couple of days. But our love ones will miss us forever.

Spending Time With Family

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 able 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. Try and spend as much time with your families and love ones. For the company in which we work can replace us in a couple of days. But our loved ones are irreplaceable.

The Marine’s Father *

A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside. “Your son is here,” she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient’s eyes opened.Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man’s limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.

The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the old man’s hand and offering him words of love and strength. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile.

He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital – the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.

Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her. “Who was that man?” he asked. The nurse was startled, “He was your father,” she answered. “No, he wasn’t,” the Marine replied. “I never saw him before in my life.” “Then why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?”

“I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn’t here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed.”

Sometimes God gives us an opportunity to be a blessing in someone’s life, don’t miss it, for you never know when you might just need one .

Black or White

When I was in elementary school, I got into a major argument with a boy in my class. I have forgotten what the argument was about, but I have never forgotten the lesson I learned that day.

I was convinced that “I” was right and “he” was wrong – and he was just as convinced that “I” was wrong and “he” was right. The teacher decided to teach us a very important lesson.

She brought us up to the front of the class and placed him on one side of her desk and me on the other. In the middle of her desk was a large, round object. I could clearly see that it was black. She asked the boy what color the object was. “White,” he answered.

I couldn’t believe he said the object was white, when it was obviously black! Another argument started between my classmate and me, this time about the color of the object.

The teacher told me to go stand where the boy was standing and told him to come stand where I had been. We changed places, and now she asked me what the color of the object was. I had to answer, “White.”

It was an object with two differently colored sides, and from his viewpoint it was white. Only from my side it was black.

Sometimes we need to look at the problem from the other person’s view in order to truly understand his/her perspective.

Fear of Unknown ..........

A young lady sent me mail regarding the attitude and behavior patterns of Indian parents settled in the US. 

She narrated one incident. She said that during Halloween, children come dressed in scary clothing, crying, "Trick or Treat"! They knock at doors, and collect candies from the people in the houses. Several children participate in this festival, but no Indian child seems to be in the group.

This young lady said Indian parents are seen dragging children to Indian social dos, where the kids do not seem to fit. Why do they do this? The children born there are confused, they mingle in one culture, but are taught the opposite at home. The parents try to teach the children about their culture a little too forcefully. Why?

For adults who go and settle there, it is a cultural shock. The rules of that society are different than ours. Seeing so much of freedom an individual has, can intimidating, at times. There is a value and belief system clash, and these people want to cling to their known beliefs.

The fact that every society has its own culture, which is applicable to that society, seems to not matter. When some outlook appears different from yours, instead of having an open mind, people tend to be offended.

This cultural shock is there even in India. There is a difference in values between the rural and urban located people. Also there is a difference between the outlook of people from North and South India. In the North, people are more liberal, there is more open mingling between the genders. It is accepted there, a casual friendship between a man and a woman.

And when these people go abroad, their sensibilities are further affected. The fact is that values are individual/family based; it works for you, it need not work for someone else. No one is right or wrong, just different.

Every religion or society has a deep culture. When you are ignorant of something, you will fear it. You always end up fearing the unknown. So it makes sense to become knowledeable about the society you are in and see the salient, positive points. Have an open mind to understanding different cultures, even if you cannot find yourself accepting them.

If you just admonish your children from doing something, or force them to do something, you will end up antagonizing them. They will either rebel openly, or develop passive-aggressive behavior. If, on the other hand, you take the trouble of understanding the culture of the society you have decided to live in, then you can teach your kids too. You can teach your own culture, about other cultures and make your kids more knowledgeable.

If your kids cannot find information at home, they will get it from somewhere else. It could be warped and lead to problems. So age related information should be imparted. When you impart good values, be role model yourself, your children need not stray. When children understand issues, they will generally take a wise decision. You need to foster healthy discussion and be willing to listen.

Encourage your children to learn from different cultures. Your parenting style can lead to a healthy or not so healthy behavior in your children. Your children need not be in America to go astray. It is possible in any country or culture.

When you teach your culture through stories, discussions, showing bright pictures, getting them to participate in festivals, rituals, other social gatherings by dressing in beautiful ethnic clothing and accessories, you arouse the curiosity of your children. They will get attracted to our culture, be willing to imbibe the nuances, and want to learn values. When they see their parents respecting other cultures, they too will.

Parents need to be alert to the influences of society, times and people on their children. They can keep guiding, imparting, encouraging and supporting their children through changing times. Give them enough information, let them choose. When your children are growing up to be confident young adults with help from you, the fear of them straying will not be there.

It is this straying that you fear. You end up clinging to your values, culture and forcing your kids to do the same.

"The Goldfish Bowl...!

Have you ever been saved from embarrassment by a kindly soul who absorbs the ridicule? These are the kind of people who are friends for life. Check this story out. There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened.

It’s never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they’ll never speak to him again as long as he lives. The boy believes his heart is going to stop, he puts his head down and prays — “Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I’m dead meat.”

He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered. As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy’s lap.

The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, “Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!” Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else – Susie.

She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. “You’ve done enough, you klutz!” Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, “You did that on purpose, didn’t you?” Susie whispers back, “I wet my pants once too.”

God always helps us see opportunities that are always around us to do good..We just need to grab them.

The Obstacles in our Path

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but no one did anything to move the big stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables.

On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.As the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been.
The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many others never understand.

Reflections :
“Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one's condition”.
Blaming others is not the solution for all the problems.
The story portrays the importance of taking initiative.

Reflections.. food for thought

"A man took a great pride in his lawn. Once, on his return from a trip abroad, he found a large crop of dandelions in his lawn. He tried every method he knew to destroy them. Still they plagued him.

Finally, he wrote to the department of agriculture. He enumerated all the things he had tried, and closed the letter with the question. "What shall I do now?"

In due course the reply came: "We suggest you learn to love them".

Learnings:

• Cribbing about a weakness becomes another weakness

• Learning to accept a weakness is in itself a strength

• What cannot be cured must be endured

Reflections:

• How do I respond to the dandelions in me?

• How do I respond to the dandelions in others?

• What is the nature of acceptance? 

The Missing Watch...!

There once was a farmer who discovered that he had lost his watch in the barn. It was no ordinary watch because it had sentimental value for him. 
After searching high and low among the hay for a long while; he gave up and enlisted the help of a group of children playing outside the barn. 

He promised them that the person who found it would be rewarded. 

Hearing this, the children hurried inside the barn, went through and around the entire stack of hay but still could not find the watch. Just when the farmer was about to give up looking for his watch, a little boy went up to him and asked to be given another chance. 

The farmer looked at him and thought, “Why not? After all, this kid looks sincere enough.” 

So the farmer sent the little boy back in the barn. After a while the little boy came out with the watch in his hand! The farmer was both happy and surprised and so he asked the boy how he succeeded where the rest had failed. 

The boy replied, “I did nothing but sit on the ground and listen. In the silence, I heard the ticking of the watch and just looked for it in that direction.” 

A peaceful mind can think better than a worked up mind. Allow a few minutes of silence to your mind every day, and see, how sharply it helps you to set your life the way you expect it to be!

Eagle's Dream...!

Once upon a time, at a large mountainside there was an eagle nest with 4 large eagle eggs inside.

One day, an earthquake rocked the mountain causing one of the eggs to roll down to a chicken farm, located in the valley below. The chickens knew that they must protect the eagle egg. 

Eventually, the eagle egg hatched and a beautiful eagle was born. Being chickens, the chickens raised the eagle to be a chicken. The eagle loved his home and family but it seemed his spirit cried out for more.One day, the eagle looked to the skies above and noticed a group of mighty eagles soaring. ”Oh,” the eagle cried, “I wish I could soar like those birds.”The chickens roared with laughter, “You cannot soar like those. You are a chicken and chickens do not soar.” The eagle continued staring at his real family up above, dreaming that he could be like them. Each time the eagle talked about his dreams, he was told it couldn’t be done.That was what the eagle learned to believe. After time, the eagle stopped dreaming and continued to live his life as a chicken. 

Finally, after a long life as a chicken, the eagle passed away.Moral: You become what you believe you are. If you ever dream to become an eagle, follow your dreams, not the words of chickens...