New Thread: "Motivational/Inspirational Articles"

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

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POWER OF PRAYER

Diane, a young university student, was home for the summer. She had gone to visit
some friends one evening and time passed quickly as each shared their various
experiences of the past year. She ended up staying longer than planned, and had to
walk home alone.

She wasn't afraid because it was a small town and she lived only a few blocks away.
As she walked along under the tall elm trees, Diane asked God to keep her safe from
harm and danger.
When she reached the alley, which was a short cut to her house, she decided to take it.
However, halfway down the alley she noticed a man standing at the end as though he
were waiting for her.

She became uneasy and began to pray, asking for God's protection. Instantly a
comforting feeling of quietness and security wrapped around her, she felt as though
someone was walking with her.
When she reached the end of the alley, she walked right past the man and arrived
home safely. The following day, she read in the newspaper that a young girl had been
raped in the same alley just twenty minutes after she had been there. Feeling
overwhelmed by this tragedy and the fact that it could have been her, she began to
weep.
Thanking the Lord for her safety and to help this young woman, she decided to go to
the police station. She felt she could recognize the man, so she told them her story.
The police asked her if she would be willing to look at a lineup to see if she could
identify him. She agreed and immediately pointed out the man she had seen in the
alley the night before. When the man was told he had been identified, he immediately
broke down and confessed.
The officer thanked Diane for her bravery and asked if there was anything they could
do for her. She asked if they would ask the man one question. Diane was curious as to
why he had not attacked her. When the policeman asked him, he answered, "Because
she wasn't alone. She had two tall men walking on either side of her.”
Moral of the story.... Don't underestimate the power of Prayer!

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

Many faces of God
When your child asks what does God look like, how would you answer?

One glorious late afternoon Michael and his mother sat cuddled together on the porch swing as they welcomed the serenity of dusk. The air was crisp and the sky was ablaze with the extraordinary hues of nature's palate. This was a special time they shared together. On this particular night Michael was filled with wonder and curiosity as he turned to his mother and asked, "Mommy, what does God look like?" His mother looked at him and said, "The faces of God are many my love."
The night I met your father; The day we married and our souls became one; And the morning I held you as a newborn in my arms and gazed upon your angelic face; I knew what God looked liked.
The moment I watched a double rainbow emerge from the violent storm clouds; The daybreak when the morning sky was filled with magnificent shades of magenta, lavender, and sapphire; And the twilight when I witnessed the brilliant sunset illuminate the mountains; I knew what God looked like.
The evening you became very ill and I stayed up comforting you throughout the night; The moments I prayed for your healing; And the dawn when you awoke smiling and healthy; I knew what God looked like.
The day your beautiful sister was entrusted into our family; The moment I watched as you tenderly held her for the first time; And the instant you told her you were her big brother; I knew what God looked like.
The days when our whole family hugged and no one wanted to let go; The twilight when our loved ones joined the Lord in heaven; And finally, the nights when we, as a family, gave thanks for all the blessings in our lives; I knew what God looked like.
Michael interrupted and said rather impatiently, but Mommy you still have not told me what God looks like. His mother smiled and said, "My darling, As our days and nights unfold the precious moments we experience are woven together to form the fabric of our lives, each thread bearing the face of God. In every gift, in every challenge, in every blessing, in every obstacle, in all that is beautiful and all that is changing you can see God's face revealed. By being aware of God's divine presence in our lives, we will always know what God looks like."
Michael and his mother continued to cuddle on the porch swing as they watched day turn to night. As the sun disappeared over the horizon, the stars emerged one by one, glistening like diamonds against the deep blue background of the night sky. The heavenly constellations appeared and shooting stars began to race across the vastness of the universe. The air was filled with peace, love, and wonder as Michael turned to his mother and said, "Mommy, now I know what God looks like."

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

Attitude

​

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact attitude has on life.
Attitude to me is more important than facts.
It is more important than the past, than education,
than money, than circumstances, than failures,
than successes, than what other people think or say or do.
It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.
It will make or break a company...a church...a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday
regarding the attitude we will embrace for the day.
We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact
that people will act in a certain way.

We cannot change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have,
and that is our attitude.
I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and
90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you.
We are in charge of our attitudes.
​

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

[h=6]Thinking is not a waste of time...

Henry Ford hired an efficiency expert to go through his plant. He said, "Find the nonproductive people. Tell me who they are, and I will fire them!"

The expert made the rounds with his clipboard in hand and finally returned to Henry Ford's office with his report. "I've found a problem with one of your administrators," he said. "Every time I walked by, he was si...tting with his feet propped up on the desk. The man never does a thing. I definitely think you should consider getting rid of him!" When Henry Ford learned the name of the man the expert was referring to, Ford shook his head and said, "I can't fire him. I pay that man to do nothing but think - and that's what he's doing."
[/h]

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

[h=3] Poison
[/h]
Attitude changes everything

A long time ago, a girl named Li-Li got married and went to live with her husband and mother-in-law. In a very short time, Li-Li found that she couldn't get along with her mother-in-law at all. Their personalities were very different, and Li-Li was angered by many of her mother-in-law's habits. In addition, she criticized Li-Li constantly.

Days passed days, and weeks passed weeks. Li-Li and her mother-in-law never stopped arguing and fighting. But what made the situation even worse was that, according to ancient Chinese tradition, Li-Li had to bow to her mother-in-law and obey her every wish. All the anger and unhappiness in the house was causing the poor husband great distess.

Finally, Li-Li could not stand her mother-in-law's bad temper and dictatorship any longer, and she decided to do something about it.

Li-Li went to see her father's good friend, Mr. Huang, who sold herbs. She told him the situation and asked if he would give her some poison so that she could solve the problem once and for all. Mr. Huang thought for awhile, and finally said, Li-Li, I will help you solve your problem, but you must listen to me and obey what I tell you. Li-Li said, "Yes, Mr. Huang, I will do whatever you tell me to do." Mr. Huang went into the back room, and returned in a few minutes with a package of herbs. He told Li-Li, "You can't use a quick-acting poison to get rid of your mother-in-law, because that would cause people to become suspicious. Therefore, I have given you a number of herbs that will slowly build up poison in her body. Every other day prepare some pork or chicken and put a little of these herbs in her serving. Now, in order to make sure that nobody suspects you when she dies, you must be very careful to act very friendly towards her. Don't argue with her, obey her every wish, and treat her like a queen." Li-Li was so happy. She thanked Mr. Huang and hurried home to start her plot of murdering her mother-in-law.

Weeks went by, and months went by, and every other day, Li-Li served the specially treated food to her mother-in-law. She remembered what Mr. Huang had said about avoiding suspicion, so she controlled her temper, obeyed her mother-in-law, and treated her like her own mother. After six months had passed, the whole household had changed. Li-Li had practiced controlling her temper so much that she found that she almost never got mad or upset. She hadn't had an argument in six months with her mother-in-law, who now seemed much kinder and easier to get along with.

The mother-in-law's attitude toward Li-Li changed, and she began to love Li-Li like her own daughter. She kept telling friends and relatives that Li-Li was the best daughter-in-law one could ever find. Li-Li and her mother-in-law were now treating each other like a real mother and daughter. Li-Li's husband was very happy to see what was happening.

One day, Li-Li came to see Mr. Huang and asked for his help again. She said, "Dear Mr. Huang, please help me to keep the poison from killing my mother-in-law! She's changed into such a nice woman, and I love her like my own mother. I do not want her to die because of the poison I gave her." Mr. Huang smiled and nodded his head. "Li-Li, there's nothing to worry about. I never gave you any poison. The herbs I gave you were vitamins to improve her health. The only poison was in your mind and your attitude toward her, but that has been all washed away by the love which you gave to her."

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

[h=6]The Cookie Thief....

A woman was waiting at an airport one night,
With several long hours before her flight.
She hunted for a book in the airport shops.
... Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.

She was engrossed in her book but happened to see,
That the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be.
Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between,
Which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene.

So she munched the cookies and watched the clock,
As the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock.
She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by,
Thinking, "If I wasn't so nice, I would blacken his eye."

With each cookie she took, he took one too,
When only one was left, she wondered what he would do.
With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh,
He took the last cookie and broke it in half.

He offered her half, as he ate the other,
She snatched it from him and thought... oooh, brother.
This guy has some nerve and he's also rude,
Why he didn't even show any gratitude!

She had never known when she had been so galled,
And sighed with relief when her flight was called.
She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate,
Refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate.

She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat,
Then she sought her book, which was almost complete.
As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise,
There was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.

If mine are here, she moaned in despair,
The others were his, and he tried to share.
Too late to apologize, she realized with grief,
That she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.

"How many times in our lives,
have we absolutely known
that something was a certain way,
only to discover later that
what we believed to be true ... was not"?
[/h]

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

[h=6]The Most Beautiful Heart
One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley.

A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was perfect. There was not a mark or a flaw in it. Yes, they all agreed it truly was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen. The young man was very proud and boasted more loudly a...bout his beautiful heart.

Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said, "Why your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine." The crowd and the young man looked at the old man's heart. It was beating strongly, but full of scars, it had places where pieces had been removed and other pieces put in, but they didn't fit quite right and there were several jagged edges. In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where whole pieces were missing.

The people stared ­ "How can he say his heart is more beautiful?" they thought.

The young man looked at the old man's heart and saw its state and laughed. "You must be joking," he said. "Compare your heart with mine, mine is perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears."

"Yes," said the old man, "Yours is perfect looking but I would never trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom have given my love - I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them, and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the empty place in my heart, but because the pieces aren't exact, I have some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love we shared."

"Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person hasn't returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges - giving love is taking a chance. Although these gouges are painful, they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too, and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting. So now do you see what true beauty is?"

The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks.

He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man with trembling hands. The old man took his offering, placed it in his heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it in the wound in the young man's heart. It fit, but not perfectly, as there were some jagged edges.

The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more beautiful than ever, since love from the old man's heart flowed into his.

They embraced and walked away side by side.

"Love is strong in its passion; affection is powerful in its gentleness"
[/h]

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

[h=2]Determination and Persistencehttp://academictips.org/blogs/determination-and-persistence/ http://academictips.org/blogs/determination-and-persistence/#comments
[/h] http://academictips.org/blogs/category/moral-stories/ This is a real life story of engineer John Roebling building the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, USA back in 1870. The bridge was completed in 1883, after 13 years.

---

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.

Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.
Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.
The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was also injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to talk or walk.
“We told them so.” “Crazy men and their crazy dreams.” “It’s foolish to chase wild visions.”
Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built.
In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever. He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task.
As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.

It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.
He touched his wife’s arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.
For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife’s arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man’s indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.

"Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.

Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realised with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are." Anandi

 

[C RAVI]

Great Motivational/Inspirational Articles, Anandi...Thanks for sharing all these with all of us here...

Here I go, sharing one motivational article that I received by email...

------------------



While I was in a Restaurant, suddenly a cockroach flew from somewhere and sat on a lady standing a little away from me.

She started screaming out of fear. With panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach. Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group got cranky to what was happening. The lady finally managed to push the cockroach to another lady in the group.

Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama. The waiter rushed forward to their rescue.

In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter.

The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt.

When he was confident enough, he grabbed and threw it out with his fingers.

Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering:

- Was the cockroach responsible for the ladies' histrionic behavior?

- If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed? He handled it near to perfection - without any chaos or drama.

- So, it was not the cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed them.


I also realized even in my case then, it is not the shouting of my father or scolding of my boss that disturbs me, but it's my own inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturb me.


Similarly, it's not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused in my mind by the traffic jam that disturbs me.

More than the problem, it's my own reaction to the problem that hurts me!


The Take-Away:

- The women reacted but the waiter responded.

- We must not react in life; we should always respond.

- Reactions are instinctive; responses are intellectual.

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

Thank you so much Ravi Bhai.. You are always welcome...Please keep on sharing your valuable contributions whenever you get time. With warm regards.. Anandi

What is in a Name?
Akbar said to Birbal, “We Muslim’s have Allah, Christians have Christ, Buddhists have Buddha. But you Hindus worship so many Gods. Why is it so?
Birbal said : ” God is one but His names are many.”
Akbar: “How is it possible? How can God assume so many forms and yet only be one?”
Birbal summoned a servant who was wearing a turban. He pointed to it and said: “What is that?”
Servant said: “ A turban”
Birbal : “ Untie it, roll it and. tie it to your waist”
When he had done so, Birbal asked, “ What is that”
Servant answered : “ A kamarbhand”
Birbal, turning to Akbar. “ You have seen how the same cloth acquires different names when performing different functions. So also water can be a cloud when in sky; it is rain when it falls to earth; it is river when it flows, ice when it freezes.
Similarly God is one but is called by different names by different people
Moral
We name things according to our own perceptions. It is important to bear in mind that the name is not the thing named. Just as map is not the territory it refers to. Sometime it is useful to think and view a thing in entirety apart from its name or utility.
As far as the God is concerned we give forms to Him according to our perception

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

[FONT=&quot]Unconditional Acceptance[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]When Andrew got ready for work one Friday morning, he announced to his wife that he finally decided to ask his boss for a salary raise. All day Andrew felt nervous and apprehensive as he thought about the upcoming showdown. What if Mr. Larchmont refuses to grant his request? Andrew had worked so hard in the last 18 months and landed some great accounts for Braer and Hopkins Advertising Agency. Of course, he deserves a wage increase.[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]The thought of walking into Larchmont's office left Andrew weak in the knees. Late in the afternoon he finally mustered up the courage to approach his superior. To his delight and surprise, the ever-frugal Harvey Larchmont agreed to give Andrew a raise!

Andrew arrived home that evening-despite breaking all city and state speed limits-to a beautiful table set with their best china, and candles lit. His wife, Tina had prepared an exquisite meal including his favorite dishes. Immediately he figured someone from the office tipped her off!

Next to his plate Andrew found a beautiful lettered note. It was from his wife. It read: "Congratulations, my love! I knew you'd get the raise! I prepared this dinner to show just how much I love you. I am so proud of your accomplishments!" He read it and stopped to reflect on how sensitive and caring Tina was.

After dinner, Andrew was on his way to the kitchen to get dessert and he observed that a second card had slipped out of Tina's pocket on to the ceramic floor. He bent forward to retrieve it. He read: "Don't worry about not getting the raise! You deserve it anyway! You are a wonderful provider and I prepared this dinner to show you just how much I love you even though you did not get the increase."

Suddenly tears swelled in Andrew's eyes. Total acceptance! Tina's support for him was not conditional upon his success at work[/FONT]

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

Chanakya's Quotes - Worth reading a million times…

"A person should not be too honest.
Straight trees are cut first
and Honest people are victimised first."
Chanakya quotes (Indian politician, strategist and writer, 350 BC 75 BC)

"Even if a snake is not poisonous,
it should pretend to be venomous."

"The biggest guru-mantra is: Never share your secrets with anybody. ! It will destroy you."

"There is some self-interest behind every friendship.
There is no Friendship without self-interests.
This is a bitter truth."

"Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions - Why am I doing it, What the results might be and Will I be successful. Only when you think deeply
and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead."

"As soon as the fear approaches near, attack and destroy it."

"Once you start a working on something,
don't be afraid of failure and
don't abandon it.
People who work sincerely are the happiest."

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

Once upon a time, a pair of pheasants lived close to the Sea. They spent their time happily singing and dancing on the branches of the trees by the Sea. One day the female pheasant told her husband that she was expecting their baby and he must look for a safe place to lay the eggs. The husband said, “My dear, this Seaside is enchanting and it is better you lay eggs here only.”
The wife said, “When it is full moon, the Sea tide can wash away even wild elephants. Let us go elsewhere.”
Amused, the husband said, “What you say is true. But the Sea has no power to harm us. Haven't you heard that there is no fool who could stop the flight of a bird or a fool who would enter fire recklessly. Will anyone be brash enough to challenge Yama (the Lord of Death) to take his life if he can? You can lay your eggs here only
Listening to this dialogue, the Sea thought, “How vain is this bird which is as small as a worm! Let me drown these eggs and see what he can do.”
After laying eggs, the female bird went in search of food. In her absence, the Sea sent a wave that sucked the eggs into the waters. The female returned to the nest and, not finding the eggs there, told the husband, "You are a fool. I told you that the waves would wash away the eggs.

Those who do not heed the good words of a friend will perish. The survivors are those who foresee the danger in time and those who deal with it when it comes. Those who leave things to fate and believe in luck will destroy themselves.

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

On the very first day, God created the cow. He said to the cow, "Today I have created you! As a cow, you must go to the field with the farmer all day long. You will work all day under the sun! I will give you a life span of 50 years."
The cow objected, "What? This kind of a tough life you want me to live for 50 years? Let me have 20 years, and the 30 years I'll give back to you." So God agreed.
On the second day, God created the dog. God said to the dog, "You are supposed to do is to sit all day by the door of your house. Any people that come in, you will have to bark at them! I'll give a life span of 20 years."
The dog objected, "What? All day long to sit by the door? No way! I give you back my other 10 years of life!" So God agreed.
On the third day, God created the monkey. He said to the monkey, "Monkeys have to entertain people. You've got to make them laugh and do monkey tricks. I'll give you 20 years life span."
The monkey objected. "What? Make them laugh? Do monkey faces and tricks? Ten years will do, and the other 10 years I'll give you back." So God agreed.
On the fourth day, God created man and said to him, "Your job is to sleep, eat, and play. You will enjoy very much in your life. All you need to do is to enjoy and do nothing. This kind of life, I'll give you a 20 year life span."
The man objected. "What? Such a good life! Eat, play, sleep, do nothing? Enjoy the best and you expect me to live only for 20 years? No way, man!....Why don't we make a deal? Since the cow gave you back 30 years, and the dog gave you back 10 years and the monkey gave you back 10 years, I will take them from you! That makes my life span 70 years, right?" So God agreed.

AND THAT'S WHY.... In our first 20 years, we eat, sleep, play, enjoy the best and do nothing much. For the next 30 years, we work all day long, suffer and get to support the family. For the next 10 years, we entertain our grandchildren by making monkey faces and monkey tricks. And for the last 10 years, we stay at home, sit by the front door and bark at people.....) Great Isn't it.....???????
 

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION

Jack and Max are walking from religious service. Jack wonders whether it would be
all right to smoke while praying.
Max replies, "Why don't you ask the Priest?"
So Jack goes up to the Priest and asks, "Priest, may I smoke while I pray?"
But the Priest says, "No, my son, you may not. That's utter disrespect to our religion."
Jack goes back to his friend and tells him what the good Priest told him.
Max says, "I'm not surprised. You asked the wrong question. Let me try."


And so Max goes up to the Priest and asks, "Priest, may I pray while I smoke?"
To which the Priest eagerly replies, "By all means, my son. By all means

The reply you get depends on the question you ask.
For Example: Can I work on this project while I'm on vacation? May effective communication is the need the of the hour....

 

[valli]

Unconditional Acceptance
When Andrew got ready for work one Friday morning, he announced to his wife that he finally decided to ask his boss for a salary raise. All day Andrew felt nervous and apprehensive as he thought about the upcoming showdown. What if Mr. Larchmont refuses to grant his request? Andrew had worked so hard in the last 18 months and landed some great accounts for Braer and Hopkins Advertising Agency. Of course, he deserves a wage increase. The thought of walking into Larchmont's office left Andrew weak in the knees. Late in the afternoon he finally mustered up the courage to approach his superior. To his delight and surprise, the ever-frugal Harvey Larchmont agreed to give Andrew a raise!

Andrew arrived home that evening-despite breaking all city and state speed limits-to a beautiful table set with their best china, and candles lit. His wife, Tina had prepared an exquisite meal including his favorite dishes. Immediately he figured someone from the office tipped her off!

Next to his plate Andrew found a beautiful lettered note. It was from his wife. It read: "Congratulations, my love! I knew you'd get the raise! I prepared this dinner to show just how much I love you. I am so proud of your accomplishments!" He read it and stopped to reflect on how sensitive and caring Tina was.

After dinner, Andrew was on his way to the kitchen to get dessert and he observed that a second card had slipped out of Tina's pocket on to the ceramic floor. He bent forward to retrieve it. He read: "Don't worry about not getting the raise! You deserve it anyway! You are a wonderful provider and I prepared this dinner to show you just how much I love you even though you did not get the increase."

Suddenly tears swelled in Andrew's eyes. Total acceptance! Tina's support for him was not conditional upon his success at work

Dear Anandi

This reminded me of the day when my father's much awaited promotion results were announced in his office. Everyone in the family as well as in my dad's office were sure that the result would be positive, but due to very tight competition my dad missed out that year (got it the next year anyway).

We (me and my sibling) were eagerly expecting to go out for dinner that night and were disappointed that we would not be going (missing out on a night out dinner was more disappointing for us than our father's negative result! That age!).

But our father decided that we would go out as planned and that his personal disappointment should not affect the family's joy of a night out!! I can never forget that day!

Thanks for the opportunity to share this.

Kind regards

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

[h=6]CONSIDERATION

One day, a ten - year - old boy went to an ice-cream shop, sat at a table and asked the
waitress, “How much is an ice-cream cone?”

She said, “fifteen rupees.”

The boy started counting the coins he had in his head. Then he asked how much a small
cup of ice-cream was.

The waitress impatiently replied, “Ten rupees”. The boy said, “I will have the small ice-
cream cup.”

He had his ice-cream, paid the bill and left. When the waitress came to pick up the
empty plate, she was touched. Underneath were five one rupee coins as tip. The little
boy had consideration for the waitress before he ordered his ice-cream. He showed
sensitivity and caring. He thought of others before himself.

"If we all thought like the little boy, we would have a great place to live. Show
consideration, courtesy, and politeness. Thoughtfulness shows a caring attitude.")
[/h]

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name. Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down.


It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.

That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.
On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. 'Really?' she heard whispered. 'I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!' and, 'I didn't know others liked me so much,' were most of the comments.

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.
Several years later, one of the students was killed in Vietnam and his teacher attended the funeral of that special student. She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked so handsome, so mature.

The church was packed with his friends.. One by one those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin.

As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to her. 'Were you Mark's math teacher?' he asked. She nodded: 'yes.' Then he said: 'Mark talked about you a lot.'

After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his teacher.
'We want to show you something,' his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket 'They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it.'

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. The teacher knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him.

'Thank you so much for doing that,' Mark's mother said. 'As you can see, Mark treasured it.'

All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, 'I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home.'

Chuck's wife said, 'Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album.'

'I have mine too,' Marilyn said. 'It's in my diary'
Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. 'I carry this with me at all times,' Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she continued: 'I think we all saved our lists'

That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.

The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be.

So please, tell the people you love and care for, that they are special and important.. Tell them, before it is too late.

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

Sleeping Through the Storm
A young man applied for a job as a farmhand. When the farmer asked
for his qualifications, he said, "I can sleep when the wind blows." This
puzzled the farmer. But he liked the young man, and hired him.
A few days later, the farmer and his wife were awakened in the night
by a violent storm. They quickly began to check things out to see if all
was secure. They found that the shutters of the farmhouse had been
securely fastened. A good supply of logs had been set next to the
fireplace.
The young man slept soundly.
The farmer and his wife then inspected their property. They found that
the farm tools had been placed in the storage shed, safe from the
elements.
The tractor had been moved into the garage. The barn was properly
locked. Even the animals were calm. All was well.
The farmer then understood the meaning of the young man's words,
"I can sleep when the wind blows."
Because the farmhand did his work loyally and faithfully when the
skies were clear, he was prepared for the storm when it broke. So
when the wind blew, he was not afraid. He could sleep in

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

You are Wonderful... A fantastic story worth reading many times....
The following true story captured our heart. It happened several years
ago in the Paris opera house. A famous singer had been contracted
to sing, and ticket sales were booming. In fact, the night of the
concert found the house packed and every ticket sold. The feeling of
anticipation and excitement was in the air as the house manager took
the stage and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for your
enthusiastic support. I am afraid that due to illness, the man whom
you've all come to hear will not be performing tonight. However, we
have found a suitable substitute we hope will provide you with
comparable entertainment." The crowd groaned in disappointment
and failed to hear the announcer mention the stand-in's name. The
environment turned from excitement to frustration.
The stand-in performer gave the performance everything he had.
When he had finished, there was nothing but an uncomfortable
silence. No one applauded. Suddenly, from the balcony, a little boy
stood up and shouted, "Daddy, I think you are wonderful!" The crowd
broke into thunderous applause.
We all need people in our Lives who are willing to stand up once
in a while and say, "I think you are wonderful”

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

Once it was asked by one of my Friend, "What is the secret behind your happy married life?"

I said, "You should share responsibilities with due love and respect each other. Then absolutely there will be no problems."

He asked, "Can you explain?"

I said, "In my house, I take decisions on bigger issues where as my wife decides on smaller issues. We do not interfere in each other's decisions."

Still not convinced, Friend asked me "Give me some examples"
I said, "Smaller issues like, which car we should buy, how much amount to save, when to visit home town, which Sofa, air conditioner, refrigerator, monthly expenses, whether to keep a maid or not etc are decided by my wife. I just agree to it"
He asked, "Then what is your role?"
I said, "My decisions are only for very big issues. Like whether America should attack Iran, whether Britain should lift sanction over Zimbabwe, whether to widen African economy, whether Sachin Tendulkar should retire, etc etc and My wife NEVER, EVER objects to any of these …"

Be Happy Always ...

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

Selflessness
A rich man said to his friend, "Why it is everyone is always criticizing
me for being miserly. Everyone knows that I have made provision to
leave everything I have to charity when I die?" "Well," said the
minister, "let me tell you about a story about the pig and the cow. The
pig was complaining to the cow one day about how unpopular he
was. "People are always talking about your gentleness and your
kindness," said the pig. "You give milk and cream. But I give even
more. I give bacon and ham. I give bristles and they even pickle my
feet! Still no one likes me; I'm just a pig. Why is this?" The cow
thought for a minute, and then said, "Well, maybe it's because I give
while I'm still living.

 

[nannilam_balasubramanian]

Both are nice.

Balasubramanian
Ambattur