Wisdom Stories

[talwan]

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[h=2]Cat Chasing Its T[/h]

Category: Wisdom Of The Aged​

There is a story told about a cat who discovered that happiness was in his tail.

He kept trying over and over to get it, but all he could do was run around in circles.

Exhausted and frustrated, with this endless pursuit, he eventually stopped.




And then, he discovered that if he'd just go on about his life then it would follow him wherever he went.

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

[h=6]Rest Smart.....
Once there were a group of man - a young hot-blooded guy and a big
number of old folks, doing timber job in a jungle (i.e. chopping down
trees).
This young chap is very hard working. He always continues to work
through his break time and complains that those old folks were
wasting time, having to break few times a day to drink and chat.
As times goes by, this young guy noticed that even though he worked
thru' break time and hardly took a rest... those old folks are chopping
the same amount of trees as he did and sometimes did more than he
did. It was as if those old folks work thru' the break time as he did. So
he decided to work harder the next day...unfortunately the results
were even worse.
One day, one of the old folk invited him for a drink during their break
time. That young guy refused and said he has no extra time to spend!
Then the old man smiled to him and said "It was just a waste of effort
to keep chopping trees without re-sharpening your knife. Sooner or
later you will give up or be so exhausted as you have spent too much
energy." Suddenly the young man realised that actually during break
times while those old folks were having a chat, they were also resharpening
their knife at the same time! And that's how they can chop
faster than him and yet spending lesser time! The old man said "What
we need is efficiency by making use of our skill and ability
intelligently. Only then can we have more times to do other things.
Otherwise you will always keep saying ... I have no time!"

"By taking a short break during work, it would make you feel fresher,
think well and work better after the break!
But by taking a break, it is not to stop work but to rest and re-think our
strategy to go about it from another angle."
So, Think smart, work smart and rest smart.....)
[/h]

 

[talwan]

[h=2]A Story of Hope[/h] Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.




The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words. Days and weeks passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.



As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself.

He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."

Epilogue. . . .There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all of the things you have that money can't buy. "Today is a gift, that's why it is called the present."

 

[talwan]

[h=2]Marble TradeDuring the waning years of the Depression in a small southeastern Idaho community, I used to stop by Mr. Miller's roadside stand for farm-fresh produce as the season made it available. Food and money were still extremely scarce and bartering was used, extensively.[/h]

One particular day, Mr. Miller was bagging some early potatoes for me. I noticed a small boy, delicate of bone and feature, ragged but clean, hungrily appraising a basket of freshly picked green peas. I paid for my potatoes but was also drawn to the display of fresh green peas. I am a pushover for creamed peas and new potatoes. Pondering the peas, I couldn't help overhearing the conversation between Mr. Miller and the ragged boy next to me. "Hello Barry, how are you today?"

"H'lo, Mr. Miller. Fine, thank ya. Jus' admirin' them peas......sure look good."



"They are good, Barry. How's your Ma?"

"Fine. Gittin' stronger alla'time."

"Good. Anything I can help you with "

"No, Sir. Jus' admirin' them peas."

"Would you like to take some home?"

"No, Sir. Got nuthin' to pay for 'em with."

"Well, what have you to trade me for some of those peas?"

"All I got's my prize aggie, best taw around here."

"Is that right? Let me see it."

"Here 'tis. She's a dandy."

"I can see that. Hmmmm, only thing is this one is blue and I sort of go for red. Do you have a red one like this at home?"

"Not 'zackley .....but, almost."

"Tell you what. Take this sack of peas home with you and next trip this way let me look at that red taw."

"Sure will. Thanks, Mr. Miller."

Mrs. Miller, who had been standing nearby, came over to help me. With a smile she said, "There are two other boys like him in our community. All three are in very poor circumstances. Jim just loves to bargain with them for peas, apples, tomatoes or whatever. When they come back with their red marbles, and they always do, he decides he doesn't like red after all and he sends them home with a bag of produce for a green marble, or an orange one, perhaps."

I left the stand, smiling to myself, impressed with this man. A short time later I moved to Utah, but I never forgot the story of this man, the boys and their bartering.

Several years went by, each more rapid than the previous one. Just recently I had occasion to visit some old friends in that Idaho community, and while I was there, I learned that Mr. Miller had just died. They were having his viewing that evening and knowing my friends wanted to go, I agreed to accompany them.

Upon our arrival at the mortuary, we got into line to meet the relatives of the deceased and to offer whatever words of comfort we could. Ahead of us in line were three young men. One was in an Army uniform and the other two had short haircuts, wore dark suits and white shirts, looking like potential or returned missionaries.

They approached Mrs. Miller, standing smiling and looking composed, by her husband's casket. Each of the young men hugged her, kissed her on the cheek, spoke briefly with her and moved on to the casket. Her misty light blue eyes followed them as, one by one, each young man stopped briefly and placed his own warm hand over the cold pale hand in the casket. Each left the mortuary, awkwardly, and wiping his eyes.

Our turn came to meet Mrs. Miller. I told her who I was and mentioned the story she had told me about the marbles. Eyes glistening, she took my hand and led me to the casket. "This is an amazing coincidence," she said. "Those three young men that just left, were the boys I told you about. They just told me how they appreciated the things Jim "traded" them. Now, at last, when Jim could not change his mind about color or size...they came to pay their debt. We've never had a great deal of the wealth of this world," she confided, "but, right now, Jim would have considered himself the richest man in Idaho." With loving gentleness she lifted the lifeless fingers of her deceased husband. Resting underneath were three magnificently shiny, red marbles.

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

Wise Woman
A wise woman who was travelling in the mountains found a precious
stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveller who was
hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The
hungry traveller saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give
it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveller left, rejoicing his
good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him
security for a lifetime.
But, a few days later, he came back to return the stone to the wise
woman. "I've been thinking," he said. "I know how valuable this stone
is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even
more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to
give me this stone."
Sometimes it not the wealth you have but what's inside you that
others need.

 

[talwan]

[h=2]Unconditional Acceptance[/h]

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.

 

[talwan]

Lateral Thinking

Many years ago in a small Indian village, A farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender. The Moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful Daughter. So he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his Daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the Proposal. So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let Providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black Pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag. 1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven. 2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven. 3) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into Jail. They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As They talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he Picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two Black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick A pebble from the bag. Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have Done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you Have told her? Careful analysis would produce three possibilities: 1 The girl should refuse to take a pebble. 2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag And expose the money-lender as a cheat. 3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order To save her father from his debt and imprisonment. Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with The hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral And logical thinking. The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with Traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses The above logical answers. What would you recommend to the Girl to do? Try to answer before scrolling down. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Well, here is what she did .... The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without Looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path Where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles. "Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the Bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I Picked." Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had Picked the white one. And since the money-lender dared not admit his Dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into An extremely advantageous one. MORAL OF THE STORY: Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't Attempt to think. ​

​

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

That's Not My Job
This is a story told about four people named, Somebody, Everybody,
Anybody and Nobody. There was one important job to be done.
Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it, but Nobody did it.
Somebody got angry about it because it was Everybody's job.
Everybody thought Anybody could do it. Nobody realized that
Everybody wouldn't do it.
It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did
what Anybody could have done.

 

[Dr. Anandi Ramakrishnan]

A Life Worth Saving
A man risked his life by swimming through the treacherous riptide to
save a youngster being swept out to sea.
After the child recovered from the harrowing experience, he said to
the man, "Thank you for saving my life.
The man looked into the little boy's eyes and said, "That's okay, kid.
Just make sure your life was worth saving."

 

[nannilam_balasubramanian]

Wisdom stories

Excellent. As regards anybody, nobody, somebody and everybody,
I have heard it earlier too. It has an wonderful meaning behind it.
Thank you for bringing out such a nice wisdom point for the information
of everyone.

Balasubramanian
Ambattur

 

[nannilam_balasubramanian]

A life worth saving is also a very good point to look at similar
to the black pebble story of the girl narrated above.

Balasubramanian
Ambattur

 

[talwan]

[h=2]Hundred Fold Blessings[/h]

​

Three young men were once given three kernels of corn apiece by a wise old sage, who admonished them to go out into the world, and use the corn to bring themselves good fortune.

The first young man put his three kernels of corn into a bowl of hot broth and ate them.

The second thought, I can do better than that, and he planted his three kernels of corn. Within a few months, he had three stalks of corn. He took the ears of corn from the stalks, boiled them, and had enough corn for three meals.

The third man said to himself, I can do better than that! He also planted his three kernels of corn, but when his three stalks of corn produced, he stripped one of the stalks and replanted all of the seeds in it, gave the second stalk of corn to a sweet maiden, and ate the third.

His one full stalk’s worth of replanted corn kernels gave him 200 stalks of corn! And the kernels of these he continued to replant, setting aside only a bare minimum to eat. He eventually planted a hundred acres of corn.With his fortune, he not only won the hand of the sweet maiden but purchased the land owned by the sweet maiden’s father. And he never hungered again.

---

The more you give, the more you get. However that should NOT be the reason for your giving.​

 

[talwan]

Love and Marriage Explained - Nice one http://www.rediffmail.com/cgi-bin/r...joythemasti&isImage=0&BlockImage=0&rediffng=0 http://www.rediffmail.com/cgi-bin/r...joythemasti&isImage=0&BlockImage=0&rediffng=0 http://www.rediffmail.com/cgi-bin/r...joythemasti&isImage=0&BlockImage=0&rediffng=0 http://www.rediffmail.com/cgi-bin/r...joythemasti&isImage=0&BlockImage=0&rediffng=0 A student asks a teacher, "What is love? “The teacher said, "in order to answer your question, go to the wheat field and choose the biggest wheat and come back. http://www.rediffmail.com/cgi-bin/r...joythemasti&isImage=0&BlockImage=0&rediffng=0 But the rule is: you can go through them only once and cannot turn back to pick." http://www.rediffmail.com/cgi-bin/r...joythemasti&isImage=0&BlockImage=0&rediffng=0 The student went to the field, went thru first row, he saw one big wheat, but he wonders....maybe there is a bigger one later. http://www.rediffmail.com/cgi-bin/r...joythemasti&isImage=0&BlockImage=0&rediffng=0 Then he saw another bigger one... But he thinks maybe there is an even bigger one waiting for him. http://www.rediffmail.com/cgi-bin/r...joythemasti&isImage=0&BlockImage=0&rediffng=0 Later, when he finished more than half of the wheat field, he start to realize that the wheat is not as big as the previous one he saw, he know he had missed the biggest one, and he regretted. http://www.rediffmail.com/cgi-bin/r...joythemasti&isImage=0&BlockImage=0&rediffng=0 So, he ended up went back to the teacher with empty hand. http://www.rediffmail.com/cgi-bin/r...joythemasti&isImage=0&BlockImage=0&rediffng=0 The teacher told him, "this is love... You keep looking for a better one, but when later you realize, you have already missed the person." http://www.rediffmail.com/cgi-bin/r...joythemasti&isImage=0&BlockImage=0&rediffng=0 "What is marriage then?" the student asked. http://www.rediffmail.com/cgi-bin/r...joythemasti&isImage=0&BlockImage=0&rediffng=0 The teacher said, "in order to answer your question, go to the corn field and choose the biggest corn and come back. But the rule is: you can go through them only once and cannot turn back to pick." http://www.rediffmail.com/cgi-bin/r...joythemasti&isImage=0&BlockImage=0&rediffng=0 The student went to the corn field, this time he is careful not to repeat the previous mistake, when he reach the middle of the field, he has picked one medium corn that he feel satisfy, and come back to the teacher. http://www.rediffmail.com/cgi-bin/r...joythemasti&isImage=0&BlockImage=0&rediffng=0 The teacher told him, "this time you bring back a corn.... You look for one that is just nice, and you have faith and believe this is the best one you get.... This is marriage." http://www.rediffmail.com/cgi-bin/r...-scans.html&isImage=0&BlockImage=0&rediffng=0http://www.rediffmail.com/cgi-bin/r...masti/join/&isImage=0&BlockImage=0&rediffng=0 ​ http://f5mail.rediff.com/prism/writ...Nice one&els=77d83e96d2427451a7c2954c99b5780chttp://f5mail.rediff.com/prism/writ...Nice one&els=77d83e96d2427451a7c2954c99b5780chttp://www.rediffmail.com/cgi-bin/r...ageNum=8902&isImage=0&BlockImage=0&rediffng=0 . __,_._,___

 

[talwan]

[h=2]A Simple Gesture[/h]

​

Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed that the boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all the books he was carrying, along with two sweaters, a baseball bat, a glove and a small tape recorder. Mark knelt down and helped the boy pick up the scattered articles.



Since they were going the same way, he helped to carry part of the burden. As they walked, Mark discovered the boy's name was Bill, that he loved video games, baseball and history, that he was having a lot of trouble with his other subjects and that he had just broken up with his girlfriend.

Mark went home after dropping Bill at his house. They continued to see each other around school, had lunch together once or twice, then both graduated from junior high school. They ended up in the same high school, where they had brief contacts over the years. Finally the long-awaited senior year came. Three weeks before graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk.

Bill reminded him of the day years ago when they had first met. "Do you ever wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?" asked Bill. "You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn't want to leave a mess for anyone else. I had stored away some of my mother's sleeping pills and I was going home to commit suicide. But after we spent some time together talking and laughing, I realized that if I had killed myself, I would have missed that time and so many others that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up my books that day, you did a lot more. You saved my life."

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
​

 

[talwan]

A woman baked bread for members of her family and an extra one for a hungry passerby.

She kept the extra bread on the Window-sill, for whosoever would take it away.

Every day, a hunch-back came and took away the bread. Instead of expressing gratitude,

he muttered the following words as he went his way:

"The evil you do remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!"

This went on, day after day. Every day, the hunch-back came, picked up the bread and uttered the words: "The evil you do, remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!"

The woman felt irritated. "Not a word of gratitude," she said to herself...

"Everyday this hunch-back utters this jingle! What does he mean?

"One day, out of despiration, she decided to do away with him. "I shall get rid of this hunch-back," she said. And what did she do? She added poison to the bread she prepared for him! As she was about to place it on the window sill, her hands trembled. "What is this I am doing?" she said.

Immediately she threw the bread into the fire, prepared another one and kept it on the window-sill.

As usual, the hunch-back came, picked up the bread and muttered the words:

"The evil you do, remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!"

The hunch-back proceeded on his way, blissfully unaware of the war raging in the mind of the woman. Everyday, as the woman placed the bread on the window-sill, she offered a prayer for her son who had gone to a distant place to seek his fortune. For many months, she had no news of him.. She prayed for his safe return.

That evening, there was a knock on the door. As she opened it, she was surprised to find her son standing in the doorway.. He had grown thin and lean. His garments were tattered and torn. He was hungry, starved and weak. As he saw his mother, he said, "Mom, it's a miracle I'm here. While I was but a mile away, I was so hungry that I collapsed. I would have died, but just then an old hunch-back passed by. I begged of him for a small part of his food, and he was kind enough to give me a whole bread. "As he gave it to me, he said, "This is what I eat everyday: today, I shall give it to you, for your need is greater than mine!"

"As the mother heard those words, her face turned pale and red. She leaned against the door for support. She remembered the poisoned bread that she had made that morning. Had she not burnt it in the fire, it would have been eaten by her own son, and he would have lost his life!

It was then that she realized the significance of the words: "The evil you do remains with you: The good you do, comes back to you!"

Do good and; Don't ever stop doing good, even if it's not appreciated at that time.

 

[talwan]

[h=2]The Stone Soup[/h] There are many variations on the story of stone soup, but they all involve a traveler coming into a town beset by famine. The inhabitants try to discourage the traveler from staying, fearing he wants them to give him food. They tell him in no uncertain terms that there's no food anywhere to be found. The traveler explains that he doesn't need any food and that, in fact, he was planning to make a soup to share with all of them.





The villagers watch suspiciously as he builds a fire and fills a cauldron with water. With great ceremony, he pulls a stone from a bag, dropping the stone into the pot of water. He sniffs the brew extravagantly and exclaims how delicious stone soup is. As the villagers begin to show interest, he mentions how good the soup would be with just a little cabbage in it. A villager brings out a cabbage to share. This episode repeats itself until the soup has cabbage, carrots, onions, and beets-indeed, a substantial soup that feeds everyone in the village.

---​

This story addresses the human tendency to hoard in times of deprivation. When resources are scarce, we pull back and put all of our energy into self-preservation. We isolate ourselves and shut out others. As the story of stone soup reveals, in doing so, we often deprive ourselves and everyone else of a feast.

This metaphor plays out beyond the realm of food. We hoard ideas, love, and energy, thinking we will be richer if we keep to them to ourselves, when in truth we make the world, and ourselves, poorer whenever we greedily stockpile our reserves. The traveler was able to see that the villagers were holding back, and he had the genius to draw them out and inspire them to give, thus creating a spread that none of them could have created alone.

Are you like one of the villagers, holding back? If you come forward and share your gifts, you will inspire others to do the same. The reward is a banquet that can nourish many.​

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