The Carpenter's Story

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor
of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family.

He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by.
The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."

What a shock!
What a shame!
If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well.

So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized that we would have done it differently. 

Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. The plaque on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project."
Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.

Author Unknown

Stop Being Too Hard On Yourself

By SC Chua for Yahoo! Southeast Asia

You never like what you see in the mirror. You are always telling yourself that you you're not good enough and that you shouldn't even bother. You get upset because you didn't go to the gym, ate that chocolate cake, and the list goes on.

Like it or not, we all have an inner critic who is the first one to put ourselves down and dish out the insults. "This is the voice of your Inner Mean Girl. She's negative. She's catty. She's judgmental. She compares your worst to everyone else's best," says Christine Arylo, author of Choosing ME before We and co-founder of Inner Mean Girl Reform School (www.innermeangirl.com), a series of programs that give women tools to transform their self-sabotaging patterns into new self-empowering habits.

The problem when you pay too much attention to that voice? You restrict yourself from trying your best and instead stay stuck in status quo simply because you really believe that you are not good enough. "These negative voices slow you down, and make it way harder—sometimes impossible—to achieve the happiness and success we all deserve," says Amy Ahlers, author of Big Fat Lies Women Tell Themselves.

So how do you shush your Inner Mean Girl? Here are five things you can try.

1. Stop comparing yourself to others.
It won't help if you are keeping up with the Joneses because there will always be someone who is richer, skinnier, smarter, prettier and better. Comparing yourself to others is a sure killer to your self-esteem.

2. There is no such thing as perfect.
Why? Because it is an illusion your inner critic made up. The thing is nobody is perfect and nobody has it perfect as well. In some point of our lives, we are all struggling with something—whether it's in terms of financial, your career, your health, or your relationships. So learn to love your imperfections and bumps in life. Embrace and accept them, and if you want, let them motivate and inspire you to do better.

3. Prioritize and recognize what matters.
Is it really important that you wear branded clothes? Or that not a strand of hair is out of place all the time? We didn't think so. Neither does Catherine Birndorf, MD and co-author of The Nine Rooms of Happiness, who thinks that it is more important to focus on things that deserves priority in your life and not obsessing over the other little things that aren't as necessary. "It's important to recognize who you are, how you do things. Once you have this self-knowledge, you can start to determine where obsessing over details matters and where you can let it go," she says.

4. Stop saying negative things to yourself.
By saying it, you mean it. And by telling yourself that you're not good enough, you'll eventually come to mean it too! To stop pilling on the negatives, do as Arylo suggests. "List the word-for-word statements your Inner Mean Girl uses to get and keep you down and distracted. And then next to every one of her toxic statements, write a self-loving, self-empowering statement. Say these positive affirmations daily for 30 days and you'll make your inner wisdom's muscles stronger than your inner mean girl," she says.

5. Celebrate the small victories.
Small things do really matter, especially in the case of beating your inner critic. So with every achievement you've made—whether big or small—remember to give yourself a pat on the back as an acknowledgement.

"The Frog Race"

Once upon a time there was a bunch of tiny frogs who arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower. A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants. The race began.

Honestly, no one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower. You heard statements such as: "Oh, way too difficult!", "They will never make it to the top." or, "Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!"

The tiny frogs began collapsing, one by one, except for those, who in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher.

The crowd continued to yell, "It is too difficult! No one will make it!" More tiny frogs got tired and gave up. But one continued higher and higher and higher. This one wouldn't give up!

At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower, except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top! Then all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it? A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal?

It turned out that the winner was deaf!

The wisdom of this story is:
Never listen to other people's tendencies to be negative or pessimistic because they take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you - the ones you have in your heart!

Always think of the power words have. “There's life and death in the power of the tongue”(Proverbs 18:21). Because everything you hear and read will affect your actions!

Hakuna Matata (No Worries)

"Lauren," Hank scolded, "you really have got to stop worrying so much. You’ve made it a full-time job! You worried about James failing high school. You worried that the girls would marry deadbeat husbands who wouldn’t provide for them. You worried about our flights getting cancelled before our vacation. Last month, when you had that cold, you even worried about getting the whooping cough, of all things. You worried about all these things, and none of them happened!" 

"See!" Lauren exclaimed. "It worked!" 

How many of us are like Lauren? Sure, she was making a joke, she knew worrying didn’t do any good, but in some situations it seemed to be all she could do. She had long ago fallen into the habit of worrying, and she didn’t know how to fall out of it.

Research studies have revealed that we typically worry five times as much about things that will never happen as about things that actually do occur. That’s a lot of wasted worry! If you’re this distracted, you cannot effectively live up to your potential. Worry will drain your energy and stifle your commitment. Every minute you spend worrying is a minute that you’re not committing. Worry is the opposite of faith, so stop worrying, and deepen your faith.

One good way to combat worry is to commit to memory Reinhold Niebuhr’s "Serenity Prayer": "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." 

Once you’ve accepted the things you cannot change, how do you change the things you can? Simply take a rational approach. Let’s say you have a new job and are worried about making a mistake. The worrying mind quickly jumps to a worst-case — and highly unlikely — scenario: If you make a mistake, you’ll get fired. Rationally, you know this is improbable, but how do you prove it to yourself? It’s simple. First, you break down the chain of events that would lead to your firing. Then you assign a probability to each event; a rough estimate will do.

So what are the real odds of your being fired? Even though each individual probability is just a rough estimate, the total probability, which is the product of all these individual probabilities, is a good ballpark estimate:

Probability of being fired because of a mistake = 0.25 x 0.1 x 0.7 x 0.1 x 0.05 = .0000875, or .00875% (less than one chance in ten thousand).

Now, doesn’t that put things in perspective? This kind of rational approach can help you get a handle on your worries. If the chances of your being fired because of a mistake are less than one in ten thousand, there’s really no reason to worry about it.

I remember the words of the wise baboon, Rafiki (is that an oxymoron?) for the Lion King fans, "Hakuna Matata!", meaning "There are no worries!" Well, that works great if you are living in the jungle ... in a movie. 

However, for today’s real world, I say, "No worries, take action!" Life’s rewards go to those whose actions rise above their excuses ... and their worries. 

So take positive action today and wash away your worries!

"The Wolves Within"

An old Grandfather, whose grandson came to him with anger at a schoolmate who had done him an injustice, said, "Let me tell you a story. I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do. But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times."

He continued, "It is as if there are two wolves inside me; one is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him and does not take offense when no offense was intended. He will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way."

"But the other wolf, ah! He is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit."

The boy looked intently into his Grandfather's eye and asked, "Which one wins, Grandfather?"

The Grandfather solemnly said, "The one I feed."

"Dad May I borrow 75 pesos"

A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.

SON: "Daddy, may I ask you a question?" 
DAD: "Yeah sure, what is it?" replied the man. 
SON: "Daddy, how much do you make an hour?" 
DAD: "That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?" the man said angrily. 
SON: "I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?" 
DAD: "If you must know, I make 150 pesos an hour." 
SON: "Oh," the little boy replied, with his head down, counting.
SON: "Daddy, may I please borrow 75 pesos?" 

The father was furious, "If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I don't work hard everyday for such childish frivolity's." 

The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. 

The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money? After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that 75 pesos and he really didn't ask for money very often.

The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door. "Are you asleep, son?" He asked. "No daddy, I'm awake," replied the boy. "I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier" said the man. "It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you. Here's the 75 pesos you asked for." The little boy sat straight up, smiling. "Oh, thank you daddy!" he exclaimed.

Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills. The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up at his father. "Why do you want more money if you already have some?" the father grumbled. "Because I didn't have enough, but now I do," the little boy replied. 

"Daddy, I have 150 pesos now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you." 

The father could not say a word. He put his arms around his little son, and he hugged him as tears fell down his face.

It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We  should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some  time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts.

Do  remember to share that 150 pesos worth of your time with someone you love.   If we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily  replace us in a matter of hours... But the family & friends we leave  behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.

I May Never See Tomorrow

I may never see tomorrow

There's no written guarantee
And things that happened yesterday
Belong to history.

I cannot predict the future
I cannot change the past
I have just the present moments
I must treat them as my last.

I must use this moment wisely
For it soon will pass away
And be lost forever
As part of yesterday.

I must exercise compassion
Help the fallen to their feet
Be a friend unto the friendless
Make an empty life complete.

The unkind things I do today
May never be undone
And friendships that I fail to win
May nevermore be won.

I may not have another chance
On bended knee to pray
And I thank God with a humble heart
For giving me this day.

UnknownLife in the fast lane.jpg

Life in the Fast Lane

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something.

As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and spun the Jag back to the spot from where the brick had been thrown.

He jumped out of the car, grabbed a kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, "What was that all about and who do you think you are? Just what the heck are you doing?"

Building up a head of steam he went on. "That's a new car and the repairs are going to cost a lot of money! Why did you do it?"

"Please, mister, please. I'm sorry, I didn't know what else to do," pleaded the youngster. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop...." tears were dripping down the boy's chin as he pointed around the parked car.

"It's my brother," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Sobbing, the boy asked the man, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."

Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapes and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be okay.

"Thank you and May God bless you," the grateful child said to him. The man then watched the little boy push his brother down the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long walk back to his Jaguar, a long, slow walk.

He never did repair the side door. He kept the dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention.

God whispers in your soul and speaks to your heart. Sometimes when you don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at you.

It's your choice: Listen to the whisper or wait for the brick.

The Burning Desire..

A young man asked Socrates the secret to success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning. They met. Socrates asked the young man to walk with him toward the river. When the water got up to their neck, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water. The boy struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him there until the boy started turning blue. Socrates pulled his head out of the water and the first thing the young man did was to gasp and take a deep breath of air. Socrates asked, 'What did you want the most when you were there?" The boy replied, "Air." Socrates said, "That is the secret to success. When youwant success as badly as you wanted the air, then you will get it." There is no other secret.

A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishment.

Just like a small fire cannot give much heat, a weak desire cannot produce great results...

"Conquer Your Weakness"

This is a story of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn’t understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move. “Sensei,” the boy finally said, “Shouldn’t I be learning more moves?”

“This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know,” the Sensei replied. Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.

Several months later, the Sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the Sensei intervened. “No,” the Sensei insisted, “Let him continue.”

Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.

On the way home, the boy and Sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind. “Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?”

“You won for two reasons,” the Sensei answered. “First, you’ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”

The boy’s greatest weakness had become his greatest strength.

The Perfect Boss..

There were about 70 scientists working on a very hectic project. All of them were really frustrated due to the pressure of work and the demands of their boss but everyone was loyal to him and did not think of quitting their job.

One day, one scientist came to his boss and told him, "Sir, I have promised my children that I will take them to the exhibition going on in our township so I want to leave the office at 5:30 pm."

His boss replied, "OK, You're permitted to leave the office early today."

The Scientist started working. He continued his work after lunch. As usual, he got involved to such an extent that he looked at his watch only when he felt he was close to completion. The time was 8.30 PM.

Suddenly he remembered the promise he had made to his children.

He looked for his boss but he was not there. Having told him in the morning himself, he closed everything and left for home. Deep within himself, he was feeling guilty for having disappointed his children. He reached home. The children were not there.

His wife alone was sitting in the hall and reading magazines. The situation was explosive; any talk would boomerang on him. His wife asked him, "Would you like to have coffee or shall I straight away serve dinner if you are hungry?"

The man replied, "If you would like to have coffee, I too will have but what about the children?"

Hi wife replied, "You don't know? Your boss came here at 5.15 PM and has taken the children to the exhibition."

What had really happened was ... The boss who granted him permission was observing him working seriously at 5.00 PM. He thought to himself, this person will not leave the work, but if he has promised his children they should enjoy the visit to exhibition. So he took the lead in taking them to exhibition.

The boss does not have to do it every time. But once it is done, loyalty is established. 

Be Careful With Words

A farmer insulted his neighbor. Realizing his mistake, he went to the preacher to ask for forgiveness.

The preacher told him to take a bag of feathers and drop them in the center of town. The farmer did as he was told. Then the preacher asked him to go and collect the feathers and put them back in the bag. 

The farmer tried but couldn't as the feathers had all blown away. When he returned with the empty bag, the preacher said, "The same thing is true about your words. You dropped them rather easily but you cannot retrieve them, so be very careful in choosing your words."

Next time think before you choose your words

Hidden Treasure Amongst Us

A man was exploring some caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled up some clay and left them out in the sun to bake. 

They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man so he took the bag out of the cave with him.

As he strolled along the beach, to pass the time, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could throw. He thought little about it until he dropped one of the balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone. Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found hundreds of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left, then it struck him.

He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of hundreds of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home thousands, but he just threw it away.

You know sometimes, it's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside.

It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it; we see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy.

But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person by God. There is a treasure in each and every one of us. 

The Real Failure

The only real failure is failing to learn from failure.

There is a story of a young reporter who was commissioned to interview an old and successful businessman.

`Sir,' he asked politely, `what has been the secret of your success?' 

The older man leaned back on his leather swivel chair, behind his shining mahogany desk, and replied, `Two words, son, two words: right decisions.'

The reporter wrote it down. Then he asked another question. `And how do you learn how to make right decisions, sir?' he asked.

The successful business man leaned back further and replied, `One word, son, one word: experience.'

The reporter wrote this down, too, and then asked, `Well, sir, how do you acquire experience?'

The older man leaned forward over his desk and whispered conspiratorially, `Two words, son, two words: wrong decisions!'

The only real failure is failing to learn from failure.

"Why Do You Share"

A reporter once asked a farmer to divulge the secret behind his corn, which won the state fair contest year after year. The farmer confessed it was all because he shared his seed with his neighbors.

Why do you share your best seed corn with your neighbors when you're entering the same contest each year as well asked the reporter.

Why sir, said the farmer, didn't you know The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grew inferior corn, cross-pollination would steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbor do the same.

And so it is with other situations in our lives. Those who want to be successful must help their neighbors, friends, relatives to be successful.

Those who choose to live well must help others live well, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all.

This story exemplifies “altruism.”

Altruism Action that benefits another person, including comforting, helping, sharing, rescuing and cooperating. Acts of concern for other people - without any hope of reward

The Noisy Frogs

A farmer came into town and asked the owner of a restaurant if he could use a million frog legs. The restaurant owner was shocked and asked the man where he could get so many frog legs!

The farmer replied, There is a pond near my house that is full of frogs - millions of them. They all croak all night long and they are about to make me crazy! So the restaurant Owner and the farmer made an agreement that the farmer would deliver frogs to the restaurant, five hundred at a time for the next several weeks.

The first week, the farmer returned to the restaurant looking rather sheepish, with two scrawny little frogs. The restaurant owner said, Well... where are all the frogs. The farmer said, I was mistaken. There were only these two frogs in the pond. But they sure were making a lot of noise!

Next time you hear somebody criticizing or making fun of you, remember, it's probably just a couple of noisy frogs. Also remember that problems always seem bigger in the dark. 

Have you ever laid in your bed at night worrying about things which seem almost overwhelming like a million frogs croaking. Chances are pretty good that when the morning comes, and you take a closer look, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.

Leaving the City of Regret

I had not really planned on taking a trip this time of year, and yet I found myself packing rather hurriedly. This trip was going to be unpleasant and I knew in advance that no real good would come of it. I’m talking about my annual “Guilt Trip.”

I got tickets to fly there on Wish I Had airlines. It was an extremely short flight. I got my baggage, which I could not check. I chose to carry it myself all the way. It was weighted down with a thousand memories of what might have been. No one greeted me as I entered the terminal to the Regret City International Airport. I say international because people from all over the world come to this dismal town.

As I checked into the Last Resort Hotel, I noticed that they would be hosting the year’s most important event, the Annual Pity Party. I wasn’t going to miss that great social occasion. Many of the towns leading citizens would be there.

First, there would be the Done family, you know, Should Have, Would Have and Could Have. Then came the I Had family. You probably know ol’ Wish and his clan. Of course, the Opportunities would be present, Missed and Lost. The biggest family would be the Yesterday’s. There are far too many of them to count, but each one would have a very sad story to share.

Then Shattered Dreams would surely make and appearance. And It’s Their Fault would regale us with stories (excuses) about how things had failed in his life, and each story would be loudly applauded by Don’t Blame Me and I Couldn’t Help It.

Well, to make a long story short, I went to this depressing party knowing that there would be no real benefit in doing so. And, as usual, I became very depressed. But as I thought about all of the stories of failures brought back from the past, it occurred to me that all of this trip and subsequent “pity party” could be canceled by ME! I started to truly realize that I did not have to be there. I didn’t have to be depressed. One thing kept going through my mind, I CAN’T CHANGE YESTERDAY, BUT I DO HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE TODAY A WONDERFUL DAY. I can be happy, joyous, fulfilled, encouraged, as well as encouraging. Knowing this, I left the City of Regret immediately and left no forwarding address. Am I sorry for mistakes I’ve made in the past? YES! But there is no physical way to undo them.

So, if you’re planning a trip back to the City of Regret, please cancel all your reservations now. Instead, take a trip to a place called, Starting Again. I liked it so much that I have now taken up permanent residence there. My neighbors, the I Forgive Myselfs and the New Starts are so very helpful. By the way, you don’t have to carry around heavy baggage, because the load is lifted from your shoulders upon arrival. God bless you in finding this great town. If you can find it — it’s in your own heart — please look me up. I live on I Can Do It street.

(Larry Harp)
Submitted by Richard

Irish Luck

His  name was Fleming, and  he  was a poor  Scottish farmer. One day, while  trying to  make a living for  his family, he  heard  a cry for help coming from a nearby  bog. He   dropped his toolsand  ran to the   bog.
There, mired  to his waist in  black  muck, was a  terrified boy, screaming and  struggling  to  free himself. Farmer Fleming  saved  the lad from what could have been  a  slow and  terrifying   death.
The next  day, a  fancy  carriage pulled up to the   Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An   elegantly  dressed nobleman stepped out and  introduced  himself as  the father of  the boy Farmer Fleming  had   saved.
'I want to repay   you,' said  the nobleman. 'You saved my  son's   life.'
'No,  I can't accept  payment  for what I  did,' the Scottish farmer  replied waving  off the offer. At  that moment,  the  farmer's own son came to the door of the family  hovel.
'Is that  your  son?' the  nobleman   asked.'Yes,' the  farmer  replied   proudly.
'I'll make  you  a deal. Let  me provide him with the level  of  education my own son will enjoy  If  the lad is  anything like his  father, he'll no doubt grow to  be a   man we both will be proud of.' And that  he   did.
Farmer Fleming's son  attended  the  very best schools and  in time, graduated from  St. Mary's   Hospital Medical School in London,  and  went on to become known  throughout the  world  as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming,  the discoverer of Penicillin.
Years  afterward,  the same  nobleman's son  who was saved from the  bog was stricken  with  pneumonia.What  saved  his life this  time?   Penicillin.

The name of the  nobleman?   Lord Randolph Churchill ..  His son's   name?Sir  Winston    Churchill.Someone once said:  What  goes  around comes  around.Work like  you don't  need the  money.Love like   you've never been  hurt.Dance  like  nobody's  watching.Sing  like nobody's listening.Live  like it's Heaven on Earth.

Don't we all?

I was parked in front of the mall wiping off my car. I had just come 
from the car wash and was waiting for my wife to get out of work. 
Coming my way from across the parking lot was what society would 
consider a bum. From the looks of him, he had no car, no home, no clean clothes, and no money. There are times when you feel generous but there are other times 
that you just don't want to be bothered. This was one of those "don't 
want to be bothered times." "I hope he doesn't ask me for any money," I thought. 
He didn't. He came and sat on the curb in front of the bus stop but he didn't look 
like he could have enough money to even ride the bus. After a few minutes he spoke. "That's a very pretty car," he said. He was ragged but he had an air of dignity around him. His scraggly blond beard keep more than his face warm. I said, "thanks," and continued wiping off my car.

He sat there quietly as I worked. The expected plea for money never came. As the silence between us widened something inside said, "ask him if he needs any help." I was sure that he would say "yes" but I held true to the inner voice. "Do you need any help?" I asked. He answered in three simple but profound words that I shall never forget. We often look for wisdom in great men and women. We expect it from those of higher learning and accomplishments. I expected nothing but an outstretched grimy hand. He spoke the three words that shook me. 
"Don't we all?" he said.

I was feeling high and mighty, successful and important, above a bum in the street, until those three words hit me like a twelve gauge shotgun. 

Don't we all? 

I needed help. Maybe not for bus fare or a place to sleep, but I 
needed help. I reached in my wallet and gave him not only enough for bus 
fare, but enough to get a warm meal and shelter for the day. Those three little words still ring true. No matter how much you have, no matter how much you have accomplished, you need help too. No matter how little you have, no matter how loaded you are with problems, even without money or a place to sleep, you can give help. Even if it's just a compliment, you can give that. You never know when you may see someone that appears to have it all. They are waiting on you to give them what they don't have. A different perspective on life, a glimpse at something beautiful, a respite from daily chaos, that only you through a torn world can see. Maybe the man was just a homeless stranger wandering the streets. Maybe he was more than that.

Maybe he was sent by a power that is great and wise, to minister to a soul too comfortable in themselves.Maybe God looked down, called an Angel, dressed him like a bum, then said, "go minister to that man cleaning the car, that man needs help." Don't we all?

 (Author Unknown)

The power of appreciation..

“We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.” - Frederick Keonig

I believe that one secret to a happy life is having the ability to see the beauty in simple things. There are many reasons to be thankful for everyday but the problem is that we tend to focus on the bad side rather than the positive side of things. This is a common thought but still we fail to change our perspective.

I think it is human nature to look for answers why things happen. All things negative come to our minds when we're in a difficulty. But why don’t we try to think of what we'll gain from the situation we're in instead of whining? There is nothing wrong with feeling upset or sad because these are valid emotions, signs of being a human. But let us not allow sadness and pessimism get the best of us. After some time, let’s regain our strength and smile again.

What is incredible about children is that they know how to appreciate things. They find happiness in little things. We should be like them. But the problem is that, as we grow old, we get distracted by so many things that we fail to see a lot of blessings we actually have. We fail to see angels that have helped us, experiences that changed us for the better, ill-feelings towards others that made us realize things, and many more.

If only we could see every single blessing in every moment of our lives, we will feel truly special and loved. That is the power of appreciation. It gives you a better perspective of life allowing you to be happy despite the hardships.