Walking barefoot in a muddy puddle

Like most children, one of the things that I enjoyed was to walk barefoot in a muddy puddle after the rain. Every time it rained, I always hoped it would fall heavy enough to fill up those potholes on the ground. I loved the feeling of warm water and slippery mud massaging my feet. It was hypnotizing.

Yesterday I watched a little boy doing the same thing and ended up getting scolded and spanked by his mother whom I was pretty sure was as ‘guilty’ as her son when she was little. Obviously, she didn’t want him to dirty himself. From the look on the face of the boy, he was pretty hurt and confused. In that respect, she had ‘dirtied’ her son.

I reflect that our unhappiness is copied and pasted’ from someone or some experiences in the past. No wonder many adults always complain about blood pressure problem. Maybe what they need is to take off their shoes, walk barefoot into the muddy puddle of life, get dirty and feel the massaging effect of the water and mud on their feet.

A man and his dog

I was reading a blog entry about dogs a moment ago when a story suddenly came to mind. It goes like this:

A dog lover had a German shepherd. One day, he wanted to give it some pretty expensive liquid vitamins. He grabbed the animal by the neck, forced open its mouth and tried to push the spoonful of vitamins down its throat. After struggling to free itself, the dog ran away. Its owner was angry over the wasted vitamins spilled on the floor. But a few minutes later, the dog returned and licked the spoon and spilled liquid.

Sometimes our sincere attempt to right a wrong can be damaging.

I prefer to be angry

A man was very angry with an old friend about some money the latter owed him.

“I tried to contact you so many times to ask for the money you borrowed from me but you never returned my calls. It appears to me that you never had the intention to pay back. What kind of a man are you? I’m very angry with you.”

“I’m terribly sorry. It’s not that I didn’t want to pay you back. I just didn’t have the money then. I just have enough in my wallet now. I’ll give it to you,” said the borrower.

“Keep the money,” said the man. “I prefer to be angry.”

Intelligence in near-death situation

The line that separates intelligence and stupidity can really be thin one at the point of death :) This story just made me burst in laughter!

A doctor, a lawyer, a little boy and a priest were out for a Sunday afternoon flight on a small private plane. Suddenly, the plane developed engine trouble. In spite of the best efforts of the pilot the plane started to go down. Finally the pilot grabbed a parachute, yelled to the passengers that they had better jump, and bailed out.
Unfortunately there were only three parachutes remaining.
The doctor grabbed one and said "I'm a doctor, I save lives, so I must live," and jumped out.
The lawyer then said, "I'm a lawyer and lawyers are the smartest people in the world, I deserve to live!" He grabbed a parachute and jumped.
The priest looked at the little boy and said, "My son, I've lived a long and full life. You are young and have your whole life ahead of you. Take the last parachute and live in peace".
The little boy handed the parachute back to the priest and said, "Not to worry, Father. The 'smartest man in the world' just took off with my back pack."

What do you hear?

A Native American and his friend were in downtown New York City, walking near Times Square in Manhattan. It was during the noon lunch hour and the streets were filled with people. Cars were honking their horns, taxicabs were squealing around corners, sirens were wailing, and the sounds of the city were almost deafening. Suddenly, the Native American said, "I hear a cricket."
His friend said, "What? You must be crazy. You couldn't possibly hear a cricket in all of this noise!"
"No, I'm sure of it," the Native American said, "I heard a cricket."
"That's crazy," said the friend.
The Native American listened carefully for a moment, and then walked across the street to a big cement planter where some shrubs were growing. He looked into the bushes, beneath the branches, and sure enough, he located a small cricket. His friend was utterly amazed.
"That's incredible," said his friend. "You must have super-human ears!"
"No," said the Native American. "My ears are no different from yours. It all depends on what you're listening for."
"But that can't be!" said the friend. "I could never hear a cricket in this noise."
"Yes, it's true," came the reply. "It depends on what is really important to you. Here, let me show you."
He reached into his pocket, pulled out a few coins, and discreetly dropped them on the sidewalk. And then, with the noise of the crowded street still blaring in their ears, they noticed every head within twenty feet turn and look to see if the money that tinkled on the pavement was theirs.
"See what I mean?" asked the Native American. "It all depends on what's important to you."

Who pushed me?

There was a King who had only one daughter. She was very beautiful. One day, he decided that it was time for her to get married. He knew that many young men in his country would want to take her as a wife. But he wanted no less than a brave man with nerve of steel as a potential son in-law. So he put up a test. In his palace there was a pond full of hungry alligators. He then summoned all the young men in the country. They came and gathered around the pond. Most of them were strong young men, mostly knights who had just returned from the battlefield. Each one of them was hoping to be the future son in-law of the King and heir to the throne. But none expected what was to happen. Then the King announced: "Anyone of you brave enough to jump into the pond and come out alive will not only get my daughter's hand in marriage but also anything you ask of me. Believe me, I shall give!" The offer was tempting but obviously not enough to make any of them take the suicidal plunge. Everyone was silent and could only look at one another. Inside the pond, the hungry alligators were swimming about on the surface, waiting for meal. As the minutes went by, suddenly there was a splash. Someone had actually jumped in! Just as everyone was aware of what had happened, a skinny young man was struggling out of the pond, fast enough to avoid the approaching alligators. The King was impressed. He summoned the young man to his presence."You're a very brave man," he said. "Now tell me what is your heart's desire and I shall give it to you as a reward." Puffing heavily and looking terrified, the thin young man said, "I just want to know who pushed me!"

What else can be valuable to us when death is imminent?

The marriage expert

A man in his 40s went to see a marriage counselor to ask for some advice.

“Before I got married, my wife-to-be was the most beautiful person on the planet. But after we got married everyone else was beautiful except her. What’s wrong with me?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” replied the marriage counselor.

“What should I do then?” asked the man again.

“I don’t know,” he said.

“But aren’t you supposed to be a marriage counselor?”

“Yes. But I’m married too.”

The price of pretense

We hear this phrase all the time: be yourself. Well, the truth is we often pretend to be who we are not, consciously or unconsciously…and end up paying a painful price.

A fierce-looking and muscular guy, apparently a loan shark, came into a crowded and noisy coffee shop and called out in a booming voice.
“I’m looking for Leonard!” he said in an angry tone. Silence fell inside the shop. The customers were looking at one another, puzzled. “I’m looking for Leonard!’ he repeated, his voice growing louder. “Anyone of you here by the name of Leonard?” he asked as his eyes scanned every customer in the shop. All the customers kept quite and were frightened. Suddenly, a young man who was sitting at the corner calmly said without even looking at the loan shark, “I’m Leonard. What do you want?” In a flash, the loan shark pounced at him and threw heavy punches and kicks at him. The poor young man was bleeding all over but he hardly fought back. Finally, the assailant broke his fingers, gave one final kick on his ribs which also resulted in several more broken bones and a possible internal bleeding, and left the shop. The other customers, who were horrified by what had happened, came to help the young man. “Call the ambulance!” said one of them. Suddenly, the young man who was still lying on the floor, bleeding and obviously in terrible pain, started to speak. “I’ve got the better of him,” he said, half smiling. “Actually, I’m not Leonard.”

The folly of institutionalised learning

A father was overheard teaching giving his teenage son some advice about education.
Father: You must study hard, son.
Son: Why?
Father: Well, so that you can go to the university someday.
Son: For what?
Father: So you can earn a degree and then go out to the world with a good job.
Son: Why would I need a good job?
Father: So you’ll make more money.
Son: If education is all about making money, I might as well learn to make it now.


The folly of institutionalized learning.

Albert Einstein once said: The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education

The brief history of medicine

2000 B.C. — Here, eat this root
1000 A.D. — That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer.
1850 A.D. — That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion.
1940 A.D. — That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill.
1985 A.D. — That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic.
2000 A.D. — That antibiotic doesn't work anymore. Here, eat this root.

The Mexican fisherman

The American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, "Only a little while." The American then asked, "Why didn't you stay out longer and catch more fish?" The Mexican said, "With this I have more than enough to support my family's needs." The American then asked, "But what do you do with the rest of your time?" The Mexican fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life." The American scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor; eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you will run your ever-expanding enterprise." The Mexican fisherman asked, "But, how long will this all take?" To which the American replied, "15 to 20 years." "But what then?" asked the Mexican. The American laughed and said that's the best part. "When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich, you would make millions." "Millions?...Then what?" The American said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos."

Author unknown

Gandhi's shoes

As Gandhi stepped aboard a train one day, one of his shoes slipped off and landed on the track. He was unable to retrieve it as the train was moving. To the amazement of his companions, Gandhi calmly took off his other shoe and threw it back along the track to land close to the first. Asked by a fellow passenger why he did so, Gandhi smiled. "The poor man who finds the shoes lying on the track," he replied, "will now have a pair he can use."

In the same boat

Two men were out on the ocean in a boat.
One of them began drilling in the bottom of the boat, and the other, aghast said "What are you doing? Stop drilling!".
And the first man replied: "It's all right. I'm only drilling on my side."

Just a different perspective

A newly-elected minister in-charged of rural development went to visit one of the remotest villages in the state. He travelled for many days by car, by boat and on foot. As he surveyed the bleak but inspiring landscape, he turned to the village headman and said: "You're very remote here, aren't you?". He responded: "Remote from what?"

The Creation story

The Creator gathered all of Creation and said,
"I want to hide something from the humans until they are ready for it. It is the realization that they create their own reality."
The eagle said, "Give it to me, I will take it to the moon."
The Creator said, "No. One day they will go there and find it."
The salmon said, "I will bury it on the bottom of the ocean."
"No. They will go there too."
The buffalo said, "I will bury it on the Great Plains."
The Creator said, "They will cut into the skin of the Earth and find it even there."
Grandmother Mole, who lives in the breast of Mother Earth, and who has no physical eyes but sees with spiritual eyes,
said, "Put it inside of them."
And the Creator said, "It is done."

Source: A Sioux Indian story

Things aren't always what they seem

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family.
The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement.
As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it.
When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, "Things aren't always what they seem."
The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night's rest.
When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field.
The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel how could you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him, she accused. The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die.
"Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied.
"When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it."
"Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem."

Sometimes that is exactly what happens when things don't turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage. You might not know it until some time later...

Source unknown

Thomas Edison's burnt factory

It was a cold December night in West Orange, New Jersey. Thomas Edison's factory was humming with activity. Work was proceeding on a variety of fronts as the great inventor was trying to turn more of his dreams into practical realities. Edison's plant, made of concrete and steel, was deemed "fireproof". As you may have already guessed, it wasn't!
On that frigid night in 1914, the sky was lit up by a sensational blaze that had burst through the plant roof. Edison's 24-year-old son, Charles, made a frenzied search for his famous inventor-father. When he finally found him, he was watching the fire. His white hair was blowing in the wind. His face was illuminated by the leaping flames. "My heart ached for him," said Charles. "Here he was, 67 years old, and everything he had worked for was going up in flames. When he saw me, he shouted, 'Charles! Where's your mother?' When I told him I didn't know, he said, 'Find her! Bring her here! She'll never see anything like this as long as she lives.'"
Next morning, Mr. Edison looked at the ruins of his factory and said this of his loss: "There's value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God, we can start anew."

What a wonderful perspective on things that seem at first to be so disastrous. A business failure, divorce, personal dream gone sour . . . whether these things destroy an individual depends largely on the attitude he or she takes toward them. Sort out why it happened, and learn something from the blunders. Think of different approaches that can be taken.
Start over.

Whatever the boss says it is

Come Saturday, Malaysians will go to the polls to elect a new Government. Under the democratic system, they are free to choose a Government they believe credible to rule. And thinking about this big word “CHOICE”, I remember a story:

Enter first applicant. "You understand that this is a simple test we are giving you before we offer you the job you have applied for?" "Yes." "Well, what is two plus two?" "Four." Enter second applicant. "Are you ready for the test?" "Yes." "Well, what is two plus two?" "Whatever the boss says it is." The second applicant got the job.

Which comes first, orthodoxy or the truth?

Source: Anthony de Mello

Breaking of silence

Four monks decided to meditate silently without speaking for two weeks. By nightfall on the first day, the candle began to flicker and then went out.
The first monk said, "Oh, no! The candle is out."
The second monk said, "Aren't we not suppose to talk?"
The third monk said, "Why must you two break the silence?"
The fourth monk laughed and said, "Ha! I'm the only one who didn't speak."

Sleeping pills

The patients in a hospital were given medicines at specific hours in the day. One of them, who was sound asleep, was awakened by a nurse who wanted to give him his sleeping pills.

Sometimes we take things so blindly that we miss out seeing reality.