Know the problem !

Welcome to 5^th Monday Musings:

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One fine day, a bus driver went to the bus garage, started his bus, and drove off along the route. No problems for the first few stops-a few people got on, a few got off, and things went generally well. At the next stop, however, a big hulk of a guy got on. Six feet eight, built like a wrestler, arms hanging down to the ground. He glared at the driver and said, "Big John doesn't pay!" and sat down at the back.

Did I mention that the driver was five feet three, thin, and meek? Well, he was. Naturally, he didn't argue with Big John, but he wasn't happy about it. The next day the same thing happened - Big John got on again, made a show of refusing to pay, and sat down, and the next day, and the one after that and so forth.

This annoyed the bus driver, who started losing sleep over the way. Big John was taking advantage of him. Finally he could stand it no longer. He signed up for body building courses, karate, judo, and all that good stuff.

By the end of the summer, he had become quite strong; what's more, he felt really good about himself. 

So on the next Monday, when Big John once again got on the bus and said, "Big John doesn't pay!," 

The driver stood up, glared back at the passenger, and screamed, "And why not?"

With a surprised look on his face, Big John replied, "Big John has a bus pass."

Moral of the story :

Be sure there is a problem in the first place before working hard to solve one.

Make it a great Week!

Shailesh

Dealing with Situations !

Welcome to 4^th Monday Musings:

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One day Buddha was walking through a village.  A very angry and rude young man came up and began insulting him.

"You have no right teaching others," he shouted. "You are as stupid as everyone else. You are nothing but a fake."

Buddha was not upset by these insults.  Instead he asked the young man "Tell me, if you buy a gift for someone, and that person does not take it, to whom does the gift belong?"

The man was surprised to be asked such a strange question and answered,   "It would belong to me, because I bought the gift."

The Buddha smiled and said,   "That is correct. And it is exactly the same with your anger.  If you become angry with me and I do not get insulted, then the anger falls back on you.  You are then the only one who becomes unhappy, not me. All you have done is hurt yourself."

"If you want to stop hurting yourself, you must get rid of your anger and become loving instead. When you hate others, you yourself become unhappy. But when you love others, everyone is happy."

The young man listened closely to these wise words of the Buddha.  "You are right, o Enlightened One "he said. "Please teach me the path of love. I wish to become your follower."

The Buddha answered kindly, "Of course. I teach anyone who truly wants to learn. Come with me."

Moral of the story :

Life will always put you in situations, where you feel like troubled, insulted, puzzled  or else.

It is up to you what you accept, and what you reject. Accept only those things which are justified and can make you happy.

Remember: Life is full of choices and Happiness depends on what you choose.

Make it a great Week!

Shailesh

Sharpen Your Axe !

Welcome to 3^rd Monday Musings:

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Once upon a time, there was a very strong woodcutter. He asked for a job from a timber merchant and he got it.

The pay was really good and so were the work conditions. For those reasons the woodcutter was determined to do his best. His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he was supposed to work.

The first day, the woodcutter brought down 18 trees. The boss was very much impressed and said, "Congratulations! Keep it up!"

Very motivated by the words of the boss, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he could bring down only 15 trees.

The third day he tried even harder, but he could bring down only 10 trees.

Day after day he was bringing down less and less trees. "I must be losing my strength" the woodcutter thought to himself.

He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on. "When was the last time you sharpened your axe?" the boss asked.

"Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees!"

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Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we don't take time to sharpen the axe. In today's world, it seems that everyone is busier than ever, but less happy than ever. Why is that? Could it be that we have forgotten how to stay sharp?

There is nothing wrong with activity and hard work. But we should not get so busy that we neglect other important things in life, like our personal life, taking time to care for others, taking time to read, etc.

We all need to find time to think and meditate, to learn and grow. If we don't take time to sharpen the axe, we will become dull and lose our effectiveness

Sharpening of Axe is applicable in all Walks of Life.

Make it a great Week!

Shailesh

                 

Never Panic In Times Of Stress

Welcome to 2^nd Monday Musings:

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A wealthy man decided to go on a safari in Africa . He took his faithful pet dog along for company. 

One day the dog starts chasing butterflies and before long he discovers that he is lost. Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the obvious intention of having lunch. 

The dog thinks, "Boy, I'm in deep trouble now." Then he notices some bones on the ground close by, and immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching leopard. Just as the leopard is about to leap, the dog exclaims loudly, "Mmm, that was one delicious leopard. I wonder if there are any more around here?" 

Hearing this the leopard halts his attack in mid stride, as a look of terror comes over him, and slinks away into the trees. "Whew", thinks the leopard. "That was close. That dog nearly had me." 

Meanwhile a monkey, who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So, off he goes. But the dog sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up. 

The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard. The cat is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine."

Now the dog sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back, and thinks," What am I going to do now?" 

But instead of running away, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet. 

And just when they get close enough to hear, the dog says, "Where's that monkey? I just can never trust him. I sent him off half an hour ago to bring me another leopard, and he's still not back!" 

Hearing this, the leopard darts off to safety. 

Moral of the story :

Never panic in times of stress. There's always a way out.

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

A Story of Two Pebbles !

Welcome to 1^st Monday Musings:

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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)  she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.

3)  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.  girl should refuse to take a pebble.

2.  girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the money-lender as a cheat.

3.  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?

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.

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh