Things aren't always what they seem !

Welcome to 13^th Monday Musings:

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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 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 traveling angels came to spend the night 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 their 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 her the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem."

Moral of the story :

Always evaluate the situation carefully.

Sometimes this 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 sometime later, because Things aren't always what they seems.

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Excellence is a self drive !

Welcome to 12^th Monday Musings:

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A gentleman was once visiting a temple under construction. In the temple premises, he saw a sculptor making an idol of God.

Suddenly he saw, just a few meters away, another identical idol was lying. Surprised he asked the sculptor, do you need two statutes of the same idol.

No said the sculptor. We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage.

The gentleman examined the sculptor. No apparent damage was visible. Where is the damage asked the gentleman?

There is a scratch on the nose of the idol.

Where are you going to keep the idol?

The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar 20 feet high.

When the idol will be 20 feet away from the eyes of the beholder, who is going to know that there is scratch on the nose? The gentleman asked.

The sculptor looked at the gentleman, smiled and said, "The God knows it and I know it ".

The desire to excel should be exclusive of the fact whether someone appreciates it or not.

Moral of the story :

Excellence is a drive from inside not outside, Always strive for excellence.

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Life is a circle !

Welcome to 11^th Monday Musings:

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One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water.

She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?” “You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.” He said, “Then I thank you from my heart.”

As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit.

Years later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease.

Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes.

Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case.

After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all.

Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She began to read the following words:

"Paid in full with one glass of milk"

Signed, Dr. Howard Kelly

Moral of the story :

Life is a circle, whatever we leave behind, we find it forward.

Give your best to life !

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Carpenter !

Welcome to 10^th Monday Musings:

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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 a dedicated career.

When the carpenter finished his work the employer came to inspect the house. He handed the front-door key to the carpenter.

This is your house, he said, my gift to you.

The carpenter was shocked! What a shame!

If he had only known he was building his own, he would have done it all so differently.

We do the most of the things having such thoughts in our mind. But we only realize when it comes back to us. So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building.

Then with a shock we realize we have to live in the house that we have built. If we could do it over, we'd do it much differently. But we cannot go back

Moral of the story :

 You are the carpenter !

Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Life is a do-it-yourself project, someone has said.

Your attitudes and the choices you make today, build the house you live in tomorrow.

Build wisely!

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Cracked Pots !

Welcome to 9^th Monday Musings:

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A water bearer in India had two large pots, each hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.





For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master's house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect to the end for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do.

After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.

"I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you."

"Why?" asked the bearer.

"What are you ashamed of?"

"I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said.

The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the beautiful flowers along the path." Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path, and this cheered it some. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad because it had leaked out half its load, and so again it apologized to the bearer for its failure.

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot's side? 




That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back from the stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house."

Moral of the story :

Each of us has our own unique flaws. We're all cracked pots.

But it's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding. We have just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them.

There is a lot of good out there. There is a lot of good in us! Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape. Remember to appreciate all the different people in your life! Or as I like to think of it-if it hadn't been for the crackpots in my life, it would have been pretty boring and not so interesting....

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

The Harder Knocks !

Welcome to 8^th Monday Musings:

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There was this museum laid with beautiful marble tiles, with a huge marble statue displayed in the middle of the lobby. Many people came from all over the world just to admire this statue. One night, the marble tiles started talking to the marble statue.

Marble Tiles: Hey statue, it's just not fair. Why does everybody from all over the world come all the way here just to step on me while admiring you?

Marble Statue: My dear friend, marble tile, do u still remember that we were actually from the same cave?

Marble Tiles: Yes! that's why I feel it is even more unfair. We were born from the same cave and yet we receive different treatment now. Not fair!

Marble Statue: Then, do you still remember the day when the designer tried to work on you but you resisted the tools?

Marble Tiles : Yes, I hate that guy, how could he use those tools on me?

Marble Statue : Well, he couldn't work on you, when he decided to give up on you and start working on me instead. I knew at once that I would be something different after his efforts. I bore all the painful tools he used on me!

Marble Statue continued: My friend, there is a price to everything in life, since you decided to give up half way, you can't blame anybody who steps on you now.!

Moral of the story :

The harder the knocks you go through in life, the more you learn and put them to use in the future!  Do not be discouraged by setbacks and failures. Don't resist change embrace it.

Who knows, these setbacks & failures and the fears that come with change may the tools for your success tomorrow!!................................

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Life is an Echo !

Welcome to 7^th Monday Musings:

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A father and his son were walking in the mountains. Suddenly, the son falls, hurts himself and screams: AAAhhhhhhhhhhh !"

To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating, somewhere in the mountain: "AAAhhhhhhhhhhh !". Curious, he yells: "Who are you?"

He receives the answer: "Who are you?"

Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!"

He receives the answer: "Coward!"

He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?"

The father smiles and says: "My son, pay attention." And then he yells to the mountain: "I admire you!"

The voice answers: "I admire you!"

Again the man yells: "You are a champion!"

The voice answers: "You are a champion!"

The boy is surprised, but does not understand. Then the father explains: "People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE. It gives you back everything you say or do. Our life is simply a reflection of our actions.

If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart. If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence. This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life; life will give you back everything you have given to it.

Moral of the story :

Your life is not a coincidence. It's a reflection of you !

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh