जीवन का एक रहस्य

एक औरत बहुत महँगे कपड़े में अपने मनोचिकित्सक के पास जाती है और उसे कहती है कि उसे लगता है कि उसका पूरा जीवन बेकार है, उसका कोई अर्थ नहीं है। वे उसकी खुशियाँ ढूँढने में मदद करें।

मनोचिकित्सक ने एक बूढ़ी औरत को बुलाया जो वहाँ साफ़-सफाई का काम करती थी और उस अमीर औरत से बोला - "मैं मैरी से तुम्हें यह बताने के लिए कहूँगा कि कैसे उसने अपने जीवन में खुशियाँ ढूँढी। मैं चाहता हूँ कि आप उसे ध्यान से सुनें।"

तब उस बूढ़ी औरत ने अपना झाड़ू नीचे रखा, कुर्सी पर बैठ गई और बताने लगी - "मेरे पति की मलेरिया से मृत्यु हो गई और उसके 3 महीने बाद ही मेरे बेटे की भी सड़क हादसेमें मौत हो गई। मेरे पास कोई नहीं था। मेरे जीवन में कुछ नहीं बचा था। मैं सो नहीं पाती थी, खा नहीं पाती थी, मैंने मुस्कुराना बंद कर दिया था। मैं खुद का जीवन लेने की तरकीबें सोचने लगी थी। 

तब एक दिन, एक छोटा बिल्ली का बच्चा मेरे पीछे लग गया जब मैं काम से घर आ रही थी। बाहर बहुत ठंड थी इसलिए मैंने उस बच्चे को अंदर आने दिया। उस बिल्ली के बच्चे के लिए थोड़े से दूध का इंतजाम किया और वह सारी प्लेट सफाचट कर गया। फिर वह मेरे पैरों से लिपट गया और चाटने लगा।

उस दिन बहुत महीनों बाद मैं मुस्कुराई । तब मैंने सोचा अगर इस बिल्ली के बच्चे की सहायता करना मुझे ख़ुशी दे सकता है, तो हो सकता है दूसरों के लिए कुछ करके मुझे और भी ख़ुशी मिले। इसलिए अगले दिन मैं अपने पड़ोसी, जो कि बीमार था, उसके लिए कुछ बिस्किट्स बना कर ले गई।

हर दिन मैं कुछ नया और कुछ ऐसा करती थी जिससे दूसरों को ख़ुशी मिले और उन्हें खुश देख कर मुझे ख़ुशी मिलती थी। आज, मैं किसी को नहीं जानती जो मुझे बेहतर खाता-पीता हो और चैन से सोता हो। मैंने खुशियाँ ढूँढी हैं, दूसरों को ख़ुशी देकर।

यह सब सुन कर वह अमीर औरत रोने लगी। उसके पास वह सब था जो वह पैसे से खरीद सकती थी पर उसने वह चीज खो दी थी जो पैसे से नहीं खरीदी जा सकती। हमारा जीवन इस बात पर निर्भर नहीं करता कि हम कितने खुश हैं अपितु इस बात पर निर्भर करता है कि हमारी वजह से कितने लोग खुश हैं।

ख़ुशी मंजिल नहीं, यात्रा है..,वह कल नहीं, आज है..
निर्भरता नहीं, निर्णय है..,यह नहीं कि हम कौन है,
अपितु हमारे पास क्या है।

You Can Make A Difference

As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. However, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. In addition, Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big 'F' at the top of his papers.

At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.

Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners...he is a joy to be around.'

His second grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle.'

His third grade teacher wrote, 'His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest, and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken.'
  
Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class.'

By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume. But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist.  

Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, 'Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to.'

After the children left, she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her 'teacher's pets.'
  
A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.
  
Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in life.

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever had in his whole life.
  
Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer. The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.
  
The story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together.
  
They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, 'Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference.'
  
Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, 'Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you.'

(For you who don't know, Teddy Stoddard is the Doctor at Iowa Methodist in Des Moines that has the Stoddard Cancer Wing.)

Lipstick in School

A certain private school was faced with a unique problem, where a number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick.

They would apply it in the bathroom, which was fine. But after that they would press their lips on the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints.

Every night the maintenance janitor would remove them, and the next day the girls would put them back.

Finally the principal decided that something had to be done.

She called all girls to the bathroom and met them there with the maintenance janitor. She explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night.

To demonstrate how difficult it was to clean the mirrors, she asked the maintenance janitor to show the girls how much effort was required.

He took out a long-handled mop, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it. 

Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.

There are teachers . . .  and then there are educators..!!

Think Different

An engineer in a car manufacturing company designs a world class car.

While trying to bring out the car from the manufacturing area to the showroom, they realized that the car is few inches taller than the entrance.

The engineer felt bad that he didn't notice this one before creating the car. 

The painter said that they can bring out the car and there will be a few scratches on top of the car which could be touched up later.

The engineer said that they can break the entrance, take the car out, and later re-do it. 

A watchman was observing and remarked "The car is only a few inches taller than the entrance so, simply release the air in the tyre, the height of the car will sink and can be easily taken out."

LESSON:

Don't see problems from an expert's point of view. There is always a layman's outlook that gives an alternate solution.

Life issues are also same.

Often, a friend may seem below our stature by few inches, making us seem taller.

Release some air (ego) and adjust the height.

Think Simple. Live Humble.

Love Your Mother

A 16-year old boy asks his mom, "Mom, what are you going to get me for my 18th birthday?"

The mother answers, "son, that's still a long way."

The boy turns 17 and one day he faints. His mom takes him to the hospital and the doctor said, "Madam, your child has a bad heart." The child on the stretcher asked his mother, "did he tell you I'm going to die?"

Mom starts crying. The boy finally recovers on his 18th birthday. He comes home and on his bed was a letter his mom had left him.

The letter said, "son, if you are reading this its because everything went well. Remember the day you asked me what was I giving you on your 18th birthday and I didn't know what to answer you?"

"I gave you my heart" take care of it and Happy Birthday Son!!"

The mother was dead because she had to give up her heart to her son.

Nothing is bigger than mother's heart...

That's why MoM spelled upside down is WoW!!

The Power of Choice

I was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing I noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for me.

He handed me a laminated card and said: 'I'm Wasu, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.'

Taken aback, I read the card. It said: 

Wasu's Mission Statement:
To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment.

This blew me away. Especially when I noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!

As he slid behind the wheel, Wasu said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.'

I said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.'

Wasu smiled and said, 'No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, lassi, water and orange juice.'

Almost stuttering, I said, 'I'll take a lassi.'

Handing me my drink, Wasu said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have The Hindu, Times of India, ET and India Today.'

As they were pulling away, Wasu handed me another laminated card, 'These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.'

And as if that weren't enough, Wasu told me that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him.

Then he advised me of the best route to my destination for that time of day. He also let me know that he'd be happy to chat and tell me about some of the sights or, if I preferred, to leave me with my own thoughts.

'Tell me, Wasu,' I was amazed and asked him, 'have you always served customers like this?'

Wasu smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard about power of choice one day.'

'Power of choice is that you can be a duck or an eagle.' 'If you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. Stop complaining!'

'Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.'

'That hit me right,' said Wasu.

'It is about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So, I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.'
'I take it that has paid off for you,' I said.

'It sure has,' Wasu replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on it.'

Wasu made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles.

A Great Thought:
You don't die if you fall in water, you die only if you don't swim. That's the real meaning of life .

All the best  Eagles...!!

गृहस्थ का मूल मंत्र

संत कबीर रोज सत्संग किया करते थे। दूर-दूर से लोग उनकी बात सुनने आते थे। एक दिन सत्संग खत्म होने पर भी एक आदमी बैठा ही रहा। कबीर ने इसका कारण पूछा तो वह बोला, ‘मुझे आपसे कुछ पूछना है।’

‘मैं गृहस्थ हूं, घर में सभी लोगों से मेरा झगड़ा होता रहता है । मैं जानना चाहता हूं कि मेरे यहां गृह क्लेश क्यों होता है और वह कैसे दूर हो सकता है?’

कबीर थोड़ी देर चुप रहे, फिर उन्होंने अपनी पत्नी से कहा,‘ लालटेन जलाकर लाओ’। कबीर की पत्नी लालटेन जलाकर ले आई। वह आदमी भौंचक देखता रहा। सोचने लगा इतनी दोपहर में कबीर ने लालटेन क्यों मंगाई ।

थोड़ी देर बाद कबीर बोले, ‘कुछ मीठा दे जाना।’ इस बार उनकी पत्नी मीठे के बजाय नमकीन देकर चली गई। उस आदमी ने सोचा कि यह तो शायद पागलों का घर है। मीठा के बदले नमकीन, दिन में लालटेन। वह बोला, ‘कबीर जी मैं चलता हूं।’

कबीर ने पूछा, ‘आपको अपनी समस्या का समाधान मिला या अभी कुछ संशय बाकी है?’ वह व्यक्ति बोला, ‘मेरी समझ में कुछ नहीं आया।’

कबीर ने कहा, ‘जैसे मैंने लालटेन मंगवाई तो मेरी घरवाली कह सकती थी कि तुम क्या सठिया गए हो। इतनी दोपहर में लालटेन की क्या जरूरत। लेकिन नहीं, उसने सोचा कि जरूर किसी काम के लिए लालटेन मंगवाई होगी।’

मीठा मंगवाया तो नमकीन देकर चली गई। हो सकता है घर में कोई मीठी वस्तु न हो। यह सोचकर मैं चुप रहा। 

इसमें तकरार क्या? आपसी विश्वास बढ़ाने और तकरार में न फंसने से विषम परिस्थिति अपने आप 

दूर हो गई।’ उस आदमी को हैरानी हुई। वह समझ गया कि कबीर ने यह सब उसे बताने के लिए

किया था।

कबीर ने फिर कहा, ‘गृहस्थी में आपसी विश्वास से तालमेल बनता है। आदमी से गलती हो तो औरत संभाल ले और औरत से कोई त्रुटि हो जाए तो पति उसे नजर अंदाज कर दे। यही गृहस्थी का मूल मंत्र है।’

Stay Strong

One day a school teacher wrote on the board the following:

9×1=7

9×2=18

9×3=27

9×4=36

9×5=45

9×6=54

9×7=63

9×8=72

9×9=81

9×10=90

When she was done, she looked to the students and they were all laughing at her, because the first equation was wrong.

The teacher said the following,

"I wrote that first one wrong on purpose, because I wanted you to learn something important. This was for you to know how the world out there will treat you. You can see that I wrote RIGHT 9 times, but none of you congratulated me for it; you all laughed and criticized me because of one wrong thing I did." 

So, this is the lesson:

'The world will never appreciate the good you do a million times, but will criticize the one wrong thing you do. But don't get discouraged, always rise above all the laughter and criticism. Stay strong.

Move Out From Comfort Zone

Once there was a king who received a gift of two magnificent falcons from Arabia. 

He gave the precious birds to his head falconer to get them  trained. Months passed and one day the head falconer informed the king that though one of the falcons was flying majestically, soaring high in the sky, the other bird had not moved from its branch since the day it had arrived. 

The king summoned healers and sorcerers from all the land to tend to the falcon, but no one could make the bird fly. 

He presented the task to the member of his court, but the next day, the king saw through the palace window that the bird had still not moved from its branch.

Having tried everything else, the king thought to himself, "Maybe I need someone more familiar with the countryside to understand the nature of this problem." So, he cried out to his court, "Go and get a farmer."

In the morning the king was thrilled to see the falcon soaring high above the palace gardens. He said to his court, "Bring me the doer of this miracle."

The court quickly located the farmer, who came and stood before the king. The king asked him, "How did you make the falcon fly?"

With his head bowed, the farmer said to the king, "It was very easy, your highness......I simply cut the branch where the bird was sitting."

We are all made to fly, to realize our incredible potential as human beings. But at times we sit on our branches, clinging to the things that are familiar to us. The possibilities are endless, but for most of us, they remain undiscovered.

We confine to the familiar, 'comfort zones', 'bad past', 'uncertain future', etc. So, most part of our lives are mediocre instead of being exciting, thrilling and fulfilling.

So, let us learn to destroy the branches of laziness, past or fear we cling to and free ourselves to the glory of flight!!!

What You Sow, You Reap

Once upon a time there was a small time business man from a small village who used to sell butter in the nearby town. 

A big shop owner in the town was his regular customer. The villager used to deliver every month the shop owner the required butter in 1 kg. blocks and in turn he used to get grocery items like sugar, pulses, etc., from the big shop owner.

Once the shop owner decided to weigh the butter and to his surprise every block of butter weighed 900 grams instead of 1 kg.

Next month when the villager came to supply butter, the shop owner was very angry at him and told to leave the shop.

To this the villager replied him courteously, "Sir, I am a very poor villager, I don't have enough money to even buy the required weights for weighing the butter, I usually put the 1 kg sugar you give me on one side of weighing scale and weigh butter on another side."

This simple story very beautifully illustrates that what we give to others comes back to us.