Buddha Wisdom - Thought for the day

There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills.

SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP

A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule "braying" or whatever mules do when they fall into wells.

After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving.

Instead he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened...and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.

Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back...a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back...he should shake it off and step up! This he did blow after blow.

"Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up!" he repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or distressing the situation seemed the old mule fought "panic" and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up!

It was not long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well. What seemed like would bury him, actually blessed him...all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.

That's life! If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness or self-pity...the adversities that come along to bury us usually have within them the potential to benefit and bless us!

Remember forgiveness-faith-prayer-praise and hope.... All are excellent ways to "shake it off and step up", out of the wells in which we find ourselves!

One more thing..."never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the titanic."

Author Unknown

Guardian Angel on guard

Today again my Guardian Angel came to my help. Today while getting down from the train, I was about to fall down, but lo he was there to hold me till I caught my balance back on the feet. Today in the morning I had asked my Guardian Angel to show his presence. And there he was holding me caring me on always on guard to save me from the dangers of life.

Obstacles.....

Obstacles can’t stop you. Problems can’t stop you. Most of all, other people can’t stop you. Only you can stop you. ~Author Unknown

Thought for the day.............

The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. ~William Arthur Ward 

Invisible Guiding Soul Mate on Guard

Today my Invisible Guiding Soul Mate was on guard.

He saved me from an accident which could have paralysed me for a month with a fractrued broken leg.

Thanks to my Friend Hetal whom I caught at the last minute and was back on my foot.

I thank GOD and my Guiding soul mate to come and help me thru my Friend Hetal.

Thanks Hetal for being there for me.

Love you all.....

PICK UP YOUR OAR AND START ROWING By Michael T. Smith

My boss, two co-workers and I stood behind the hard plastic seats. We were in the front section, on the first-base line at Shea Stadium, home of the New York Mets. We were so close to the infield, there was a protective net over our heads. I was new to the New York City area and had never been to Shea Stadium. These were dream seats. My heart pounded with excitement.

We stood with our umbrellas held high. The rain beat down on everything around us. It bounced off the seats and quickly formed deep puddles on the cover protecting the field.

"Steve," I asked my boss, "How did you get such great seats?"

"They came from Ed at the office. His dad is a blind sports writer and has a long- standing relationship with the Mets and Yankees."

The game was called due to rain. We left the stadium disappointed. On the long subway ride back to Jersey City, I wondered about the man behind the seats. How could a man be blind and be a sports writer?

Years have passed since that rainy night. Old friends back in Canada often ask me, "Mike, have gone to a baseball game in New York yet?"

I say to them, "I've been to a few, but let me tell you about
the best seats I ever had but couldn't use."

Whenever this happens, the memory of that night comes flashing back. I wonder about the blind sports writer. What was his story?

It had to be special.

I sat at my computer one night. An email popped into my in-box. I didn't recognize the return address. The subject line said, "Inspirational SI article about my dad, Ed Lucas." I was curious.

I opened the email. It was from a gentleman sending me a clip of a story written by Steve Rushin for Sports Illustrated. It was a wonderful read about a special man. Through the article and the man who sent it to me, I learned the full story. The following is a synopsis:

Twelve-year-old Ed Lucas ran home from his school in Jersey City. It was October 3, 1951. He arrived in time to see Bobby Thomson win the pennant for his favorite team, the New York Giants.

After the game, Ed ran out to play ball with his friends. During the game, Ed was hit between the eyes by a line drive. The force of the blow detached both retinas, leaving Ed permanently blind.

Ed became depressed. His mother, Rosanna, took matters into her own hands and took Ed to a Newark, New Jersey men's store.

There, she introduced him to Phil Rizzuto, a part-time employee of the store and a Yankee star. Phil befriended Ed.

Rosanna wasn't done yet. She wrote the Giants Manager, Leo Durocher, about her son. Leo asked her to bring Ed to, what was then called, the Polo Grounds. On June 14, 1952, young Ed sat in the clubhouse with the members of the Giants. It was the beginning of a special relationship.

Ed enrolled in St. Joseph's School for the Blind in Jersey City. The nuns were demanding. Ed learned to make his bed and match his clothes. If he whined about being blind and not being able to do what other kids could, Sister Anthony Marie was quoted saying, "Isn't that a shame? We're all in the same boat here, Ed. Pick up your oar and start rowing."

Ed enrolled in university to study communication arts. He worked hard. He knew no other way. The nuns had made sure of that.

He graduated in 1962 and became a regular in the Shea and Yankee Stadium press boxes, where he interviewed the players. Years later, a young Mets rookie, Ron Swoboda, took Ed by the hand. Together they walked the warning track around the field. Ed traced his fingers along the outfield wall. His fingers, sensitive to reading Braille, seemed to read the history of the park. Every dent, scratch and chip he touched meant something to him.

Later that year, Ed married. He and his wife had two sons - Eddie and Chris. Sadly, at a very young age, their mother left forever. Ed had to raise his two sons alone. With the strength he learned years ago at St. Joseph's, Ed took on the task. He taught his sons to be strong.

It was not uncommon for the two young boys to see Billy Martin in their home. "Huge stars like Mickey Mantle would tell me my dad was their hero," Chris was quoted as saying.

Years later, a friend came to Ed and told him about a nurse, Allison Pfeifle, whose detached retina left her legally blind and unable to continue her profession. He asked Ed to speak to her.

Ed and Allison talked on the phone for many years before meeting in person. They were baseball fanatics and spent their first date at Shea Stadium.

On March 10, 2006, at Yankee Stadium, Allison walked from the dugout to home plate and became Ed's new bride.

With his two sons at his side, Ed started a new life, at the place he holds so dear, and with the woman who captured his heart.

Ed, now 68, was quoted saying, "Baseball took my sight, but it also gave me my life."

***********************

I sat in shock. Could it be? I mailed Chris back and told him about the seats we couldn't use that rainy night.

He confirmed, his father was the man who provided those unused seats. Chris told me later, "They are the first couple in the 80 year history of the stadium to have the honor of marrying there."

I finally knew the story. It was sure worth waiting for.

Michael T Smith

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael lives in Caldwell, Idaho with his wonderful wife Ginny. He writes in his spare time and is completing a collection of his stories to be called, “From My Heart to Yours.” Michael writes inspirational stories in his spare time. To read more of Michael's stories or to contact him, go to http://ourecho.com/biography-353-Michael-Timothy-Smith.shtml#stories

Koshish Karne waalon ki haar nahin hoti

THE MOST POWERFUL WAY TO TALK TO YOURSELF By Adam Kahn

THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT possible ways to talk to yourself. One way is to reassure yourself. For example, before a party you might be feeling a little nervous so you tell yourself, "It's going to be fine. It'll turn out okay."

Another way to talk to yourself is to give yourself advice or instruction. For example, "At the party, focus on drawing people out and getting them to talk about themselves."

Another possible way to talk to yourself is to put yourself down. "I look like hell. I'm a loser."

Or you could ask yourself a question. On your way to the party, you could ask yourself, "What can I do tonight that would make it genuinely fun?"

Of all the possible ways to talk to yourself, asking yourself a question is the most powerful. Questions direct your mind and set trains of thought into motion. That's what makes them so powerful. Questions are generative. They generate thought. And because they are so powerful it really makes a difference to pay attention to the questions you ask yourself and to ask yourself good questions.

Asking yourself a bad question before a party, for instance, can create excessive anxiety and a negative experience. For example, "What if I can't think of anything to say? What if I embarrass myself? What if I'm a loser for the rest of my life and I never get married and live alone and shunned by the world?" The what-if questions are creating a chain of anxious thoughts and images that produce feelings of anxiety. With thoughts like these running through your mind, you arrive at the party feeling nervous and withdrawn. You can't think of anything pleasant to say (because your own anxious thoughts are occupying your mind) and you embarrass yourself with your own awkwardness. Keep this up and your dire predictions of a lonely life could come true — not because you are stupid or ugly or have character flaw, but merely because you never paid attention to the questions you asked yourself, and you never tried to ask yourself high-quality questions.

What makes a good question? That's the obvious next question, isn't it? What makes a question a good question? The answer is simple. A high-quality question has a good result. It focuses your attention on something that makes you effective. It directs your mind to something that helps you successfully handle the situation. A question is good if it leads to a good result.

Bad question: What if they don't like me?
Good question: What is something I could do right now that would make me more likable?
Bad question: What if I fail to accomplish my goal?
Good question: What's the most important thing I could do to make sure I accomplish my goal?

A high-quality question is one that produces an end-result you desire. Check in on the questions you ask yourself (you'll have to pay attention because your thoughts are happening automatically much of the time) and then ask this question: "What is the result of asking myself that question?"

If the result isn't good, ask yourself, "What result do I want?" And when you decide on a result, ask yourself, "What question can I ponder that would help me achieve that result?" Don't settle for the first thing that pops into your head! Think about it. Make a list. Force yourself to come up with ten good possible questions.

Then choose the best question — the one that will produce the best result — and practice asking yourself that question. Literally practice. Ask that question many times. Get used to asking it. Make it familiar and comfortable and automatic.

There are certain times when it would help to ask yourself that question. Practice asking that question at those times.

For example, when Katie is preparing for an interview, she doesn't want to obsess about her automatic questions, "What if they don't want me?" and "What if I make a fool of myself in the interview?" She is fully aware that those questions don't put her in the best frame of mind to have a successful interview.

She decides that a good question to ponder is, "How can I help these people?" That will put her in just the right attitude for an interview. That's a question that will produce a good result. So while she is getting dressed for the interview, she asks herself that question. She ponders it. When her mind wanders, she comes back to that question. And in the car, on the way to the interview, she thinks about it some more, trying to think of ways she can help her future employers. Whenever her mind drifts to her worries, she asks herself, "Yes, but how can I help these people?" And even walking into the interview, she is wondering how she can help them.

What do you think would be the difference between Katie sitting down for an interview wondering, "What if they don't want me?" versus sitting down wondering, "How can I help these people?" What kind of difference would she have in attitude? In her demeanor? In her level of stress hormones? In her focus — outward focus versus inward focus? I think you can see it would be a large and visibly obvious difference. The second question would make her more effective in the interview. The second question is more likely to lead to a good result.

Asking yourself a good question is a very powerful tool. What great things do you think it can help you achieve? Good question.

Ask yourself questions that lead to good results.

Voyage of Life

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes ~ Marcel Proust

THE POWER OF "WE"

As a leader, do you honor and appreciate the power of WE? Do you stop to thank and recognize the members of your team? Do you consistently show an attitude of gratitude?

The story of Charles Plumb is inspiring and emphasizes the value of each individual of a team. Captain Charles Plumb, a graduate of the Naval Academy, whose plane, after 74 successful combat missions over North Vietnam, was shot down. He parachuted to safety, but was captured, tortured and spent 2,103 days in a small box-like cell.

After surviving the ordeal, Captain Plumb received the Silver Star, Bronze Star, the Legion of Merit and two Purple Hearts, and returned to America and spoke to many groups about his experience and how it compared to the challenges of every day life.

Shortly after coming home, Charlie and his wife were sitting in a restaurant. A man rose from a nearby table, walked over and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!"

Surprised that he was recognized, Charlie responded, "How in the world did you know that?" The man replied, "I packed your parachute." Charlie looked up with surprise. The man pumped his hand, gave a thumbs-up, and said, "I guess it worked!"

Charlie stood to shake the man's hand, and assured him, "It most certainly did work. If it had not worked, I would not be here today."

Charlie could not sleep that night, thinking about the man. He wondered if he might have seen him and not even said, "Good morning, how are you?" He thought of the many hours the sailor had spent bending over a long wooden table in the bottom of the ship, carefully folding the silks and weaving the shrouds of each chute, each time holding in his hands the fate of someone he didn't know.

Plumb then began to realize that along with the physical parachute, he needed mental, emotional and spiritual parachutes. He had called on all these supports during his long and painful ordeal.

As a leader, how many times a day, a week, a month, do we pass up the opportunity to thank those people in our organization who are "packing our parachutes?"

Take Time - Unknown

Take time to laugh

It is the music of the soul.

Take time to think
It is the source of power.

Take time to play
It is the source of perpetual youth.

Take time to read
It is the fountain of wisdom.

Take time to pray
It is the greatest power on earth.

Take time to love and be loved
It is a God-given privilege.

Take time to be friendly
It is the road to happiness

Take time to give
It is too short a day to be selfish

Take time to work
It is the price of success.

- Author Unknown

Defination of ME