YardStick For Life

Category: Morals

  • Thinking “Out of the Box”

    Many hundreds of years ago in a small Italian town, a merchant had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to the moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the merchant’s beautiful daughter so he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the merchant’s debt if he could marry the daughter. Both the merchant and his daughter were horrified by the proposal.
    The moneylender told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty bag. The girl would then have to pick one pebble from the bag. If she picked the black pebble, she would become the moneylender’s wife and her father’s debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father’s debt would still be forgiven.wbpebbles
    But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.
    They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the merchant’s garden. 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 her pebble from the bag.
    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. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.
    2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the moneylender as a cheat.
    3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.
    The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking.
    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 moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an advantageous one.

    MORAL OF THE STORY: Most complex problems do have a solution, sometimes we have to think about them in a different way.

  • The Cracked Pot – A Wonderful Inspirational Story

    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.water-bearer
    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.
    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 the pot 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:
    DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE YOURSELF BY COMPARING YOURSELF WITH OTHERS. IT’S OUR DIFFERENCES THAT MAKE US UNIQUE & BEAUTIFUL.

  • Choices and Consequences

    Five wise men got lost in the forest. The first one said: – I will go the left – my intuition tells me that. The second one said: – I will go the right – because “the right” comes from the word “rightness”. choices-signpost-hiThe third one said: – I will go back – we came from there, it means I will go out from the forest. The fourth one said: – I will go straight – we should move forward, the forest will end and something new will open.

    The fifth said: – You are all wrong. There is a better solution. Wait for me. He found the tallest tree and climbed into it. While he was climbing everyone else scattered towards their own sides. From above he saw where they should go to leave the forest faster. Now he could even see in what order the other wise men will reach the end of the forest. He climbed higher and saw the shortest way. He understood the problem and found the best solution! He knew that he did everything right. And the others were wrong. They were stubborn and they didn’t listen to him. He was the real Wise Man! But he was wrong.

    Everyone was right.
    The one who went to the left, found himself in the thicket. He had to starve and fight with wild animals. But he learned how to survive in the forest; he became a part of the forest and could teach others the same.
    The one, who went to the right, met thieves. They took everything from him and made him steal with them. But after some time, he had woken up something in those thieves that they have forgotten – humanity and compassion. The remorse was so strong in some of them, that after his death they also became the wise men.
    The one, who went back, made a pathway through the forest, which soon became a road for those who wanted to walk in the forest without being afraid of getting lost.
    The one, who went straight, became a pioneer. He visited the places where no one else was and opened wonderful new possibilities for people, amazing healing plants and magnificent animals.
    The one, who climbed into the tree, became a specialist of finding short ways. People turned to him when they wanted to find the fastest way to deal with their problems, even if it didn’t lead to any development.

    This is how the five wise men reached their destiny.
    “Choices made, whether good or bad, follow you forever and affect everyone in your path one way or other”
    “You can’t blame anyone else… no one but yourself. You have to make your own choices & live every challenging day with the consequences of those choices”
    “Sometimes you make choices & sometimes choices make you”
    “One of the most incredible gifts provided to you is your “Power to Choose”

  • The Ship of Friendship

    A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island.
    shipwreck-575907_960_720The two survivors who have been a good friends, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.
    The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man’s parcel of land remained barren.
    After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, there was nothing.
    Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.
    Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island. The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island.
    He considered the other man unworthy to receive God’s blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered.
    As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, “Why are you leaving your companion on the island?”
    “My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them,” the first man answered. “His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything.”
    “You are mistaken!” the voice rebuked him. “He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings.”
    “Tell me,” the first man asked the voice, “What did he pray for that I should owe him anything?”
    “He prayed that all your prayers be answered “

    Moral:
    For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us .Value your friends, don’t leave your loved ones behind.

  • The Cockroach Theory of Self development

    At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a lady. She started screaming out of fear. With a panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach.character-web-desktop-oggy-deedee
    Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group also got panicky.
    The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but …it landed on another lady in the group.
    Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama.
    The waiter rushed forward to their rescue.
    In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter.
    The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough, he grabbed it with his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant.8067-illustration-of-a-waiter-with-wine-glasses-pv

    Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behavior?
    If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed?
    He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos.
    It is not the cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed the ladies.
    I realized that, it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or my wife that disturbs me, but it’s my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me.

    It’s not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me.
    More than the problem, it’s my reaction to the problem that creates chaos in my life.

    Lessons learnt from the story:
    One should not react in life. Rather, One should always respond.
    Here in this case, the women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.
    Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always well thought of, just and right to save a situation from going out of hands, to avoid cracks in relationship, to avoid taking decisions in anger, anxiety, stress or hurry.
    A beautiful way to understand…………LIFE.
    Person who is HAPPY is not because Everything is RIGHT in their Life.
    They are HAPPY because their Attitude towards Everything in their Life is Right !!

  • Two Traveling Angels

    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.wikipe-tan_angel
    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 farmer’s bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren’t always what they seem.”

    Moral of the story:
    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 sometime later…

  • The Talking Bird

    There is an old story about a fellow who lived alone and went to a pet store to buy a parrot. He thought talking-birdthe bird might fill some of his lonely hours. The very next day, however, he came back to complain,
    “That bird doesn’t talk.”
    The store owner asked if he had a mirror in its cage, and the man said he didn’t. “Oh, parrots love mirrors,” he explained. “When he sees his reflection in the mirror, he’ll just start talking away.” So he sold him a birdcage mirror.
    The bird owner was back the next day to gripe that his parrot still hadn’t said a word. “That’s very peculiar,” allowed the pet expert. “How about a swing? Birds really love these little swings, and a happy parrot is a talkative parrot.” So the man bought a swing, took it home, and installed it in the cage.
    But he was back the next day with the same story. “Does he have a ladder to climb?” the salesman asked. “That just has to be the problem. Once he has a ladder, he’ll probably talk your ear off!” So the fellow bought a ladder.
    The man was back at the pet store when it opened the next day. From the look on his face, the owner knew something was wrong. “Didn’t your parrot like the ladder?” he asked. His repeat customer looked up and said, “The parrot died.”
    “I’m so sorry,” the stunned businessman said. “Did he ever say anything?”
    “Well, yes. He finally talked just before he died. In a weak little voice, he asked me, “don’t they sell any bird seed at that pet store?’”
    Some of us have mistakenly thought that happiness consists of lining our cages with toys, gadgets, and other stuff. Excessive consumption has become the hallmark of our life. “Whoever has the most toys wins” seems to be the likely candidate to be the bumper sticker for an entire culture. But is it so?
    There is a spiritual hunger in the human heart that can’t be satisfied by seeing one’s own image reflected back in vanity mirrors, playing with our grown-up toys, or climbing the corporate ladder. Our hearts need real nourishment. The love of family and friends, relationships over the pursuit of more things, personal integrity, a secure connection to God –these are the things that feed the soul.
    Have you chosen a life course that leads to a destination that matters?

  • The Mouse Trap

    A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package. “What food might this contain?” The mouse wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.
    Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed this warning : “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!”case-96184_960_720
    The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, “Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it.” The mouse turned to the pig and told him, “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!” The pig sympathized, but said, “I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.” The mouse turned to the cow and said, “There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!” The cow said, “Wow, Mr. Mouse. I’m sorry for you, but it’s no skin off my nose.”
    So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer’s mousetrap. . . Alone. . ..
    That very night a sound was heard throughout the house — the sound Of a mousetrap catching its prey.
    The farmer’s wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did no see it. It was a venomous snake whose tail was caught in the trap. The snake bit the farmer’s wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital. When she returned home she still had a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup. So the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup’s main ingredient: But his wife’s sickness continued. Friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. But, alas, the farmer’s wife did not get well… She died. So many people came for her funeral that the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them for the funeral luncheon. And the mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness. So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and you think it doesn’t concern you, remember — When one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another.

    REMEMBER – EACH OF US IS A VITAL THREAD IN ANOTHER PERSON’S TAPESTRY. OUR LIVES ARE WOVEN TOGETHER FOR A REASON.

    One of the best things to hold onto In this world is a FRIEND.

  • Happy and Content Farmer

    There was a farmer in Africa who was happy and content. He was happy because he was content. He was content because he was happy.One day a wise man came to him and told him about the glory of diamonds and the power that goes along with them.content-farmer

    The wise man said, “If you had a diamond the size of your thumb, you could have your own city. If you had a diamond the size of your fist, you could probably own your own country.” And then he went away.
    That night the farmer couldn’t sleep. He was unhappy and he was discontent. He was unhappy because he was discontent and discontent because he was unhappy. The next morning he made arrangements to sell off his farm, took care of his family and went in search of diamonds.
    He looked all over Africa and couldn’t find any. He looked all through Europe and couldn’t find any. When he got to Spain, he was emotionally, physically and financially broke. He got so disheartened that he threw himself into the Barcelona River and committed suicide.
    Back home, the person who had bought his farm was watering the camels at a stream that ran through the farm. Across the stream, the rays of the morning sun hit a stone and made it sparkle like a rainbow. He thought it would look good on the mantel piece. He picked up the stone and put it in the living room. That afternoon the wise man came and saw the stone sparkling. He asked, “Is Hafiz back?” The new owner said, “No, why do you ask?” The wise man said, “Because that is a diamond. I recognize one when I see one.”
    The man said, no, that’s just a stone I picked up from the stream. Come, I’ll show you. There are many more.” They went and picked some samples and sent them for analysis. Sure enough, the stones were diamonds. They found that the farm was indeed covered with acres and acres of diamonds.

    What is the moral of this story? There are five morals:

    1. When our attitude is right, we realize that we are all walking on acres and acres of diamonds. Opportunity is always under our feet. We don’t have to go anywhere. All we need to do is recognize it.
    2. The grass on the other side always looks greener.
    3. While we are dyeing the grass on the other side, there are others who are dyeing the grass on our side. They would be happy to trade places with us.
    4. When people don’t know how to recognize opportunity, they complain of noise when it knocks.
    5. The same opportunity never knocks twice. The next one may be better or worse, but it isnever the same one.

  • The Peaceful Picture

    Once upon a time, a king offered a wonderful prize to the artist who could paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried and the king received thousands of paintings. He studied each one very carefully and finally decided upon two that he really liked. He now had to choose between the two.nature_frame
    The first was a painting of a beautiful, calm lake, with crystal-clear water, surrounded by green, leafy forests and majestic mountains towering in the background. Overhead, the sky was a brilliant blue with scattered, fluffy, white clouds. All the king’s advisers agreed that this painting clearly showed a place of perfect peace.
    The other painting had mountains too, but these were rugged and bare. Above them, was an angry sky from which heavy rain fell and lightning danced. A foaming waterfall tumbled down one side of the mountain. At first glance, the painting did not seem peaceful at all. However, when the king looked more closely, he noticed a tiny bush growing behind the waterfall. There, in the small bush, a mother bird had built her nest. In the midst of the rush of angry water, in the wind and the noise and the cold and the damp, the mother bird sat perfectly still on her nest – in perfect peace.
    The king chose this painting as the one showing peace. When asked why, he replied: “Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, discomfort, trouble or hard work. Peace means to be in the middle of all of these things and yet, to find calm and quiet and gentleness in your heart and to carry on with your life – this is the real meaning of peace.”
    Moral: We can find peace inside us even when everything around us seems to be chaotic.

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