Suddenly, a cockroach flew from somewhere and sat on a lady. I wondered if this was the cockroaches response to all the glory that was spoken about it!
She started screaming out of fear. With panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach. Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group got cranky to what was happening. The lady finally managed to push the cockroach to 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 behaviour of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough, he grabbed and threw it out with his fingers.
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 behaviour? 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 realised even in my case then, it is not the shouting of my father or my boss that disturbs me, but its my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me. Its 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, its my reaction to the problem that hurts me.
The Take-Away : The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.
We should not react in life, we should always respond. Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always intellectual
Showing posts with label story. Show all posts
Showing posts with label story. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Monday, May 02, 2011
Never Quit
Never Quit... A small story
One day I decided to quit... I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality... I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.
"God", I said.
"Can you give me one good reason not to quit?" His answer surprised me... "Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"
"Yes", I replied.
"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed.
But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo
seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. He said.
In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit.
In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would not quit. He said.
"Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant...But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle."
He said to me. "Did you know that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots?" "I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you."
"Don't compare yourself to others." He said. "The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful."
"Your time will come", God said to me. "You will rise high"
"How high should I rise?" I asked.
"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.
"As high as it can?" I questioned.
"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."
I left the forest and came back with this story.
I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you.
"Sometimes we feel that we have certain weaknesses and we blame God, the circumstances and our self for it but we never know that our weakness can become our strength one day.._,___
One day I decided to quit... I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality... I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.
"God", I said.
"Can you give me one good reason not to quit?" His answer surprised me... "Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"
"Yes", I replied.
"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed.
But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo
seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. He said.
In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit.
In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would not quit. He said.
"Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant...But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle."
He said to me. "Did you know that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots?" "I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you."
"Don't compare yourself to others." He said. "The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful."
"Your time will come", God said to me. "You will rise high"
"How high should I rise?" I asked.
"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.
"As high as it can?" I questioned.
"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."
I left the forest and came back with this story.
I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you.
"Sometimes we feel that we have certain weaknesses and we blame God, the circumstances and our self for it but we never know that our weakness can become our strength one day.._,___
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
What is the right decision?
*Insight into Decision Making - Good One:*
A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in use
while the other disused. Only one child played on the disused track, the
rest on the operational track.
The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange. You can
make the train change its course to the disused track and save most of the
kids. However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused
track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way?
Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision we could make........
........
Scroll down
Scroll down further
Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice
only one child. You might think the same way, I guess. Exactly, to save most
of the children at the expense of only one child was rational decision most
people would make, morally and emotionally. But, have you ever thought that
the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right
decision to play at a safe place?
Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who
chose to play where the danger was. This kind of dilemma happens around us
everyday. In the office, community, in politics and especially in a
democratic society, the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the
majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how
farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are. The child who chose not to
play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined. And in the case
he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for him.
The great critic Leo Velski Julian who told the story said he would not try
to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids playing
on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in
use, and that they should have run away if they heard the train's sirens..
If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he
never thought the train could come over to that track! Moreover, that track
was not in use probably because it was not safe. If the train was diverted
to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake!
And in your attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might
end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.
While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be
javascript:void(0)
made, we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right
one. *
'Remember that what's right isn't always popular... and what's popular isn't
always right.'
Everybody makes mistakes; that's why they put erasers on pencils.*
A group of children were playing near two railway tracks, one still in use
while the other disused. Only one child played on the disused track, the
rest on the operational track.
The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange. You can
make the train change its course to the disused track and save most of the
kids. However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused
track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way?
Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision we could make........
........
Scroll down
Scroll down further
Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice
only one child. You might think the same way, I guess. Exactly, to save most
of the children at the expense of only one child was rational decision most
people would make, morally and emotionally. But, have you ever thought that
the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right
decision to play at a safe place?
Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who
chose to play where the danger was. This kind of dilemma happens around us
everyday. In the office, community, in politics and especially in a
democratic society, the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the
majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how
farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are. The child who chose not to
play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined. And in the case
he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for him.
The great critic Leo Velski Julian who told the story said he would not try
to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids playing
on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in
use, and that they should have run away if they heard the train's sirens..
If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he
never thought the train could come over to that track! Moreover, that track
was not in use probably because it was not safe. If the train was diverted
to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake!
And in your attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might
end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.
While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be
javascript:void(0)
made, we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right
one. *
'Remember that what's right isn't always popular... and what's popular isn't
always right.'
Everybody makes mistakes; that's why they put erasers on pencils.*
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)