Life

LOVE IS..........

2008-01-10T03:39:00.000-08:00

I had to complete the blank and I happened to utter, “Love is…Love!” Then it dawned on me, If I can go just a little out of my way to make the other person feel loved, that would be love…My MOM will feel loved when I help her with little activities…it may be little inconvenient for me, but then love is not love if it keeps searching for conveniences, that’s the reason why a mother can go on and on , every single day, 365 days a year without any off day taking care of the house and the members of family…LOVE IS GOING OUT OF MY WAY.
Whenever I returned from a holiday DAD has this usual compliant that I hadn’t got anything for him or for the family it used to irritate me as to why should I carry extra luggage filled with gifts when I very well know that everything is available in my own city. Only now, I know why; that’s the way dad understands love. LOVE IS UNDERSTANDING THE NEED OF MY LOVED ONES.
My Grandmother loves when I talk to her a lot..and when I ask her about health..she will be happy if I sit with her for most of the time..whenever I goto meet her I will make sure that I will ask her so manything about her health..and I will explain her about the things in hyderabad. she is so curious even to know the climate of Hyderabad.
My little sister kutty like most girls loves to talk. I am her favourite and I know why. I can patiently listen to all the minute details when she talks like a grandmother. She loves it when I listen to her college stories. She loves it when I ask questions about her friends. LOVE IS LITTLE ONES KNOW YOU RESPECT THEM.
Wow now I have an interesting game. The game of finding out what makes my loved ones feel loved and then express my love to them. The way they understand. Well I am on a treasure hunt for what love means to them. Many a times it may not be comfortable for me to express in the way they understand. But I know when I moved to Chennai, I went out my way to learn tamil to help myself live a better life. Similarly I need to take effort and learn to express in different ways. Why not learn to express our love to our loved ones in a way that makes them feel loved.
Over time, I’ve learnt that when it comes to receiving love, I should understand that people may not always express their love for me the way I understand love. But when it comes to sharing my love with others, and if: truly love my people, It becomes my responsibility to find the language in which they understand love and express myself that way. There is always something new to look forward to, always something new to learn. There is so much of excitement in life. The question “What else can I do to make this person feel loved?” lingers and gives me a new drive to life.
That’s the reason why a new relationship brings excitement to us because in that relationship we are looking for all possible ways to express ourselves, and nothing seems to be enough. If we can do the same thing in our current relationships we can bring about new life into them…
I may not know the theory and the science of love. I may not know the laws of love. But I know and I know that everyone wants to be loved and feel loved. Love is ….Being there for our loved ones….

How to knock sadness, frustration and anger out of our life?....

2007-10-08T00:08:00.000-07:00

Once Mother Teresa was asked what the saddest incident in her life was. Though initially she avoided answering the question, on persistence Mother Teresa replied, "I was walking past a dustbin when I heard a human voice from inside. I found a woman lying inside, brutally wounded. I took her home and cleaned her up. I asked her what had happened and she told me that her son had beaten her up. I told her to forgive him, but she replied in a cold tone that she could not. 'My whole life revolved around him, and he has done this to me,' she said. I realized life was ebbing out of her so I told her, 'You are going to meet your maker, so forgive your son and go with a light heart'. But she refused. At this, say a prayer of whatever faith you believe in, and I will say a prayer in mine'. Sometime later, she said in a faltering voice, 'Mother, I forgive him, 'and in a few minutes she was dead." As I read this incident in a magazine I was transformed.
Another story that I read in some book made this transformation deeper.
"Kill him!" said the brother, his voice filled with anger. "Kill him!" said the mother; her voice spoke the agony visible in her tears. "Kill him!" said the sister, her voice trembling for revenge. Around the council fire, each one of the family members spoke. In the balance lay the life of a man sitting outside restlessly. The murder of a friend was terrible thing, whatever be the reasons. He sat, awaiting his fate.
"Let us think about this thing carefully," said the grandfather softly. The sorrow of missing his favorite grandson deepened the wrinkles on his face. When he spoke "Will killing him return our boy to us?". "NO." "NO." "No." the word moved slowly around the tortured circle. "Will killing him help feed our people?" asked the old man. Again "NO." is the answer from all the three. They did look into it carefully. They deliberated upon it the whole night. Then they called the Youngman to his fate.
"Do you see the tepee?" they said, pointing to the dead man’s tepee. He nodded. "It is yours now."
"Do you see those horses?" they said, pointing to the horses of the man he had killed. He nodded again. "They are yours now. You are now our son. You will take the place of the one you have killed."
I was amazed as I closed the book, I kept ruminating over how a family whose son had been murdered could accept and adopt the murderer as their son. Hatred would have been so natural. Thoughts of revenge would have been so natural. The need to hurt would have been so natural. 'Forgiveness' almost looks unnatural.
I searched through my memories to find people who had hurt me, people I did not want to forgive for what they have done. Sheepishly, I with a lot of embarrassment realized that I had never been hurt the way the lady in the dustbin had been. Nor had I ever been subjected to the pain that the family members of the murdered son experience. My issues in life, compared to the issues of these two, were insignificant.
Reading about these stories made me 'Want' to forgive. As I thought about people against whom I held grudges. Every time I thought about them, I experienced a range of emotions. What were these emotions?
Sometimes, I felt sad; at times, I felt anger; a few memories evoked frustration - the emotions that I experienced were different. With building excitement, I realized that though what I felt was different there was something very common to all those emotions. All those emotions were negative!! All those emotions sapped energy out of me! All those emotions made me feel let down! They took joy away from me.
When I forgive, I give up all these disturbances. I understood that forgiveness is neither about what I do to people, nor about what people do to me. Forgiveness is all about what I want to do for myself.
With this realization, a smile floated on my lips as I realized forgiveness had already happened. I understand that forgiveness is not a doing, it is a happening.
This understanding has filled my life with a beautiful search for meaning. All people and incidents were earlier disturbing seem meaningful now. The hurt of the past has gone. So has the sadness, anger and frustration. I understood existence sends all those experiences and people into my life for me to learn. I am feeling peaceful, very peaceful.
Actually nothing has changed. But then again, everything has changed!! Hasn’t it?

Beautifull LOVE STORY

2007-07-26T03:59:00.000-07:00

Vandu is very well educated.She did her MBA at XLRI,Jamshedpur. The 'fresherqueen' of her batch, she was always in the top ten percent of her class and also represented her college in badminton. An extrovert by nature, she made friends easily. She was one of those rare achievers who attracted no negative vibes. Her credo in life - “Always challenge human potential, and win human hearts. It's this that makes a true champion.” Anand was one of the many in the same class who had lost their heart willingly to Vandu. He was no less popular in his own right. He was the champion athlete of the college and had won every 100m dash he had participated in on behalf of his college. He also represented the college in debates and according to his batchmates and professors, he had a very incisive and inquisitive mind. Unlike Vandu, he was a quiet person, uncomfortable with attention and being in the spotlight. His credo in life - “If I am still speaking about yesterday's achievements, it means I have done nothing worth while today.”Both admired each other secretly.They didn't even know when admiration turned into something special. Both realised what the other felt for them and the relationship gradually blossomed into love. He was mesmerised by her vivacity. She was captivatedby his simplicity. The effect they had on each otherwas charming. When she looked at him, she gazed with open curiosity.When he looked at her, his eyes were soft with enquiry. When he spoke to her, he was surprisingly and admirably direct. When she spoke to him, she spoke politely and in detail. His voice carried quiet passion. Her voice was refreshing and striking. She never questioned his priorities. He never questioned her beliefs. He was never sceptical about her enthusiasm and extroverted nature. She was untroubled by his being introverted.

One fine evening they had been to the top of Sinhgad, favourite trekking destination of many residents of Pune. It was Friday the 13th. It turned out to be the most brilliant evening of her life. It was twilight. They had driven up the hill on Anand's motorbike. Both had taken the day off from work. They had decided to marry and live an extraordinary life. This evening was to be the launch pad for their entire future.They spoke about a lot of things that evening. They spoke for hours, and remained silent for hours. They didn't want the evening to end. At the break of dawn, they were convinced that they were going to have the time of their life together. They felt immense gratitude for each other and for all factors that had brought them together.Just before they got up to leave, Anand summed up the crux of all they had discussed. In his usual measured tone he said, “Vandu…”Oh! How her heart skipped a beat every time he said 'Vandu' with so much love. She could have gone on living her life just listening to him say her name this way. She was totally committed to him and the way he expressed his commitment to her was amazing.

He said, “Vandu… I believe in love. But I believe even more in understanding being the bed rock of love. Many people begin their marriage with love, only to find it disintegrate later. They love the way they want to, without understanding the thinking and feelings of their spouse. And they believe that they are absolutely right and that there is no need for them to change at all. Love is thus reduced to ego. The war being, who should understand first and who should be understood first.” Vandu was breathing heavily when she heard Anand say, “At a personal level, both husband and wife acknowledge their love for eachother. They also know that their spouse sincerely loves them. But lack of understanding coupled withlack of willingness to understand leaves both of them feeling hurt, exploited and victimised. Inspite of love, life together seems aburden - why? Simply because understanding and a deep desire to understand are missing.” He looked at her and said, “I will ensure that you always feel and believe that I understand you and want to understand you. My questions to you will be to understand you , never to interrogate you. I love you.”In the silence that followed, Vandu heard nothing but the pounding of her heart. She felt most blessed that a man like Anand was in love with her and wanted to live the rest of his life with her. She gently touched his arm. Unable to control herself, she burst out crying.

Even after almost three years in their married life when she shared those moments with her friends, she had tears in her eyes, gratitude in her heart and wanted to thank the creator for giving her such an understanding life partner.

People in LIFE......

2007-07-18T00:22:00.000-07:00

People come into your life for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. When you figure out which it is, you know exactly what to do.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly. They have come to assist you through a difficulty,to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically,emotionally, or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are.They are there for the reason you need them to be. Then, without any wrong doing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work isdone. The prayer sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.

When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real!But, only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach lifetime lessons;those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (anyway); and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.

IN A NUTSHELL We are not put on earth for ourselves, but are placed here for each other.If you are there always for others, then in time of need, someone will be there for you.

Life is so beautifull these days...

2007-06-15T10:29:00.000-07:00

How do i define my day? Till a few months ago, I would say my day was bad just because i had a fight with my friend or because of hectic work or because my manager shouted at me...the list goes on.....My life is repetitive drill. waking up at the same time, struggling in bed for a few minutes before getting up,brushing the same way, same tea, same news paper, a time bound path, a hurried breakfast, road rageon the way to work, same office, same work, gossip and lunch, same talk, same route back home, samearguments, compulsive dinner, same bed, crash out and wakeup another time to another day to the samedrill.....
This is not the way i wanted to define my life..my life needn't be mundane. my life needn'tbe boring. my life needn't be a years experience repeated fifty times. My life needn't be imposition.My life needn't be a life imprisonment. Ofcourse there is more to life than simply existing. Just on analysing these things..I went back to my school days..where my day ends with full satisfaction with busy schedules. There are different forms of music, playing instruments, new fitness regimes, new languages, creative writing, public speaking, technology, painting, hand writing, new art forms, driving, different sports, management, gardening, pet birds and animals,photography, culture......the list is truly endless..where has all these enthu gone...
Here are few things that i really experimented in making my day beautifull.just try..it works out......the list follows like this..
1. Keep attempting something that hasn't been attempted before.
2. Try out new cuisines.
3. Wear clothes that you are shy of wearing
.4. Try a new hair style.
5. Visit unusual places.
6. Dine on the terrace.
7. Eat pani puri or any chat at a road side joint
8. try going to office using auto or bus or by walk..instead of using your own vehicle
9. surprise child hood friends by calling them.
10. Try out sending mails to ur old collegues.
11. make the habit of reading books if u dont have that habit.
12. Go for fasting one day.
13. Go for voice rest.
14. Go for a long walk in the evenings.
15. watch movies sitting in the front row.
16. Learn new instrument...
17. Finally think and care about abondened people atleast once in a month.

The list is endless...it depends on how creative & curious we are. Be excited to be alive. Do something right now thatyou've never done before....right now.The formula to a lively life is to keep answering this question :
"WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME I DID SOMETHING FOR THE FIRST TIME".

Make the most of each day

2007-04-18T23:57:00.000-07:00

A bank credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over
no balance to tomorrow. Every evening you lose the balance you failed to use during the day.
What would you do?
Draw out every cent, of course!!!!
Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off what you have failed to invest. If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. Invest it so as to improve get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success!
The clock is running. Make the most of life today.

To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.
To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.

Treasure every moment ! Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is mystery.

Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present!

The man who knew infinity - Srinivasa Ramanujan

2007-04-13T00:28:00.000-07:00

Nice piece of Info about Ramanujan and G.H Hardy....
Hardy once came to see Ramanujan when he was in the hospital. He told Ramanujan that the number of taxi in which he had come was 1729 - 7X13X19 a dull number. Before Hardy could complete his sentence Ramanujan said, "Far from being dull, It is the smallest of all the numbers that can be expressed as the sum of two cubes in two different ways...
1) 10 to the power of 3 + 9 to the power of 3
2) 12 to the power of 3 + 1 to the power of 3.

BEING IN TWENTIES - SOMETHING

2007-04-10T03:25:00.000-07:00

It is when I stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that
there are many things about myself that I didn't know and may not
like. I started feeling insecure and wonder where I will be in a year or
two, but then get scared because I barely know where I am now.

I started realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those
friends that I thought I am so close to aren't exactly the
greatest people I have ever met, and the people I have lost
touch with are some of the most important ones. What I don't
recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren't really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as me.

I look at my job... and it is not even close to what I thought
I would be doing, or maybe I am looking for a job and realizing that I
am going to have to start at the bottom and that scares me a lot.

My opinions have gotten stronger. I see what others are doing and find
myself judging more than usual because suddenly I realize that I
have certain boundaries in my life and are constantly adding things to
my list of what is acceptable and what isn't. One minute, I am
insecure and then the next, secure.

I laugh and cry with the greatest force of my life. I feel
alone and scared and confused. Suddenly, change is the enemy and I
try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away, and there is nothing to do but stay where I am or move forward.

My heart got broken and wonder how someone I loved could do such
damage to me. Or I lie in bed and wonder why I can't meet anyone
decent enough that I want to get to know better. Or maybe I love
someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out why I am
doing this because I know that I am not a bad person. One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. I go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with my friends about the same
topics because I cannot seem to make a decision. I worry about money,
the future and making a life for myself... and while winning the race
would be great, right now I would just like to be a contender!

FATE DETERMINES WHO COMES INTO OUR LIVES.....HEART DETERMINES WHO STAYS

Who is my MERCURY

2007-01-12T00:08:00.000-08:00

Hey its quite long...but just worth reading it.......

Visualise the solar system. visualise the sun in the middle and all the planets orbiting around the sun...Lets use this model to view our life, Our roles and our relationships with others.
You represent the sun and the roles you play are represented by the planets. There are relationships with lot of emotional bonding, but there may not be daily interaction...even if u have interaction that is only through technology. There are also interaction happens on daily basis but there may not be any emotional bondage...for example the relationship with colleagues.Higher the investment of time and emotions in a relationship...the close they become to you..they represent planets close to the sun in the relation ship model..they become ur Mars, Earth and Mercury. Lesser the investment of time & emotions the more distant they become. They represent the planets away from the sun..They become ur Saturn, Uranus and Pluto. There are some relations which neither enjoy ur time nor emotional bonding...yet they cannot be erased from your relationships...these relations are more of memory and enjoy little or no feelings.
In relationships where there are overflowing emotions, and where there's a lot of interaction and investment of time..you feel a sence of ownership.These are called your mercurian roles. Your very strength and weakness. Its difficult to define your life without referring to your mercurian roles. "To get our life right, we need to get our relationship model right."
Lesser the number of mercury and venus roles greater will be the personal space, greater will be the freedom of choice, Lesser will be the emotional management and above lesser will be the issues of jealousy, envy and possesiveness.When a new relationship in your life, lets say start as jupiter and with time inches towards Venus or Mercury - This very progression will emotionally unsettle your existing Venus and Mercury roles.The emotional transitions family and newly wedded couples go through after marriage is a classic example. There is an enormous rearrangement of Mercury and Venus that happens in this situation.
When one of your existing mercurian role tends to get closer to another sun. Its ur turn to get emotionally ruffled. You feel very insecure and unsettled. "When u loose a part of urself inorder to gain something from the world, you wil soon loose what you have gained in order to regain yourself" - this is eternal law. When in your exitement over a new relationship, you right away give the new relationship a mercury status, you cause tremendous heatache to all your existing mercurian roles. In order to find some time to new mercury, you reduce the time and attention to some of your existing mercurian roles.
The death of a Pluto in your life affects you momentarily. Life moves on. The closer the planet to the sun the greater is the emotional impact. thats why the sucess of mercury makes you feel as if its your own sucess and the death of the of it in many ways stops your life.
Relationship that starts as Uranus or Jupiter and grow into Mars, Earth over a period of time are the most stable. Relationships should be like trees that live forover a century. They take a lot of time in their formative years to grow, but are stable enough to weather storms for a life time.
As much as possible keep most of your relationships at Earth or Venus. With just 24 hrs at your disposal it is impossible to do justice to more than a few mercurian roles. so i'll conclude by saying that the mercury status should never be given...it should be earned.
Let it not take a life time to know how to live. Get your relationships right and you'll get your life right. May you live your life in such a way that your heart and hearts of your loved ones always feel protected. Nothing in the solar system suffers for space.

Reality

2006-10-29T22:49:00.000-08:00

Reality…
The only reality is now…Now is the only time there is. Everyday we wake up is today. Monday doesn’t exist 5 days from now. Monday is now. Thursday is now. The future will be born out of now…and when born, tomorrow becomes today. Man has split himself with his mind on yesterday, heart on tomorrow and the body breathing in the now. Give up this split. Live in the present.Presence of mind means being present in the present.. in the now. The heart beats now. The inhalation happens now.
IN A NUTSHELL
Live in the now…NOW is the only REALITY.

Communication gap

2006-10-24T02:14:00.000-07:00

A man went to roadside joint and asked, "what do you have that will satisfy my hunger?" The waiter replied "vada." The man further asked, "What is the cost of the vada that will satisfy my hunger?" "Two rupees," came the reply. The man ate the first vada, then the second and after that the third,fourth,fifth.....he was still hungry. He had the sixth followed by seventh. His hunger was eventually satisfied. The waiter gave him a bill for 14 rupees, but the man insisted that he would pay only two rupees. His argument was - "I clearly asked you 'what is the cost of the vada that will satisfy my hunger' and you said two rupees. Only the seventh vada satisfied my hunger, and hence i will pay only for seventh".
If the first six vadas hadnt gone in, the seventh wouldn't have made the difference. If only six vadas had gone in and the seventh had not, it still wouldnot have a made difference. Only when the seventh is preceeded by the six and six are suceeded by the seventh, will it make a difference.
So it is with communication. Often, we communicate to an unprepared mind and later wonder why the other mind rejected our ideas. communication of an idea is only the seventh vada; it must be preceeded by the six vadas that prepare the other mind. you will kill the seed by planting it in unprepared soil. In well prepared soil, you dont have to even plant it - just throw the seed and it will sprout.
A communication gap is not actually a gap in communication. Its a gap between the preparedness of the mind of the communicatior and unpreparedness of the mind of the receiver of the communication. More than 'what you say' and 'how you say', 'when you say' - timing is the most important aspect of effective communication. Communicate only to prepared mind. Remember, the responsibility of preparing the other mind is yours and yours alone.
An earth quake is not a good time to plough the soil. so, wait for moments when there is a reasonable amount of calm and composure, both in you and the other. First communicate to prepare the other mind, and only then speak your ideas out.

Live and let live...

2006-10-13T03:44:00.000-07:00

Life..what can i say about life..sometimes it looks very big, sometimes it looks very short..sometimes i feel this life is very short we have to enjoy as much as possible, some times i feel how long i have to lead this life..whatever the feeling,whatever the situation, whatever the circumstance.......we can just say only one sentence about life...."IT JUST GOES ON".....

Here i wanted to share the speech given by a great person
"Somehow from the beginning reputation has been put above character in most of minds. character is 'who you are' and reputation is 'what the world thinks of you'. The very first thought for most of you is - 'what will the world think of me if i do this or not doing it'. most of you are the people concious. your life is not lived through your spectacles, but throught the spectacles of others...Its not about you living a life beyond tears, but about living to see others smile. there is nothing wrong in being expected to live a life that brings smile to others but why isn't there much respect for your tears... Freedom is not given it is taken. you live only once as you and if u miss this chance, you will never have another oppurtunity to be yourself. Please, please do not miss yourself. Do not miss the change. Tear off the social cheklist. Rise above the confines of social definition. Path finders are path breakers. Expand the definition of your life. stand above the crowd. Live above the average man. Inspire future generations by the way you live your life. Let your life be a message to the next generation. Wake up. Lord mahavira professed "Live and let live" not "Let live and live".How can you give to this world something that you havenot gifted to yourself...... If you do 100 things in life, do 80 things for the sake of the world, for the sake of social fulfillment and for the sake of your environment. Do atleast 20 things in life for your own sake. Put all the aspects of your life that are of consequence, that can have an effect on your life - such as the education you want, the career you are passionate about, the marriage you wish to settle into, the city you choose to live, into this 20.........If even after you do 80 things for the sake of the world and only 20 things for your own sake, the world still calls you selfish - so be it. If inspite of your doing 80 things for them they are still not satisfied, then nothing is anyhow going to satisfy them. Atleast, satisfy yourself by doing those 20 things on your terms. It is better to earn a badname and live a good life, than to earn a good name and live a bad life"
New philosophy, "Live - 20 and let live -80"

Stories

2006-10-10T05:21:00.000-07:00

James Bender, in his book, HOW TO TALK WELL (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1994) relates the story of a farmer who grew award-winning corn. Each year he entered his corn in the state fair where it won a blue ribbon.
One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors.
"How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?" the reporter asked.
"Why sir," said the farmer, "didn't you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn."
Moral :
He is very much aware of the conceitedness of life. His corn cannot improve unless his neighbor’s corn also improves. So it is with our lives. Those who choose to live in peace must help their neighbors to live in peace. Those who choose to live well must help others to live well, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others to find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all"

Lessons on Life :
There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.
The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall. When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen. The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted. The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise. The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen. The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.
The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but only one season in the tree's life. He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up. If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall.

Moral:Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.
Don't judge life by one difficult season.
Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come some time or later.

Quotes

2006-10-10T03:09:00.000-07:00

"It is better to have loved and lost than not to have loved at all.It is better to be cheated than to be a cheat. It is better to have suffered the wrongthan to have done the wrong. Bitter yesterdays create a better tomorrow because of the maturity gained out of those experiences. When bad things happen to good people, theybecome better people. This is the plan on which life is built. Don't ask for an alternative design… none exists."

"Avoid fear it grows, face fear it goes"

"Every person is unique and they have the right to be different"