GODS & DEMONS

A little boy asked his father: "Daddy, what is the difference between gods and demons?"

The father said to the little boy: "Son, I will organise a big banquet at our residence where I will invite both the gods and the demons. At the end of the banquet you will get your answer."

And the father sent out invitations to both the gods and the demons. On the appointed day, a most lavish banquet was organised and hundreds of gods and hundreds of demons arrived at the house.

The demons were an impatient lot, disorganised and noisy. They asked the host that they wanted VIP treatment, and therefore wanted to have their food served first to the demons and that the gods must eat last.

The host agreed to their request on one condition that the demons tie wooden planks to both hands when eating. The demons said that if the same condition was also applied to the gods as well then they had no objection to tying the wooden planks on both their hands when eating.

All the demons had wooden planks tied to both their hands and they immediately sat on the floor, seating one next to the other in one straight line. They were all very eager to be served with delicious food.

The first course of food arrived. It was the best smelling soup in a bowel with spoon. Now when the demons got spoons filled with the soup, they realised that they could not bent their hands to bring the spoons to their mouths. They tried to lift their hands over their heads and tilt the spoons with their mouths wide open. They got the soup falling in their eyes and all over the face and also on their expensive garments.

The demons got noisier, became angry and started swearing at the host. Some of the demons wanted to beat up the host. Some demons tried to restrain the other demons and they started fighting among themselves.

The demons agreed that it was totally useless for them to remain at this banquet as it was not possible to eat the food without bending their hands. It was impossible to eat the food without messing up their beautiful and expensive garments.

With angry words the demons left the banquet.

Now it was the turn of the gods to eat.

The gods were of a p0eaceful nature. They also sat in a line on the floor. Both their hands were also tied with wooden planks. When the first course of food was served, which was the delicious soup, the gods first recited the food prayer. The gods realised that they could not bend their hands, and therefore it was impossible to eat the soup.

Each of the gods thought: "Never mind if I cannot eat the soup, but let me be of help to my fellow brother who is seated next to me."

The gods turned towards each other and started feeding each other. They thus enjoyed the most delicious soup.

Then the next course of meal was served and they enjoyed that delicious meal. They went through five course meals and ate to their hearts content. They thanked the host, presented the host with gifts they had brought, and peacefully went back to their homes.

The son was observing all that happened. The father told him that a major difference between the gods and the demons was the difference in their attitude of 'Giving' and the attitude of 'Taking.' The demons thought only about their individual self-interest whereas the gods thought about selflessly serving others.

Moral

When you open your heart and give selflessly, you receive also much more then you give.

BALANCE SHEET OF LIFE

Our Birth is our Opening Balance!

Our Death is our Closing Balance!

Our Prejudiced Views are our Liabilities

Our Creative Ideas are our Assets

Heart is our Current Asset

Soul is our Fixed Asset

Brain is our Fixed Deposit

Thinking is our Current Account

Achievements are our Capital

Character & Morals are our Stock-in-Trade

Friends are our General Reserves

Values & Behavior are our Goodwill

Patience is our Interest Earned

Love is our Dividend

Children are our Bonus Issues

Education is Brands/Patents

Knowledge is our Investment

Experience is our Premium Account

The Aim is to Tally the Balance Sheet Accurately

The Goal is to get the Best Presented Accounts Award

Some very Good and Very bad things ....

The most destructive habit .... Worry

The greatest Joy .... Giving

The greatest loss .... Loss of Self-Respect

The most satisfying work .... Helping Others

The ugliest personality trait .... Selfishness

The most endangered species .... Dedicated Leaders

Our greatest natural resource .... Our Youth

The greatest "shot in the arm" .... Encouragement

The greatest problem to overcome .... Fear

The most effective sleeping pill .... Peace of Mind

The most crippling failure disease .... Excuses

The most powerful force in life .... Love

The most dangerous pariah .... A Gossiper

The world's most incredible computer .... The Brain

The worst thing to be without .... Hope

The deadliest weapon .... The tongue

The two most power-filled words .... "I Can"

The greatest asset .... Faith

The most worthless emotion .... Self-Pity

The most beautiful attire .... SMILE!

The most prized possession .... Integrity

The most powerful channel of communication .... Prayer

The most contagious spirit .... Enthusiasm

The most important thing in life .... GOD!

TEARS

"There was a study done where a control group of 100 people were divided into two."

50 people watched a very funny, tears of laughter type movie. 50 watched a very sad and tears of compassion type movie.

At the end of the sessions, researchers collected the "happy tears" and the "sad tears" with eye droppers.

They found that "happy tears" are made up of brine .... salt water and not a great deal else. However the "sad tears" were found to contain the very same chemicals and enzymes that are found in tumors, ulcers and other such lumps and bumps and sicknesses through out the body.

This test concluded that the body, when crying in sadness etc. is literally flushing out all of the toxic chemicals that accumulate and are a part ofthe sadness/heartache experience.

Therefore if one holds back those tears, those toxic-waters will find somewhere else to deposit themselves .... and prolonged lack-of-crying-release will guarantee that the body will accumulate a huge amount of internal pollution and toxicity that should have been released through the tears .... is it any wonder that the eyes sting so much when we hold back our tears?

No wonder, men die earlier than women. Men hold on to their pride which leads them to early death!!!!

Moral

Cry your heart out when you are sad, lonely, alone, depressed etc. .... It is good for health!

JOURNEY OF LIFE

A long time ago, there was an Emperor who told his horseman that if he could ride on his horse and cover as much land area as he likes, then the Emperor would give him the area of land he has covered.

Sure enough, the horseman quickly jumped onto his horse and rode as fast as possible to cover as much land area as he could. He kept on riding and riding, whipping the horse to go as fast as possible. When he was hungry or tired, he did not stop because he wanted to cover as much area as possible. Came to a point when he had covered a substantial area and he was exhausted and was dying.

Then he asked himself, "Why did I push myself so hard to cover so much land area? Now I am dying and I only need a very small area to bury myself."

The above story is similar with the journey of our Life.

We push very hard everyday to make more money, to gain power and recognition. We neglect our health, time with our family and to appreciate the surrounding beauty and the hobbies we love.

One day when we look back, we will realize that we don't really need that much, but then we cannot turn back time for what we have missed.

Life is not about making money, acquiring power or recognition. Life is definitely not about work! Work is only necessary to keep us living so as to enjoy the beauty and pleasures of life. Life is a balance of Work and Play, Family and Personal time.

You have to decide how you want to balance your Life.

Define your priorities, realize what you are able to compromise but always let some of your decisions be based on your instincts.

Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of Life, the whole aim of human existence.

So, take it easy, do what you want to do and appreciate nature.

Life is fragile, Life is short. Do not take Life for granted. Live a balanced lifestyle and enjoy Life!

Watch your thoughts; they become words.

Watch your words; they become actions.

Watch your actions; they become habits.

Watch your habits; they become character.

Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

WIVES

Once upon a time there was a rich King who had four wives.

He loved the 4th wife the most and adorned her with rich robes and treated her to the finest of delicacies. He gave her nothing but the best.

He also loved the 3rd wife very much and was always showing her off to neighbouring kingdoms. However, he feared that one day she would leave him for another.

He also loved his 2nd wife. She was his confidant and was always kind, considerate and patient with him. Whenever the King faced a problem, he could confide in her, and she would help him get through the difficult times.

The King's 1st wife was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining his wealth and kingdom. However, he did not love the first wife. Although she loved him deeply, he hardly took notice of her!

One day, the King fell ill and he knew his time was short. He thought of his luxurious life and wondered, "I now have four wives with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone." Thus, he asked the 4th wife, "I have loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "No way!", replied the 4th wife, and she walked away without another word. Her answer cut like a sharp knife right into his heart. The sad King then asked the 3rd wife, "I have loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?" "No!", replied the 3rd wife. "Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to remarry!" His heart sank and turned cold. He then asked the 2nd wife, "I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me. When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?" "I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!", replied the 2nd wife. "At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave." Her answer struck him like a bolt of lightning, and the King was devastated. Then a voice called out: "I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go." The King looked up, and there was his first wife. She was very skinny as she suffered from malnutrition and neglect. Greatly grieved, the King said, "I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!"

In truth, we all have the 4 wives in our lives: Our 4th wife is our body. No matter how much time and effort we lavish in making it look good, it will leave us when we die. Our 3rd wife is our possessions, status and wealth. When we die, it will all go to others. Our 2nd wife is our family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for us, the furthest they can stay by us is up to the grave. And our 1st wife is our Soul. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the world. However, our Soul is the only thing that will follow us wherever we go.

Moral

Cultivate, strengthen and cherish the Soul now, for it is the only part of us that will follow us to the throne of God and continue with us throughout Eternity.

HOSPITAL WINDOW

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.

One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.

Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days and weeks passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window . The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."

Moral

There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.

If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.