A must read Story

The old man shuffled slowly into the restaurant. With head tilted, and shoulders bent forward, he leaned on his trusty cane with each unhurried step.

His tattered cloth jacket, patched trousers, worn out shoes, and warm personality made him stand out from the usual Saturday morning breakfast crowd. Unforgettable were his pale blue eyes that sparkled like diamonds, large rosy cheeks, and thin lips held in a tight, steady smile.

He stopped, turned with his whole body, and winked at a little girl seated by the door. She flashed a big grin right back at him. A young waitress named Mary watched him shuffle toward a table by the window.

Mary ran over to him, and said, "Here, Sir. Let me give you a hand with that chair."

Without saying a word, he smiled and nodded a thank you. She pulled the chair away from the table. Steadying him with one arm, she helped him move in front of the chair, and get comfortably seated. Then she scooted the table up close to him, and leaned his cane against the table where he could reach it.

In a soft, clear voice he said, "Thank you, Miss. And bless you for your kind gestures."

"You're welcome, Sir." She replied. "And my name is Mary. I'll be back in a moment, and if you need anything at all in the mean time, just wave at me!"

After he had finished a hearty meal of pancakes, bacon, and hot lemon tea, Mary brought him the change from his ticket. He left it lay. She helped him up from his chair, and out from behind the table. She handed him his cane, and walked with him to the front door.

Holding the door open for him, she said, "Come back and see us, Sir!"

He turned with his whole body, winked a smile, and nodded a thank you. "You are very kind." he said softly.

When Mary went to clean his table, she almost fainted. Under his plate she found a business card, and a note scribbled on a napkin. Under the napkin was a one hundred dollar bill.

The note on the napkin read...

"Dear Mary, I respect you very much, and you respect yourself too. It shows by the way you treat others. You have found the secret of happiness. Your kind gestures will shine through those who meet you."

The man she had waited on was the owner of the restaurant where she worked. This was the first time that she, or any of his employees had ever seen him in person.

Note: This story is based on actual events experienced by a friend from St. Paul, Minnesota. The note is the exact wording on the napkin that she has kept in her scrap book for fifteen years. When a friend forwarded The Secret of Happiness to me I actually felt Happy reading it. Now that you have it, its your turn to do a good deed. Forward it on to all your friends and spread the happiness around. Believe me, its really really needed.

What Life is all About..Must Read for All

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,thirsty 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 pushed 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 to do.

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.

Lessons to Learn from The Story:

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 balance lifestyle and enjoy Life!


Never take some one for granted,Hold every person Close to your Heart because you might wake up one day and realise that you have lost a diamond while you were too busy collecting stones." Remember this always in life.

Inspirational Story " Gautum Buddha and The man"..Must Read for All.

Gautum Buddha was sitting under a banyan tree. One day, a furious man came to him and started abusing him.
The man thought that Gautum Buddha would reciprocate in the same manner, but to his utter surprise, there was not the slightest change in the expression on his face.

Now, the man became more furious. He hurled more and more abuses at Buddha. However, Gautum Buddha was completely unmoved. Actually there was a look of compassion on his

face. Ultimately the man was tired of abusing him. He asked, "I have been abusing you like anything, but why are you not angry at all ?"

Gautum Buddha calmly replied, "My dear brother, I have not accepted a single abuse from you."

"But you heard all of them, didn't you?" The man argued half-heartedly.
Buddha said, "I do not need the abuses, so why should I even hear them?"

Now the man was even more puzzled. He could not understand the calm reply from Gautum Buddha.

Looking at his disturbed face, Buddha further explained, "All those abuses remain with you."

"It cannot be possible. I have hurled all of them at you," the man persisted.

Buddha calmly repeated his reply, "But I have not accepted even a single abuse from you ! Dear brother, suppose you give some coins to somebody, and if he does not accept them, with whom will those coins remain?"

The man replied, "If I have given the coins and not needed by someone, then naturally they would remain with me."

With a meaningful smile on his face, Buddha said, "Now you are right. The same has happened with your abuses. You came here and hurled abuses at me, but I have not accepted a single abuse from you. Hence, all those abuses remain with you only. So there is no reason to be angry with you."

The man remained speechless. He was ashamed of his behavior and begged for Buddha's forgiveness.

Lessong to Learn from This Story:

Inner calmness and peace are keys to contented life. My Advice is Live life as per your goals and ambition in life. You know who you are and what you want in life, So don't respond to what person said about you in anger. Control your anger with patience and calmness. That is biggest Strength of Wise men.

be the change !

Be the change you wish

to se in the world...

Gratitude is contagious - you can catch it from other people

and/or they can catch it from you. But you don't spread gratitude

by preaching or scolding or admonishing - you spread it by living it.

For, as Gandhi wisely said,

"We must BE the change we wish to see in the world."

A simple story illustrates my point:
According to legend, a young man, while roaming the desert,

came across a spring of delicious crystal-clear water.

The water was so sweet he filled his leather canteen so he could

bring some back to a tribal elder who had been his teacher.

After a four-day journey he presented the water to the old man

who took a deep drink, smiled warmly and thanked his student

lavishly for the sweet water.

The young man returned to his village with a happy heart.

Later, the teacher let another student taste the water.

He spat it out, saying it was awful. It apparently had become stale

because

of the old leather container. The student challenged his teacher:
"Master, the water was foul. Why did you pretend to like it?"

The teacher replied,
"You only tasted the water. I tasted the gift"

The water was simply the container for an act of loving-kindness

and nothing could be sweeter.

Heartfelt gifts deserve the return gift of gratitude.

You teach gratitude to others by living it - every moment,

every hour, every day.

Others will see the happiness that gratitude brings, and soon,

they, too will be grateful. And before you know it, you have started

an epidemic of gratitude - what could be more wonderful!

This is to reinforce and teach the power and magic of gratitude. To some,

it may sound too simple to feel important, but if you can truly

grasp this powerful concept, it will change your life forever.

German poet, Johannes A. Gaertner said this:
"To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude

is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch heaven"