The Mountain Climber
(By Dr Prachi)
They tell the story of a mountain climber who, desperate to conquer the Aconcagua, initiated his climb after years of preparation. But he wanted the glory to himself, therefore, he went up alone. He started climbing and it was becoming later, and later. He did not prepare for camping, but decided to keep on going.
Soon it got dark. Night fell with heaviness at a very high altitude. Visibility was zero. Everything was black. There was no moon, and the stars were covered by clouds. As he was climbing a ridge at about 100 meters from the top, he slipped and fell. Falling rapidly he could only see blotches of darkness that passed. He felt a terrible sensation of being sucked in by gravity. He kept falling… and in those anguishing moments good and bad memories passed through his mind. He thought certainly he would die.
But then he felt a jolt that almost tore him in half. Yes! Like any good mountain climber he had staked himself with a long rope tied to his waist. In those moments of stillness, suspended in the air he had no other choice but to shout: “Help me God. help me!”All of a sudden he heard a deep voice from heaven… “What do you want me to do?” “Save me.” “Do you really think that I can save you?” “Of course, My God.” “Then cut the rope that is holding you up.” There was another moment of silence and stillness. The man just held tighter to the rope.
The rescue team says that the next day they found a frozen mountain climber hanging strongly to a rope… Two feet off the ground.
How about you? How trusting are you in that rope? Why don’t you let it go? I tell you, God has great and marvelous things planned for you. Cut the rope and simply trust in him.
(Source: http://www.inspire21.com/stories/faithstories/TheMountainClimber)
T-R-A-V-E-L
(By Dr Prachi)
Inmate Mitchell King had a visitor — his wife. King was serving a six-year jail term in Auckland, New Zealand for armed robbery. But his wife did not want to be away from him for that long. So they held hands… and they stuck. She had rubbed her palms with Super Glue. Their new-found closeness was short-lived. And their separation was painful.
This technique is not recommended for a “close relationship.” But if you want more closeness… if you desire relationships that are deeper and broader, more meaningful and longer-lasting, then remember the acronym for “TRAVEL.”
T is for TRUST – Trust is the glue that holds people together (not Super Glue). A relationship will go nowhere without it.
R is for RESPECT - “Do not save your loving speeches for your friends till they are dead; do not write them on their tombstones, speak them rather now instead,” writes Anna Cummins. It’s about respecting others and letting them know that you value them.
A is for AFFECTION - Sometimes affection means love. Sometimes it means a touch. Always it means kindness.
V is for VULNERABILITY - Though we may feel afraid to let another too close, no relationship will go anywhere without risking vulnerability. Entrepreneur Jim Rohn says, “The walls we build around us to keep out the sadness, also keep out the joy.” And the love.
E is for EMOTIONAL INTIMACY - Learn to be open. Learn to communicate freely. What kinds of relationships you make are largely determined by how openly you have learned to communicate.
L is for LAUGHTER - Victor Borge got it right when he said, “Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” It’s also the most enjoyable.
For relationships that can really go somewhere, just remember the word “TRAVEL” … Then enjoy the trip!
Source: http://www.inspire21.com/stories/friendshipstories/TRAVEL
Bad by name; bad by nature?
(By Dr Prachi)
During Nelson Mandela’s 19 years imprisoned on Robben Island, one particular commanding officer was the most brutal of them all:
“A few days before Badenhorst’s departure, I was called to the main office. General Steyn was visiting the island and wanted to know if we had any complaints. Badenhorst was there as I went through a list of demands. When I had finished, Badenhorst spoke to me directly. He told me he would be leaving the island and added: ‘I just want to wish you people good luck’. I do not know if I looked dumbfounded, but I was amazed. He spoke these words like a human being and showed a side of himself we had never seen before. I thanked him for his good wishes and wished him luck in his endeavours. I thought about this moment for a long time afterwards. Badenhorst had perhaps been the most callous and barbaric commanding officer we had had on Robben Island. But that day in the office, he had revealed that that there was another side to his nature, a side that had been obscured but still existed.
It was a useful reminder that all men, even the most seemingly cold-blooded, have a core of decency and that, if their hearts are touched, they are capable of changing. Ultimately, Badenhorst was not evil; his inhumanity had been foisted upon him by an inhuman system. He behaved like a brute because he was rewarded for brutish behaviour.”
(Source: “Long Walk To Freedom” by Nelson Mandela)
Treasures to be thankful for
(Contributed by Dr Prachi)
A man was exploring caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was like someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake.
They didn’t look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him. As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could.
He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone!
Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left. Then it struck him.
He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he had just thrown it away!
It’s like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn’t look like much from the outside. It isn’t always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it. We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy. But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person.
There is a treasure in each and every one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth.
May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world as God sees them.
If I had my life to live over
(By Erma Bombeck – written after discovery of her terminal cancer)
I would have talked less and listened more. I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the “Good” living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth. I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage. I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life. I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’t there for the day.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn’t show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime. Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I’d have cherished every moment realizing that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, would never have said, “Later, now go get washed up for dinner.” There would have been more “I love you’s” … more “I’m sorry’s” … but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute … look at it and really see it … live it .. and never give it back.
(Source: http://www.inspire21.com/stories/educationstories/ifihadtolive)
The Moth Who Fell in Love with A Star.
There once was a moth that fell in love with a star. All his friends and relatives mocked him, told him he was being unrealistic, and urged him to focus his efforts on some local, possible, attainable goal: a streetlamp, a porchlight, a candle or a lantern. Even a chandelier, if he must.
But our Moth was in love with His Star, and he would not give up.
So while all his pals, his parents, his sisters and brothers and cousins and aunts, soon burned themselves out around the local, ready-made luminaries, and wound up as charred bits of ash on the sidewalks, the porches, the floors and tables of the town, our Moth enjoyed a long and happy and healthy life in endless pursuit of his limitless Star.
Lesson: to ‘reach for the stars’ – having an ambitious goal – can actually keep you safe and sane.
http://www.sparkpeople.com/mypage_public_journal_individual.asp?blog_id=2477982
Faith and belief
(Contributed by Dr. Anupam Sethi Malhotra)
There was a tightrope walker, who was so good that he could walk between two 20-storied building on a tight rope with a balancing pole. Thousands of people would watch him perform his breathtaking feat. After he walked across the building he would have his assistant sit on his shoulder and he would proceed to walk across the building.
Everybody was amazed and gave him a thunderous applause. He asked them whether they believed that he could do it again. The crowd said, Yes, we believe that you can! After a while he asked the crowd again, Now, who wants to volunteer to get on my shoulder? With that the crowd became silent.
There is a difference between Believe and Faith. We can believe what we see. In the above story, the crowd believed in the tightrope walker because they saw him perform the feat. But when he asked them “Who wants to get on my shoulder? Everyone was silent. You see, the crowd had Belief but they did not have Faith. This story clearly illustrates the difference between belief and having faith.
