Memory and Salt

I arrive in Madrid at eight o'clock in the morning. I will only be here a few hours, so it's not worth phoning friends and arranging to see them. I decide to go for a walk alone in my favourite places, and I end up sitting smoking a cigarette on a bench in the Retiro Park.

'You look miles away,' says an old man, joining me on the bench. 'Oh, I'm here,' I say, 'but I'm sitting on this same bench with a painter friend of mine, Anastasio Ranchal, twelve years ago in 1986. We are both watching my wife, Christina, who has had a bit too much to drink and is trying to dance the flamenco.'

'Enjoy your memories,' says the old man. 'But don't forget that memory is like salt: the right amount brings out the flavour in food, too much ruins it. If you live in the past all the time, you'll find yourself with no present to remember.'

Desert Pete

A thirsty desert traveler comes upon a strange site. Before him stands a rundown hut. Nearby is a well, the only source of water for miles around. Attached to the pump is a thin baking powder can with a message inside, written in pencil on a sheet of brown wrapping paper. This is the message...

This pump is all right as of June 1932. I put a new sucker washer into it and it ought to last five years. But, the washer dries out and the pump has got to be primed. Under the white rock I buried a bottle of
water, out of the sun and the cork end up. There‘s enough water in it to prime this pump, but not if you drink some water first. Pour in about 1/4, and let her soak to wet the leather. Then pour in the rest medium fast, and begin to pump. You‘ll get water.The well never has run dry. Have faith. When you get watered up, fill the bottle, and put it back like you found it for the next feller. Signed, Desert Pete
P.S.Don’t go drinking up all the water first! Prime the pump and you can get all the water you want.

Now consider that you are the person who comes up to the well and are very thirsty. What will you do? You really have two choices. Drink a little water immediately, or obey the note and find limitless water for yourself and future travelers.

One of the greatest lessons the note in the can gives us is that we must (no options here) give before we can receive. Countless people have given of faith so that we might live and grow. And the only thing which matters is that which lives on after we are gone. The note in the can points us to think of those who will travel after us. This struggle between selfish motives which can leave behind destruction and death, and a higher, better motive of thinking of others first has been going on for a long time.

Desert Pete certainly thought of you and me. And if we can think of the next person, we will, too.

God Listens

A Sufi master was standing on his doorstep when he saw a teacher passing by with his pupils. "Where are you off to?" he asked. "We are going to pray that God puts a stop to corruption for He always heeds the prayers of children,"answered the teacher.

"A good education would have put an end to that already. Teach youngsters to be more responsible than their parents and uncles."The teacher felt offended - "What an example of lack of faith! The prayers of children can change anything!"

"God listens to those who pray. If only he listened to the prayers of children, there wouldn't be a single school in the whole country, for there is nothing they hate more than their teachers."

How big is God ?

A boy asked his Dad, "Dad, how big is God?"

Looking up at the sky, the father saw an aeroplane and asked his son, "How big is that aeroplane?"

The boy responded, " It's small, Dad! You can hardly even see it!"

Then the father took his son to an airport hanger. Standing in front of one of the aeroplanes, the father asked, "And now, how big is the aeroplane?"

The boy responded, " Oh Daddy, this plane is enormous."

At this point, the father said to him, "That's how it is with God. How big he is depends on the distance between you and Him. The closer you are to him, the bigger he is in your life"

9×1=7

One day a school teacher wrote on the board the following:

9×1=7
9×2=18
9×3=27
9×4=36
9×5=45
9×6=54
9×7=63
9×8=72
9×9=81
9×10=90

When she was done, she looked to the students. They were all laughing at her, because the first equation she had written was wrong.

The teacher said, "I wrote that first one wrong on purpose, because I wanted you to learn something important. This was for you to know how the world out there will treat you. You can see that I wrote 9 equations correct, but none of you even noticed it; you all stopped at the first mistake you saw, laughed and criticized me, just for the one wrong thing I did.

The world may not appreciate a million goods you do, but will surely criticize the one wrong thing you do... Don't get discouraged, rise above the laughter and the criticism, and stay strong and focused.

Yusra Mardini, the Refugee Olympian

Yusra Mardini braved a Mediterranean crossing in a leaky dinghy to flee from war-torn Syria, a year ago. Now, the teenage swimmer has braved the 100m butterfly heat in Rio on Saturday, to launch an "amazing" Olympic experience.

Mardini clocked in 1min 09.21sec, just off her entry time of 1:08.51 on Saturday. She will compete is a second individual event Wednesday when she swims the women's 100-meter freestyle. Although she was 41st-fastest in an event led by world record-holder Sarah Sjostrom's 56.26sec meaning she didn't qualify for the semi-finals, Mardini said it was a thrill to line up against the world's best.

"Everything was amazing. It was the only thing I ever wanted was to compete in the Olympics. I had a good feeling in the water so I'm happy for that," said the 18-year-old, who is representing the first ever Olympic refugee team.




Mardini was a competitive swimmer in Syria until she fled the war with her sister last August and survived a hazardous crossing on the Aegean Sea to reach Europe. The Mardini sisters had been among Syria's brightest swimming stars and their family had been moving around to avoid the fighting so they could continue swimming. But the war intensified and eventually the decision was made to leave altogether.

The sisters joined a wave of Syrian refugees who left Damascus last summer. They made their way to Lebanon and then Turkey, where they paid smugglers to take them to Greece. Their first attempt was thwarted when Turkish coastguards drove their boat back so they tried again, boarding a small inflatable dinghy at dusk.

All but three of the 20 people crowded on the dinghy couldn't swim. Within half an hour, the boat was taking on water.

The passengers' bags were thrown overboard in an effort to stay afloat as wind churned up the Aegean Sea. But it wasn't enough. As a last resort, the Mardini sisters and another strong swimmer jumped into the water to give the boat more buoyancy.

For 3 and-a-half-hours, they clung to the side of the small boat until it reached the Greek island of Lesbos. A week long overland trek followed through Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary. They had to hide from police in cornfields to reach Hungary. Eventually, the sisters made it to Austria and then Germany, where they have since been joined by the rest of their family in Berlin.

"I've only been back swimming for two years so we're only now getting back to my levels of before. But I'm pleased," added Mardini, who has settled in Germany with her family.

"It's an incredible feeling and I'm happy to see all the great swimmers here," she said. "Competing with all these great champions is exciting."

In March, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach announced he would choose 5 to 10 refugee athletes to compete at the Games. Each Refugee athlete is being hosted by a National Olympic Committee. Mardini is being hosted by Germany, while Anis is being hosted by Belgium.

Irrespective of her eventual result, Mardini's is a story the reflects the spirit of sport and the Olympic Games.

Sweet Temptation

A Sufi master's disciples were gathered at a feast. They ate and drank for several hours, and talked about the origins of stars. Night fell and everyone got ready to go home. A fine plate of sweets was left on the table.

The Sufi master made all his disciples eat it. One, however, refused. "The master is testing us, "he said. "He wants to see whether we can control our desires."

"You are mistaken," replied the Sufi master. "The base way of dominating a desire is to satisfy it. I would rather you had the sweets in your bellies - their rightful place - than in your minds, which should be filled with nobler things."

Spider's Web or Brick Wall?

During World War II, a soldier was separated from his unit on an island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire he had lost touch with his comrades.

Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves.

Although safe for the moment, he realised that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves and would be killed.

As he waited, he prayed, "Lord, please spare my life. Whatever will happen, I love you and trust you. Amen." After praying, he lay quietly listening to the enemy begin to draw close.

He thought, "Well, I guess the Lord isn't going to help me out of this one." Then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his cave. "Hah" he thought, "What I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humour. "

As the enemy drew closer he watched from the darkness of his hide out and could see them searching one cave after another.

As they came to his, he got ready to make his last stand, but then he heard the leader of the soldiers say, "You may as well ignore looking in this cave....if he had entered here this web would be broken!" So they left and he was delivered!

To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on. Suddenly he realised that with the spider web over the entrance, his cave looked as if no one had entered for quite a while.

"Lord, forgive me," he prayed. "I had forgotten that in you a spider's web is stronger than a brick wall."

What's your worth?

Michael Jordan was an African-American man, born in 1963, in the slums of Brooklyn, New York.
He had four brothers and his father's wages were not sufficient to provide for the whole family.
He grew up in a poor neighbourhood which was full of discrimination, to the point where he could not see any hope for the future.

When he was 13 years old, his father gave him a piece of used clothing and asked: "What do you think the value of this outfit would be?"

Jordan replied, "Maybe one dollar."

His father asked, "Can you sell it for two dollars? If you can sell it, it would mean that you are a big help to your father and mother. "

Jordan nodded his head, "I'll try, but no guarantee that I'll be successful."

Jordan carefully washed the clothes clean. Because they didn't have an iron, to smoothen out clothes, he levelled it with a clothes brush on a flat board, then kept it in the sun to dry. The next day, he brought the clothes to a crowded underground station. After offering it for more than six hours. Jordan finally managed to sell it for $2. He took the two dollar bill and ran home.

After that, everyday he was looked for used clothing, washed and ironed it and sold it in the crowd.
More than ten days later, his father again gave him a piece of used clothing, "Now think of a way that you can sell these clothes for 20 bucks?"

Jordan said, "How is it possible? This outfit can only fetch two dollars at the most. "

His father replied in an effort to inspire him, "Why don't you try it first? There must be a way."

Finally, Jordan got an Idea He asked for cousin's help to paint a picture of Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse on the garment. Then he tried to sell it in the school where the children of the rich study. Soon a housekeeper, who was there to pick his master, bought clothes for his master. The master was a little boy of only 10 years but was very fond of clothes. He loved it so much and he gave a five dollar tip. 25 dollars was a huge amount for Jordan, the equivalent of a month's salary of his father.

When he got home, his father gave him yet another piece of used clothing. "Are you able to resell it at a price of 200 dollars?" His eyes lit up.

This time, Jordan accepted the clothes without the slightest doubt. Two months later a popular movie actress from the movie "Charlie's Angels", Farah Fawcett came to New York for her Movie promos. After the press conference, Jordan made his way through the security forces to reach the side of Farah Fawcett and requested her autograph on the piece of clothing. When Fawcett saw this innocent child asking for her autograph, she gladly signed it.

Jordan was shouting very excitedly, "This is a jersey signed by Miss Farah Fawcett, the selling price is 200 dollars!"He auctioned off the clothes, to a businessman for a price of 1,200 dollars!

Upon returning home, his father by broke into TEARS and said, "I am amazed that you did it My child! You're really great! "

That night, Jordan slept alongside his father. His father said, "Son, in your experience selling these three pieces of clothing, what did you learn about success?"

Jordan replied, "Where there's a will, there's a way."

His father nodded his head, then shook his head, "What you say is not entirely wrong! But that was not my intention. I just wanted to show you that a piece of used clothing which is worth only a dollar can also be increased in value, Then how about us - living & thinking humans? We maybe darker and poorer, but what's the difference? "

This thought enlightened young Jordan. Even a piece of used clothing could be made dignified, then why not me? There is absolutely no reason to underestimate myself.

From then on, Michael Jordan felt that his future would be beautiful and full of hope.

Our potential is so great, and should not be viewed small & low only because of our status, looks or wealth.

No Pain, No Gain

It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals dies because of the cold. The hedgehogs, realizing the situation, decided to group together to keep warm. This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded the closest companion. After a while, they decided to distance themselves from each other. Soon, they began to die, alone and frozen.

So they had to make a choice; either accept the quills of their companions, or disappear from the Earth. Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. They learnt to live with the little wounds caused by close relationship each shared with their companions in order to receive the warmth that came from the others.

There's lesson to be learnt from hedgehogs !!!

Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow

There was a seeker who asked a question to his guru, What is Time?" The guru answered, " Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow..." The seeker was disappointed, and said "Is that it?"

Well, listen to this story, if you are not satisfied with the answer I gave you," said the guru.

Once there was Today who wanted to become Always. Yesterday told Today, "I also wanted that when I was you." "Did you ask Always how to do that?" inquired Today. "I asked," replied Yesterday and the answer was "By changing, by becoming Tomorrow from Today." Today thought "That means Always does not belong to itself. It is always someone else's! It means that something is making it do that. But what's that? Yesterday suggested "Is it time?" "What is time?" Today asked. "It is only you, me and also Tomorrow, replied Yesterday.

Another seeker inquired, "But it means that time is that what passes. And that is wrong. It can also last by stopping". The wise man looked at them with curiosity and then smiled. "You are right. Sometimes Today can last a hundred or a thousand years, before it passes. Sometimes it feels like Yesterday has come back and we are living in it. There is a little bit of Tomorrow in Yesterday and Today, but we rarely recognise it.

It turns out that there is only this Trinity.

The Tale of Two Seas

This is a beautiful tale concerning two seas.

If you have ever visited Israel, then you know that Israel has two lakes. The one up in the North is the Kinneret, also known as the sea of Galilee, because it is up in the area called the Galilee. From this lake comes most of the water in the tiny state. The ancient city of Tiberias, located on its shores, is today a flourishing city. Here the delicious St. Peter's fish is caught by the local fishermen and prized as a delicacy. From the Kinneret, the water is purified and pumped into large pipelines that bring the life-giving water to the towns and cities all over the country. The Sea of Galilee is beautiful. It has blue water and is full of fauna and flora. Life exists. Trees line its banks where children splash and play. The Jordan River makes this sea, flowing from the sunny hills. And life is happy and vibrant around this sea.

 

Through the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River continues to flow south. Into another sea the cool rolling waters flow. Into the Dead Sea. Here there are no fish swimming, no birds flying above, no families sunning near the shoreline. No man or animal will drink the water here. Life does not exist and no one wants to be here.

Every school kid knows that the only water body which in reality is not a sea but ironically called so is the Dead Sea; it is actually a lake. That explains the ‘sea’ part of ‘Dead Sea’. But why is it Dead Sea? Or the Killer Sea? Because there is absolutely no life in it even though it is 67 kms long, 18 kms wide at its widest point, and 1237 feet deep. It is one of the saltiest bodies of water on earth; almost 9 times saltier than normal ocean water. It is this high density of salt which never allows even the slightest hint of marine flora or fauna to survive and flourish. But why is this lake so salty? Quite simple. It never flows out. It receives water from River Jordan but keeps it all to itself. It is so below the mean sea level that there is no outlet. Some amount of water of course gets evaporated leaving the salts behind, and in the process creates the dead, most uninhabitable environment.

One might ask: What makes this enormous difference between these neighboring seas? Could it be the Jordan River? No. The same flowing waters empty into both bodies. It is also not the soil, not the people, not the geography.

So what is the difference?

The Sea of Galilee receives, but does not keep the Jordan. For every drop that flows into, another drop flows out. The Sea of Galilee gives equally as it receives.

But the Dead Sea keeps the Jordan. It has no outlet. Every drop it gets, it keeps. It is not tempted to share and stockpiles its incoming waters aggressively.

There are two seas in Palestine. The Sea of Galilee gives, lives and flourishes. And the Dead Sea keeps everything, shares nothing and is dead.

Which sea best represents you and your life? Which sea do you wish to be like?

The Missing Goat

It all started one lazy Sunday afternoon in a small town near Toronto in Canada.

Two school-going friends had a crazy idea.

They rounded up three goats from the neighborhood and painted the number 1, 2 and 4 on their sides.

That night they let the goats loose inside their school building.

The next morning, when the authorities entered the school, they could smell something was wrong.

They soon saw goat droppings on the stairs and near the entrance and realized that some goats had entered the building.

A search was immediately launched and very soon, the three goats were found.

But the authorities were worried, where was goat No. 3?

They spent the rest of the day looking for goat No.3.

Gradually there was panic and frustration.

The school declared classes off for the students for the rest of the day.

The teachers, helpers, guards, canteen staffs, boys were all busy looking for the goat No. 3, which, of course, was never found.

Simply because it did not exist.
---
Those among us who inspite of having a good life are always feeling a "lack of fulfilment" are actually looking for the elusive, missing, non-existent goat No.3.

Whatever the area of complaint or search or dissatisfaction may be - relationship, job-satisfaction, materialistic achievement......an absence of something is always larger than the presence of many other things.

Stop worrying about goat No.3

Not Permanent

When somebody tells me that he has failed in exams, I ask "Is there a law that you will pass every time?"

When somebody tells me "My girlfriend broke up with me", I ask, "Is there a rule that you will have successful relationships always?"

When somebody asks me "Why am I depressed?", my question is "Is it compulsory to have confidence all the time?"

When somebody lamented about his huge business losses as a result of his making wrong business decisions, my question is "Is it possible that you take only the right decision all the time?"

The fact is that our expectation that life has to be perfect or permanent is the biggest reason of our happiness. One has to understand the law of impermanence of nature. After each sunny day, a dark night follows; after each birth, there follows a certain death; for full moon to come again, it has to pass through a no-moon phase. In this imperfection of nature, there is perfection.

Therefore, stop taking your failures personally or intensely. Prepare yourself for one more fight after each fall because even failures cannot be permanent.