The Right Path

Karna asks Krishna - "My mother left me the moment I was born. Is it my fault I was born an illegitimate child? I did not get education from Dhronacharya because I was considered a non Kshatriya. Parshu-Raam taught me but then gave me the curse to forget everything since I was a kshatriya. A cow was accidentally hit by my arrow & its owner cursed me for no fault of mine. I was disgraced in Draupadi's swayamvar. Even Kunti finally told me the truth only to save her other sons. Whatever I received was through Dhuryodhana's charity. So how am I wrong in taking his side?"

Krishna replies, "Karna, I was born in a jail. Death was waiting for me even before my birth. The night I was born I was separated from my birth parents.

From childhood you grew up hearing the noise of swords, chariots, horses, bow and arrows. I got only cow herd's shed, dung, and multiple attempts on my life even before I could walk!

No army, no education. I could hear people saying I am the reason for all their problems.

When all of you were being appreciated for your valour by your teachers I had not even received any education. I joined gurukula of Rishi Sandipani only at the age of 16!

You are married to a girl of your choice. I didn't get the girl I loved & rather ended up marrying those who wanted me or the ones I rescued from demons.

I had to move my whole community from the banks of Yamuna to far off Sea shore to save them from Jarasandh. I was called a coward for running away.

If Dhuryodhana wins the war you will get lot of credit. What do I get if Dharmaraja wins the war? Only the blame for the war and all related problems.

Remember one thing Karna. Everybody has challenges in life. LIFE IS NOT FAIR ON ANYBODY. Dhuryodhan also has a lot of unfairness in life and so has Yudhhishthir.

But what is Right (Dharma) is known to your mind (conscience). No matter how much unfairness we got, how many times we were disgraced, how many times we were denied what was due to us, what is important is how you REACTED at that time. Stop whining Karna. Life's unfairness does not give you license to walk the wrong path of अधर्म.

Creating the Perfect Pot

The Arts teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class into two groups.

All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be graded solely on the on the quantity of work and all those on the right solely on its quality.

His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he would bring in his weighing scale and weigh the work of the “Quantity” group: fifty pound of completed pots rated an “A”, forty pounds a “B”, and so on.

Those being graded on “Quality”, however, needed to produce only one pot albeit a perfect one to get an “A”.

The first half of the class immediately grabbed fistfuls of clay and started churning out pots.

Several crumbled right at the onset, a few mid-way and there were others that did not look complete even at the end.

Over the weeks they made big pots, small pots, simple pots, and intricate pots, adding to the growing numbers.

The second half of the class threw themselves into their research, planning, and design.

Then they set about creating their one, perfect pot for the competition.

At the end of the class term came the grading time.

A curious fact emerged: the works of highest quality came from the students that were tasked with quantity .

It seems that while the Quantity group was busily churning out piles of work and learning from their mistakes to complete each pot, the Quality group had spent much of their time theorizing and planning perfection, and its implementation was just a small part of the whole process. In the end they had little more to show for their efforts than a pot that was comparatively just about average.

The practice the Quantity group gained made them significantly better at pottery than the planners on a quest for a single, perfect pot.

As this group executed more, practiced more and hence, delivered better than those who chased perfection.

Source: Art and Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orland, 

The story of Marvan Attapattu

An amazing story on Marvan Attapattu Srilankan Cricketer

Making his debut in Test cricket for Sri Lanka, Marvan scored a duck in his first innings. And again, in his second innings.

They dropped him. So he went back to the nets for more practice. More first-class cricket. More runs. Waiting for that elusive call. And after twenty-one months, he got a second chance.

This time, he tried harder. His scores: 0 in the first innings, 1 in the second Dropped again, he went back to the grind. And scored tonnes of runs in first-class cricket. Runs that seemed inadequate to erase the painful memories of the Test failures. Well, seventeen months later, opportunity knocked yet again. Marvan got to bat in both innings of the Test. His scores: 0 and 0. Phew!

Back to the grind. Would the selectors ever give him another chance? They said he lacked big-match temperament. His technique wasn’t good enough at the highest level. Undaunted, Marvan kept trying.

Three years later, he got another chance. This time, he made runs. He came good. And in an illustrious career thereafter, Marvan went on to score over 5000 runs for Sri Lanka. That included sixteen centuries and six double hundreds. And he went on to captain his country. All this despite taking over six years to score his second run in Test cricket. Wow! What a guy!

How many of us can handle failure as well as he did? Six years of trying, and failing. He must have been tempted to pursue another career. Change his sport perhaps. Play county cricket. Or, oh well, just give up. But he didn’t. And that made the difference.

King Solomon’s Ring

One day, King Solomon, the wisest man in the world, wanted to test the integrity and wisdom of his faithful servant. The King summoned his servant and asked him to carry out a task, knowing that it could not be completed. King Solomon said: "The Feast of Tabernacles is in 6 months, and I would like to wear a magic ring for the holiday. Any person who is sad and looks at the ring will become happy and any happy person who looks at the ring will become sad.”

The faithful servant immediately went on the journey in the search of the mysterious ring. A month passed, two months passed, and the servant, who visited every jeweler and peddler in the kingdom, remained without the ring. Two more months passed, and the servant reached the limits of the kingdom, but he had yet to find anyone who had heard of such a magical ring.

Over time, the faithful servant became frustrated. With all his might he wanted to fulfill his master's wish, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not find the mysterious ring. He was depressed and almost gave up, until one day before the Feast of Tabernacles, he arrived at the small workshop of a poor jeweler in a small village.

The servant, who had nothing to lose, asked the old silversmith: "Tell me, sir, have you ever heard of a magical ring that causes the sad to become happy and the happy to become sad?" The old silversmith thought for a second, took out a small copper ring from one of the drawers, scratched it and handed it to the servant. The servant, who for the past few months had lost all hope, gave one glance at the inscription on the ring, and his eyes lit up. He thanked the silversmith, paid him a bag of gold coins, and hurried to the king's palace.

When the servant finally arrived at the King's Palace, Solomon was very happy and rejoiced. He did not believe that his servant would really come back to him with a ring. The servant handed the ring to his master, the wise king gave it one look and the smile immediately disappeared from his face. All the courtiers were curious to see what was written on the magical ring, and finally, when they looked at it, they saw the following simple sentence:

"Despite everything, this too will pass"

This simple sentence contains a truth that we must cherish in our hearts - even if it feels like everything is going great and were on top of the world, we must remember that all this might disappear one day. On the other hand, and this is the happy side of the rule, all the suffering, all the frustration, all the difficult times we sometimes experience, these too will pass and be forgotten.

Source: http://www.ba-bamail.com/content.aspx?emailid=28949

Keep your fork

There was a young woman who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. So as she was getting her things 'in order,' she contacted her Pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes.

She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what scriptures she would like read, and what outfit she wanted to be buried in.

Everything was in order and the Pastor was preparing to leave when the young woman suddenly remembered something very important to her.
'There's one more thing,' she said excitedly..
'What's that?' came the Pastor's reply?
'This is very important,' the young woman continued. 'I want to be buried with a fork in my Right hand.'

The Pastor stood looking at the young woman, not knowing quite what to say.

That surprises you, doesn't it?' the young woman asked.

'Well, to be honest, I'm puzzled by the request,' said the Pastor.

The young woman explained. 'My grandmother once told me this story, and from that time on I have always tried to pass along its message to those I love and those who are in need of encouragement. In all my years of attending socials and dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say, 'Keep your fork.' It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming...like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful, and with substance!'

So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder 'What's with the fork?' Then I want you to tell them: 'Keep your fork ..the best is yet to come.'

The Pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the young woman good-bye. He knew this would be one of the last times he would see her before her death. But he also knew that the young woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did. She had a better grasp of what heaven would be like than many people twice her age, with twice as much experience and knowledge. She KNEW that something better was coming.

At the funeral people were walking by the young woman's casket and they saw the cloak she was wearing and the fork placed in her right hand. Over and over, the Pastor heard the question, 'What's with the fork?' And over and over he smiled.

During his message, the Pastor told the people of the conversation he had with the young woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and about what it symbolized to her. He told the people how he could not stop thinking about the fork and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either.

So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind you, ever so gently, that the best is yet to come.

And just remember...keep your fork!

The BEST is yet to come!

Life isn't meant to be that easy !!!

During World War II, lots of fighter planes were getting hit by anti-aircraft guns. Air Force officers wanted to add some protective armor/shield to the planes. The question was where? The planes could only support few more kilos of weight. A group of mathematicians & engineers were called for a short consulting project. Fighter planes returning from missions were analyzed for bullet holes per square foot. They found 1.93 bullet holes/sq. foot near the tail of the planes whereas only 1.11 bullet holes/sq. foot close to the engine.

The Air Force officers thought that since the tail portion had the greatest density of bullets, that would be the logical location for putting an anti-bullet shield. A mathematician named Abraham Wald said exactly the opposite; more protection is needed where the bullet holes aren't - around the engines.

His judgment surprised everyone. He said "We are counting the planes that returned from a mission. Planes with lots of bullet holes in the engine did not return at all".

Einstein had said - "Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts".

I wanted to change the world

When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world.

I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation.

When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.

Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.

Author: unknown monk around 1100 AD

The other side of the wall

There was a young woman who took great pride in the growth and care of the flowers in her flower garden. She had been raised by her grandmother who taught her to love and care for flowers as she herself had done. So, like her grandmother, her flower garden was second to none.

One day while looking through a flower catalog she often ordered from, a picture of a plant immediately caught her eye. She had never seen blooms on a flower like that before. “I have to have it,” she said to herself, and she immediately ordered it.

When it arrived, she already had a place prepared to plant it. She planted it at the base of a stone wall at the back of her yard. It grew vigorously, with beautiful green leaves all over it, but there were no blooms. Day after day she continued to cultivate it, water it, feed it, and she even talked to it attempting to coax it to bloom. But, it was to no avail.

One morning weeks later, as she stood before the vine, she contemplated how disappointed she was that her plant had not bloomed. She was giving considerable thought to cutting it down and planting something else in its place. It was at this point that her invalid neighbor, whose lot joined hers, called over to her. “Thank you so much! You can’t imagine how much I have enjoyed the blooms of that vine you planted.” The young woman walked through the gate into her neighbor’s yard, and sure enough, she saw that on the other side of the wall the vine was filled with blooms. There were indeed the most beautiful blooms she had ever seen. The vine had crept through the crevices and it had not flowered on her side of the fence, it had flowered luxuriantly on the other side.

Just because you cannot see the good result of your labour does not mean that it bore no fruit.

The 99 Club

Once upon a time, there lived a King who, despite his luxurious lifestyle, was neither happy nor content.

One day, the King came upon a servant who was singing happily while he worked. This fascinated the King; why was he, the Supreme Ruler of the Land, unhappy and gloomy, while a lowly servant had so much joy. The King asked the servant, "Why are you so happy?"

The man replied, "Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but my family and I don't need too much - just a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummies."

The king was not satisfied with that reply. Later in the day, he sought the advice of his most trusted advisor. After hearing the King's woes and the servant's story, the advisor said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the servant has not been made part of The 99 Club."

"The 99 Club? And what exactly is that?" the King inquired.
The advisor replied, "Your Majesty, to truly know what The 99 Club is, place 99 Gold coins in a bag and leave it at this servant's doorstep."
When the servant saw the bag, he took it into his house. When he opened the bag, he let out a great shout of joy... So many gold coins!

He began to count them. After several counts, he was at last convinced that there were 99 coins. He wondered, "What could have happened to that last gold coin? Surely, no one would leave 99 coins!"
He looked everywhere he could, but that final coin was elusive. Finally, exhausted, he decided that he was going to have to work harder than ever to earn that gold coin and complete his collection.

From that day, the servant's life was changed. He was overworked, horribly grumpy, and castigated his family for not helping him make that 100th gold coin. He stopped singing while he worked.

Witnessing this drastic transformation, the King was puzzled. When he sought his advisor's help, the advisor said, "Your Majesty, the servant has now officially joined The 99 Club."

He continued, "The 99 Club is a name given to those people who have enough to be happy but are never content, because they're always yearning and striving for that extra 1 telling to themselves: "Let me get that one final thing and then I will be happy for life."

We can be happy, even with very little in our lives, but the minute we're given something bigger and better, we want even more! We lose our sleep, our happiness, we hurt the people around us; all these as a price for our growing needs and desires. That's what joining The 99 Club is all about.

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.