Tuesday, June 29, 2010

2010-27 - Irrelevance…

All questions at the public meeting that day were about life beyond the grave.
The Master only laughed and did not give a single answer.
To his disciples, who demanded to know the reason for his evasiveness, he later said, "Have you observed that it is precisely those who do not know what to do with this life, who want another that will last forever?"
"But is there life after death or is there not?" persisted a disciple.
"Is there life before death? - that is the question!" said the Master enigmatically.
~ Anthony de Mello (One Minute Wisdom)
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“Live and work but do not forget to play, to have fun in life and really enjoy it.”
~ Eileen Caddy
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Tuesday, June 15, 2010

2010-25 - Lessons from an Oyster…

There once was an oyster whose story I tell,
who found that some sand had got into his shell.

It was only a grain, but it gave him great pain,
for oysters have feelings although they're so plain.

Now, did he berate the harsh workings of fate
that had brought him to such a deplorable state?

Did he curse at the government, cry for election,
and claim that the sea should have given him protection?

'No,' he said to himself as he lay on a shell,
since I cannot remove it, I shall try to improve it.

Now the years have rolled around, as the years always do,
and he came to his ultimate destiny stew.

And the small grain of sand that had bothered him so
was a beautiful pearl all richly aglow.

Now the tale has a moral, for isn't it grand
what an oyster can do with a morsel of sand?

What couldn't we do if we'd only begin
with some of the things that get under our skin.

~ Author Unknown

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“If you will call your troubles experiences, and remember that every experience develops some latent force within you, you will grow vigorous and happy, however adverse your circumstances may seem to be.”
John Heywood
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Tuesday, June 1, 2010

2010-23 - The Three Brothers…

Some years ago, three brothers left the farm to work in the city. They were all hired by the same company at the same pay. Three years later, Jim was being paid $500 a month, Frank was receiving $1,000, but George was now making $1,500.
Their father decided to visit the employer. He listened to the confused father and said, "I will let the boys explain for themselves."
Jim was summoned to the supervisor's office and was told:
"Jim, I understand the Far East Importers has just brought in a large transport plane loaded with Japanese import goods. Will you please go over to the airport and get a cargo inventory?"
Three minutes later, Jim returned to the office. "The cargo was one thousand bolts of Japanese silk," Jim reported. "I got the information over the telephone from a member of the crew."
When Jim left, Frank, the $1,000 a month brother, was called. "Frank," said the supervisor, "I wish you'd go out to the airport and get an inventory of the cargo plane which was just brought in by Far East Importers."
An hour later, Frank was back in the office with a list showing that the plane carried 1,000 bolts of Japanese silk, 500 transistor radios, and 1,000 hand-painted bamboo trays. George, the $1,500 a month brother, was given identical instructions. Working hours were over when he finally returned.
"The transport plane carried one thousand bolts of Japanese silk," he began. "It was on sale at sixty dollars a bolt, so I took a two-day option on the whole lot. I have wired a designer in New York offering the silk at seventy-five dollars a bolt. I expect to have the order tomorrow. I also found five hundred transistor radios, which I sold over the telephone at a profit of $2.30 each. There were a thousand bamboo trays, but they were of poor quality, so I didn't try to do anything with them."
When George left the office, the employer smiled. "You probably noticed," he said, "that Jim doesn't do what he's told, Frank does only what he'd told, but George does without being told."
~ Author Unknown
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“The future is full of promise for one who shows initiative.”
Author Unknown
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