The Fruit of...

"The fruit of Silence is Prayer
The fruit of Prayer is Faith
The fruit of Faith is Love
The fruit of Love is Service
The fruit of Service is Peace."

-Mother Teresa

Today Is Mine

"Today is mine. It is unique.

Nobody in the world has one exactly like it.

It holds the sum of all my past experiences and all my future potential.

I can fill it with joyous moments or ruin it with fruitless worry.

If painful recollections of the past come into my mind, or frightening thoughts of the future, I can put them away.

They cannot spoil today for me."

-Alcoholic Anonymous

A simple advice

In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don't try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family, be completely present.

The Ox and the Mule

For some time an old farmer had been plowing with an ox and a mule teamed together; working them pretty hard. The young ox said to the mule, "Let's play sick today and rest a little while." But the old mule said, "No, we need to get the work done, for the growing season is short."

But the ox played sick, and the farmer brought it fresh hay and corn and made the ox comfortable. When the mule came in from plowing, the ox asked how it went in the fields. "We didn't get as much done," answered the mule, "but we did a fair stretch." Then the ox asked, "What did the old man say about me?" "Nothing," said the mule.

The next day the ox, thinking it had a good thing going, played sick again. And when the mule returned from the field very tired, the ox asked, "How did it go today?" "All right, I guess," the mule replied, "but we didn't get much done." Then the young ox asked, "What did the old man say about me?" "Nothing to me," the mule answered, "but he did stop and have a long talk with the butcher."

Never give up!

I found this funny but inspiring cartoon from my email. I find it as one of the best representations of determinism and persistence. Most of us may have been in the frog's shoes one way or the other, but only few must have slipped out of the bird's throat. Simply because we have lost the will to fight or have just given up and lost hope. In every hopeless situation we are in, we must learn to accept it, so that we can deal with it and cope with it until we are able to get out.

An Old Irish Prayer

Take time to work, it is the price of success.

Take time to think, it is the source of power.

Take time to play, it is the secret of perpetual youth.

Take time to read, it is the foundation of wisdom.

Take time to be friendly, it is the road to happiness.

Take time to dream, it is hitching your wagon to a star.

Take time to love and be loved, it is the privilege of the gods.

Take time to look around, it is too short a day to be selfish.

Take time to laugh, it is the music of the soul.