BeingAnOdia

The Elephant Rope As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at any time, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.         He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”         The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.         Like the elephants, how many of us g...

  Story of Regret   There was this guy who believed very much in true love and decided to take his time to wait for his right girl to appear. He believed that there would definitely be someone special out there for him, but none came. Every year at Christmas, his ex-girlfriend would return from Vancouver to look him up. He was aware that she still held some hope of re-kindling the past romance with him. He did not wish to mislead her in any way. So he would always get one of his girlfriends to pose as his steady whenever she came back. That went on for several years and each year, the guy would get a different girl to pose as his romantic interest.   So whenever the ex-girlfriend came to visit him, she would be led into believing that it was all over between her and the guy. The girl took all those rather well, often trying to casually tease him about his different girlfriends, or so, as it seemed! In fact, the girl often wept in secret whenever she saw him with a...

Fulfilling a Promise   Ever since the beginning, the girl’s family members disagree with her relationship with the boy. Saying that because of family background, if she insists on being together with the boy, she’ll suffer for her whole lifetime.   Because of the pressure applied by family members, she frequently quarrels with him. The girl does love the boy, she used to ask him, “How much do you love me?” Because the boy is not good with words, he used to make her angry. With additional comments from her parents, her mood gets even worse. The boy has become her “anger releasing target”. And the boy, just silently allowed her to continuously release her anger on him. Later, the boy graduated from University. He plans to further study overseas but before he left. He proposed to the girl… ” I, don’t know how to say nice words but I do know that I love you. If you agree, I am willing to take care of you, the whole life. About your family members, I will work hard to con...

 खम्भे ने पकड़ रखा है! एक समय शराब का एक व्यसनी एक संत के पास गया और विनम्र स्वर में बोला, 'गुरूदेव, मैं इस शराब के व्यसन से बहुत ही दुखी हो गया हूँ। इसकी वजह से मेरा घर बरबाद हो रहा है। मेरे बच्चे भूखे मर रहे हैं, किन्तु मैं शराब के बगैर नही रह पाता! मेरे घर की शांति नष्ट हो गयी है। कृपया आप मुझे कोई सरल उपाय बताएँ, जिससे मैं अपने घर की शांति फिर से पा सकूँ।' गुरूदेव ने कहा, 'जब इस व्यसन से तुमको इतना नुकसान होता है, तो तुम इसे छोड़ क्यों नहीं देते?' व्यक्ति बोला, 'पूज्यश्री, मैं शराब को छोड़ना चाहता हूं, पर यह ही मेरे खून में इस कदर समा गयी है कि मुझे छोड़ने का नाम ही नहीं ले रही है।' गुरूदेव ने हँस कर कहा, 'कल तुम फिर आना! मैं तुम्हें बता दूँगा कि शराब कैसे छोड़नी है?' दूसरे दिन निश्चित समय पर वह व्यक्ति महात्मा के पास गया। उसे देख महात्मा झट से खड़े हुए और एक खम्भे को कस कर पकड़ लिया। जब उस व्यक्ति ने महात्मा को इस दशा में देखा, तो कुछ समय तो वह मौन खड़ा रहा, पर जब काफी देर बाद भी महात्माजी ने खम्भे को नहीं छोड़ा, तो उससे रहा नहीं गया और पूछ बैठा, कि '...

  There was once a merchant who employed many workers to build a temple in his garden. Regularly, they would start work in the morning; and take a break for the mid-day meals, and return to resume work till evening. One day, a group of monkeys arrived at the site of the building and watched the workers leaving for their mid-day meals. One of the carpenters was sawing a huge log of wood.  Since it was only half-done; he placed a wedge in between to prevent the log from closing up. He then went off along with the other workers for his meal. When all the workers were gone, the monkeys came down from the trees and started jumping around the site, and playing with the instruments. There was one monkey, who got curious about the wedge placed between the log. He sat down on the log, and having placed himself in between the half-split log, caught hold of the wedge and started pulling at it. All of a sudden, the wedge came out. As a result, the half-split log closed in and the monkey g...

 Positive Thinking Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, “If I were any better, I would be twins!”         He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.         Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, “I don’t get it! You can’t be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?” Jerry replied, “Each morning I wake up and say to myself, Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.’ I choose to be in a good mood...

 My story is my question? Today I will tell a story and ask a question, and you all have to answer it. Last Sunday, I saw an old man waiting for a long time outside a mall in my locality. The old man stands outside the mall from ten in the morning to noon without any work.  An easy question arises in my mind, why has the old man waited so long? Who is this old man??  With the help of people nearby, I learned that he comes here every Sunday and waits here for hours. The gentleman is about seventy years old, and has been here every Sunday, regardless of the drought, rain, or winter. As my curiosity grew, I  inquired about the old man to find out more. "It simply came to our notice then. He was divorced when he was twenty-five years old. But the ex-wife often comes to the mall with her new husband to shop. It is true that the gentleman has not spoken to his ex-wife, but has been waiting for many months for every Sunday to have a glimpse of her ex-wife.  We will do ...

FAMILY  After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said, “I love you, but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.”         The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my MOTHER, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally. That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie. “What’s wrong, are you well?” she asked.         My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late-night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news. “I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some time with you,” I responded. “Just the two of us.” She thought about it for a moment, and then said, “I would like that very much.”         That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at he...

A shepherd, in one of his trips to look after his flock, took with him one of his children, a boy three years old. After crossing his pastures for some time, followed by his dog, he found it necessary to ascend a hill at some distance, to obtain a better view of his range.  As the climb was too much for the little child, he left him on a small plain at the bottom, telling him not to stir from it until his return. Scarcely had he gained the top of the hill, however, when the sky was darkened by a thick mist.  The anxious father at once hurried back to find his child; but owing to the unusual darkness, he missed his way. After a fruitless search of many hours, he discovered that he had reached the bottom of the valley, and was near his own cottage. To renew the search that night was both vain and most dangerous; he was, therefore, compelled to go home,    The next morning, by break of day, the shepherd, with many of his neighbors, set out to look for the child; but aft...

There was a blind girl who hated herself just because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He was always there for her. She said that if she could only see the world, she would marry her boyfriend.         One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her and then she could see everything, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend asked her, “Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?”         The girl was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend was blind too, and refused to marry him. Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and later wrote a letter to her saying:         “Just take care of my eyes dear.”         This is how human brain changes when the status changed. Only few remember what life was before, and who’s always been there even in the most painful situations.         Life Is A Gift         Today before you think of s...

After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said, “I love you, but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you.”         The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my MOTHER, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally. That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie. “What’s wrong, are you well?” she asked.         My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late-night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news. “I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some time with you,” I responded. “Just the two of us.” She thought about it for a moment, and then said, “I would like that very much.”         That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her ...

What love is all about It was a busy morning, approximately 8:30 am, when an elderly gentleman, in his 80s arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb.  He stated that he was in a hurry and that he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs, and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would be able to see him.         I  saw him looking at his watch and decided since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redressed his wound. While taking care of him, we began to engage in conversation. I asked him if he had a doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I then inquired as to her health. He told me that she had been there for a while and was a vict...

 Once upon a time, there lived a poor man in a village. His name was Swabhavakripna. He was all alone in this world. He had no relatives or friends. He used to beg for his living. Whatever food he got as alms, he kept in an earthen pot and hung it beside his bed. Whenever he felt hungry he took out some food from the pot and ate it. One night, the man lay on his bed and soon he was fast asleep. He began to dream-He was no longer a poor man . He wore good clothes. He was the owner of a shop. Hundreds of customers came to his shop. Soon he became richer than before. He purchased many buffaloes and cows. Very soon the buffaloes and cows had their young ones. Those young ones grew and became buffaloes and cows. The buffaloes and cows gave milk. He made a lot of butter and curd from the milk. He sold butter and curd in the market. Soon he became richer then ever before. He built a big house for himself. Then he married a beautiful girl. Soon they had their children. The children play...

There was a business executive who was deep in debt and could see no way out. Creditors were closing in on him. Suppliers were demanding payment. He sat on the park bench, head in hands, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy. Suddenly an old man appeared before him. “I can see that something is troubling you,” he said. After listening to the executive’s woes, the old man said, “I believe I can help you.” He asked the man his name, wrote out a check, and pushed it into his hand saying, “Take this money. Meet me here exactly one year from today, and you can pay me back at that time.” Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come. The business executive saw in his hand a check for $500,000, signed by John D. Rockefeller, then one of the richest men in the world! “I can erase my money worries in an instant!” he realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the uncashed check in his safe. Just knowing it was there might give him the str...

A man feared his wife wasn’t hearing as well as she used to and he thought she might need a hearing aid. Not quite sure how to approach her, he called the family Doctor to discuss the problem. The Doctor told him there is a simple informal test the husband could perform to give the Doctor a better idea about her hearing loss. Here’s what you do,” said the Doctor, “stand about 40 feet away from her, and in a normal conversational speaking tone see if she hears you. If not, go to 30 feet, then 20 feet, and s o on until you get a response.” That evening, the wife is in the kitchen cooking dinner, and he was in the den. He says to himself, “I’m about 40 feet away, let’s see what happens.” Then in a normal tone he asks, ‘Honey, what’s for dinner?” No response. So the husband moves to closer to the kitchen, about 30 feet from his wife and repeats, “Honey, what’s for dinner?” Still no response. Next he moves into the dining room where he is about 20 feet from his wife and asks, Honey...

Once, there was this guy, who was in love with a girl. She wasn’t the most beautiful and gorgeous but for him, she was everything. He used to dream about her, about spending the rest of life with her. His friends told him, “why do you dream so much about her, when you don’t even know if she loves you or not?  First tell her your feelings, and get to know if she likes you or not”. He felt that was the right way.   The girl knew from the beginning, that this guy loves her.   One day when he proposed, she rejected him.  His friends thought he would take alcohol, drugs etc and ruin his life.  To their surprise, he was not depressed. When they asked him how was it that he is not sad,  he replied, “‘why should I feel bad? I lost one who never loved me and she lost the one who really loved and cared for her.” Moral:  True Love is Hard to Get.  Love is all about giving to other person without greed of gaining anything in return, i...

Once upon a time, two brothers who lived on adjoining farms fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in 40 years of farming side by side, sharing machinery, and trading labor and goods as needed without a hitch. Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major difference, and finally, it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by weeks of silence. One morning there was a knock on John's door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter's toolbox. "I'm looking for a few days work," he said. "Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there. Could I help you?" "Yes," said the older brother. "I do have a job for you. Look across the creek at that farm. That's my neighbor, in fact, it's my younger brother. Last week there was a meadow between us and he took his bulldozer to the river levee and now there is a creek between us. Well, he may have don...

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further. So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get throu...

I awoke in the night to find my husband, Marty, gently rocking our baby son, Noah. I stood for a moment in the doorway, watching this amazing man with whom I was so blessed to share my life, lovingly stroke Noah’s fat pink cheeks in an effort to comfort him. I felt in my heart that something was seriously wrong with Noah. This was one of several nights Noah had been up, burning with a high fever. Tears filled my eyes as I watched my beautiful husband move Noah’s little cheek up against his own chest so that Noah could feel the vibrations of his voice. Noah is deaf. Learning to comfort him has brought on a whole new way of thinking for us. We relied on our voices, a soothing lullaby, audio toys, and music to comfort our other children. But with Noah, we need to use touch, his soft blankie, sight, the feel of our voices, and most importantly, the use of sign language to communicate emotions and a sense of comfort to him. My husband made the sign for “I love you” with his hand and ...

Sat with my friend in a well-known coffee shop in a neighboring town of Venice, Italy, the city of lights and water. As we enjoyed our coffee, a man entered and sat at an empty table beside us. He called the waiter and placed his order saying, “Two cups of coffee, one of them there on the wall.” We heard this order with rather interest and observed that he was served with one cup of coffee but he paid for two. When he left, the waiter put a piece of paper on the wall saying “A Cup of Coffee”. While we were still there, two other men entered and ordered three cups of coffee, two on the table and one on the wall. They had two cups of coffee but paid for three and left. This time also, the waiter did the same; he put a piece of paper on the wall saying, “A Cup of Coffee”. It was something unique and perplexing for us. We finished our coffee, paid the bill and left. After a few days, we had a chance to go to this coffee shop again. While we were enjoying our coffee, a man poor...