3 Dolls of Life

A sage presented a prince with a set of three small dolls.

The prince was not amused."Am I a girl that you give me dolls?" he asked.

This is a gift for a future king, said the sage. "If you look carefully, you'll see a hole in the ear of each doll."
So?The sage handed him a piece of string."Pass it through each doll." he said.

Intrigued, the prince picked up the first doll and put the string into the ear.
It came out from the other ear."This is one type of person," said the sage. "Whatever you tell him comes out from the other ear. He doesn't retain anything."

The prince put the string into the second doll.It came out from the mouth.
This is the second type of person, said the sage. "Whatever you tell him, he tells everybody else."

The prince picked up the third doll and repeated the process.The string did not reappear from anywhere else.
This is the third type of person, said the sage. "Whatever you tell him is locked up within him. It never comes out."

What is the best type of person? asked the prince.None of these.and the sage handed him a fourth doll, in answer.

When the prince put the string into the doll, it came out from the other."This is the first type of person", prince said. "How is it the best type of person?"

Rather than answering the sage said, "Do it again."The prince repeated the process.This time the string came out from the mouth.When asked for third time and prince put the string in, it did not come out at all.

This is the best type of person, said the sage. "To be trustworthy, a person must know when not to listen, when to remain silent and when to speak out."

Moral of the story

Wise person knows when to listen and when not to, when to remain silent and when to speak, what to speak and how much to speak. The above story also makes us more conscious about being sensitive to different situations and people. Much has to be accomplished in our daily lives, and we need to interact with others in order to achieve it. We may have to convince others and also get our way. This is what called as diplomacy. Diplomacy in life is cooked through the oven of sensitivity and awareness. Being sensitive and aware of people and situation makes us trustworthy. That is what all of us expect from another human being. Therefore, diplomacy is essential in our personal as well as official dealing with others. One can get messages across more effectively and influence others actions. 

Out of the Box

Many hundreds of years ago in a small Italian town, a merchant had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to the moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the merchant's beautiful daughter so he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the merchant's debt if he could marry the daughter. Both the merchant and his daughter were horrified by the proposal.

The moneylender told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty bag. The girl would then have to pick one pebble from the bag. If she picked the black pebble, she would become the moneylender's wife and her father's debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven. But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the merchant's garden. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick her pebble from the bag.

What would you have done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you have told her? Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.
2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the moneylender as a cheat.
3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.

The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking.
The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked." Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an advantageous one.

Moral of the story

Most complex problems do have a solution, sometimes we have to think about them in a different way.

A bus and the lightening

A bus full of passengers was travelling while suddenly the weather changed and there was a huge downpour and lightening all around. They could see that the lightening would appear to come towards the bus and then go elsewhere.

After 2 or 3 instances, the driver stopped the bus about fifty feet away from a tree and said - "We have somebody in the bus whose death is a certainty today. Because of that person everybody else will also get killed. I want each person to go one-by-one and touch the tree trunk and come back. Whom so ever death is certain will get caught up by the lightening and will die. But everybody else will be saved".

They had to force the 1st person to go and touch the tree and come back. He reluctantly got down from the bus and went and touched the tree. His heart leaped with joy when nothing happened and he was still alive. This continued for rest of the passengers who were all relieved when they touched the tree and nothing happened.

When the last passengers turn came, everybody looked at him with accusing eyes. This passenger was also very afraid and reluctant. Everybody forced him to get down and go and touch the tree. With a fear of death, the last passenger walked to the tree and touched it.
There was a huge sound of thunder and the lightening came down and hit the bus - yes the lightening hit the bus, and killed each and every passenger inside the bus.

It was because of the presence of this last passenger that earlier, the entire bus was safe and the lightening could not strike the bus.

Moral of the story

Sometimes we try to take credit for our achievements, but this could also be because of a person and his aura who is right next to us.

Look around, probably GOD is there in the form of parents, wife, children, siblings, relatives, friends, teachers and others who are trying save us
from bad things to happen to us. Respect all, love all and be grateful to all, always.

The Mango Tree

Once upon a time, there lived a big mango tree. A little boy loved to come and play around it everyday.

He climbed to the tree top, ate the mangoes, took a nap under the shadow… He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.

Time went by… The little boy grew, and he no longer played around the tree.

One day, the boy came back to the tree with a sad look on his face.

“Come and play with me,” the tree asked the boy.

“I am no longer a kid, I don’t play around trees anymore.” The boy replied, “I want toys. I need money to buy them.”

“Sorry, I don’t have money… but you can pick all my mangoes and sell them so you will have money.”

The boy was so excited. He picked all the mangoes on the tree and left happily. The boy didn't come back. The tree was sad.

One day, the boy grown into a man returned. The tree was so excited.

“Come and play with me,” the tree said.

“I don’t have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?”

“Sorry, I don’t have a house, but you can chop off my branches to build your house.”

So the man cut all the branches off the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy didn't come back afterward. The tree was again lonely and sad.

One hot summer day, the man returned and the tree was delighted.

“Come and play with me!” The tree said.

“I am sad and getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?”

“Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy.”

So the man cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and didn't come back for a long time.

Finally, the man returned after he had been gone for so many years.

“Sorry, my boy, but I don’t have anything for you anymore. No more mangoes to give you.” The tree said.

“I don’t have teeth to bite,” the man replied.

“No more trunk for you to climb on.”

“I am too old for that now,” the man said.

“I really can’t give you anything… the only thing left is my dying roots,” the tree said with sadness.

“I don’t need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years,” the man replied.

“Good! Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest. Come sit down with me and rest.”

The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled.

Moral of the story

The tree in the story represents our parents.
When we are young, we love to play with them.
When we grow up, we leave them and only come back when we need help.
Parents sacrifice their lives for us.

Black or White

When I was in elementary school, I got into a major argument with a boy in my class. I have forgotten what the argument was about, but I have never forgotten the lesson I learned that day.

I was convinced that “I” was right and “he” was wrong – and he was just as convinced that “I” was wrong and “he” was right. The teacher decided to teach us a very important lesson.

She brought us up to the front of the class and placed him on one side of her desk and me on the other. In the middle of her desk was a large, round object. I could clearly see that it was black. She asked the boy what colour the object was. “White,” he answered.

I couldn't believe he said the object was white, when it was obviously black! Another argument started between my classmate and me, this time about the colour of the object.

The teacher told me to go stand where the boy was standing and told him to come stand where I had been. We changed places, and now she asked me what the colour of the object was. I had to answer, “White.”

It was an object with two differently coloured sides, and from his viewpoint it was white. Only from my side it was black.

Moral of the story

Sometimes we need to look at the problem from the other person’s view in order to truly understand his/her perspective.

The Wise Man's Stone

A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left, rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman.

" I've been thinking," he said, "I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me something more precious. Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone.

Moral of the story

All the treasures in our world not worth the noble feelings that we carry within ourselves to others.

Viewpoint

A famous writer was in his study room. He picked up his pen and started writing:

**Last year, I had a surgery and my gall bladder was removed. I had to stay stuck to the bed due to this surgery for a long time. 

**The same year I reached the age of 60 years and had to give up my favourite job. I had spent 30 years of my life in this publishing company. 

**The same year I experienced the sorrow of the death of my father.

**And in the same year my son failed in his medical exam because he had a car accident. He had to stay in bed at hospital with the cast on for several days. The destruction of car was another loss. 

At the end he wrote: Alas! It was such bad year!! 

When the writer's wife entered the room, she found he husband looking sad lost in his thoughts. From behind his back she read what was written on the paper. She left the room silently and came back with another paper and placed it on side of her husband's writing.
When the writer saw this paper, he found this written on it:

**Last year I finally got rid of my gall bladder due to which I had spent years in pain.

**I turned 60 with sound health and got retired from my job. Now I can utilize my time to write something better with more focus and peace. 

**The same year my father, at the age of 95, without depending on anyone or without any critical condition met his Creator. 

**The same year, God blessed my son with a new life. My car was destroyed but my son stayed alive without getting any disability.

At the end she wrote: 
This year was an immense blessing of God and it passed well!!

Moral of the story

In daily lives we must see that its not happiness that makes us grateful but gratefulness that makes us happy...