Waiting for the Apple to Fall Into My Mouth

Dad: Son Do you have any idea how powerful your mind is? Do you know a human mind is so powerful you can get what you want just by thinking about it?"

Son: I feel like eating apples now. Can I use my mind to satisfy my desire?

Dad: Of course you can! Just visualize it happening, and you can have your apple in no time!

So, the son went out to the garden, lie under the apple tree, opened his mouth and visualized apples dropping into his mouth.

One hour passed. Nothing happened.

Two hours passed. Nothing happened.

Three hours passed. Nothing happened.

The son started having doubts and did not want to go home disappointed.

He went to the market and found a stall selling fruits. He helped the stall owner for an afternoon and received a basket of apples in exchange.

The son went home excited as he got what he wanted.

He opened the door and found a large box of apples by the door. Earlier, his dad went to the market and bought his son apples.

Then, the dad spoke.

"Son. You cannot predict how the universe work, but you can control how you work. The Universe can give you what, but in a different way from your expectations."

Read More

The Two Crabs

One fine day two Crabs came out from their home to take a stroll on the sand. ‘Child,’ said the mother, ‘you are walking very ungracefully. You should accustom yourself, to walking straight forward without twisting from side to side.’ ‘Pray, mother,’ said the young one, ‘do but set the example yourself, and I will follow you.’

Read More

What You Saw, You Will Reap Also

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business.

Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children, he decided to do something different.
He called all the young executives in his company together.

He said, “It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO. I have decided to choose one of you..”

The young executives were Shocked, but the boss continued.

“I am going to give each one of you a SEED today – one very special SEED…

I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you.

I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.”
One man, named Arfy, was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed.
Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.

Arfy kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.
Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing.
By now, others were talking about their plants,
but Arfy didn’t have a plant and he felt like a failure.
Six months went by — still nothing in Arfy’s pot.
He just knew he had killed his seed.

Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Arfy didn’t say anything to his colleagues, however.

He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil – He so wanted the seed to grow.
A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection.
Arfy told his wife that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened.
Arfy felt sick to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he knew his wife was right.
He took his empty pot to the board room.
When Arfy arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives.
They were beautiful — in all shapes and sizes.
Arfy put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!
When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives.
Arfy just tried to hide in the back.
“My, what great plants, trees, and flowers you have grown,” said the CEO.
“Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!”
All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Arfy at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front.
Arfy was terrified.
He thought, “The CEO knows I’m a failure! Maybe he will have me fired!”
When Arfy got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed – Arfy told him the story.
The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Arfy.
He looked at Arfy, and then announced to the young executives,
“Behold your next Chief Executive Officer! His name is Arfy!”
Arfy couldn’t believe it. Arfy couldn’t even grow his seed.
“How could he be the new CEO?” the others said.
Then the CEO said,
“One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today.
But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead – it was not possible for them to grow.
All of you, except Arfy, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you.
Arfy was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!”

* If you plant honesty, you will reap trust
* If you plant goodness, you will reap friends
* If you plant humility, you will reap greatness
* If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment
* If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective
* If you plant hard work, you will reap success
* If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation
* If you plant faith in God, you will reap a harvest

So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.

Read More

The Bundle of Sticks

An old man on the point of death summoned his sons around him to give them some parting advice. He ordered his servants to bring in a faggot of sticks, and said to his eldest son: ‘Break it.’ The son strained and strained, but with all his efforts was unable to break the Bundle.

The other sons also tried, but none of them was successful. ‘Untie the faggots,’ said the father, ‘and each of you take a stick.’ When they had done so, he called out to them: ‘Now, break,’ and each stick was easily broken. ‘You see my meaning,’ said their father. Unity gives strength

Read More

The Frogs Desiring a King

The Frogs were living as happy as could be in a marshy swamp that just suited them; they went splashing about caring for nobody and nobody troubling with them. But some of them thought that this was not right, that they should have a king and a proper constitution, so they determined to send up a petition to Jove to give them what they wanted. ‘Mighty Jove,’ they cried, ‘send unto us a king that will rule over us and keep us in order.’ Jove laughed at their croaking, and threw down into the swamp a huge Log, which came down splash to the swamp.

The Frogs were frightened out of their lives by the commotion made in their midst, and all rushed to the bank to look at the horrible monster; but after a time, seeing that it did not move, one or two of the boldest of them ventured out towards the Log, and even dared to touch it; still it did not move.

Then the greatest hero of the Frogs jumped upon the Log and commenced dancing up and down upon it, thereupon all the Frogs came and did the same; and for some time the Frogs went about their business every day without taking the slightest notice of their new King Log lying in their midst. But this did not suit them, so they sent another petition to Jove, and said to him, ‘We want a real king; one that will really rule over us.’ Now this made Jove angry, so he sent among them a big Stork that soon set to work gobbling them all up. Then the Frogs repented when too late. Better no rule than cruel rule.

Read More

The Man, the Boy, and the Donkey

A Man and his son were once going with their Donkey to market. As they were walking along by its side a countryman passed them and said: ‘You fools, what is a Donkey for but to ride upon?’

So the Man put the Boy on the Donkey and they went on their way. But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said: ‘See that lazy youngster, he lets his father walk while he rides.’

So the Man ordered his Boy to get off, and got on himself. But they hadn't gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other: ‘Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along.’

Well, the Man didn’t know what to do, but at last he took his Boy up before him on the Donkey. By this time they had come to the town, and the passers-by began to jeer and point at them. The Man stopped and asked what they were scoffing at. The men said: ‘Aren't you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor donkey of yours and your hulking son?’

The Man and Boy got off and tried to think what to do. They thought and they thought, till at last they cut down a pole, tied the donkey’s feet to it, and raised the pole and the donkey to their shoulders. They went along amid the laughter of all who met them till they came to Market Bridge, when the Donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out and caused the Boy to drop his end of the pole. In the struggle the Donkey fell over the bridge, and his fore-feet being tied together he was drowned.

‘That will teach you,’ said an old man who had followed them: ‘Please all, and you will please none.’

Read More

Eating Noodles to Fulfill a Daughter's Dream

Hou Yanwei is a 49 years old street cleaner, and sports fan from Hubei province in China.

He has a beloved daughter, Xinxin who has been passionate about gymnastics since the age of 4.

And his biggest dream is to help his daughter make it to the national team.

But this ambition has put stress on the family's financial situation.

Mr Hou earns only US$300 a month, and used more than half of it to cover his beloved daughter's fees and expenses.

Divorced and living in a small flat, Mr Hou keeps his spending to a minimum.

He said, "Since my daughter started gymnastics, I have chosen to eat noodles and steamed buns as they are not expensive.

I am not a capable man, and cannot give my daughter a wealthy family life. So I am willing to take more bitterness to provide a better future for her."

Mr Hou has eaten so much instant noodles over the years, and has not spent more than US$2 a day.

"Life is not easy, but I promised I would support her. I just want her to have a better life than me."

So in the pursuit of your own success, please don't forget those who have supported you over the years, to make sure you could achieve your dreams.

Read More

The Bald Man and the Fly

There was once a Bald Man who sat down after work on a hot summer’s day. A Fly came up and kept buzzing about his bald pate, and stinging him from time to time. The Man aimed a blow at his little enemy, but acts palm came on his head instead; again the Fly tormented him, but this time the Man was wiser and said: ‘You will only injure yourself if you take notice of despicable enemies.’

Read More

The Man and His Two Wives

In the old days, when men were allowed to have many wives, a middle-aged Man had one wife that was old and one that was young; each loved him very much, and desired to see him like herself. Now the Man’s hair was turning gray, which the young Wife did not like, as it made him look too old for her husband. So every night she used to comb his hair and pick out the white ones. But the elder Wife saw her husband growing gray with great pleasure, for she did not like to be mistaken for his mother. So every morning she used to arrange his hair and pick out as many of the black ones as she could. The consequence was the Man soon found himself entirely bald.

Yield to all and you will soon have nothing to yield.

Read More

The Old Man and Death

An old laborer, bent double with age and toil, was gathering sticks in a forest. At last he grew so tired and hopeless that he threw down the bundle of sticks, and cried out: ‘I cannot bear this life any longer. Ah, I wish Death would only come and take me!’

As he spoke, Death, a grisly skeleton, appeared and said to him: ‘What wouldst thou, Mortal? I heard thee call me.’ ‘Please, sir,’ replied the woodcutter, ‘would you kindly help me to lift this fag got of sticks on to my shoulder?’ We would often be sorry if our wishes were gratified.

Read More

The Fisher and the Little Fish

It happened that a Fisher, after fishing all day, caught only a little fish. ‘Pray, let me go, master,’ said the Fish. ‘I am much too small for your eating just now. If you put me back into the river I shall soon grow, then you can make a fine meal off me.’

‘Nay, nay, my little Fish,’ said the Fisher, ‘I have you now. I may not catch you hereafter.’

A little thing in hand is worth more than a great thing in prospect.

Read More

Avaricious and Envious

Two neighbors came before Jupiter and prayed him to grant their hearts’ desire. Now the one was full of avarice, and the other eaten up with envy. So to punish them both, Jupiter granted that each might have whatever he wished for himself, but only on condition that his neighbor had twice as much. The Avaricious man prayed to have a room full of gold. No sooner said than done; but all his joy was turned to grief when he found that his neighbor had two rooms full of the precious metal. Then came the turn of the Envious man, who could not bear to think that his neighbor had any joy at all. So he prayed that he might have one of his own eyes put out, by which means his companion would become totally blind.

Read More

Potatoes, Eggs, and Coffee Beans

Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn't know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot, and ground coffee beans in the third pot.

He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The daughter, moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing.

After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the boiled eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup. Turning to her he asked. “Daughter, what do you see?”

“Potatoes, eggs, and coffee,” she hastily replied.

“Look closer,” he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.

“Father, what does this mean?” she asked.

He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity the boiling water.

However, each one reacted differently.

The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak.

The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard.

However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.

“Which are you,” he asked his daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean? “

Read More

The Man and the Wood

A Man came into a Wood one day with an Axe in his hand, and begged all the Trees to give him a small branch which he wanted for a particular purpose. The Trees were good natured and gave him one of their branches. What did the Man do but fix it into the Axe head, and soon set to work cutting down tree after tree. Then the Trees saw how foolish they had been in giving their enemy the means of destroying themselves.

Read More

Everyone Has a Story in Life

A 24 year old boy seeing out from the train’s window shouted…

“Dad, look the trees are going behind!”
Dad smiled and a young couple sitting nearby, looked at the 24 year old’s childish behavior with pity, suddenly he again exclaimed…

“Dad, look the clouds are running with us!”

The couple couldn’t resist and said to the old man…

“Why don’t you take your son to a good doctor?” The old man smiled and said…“I did and we are just coming from the hospital, my son was blind from birth, he just got his eyes today.”

Every single person on the planet has a story. Don’t judge people before you truly know them. The truth might surprise you.

Read More

Shake off Your Problems

A man’s favorite donkey falls into a deep precipice. He can’t pull it out no matter how hard he tries. He therefore decides to bury it alive.

Soil is poured onto the donkey from above. The donkey feels the load, shakes it off, and steps on it. More soil is poured.

It shakes it off and steps up. The more the load was poured, the higher it rose. By noon, the donkey was grazing in green pastures.

After much shaking off  and stepping up, One will graze in green pastures.

Read More

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 anytime, 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.

Read More

Thinking Out of the Box

In a small Italian town, hundreds of years ago, a small business owner owed a large sum of money to a loan-shark. The loan-shark was a very old, unattractive looking guy that just so happened to fancy the business owner’s daughter.

He decided to offer the businessman a deal that would completely wipe out the debt he owed him. However, the catch was that we would only wipe out the debt if he could marry the businessman’s daughter. Needless to say, this proposal was met with a look of disgust.

The loan-shark said that he would place two pebbles into a bag, one white and one black.

The daughter would then have to reach into the bag and pick out a pebble. If it was black, the debt would be wiped, but the loan-shark would then marry her. If it was white, the debt would also be wiped, but the daughter wouldn't have to marry the loan-shark.

Standing on a pebble strewn path in the businessman’s garden, the loan-shark bent over and picked up two pebbles. Whilst he was picking them up, the daughter noticed that he’d picked up two black pebbles and placed them both into the bag.

He then asked the daughter to reach into the bag and pick one.

The daughter naturally had three choices as to what she could have done:

Refuse to pick a pebble from the bag.
Take both pebbles out of the bag and expose the loan-shark for cheating.
Pick a pebble from the bag fully well knowing it was black and sacrifice herself for her father’s freedom.
She drew out a pebble from the bag, and before looking at it ‘accidentally’ dropped it into the midst of the other pebbles. She said to the loan-shark;

“Oh, how clumsy of me. Never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.”

The pebble left in the bag is obviously black, and seeing as the loan-shark didn’t want to be exposed, he had to play along as if the pebble the daughter dropped was white, and clear her father’s debt.

Read More

Remember Your Greatest Value

A popular speaker started off a seminar by holding up a $20 bill. A crowd of 200 had gathered to hear him speak. He asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?”

200 hands went up.

He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.” He crumpled the bill up.

He then asked, “Who still wants it?”

All 200 hands were still raised.

“Well,” he replied, “What if I do this?” Then he dropped the bill on the ground and stomped on it with his shoes.

He picked it up, and showed it to the crowd. The bill was all crumpled and dirty.

“Now who still wants it?”

All the hands still went up.

“My friends, I have just showed you a very important lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, life crumples us and grinds us into the dirt. We make bad decisions or deal with poor circumstances. We feel worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. You are special – Don’t ever forget it!

Read More

Box Full of Kisses

Some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree.

Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.”

The man became embarrassed by his overreaction earlier, but his rage continue when he saw that the box was empty. He yelled at her; “Don’t you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside?”

The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried;

“Oh, Daddy, it’s not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They’re all for you, Daddy.”

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.

Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child.

Her father kept the gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

Read More

The Butterfly

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. Until it suddenly stopped making any progress, and looked like it was stuck.

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, although it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man didn't think anything of it, and sat there waiting for the wings to enlarge to support the butterfly. But that didn't happen. The butterfly spent the rest of its life unable to fly, crawling around with tiny wings and a swollen body.

Despite the kind heart of the man, he didn't understand that the restricting cocoon and the struggle needed by the butterfly to get itself through the small opening; were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings. To prepare itself for flying once it was out of the cocoon.

Read More

The Blind Girl

There was a blind girl who hated herself purely for the fact she was blind. The only person she didn't hate was her loving boyfriend, as he was always there for her. She said that if she could only see the world, she would marry him.

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her – now 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.”

Read More

Control Your Temper

There once was a little boy who had a very bad temper. His father decided to hand him a bag of nails and said that every time the boy lost his temper, he had to hammer a nail into the fence.

On the first day, the boy hammered 37 nails into that fence.

The boy gradually began to control his temper over the next few weeks, and number of nails he was hammering into the fence slowly decreased. He discovered it was easier to control his temper than to hammer those nails into the fence.

Finally, the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father the news and the father suggested that the boy should now pull out a nail every day he kept his temper under control.

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence.

“you have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there.”

Read More

The Obstacle In Our Path

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. He then hid himself and watched to see if anyone would move the boulder out of the way. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it.

Many people loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none of them did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

A peasant then came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to push the stone out of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

After the peasant went back to pick up his vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King explaining that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

Moral of the story: Every obstacle we come across in life gives us an opportunity to improve our circumstances, and whilst the lazy complain, the others are creating opportunities through their kind hearts, generosity and willingness to get things done.

Read More

A Pound of Butter

There was a farmer who sold a pound of butter to a baker. One day the baker decided to weigh the butter to see if he was getting the right amount, which he wasn't. Angry about this, he took the farmer to court.

The judge asked the farmer if he was using any measure to weight the butter. The farmer replied, “Honor, I am primitive. I don’t have a proper measure, but I do have a scale.”

The judge asked, “Then how do you weigh the butter?”

The farmer replied;

“Your Honor, long before the baker started buying butter from me, I have been buying a pound loaf of bread from him. Every day when the baker brings the bread, I put it on the scale and give him the same weight in butter. If anyone is to be blamed, it is the baker.”

Read More

The Group of Frogs

As a group of frogs were traveling through the woods, two of them fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs crowded around the pit and saw how deep it was, they told the two frogs that they’re was no hope left for them.

However, the two frogs decided to ignore what the others were saying and they proceeded to try and jump out of the pit. Despite their efforts, the group of frogs at the top of he pit were still saying that they should just give up. That they would never make it out.

Eventually, one of the frogs took heed to what the others were saying and he gave up, falling down to his death. The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die.

He jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs said, “Did you not hear us?”

The frog explained to them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.

Read More

Hard Work Always Pays

Once two friends called Harry and Garry came to a city to earn money. They went to a rich merchant for a job. The merchant gave each of them a cane basket and pointing towards a well in his garden said, "Take these baskets and draw water from the well till dusk."

Harry thought it foolish to draw water in a cane basket. So, he slept. On the other hand, Garry kept working. After few hours, when he drew the basket up, he saw some gold coins in the basket.

He took them to the merchant who rewarded him and gave him a job too. Harry went away ashamed.

Read More

The Story of the Rainbow

LEADER: Once upon a time, all the colors in the world started to quarrel; each claimed it was the best, the most important, the most useful, the favorite.

GREEN SAID: Clearly I am the most important. I am the sign of life and of hope. I was chosen for grass, trees, leaves - without me all the animals would die. Look out over the countryside and you will see that I am in the majority.

BLUE INTERRUPTED: You only think about the earth, but consider the sky and the sea. It is water that is the basis of life and this is drawn up by the clouds from the blue sea. The sky gives space and peace and serenity. Without my peace you would all be nothing but busybodies.

YELLOW CHUCKLED: You are all so serious. I bring laughter, gaiety and warmth into the world. The sun is yellow, the moon is yellow, the stars are yellow. Every time you look at a sunflower the whole world starts to smile. Without me there would be no fun.

ORANGE STARTED NEST TO BLOW ITS' TRUMPET: I am the color of health and strength. I may be scarce, but I am precious for I serve the inner needs of human life. I carry all the most important vitamins. Think of carrots and pumpkins, oranges, and mangoes. I don't hang around all the time, but when I fill the sky at sunrise or sunset, my beauty is so striking that no one give another thought to any of you.

RED COULD STAND IT NO LONGER IT SHOUTED OUT: I'm the ruler of you all, blood, life's blood. I am the colour of danger and of bravery. I am willing to fight for a cause. I bring fire in the blood. Without me the earth would be as empty as the moon. I am the color of passion and of love; the red rose, poinsettia and poppy.

PURPLE ROSE UP TO ITS' FULL HEIGHT AND SPOKE WITH GREAT POMP: "I am the color of royalty and power. Kings, chiefs and bishops have always chosen me for I am a sign of authority and wisdom. People do not question me - they listen and obey.

INDIGO SPOKE MUCH MORE QUIETLY THAN ALL THE OTHERS, BUT JUST AS DETERMINEDLY: Think of me. I am the color of silence. You hardly notice me, but without me, you all become superficial. I represent thought and reflection, twilight and deep waters. You need me for balance and contrast, for prayer and inner peace.

LEADER: And so the colors went on boasting, each convinced that it was the best. Their quarreling became louder and louder. Suddenly there was a startling flash of brilliant white lightning, thunder rolled and boomed. Rain started to pour down relentlessly. The colors all crouched down in fear, drawing close to one another for comfort.

THEN THE RAIN SPOKE: You foolish colors, fighting among yourselves, each trying to dominate the rest. Do you not know that God made you all? Each for a special purpose, unique and different. God loves you. God wants you. Join hands with one another and come with me.

God will stretch you across the sky in a great bow of color, as a reminder that he loves you, that you can live together in peace, - a promise that he is with you, - a sign of hope for tomorrow.

And so whenever God has used a good rain to wash the world, he puts the rainbow in the sky, and when we see it, let us remember to appreciate one another.

Read More

The Interview With God

I dreamed I had an interview with God.

 "Come in," God said. "So, you would like to interview Me?"

"If you have the time," I said.

God smiled and said:
"My time is eternity and is enough to do everything; What questions do you have in mind to ask me?"

"What surprises you most about mankind?"

God answered:

"That they get bored of being children, are in a rush to grow up, and then long to be children again...

That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health...

That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for the present nor the future...

That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they had never lived."

God's hands took mine and we were silent for awhile and then I asked... "As a parent, what are some of life's lessons you want your children to learn?"

God replied with a smile:

"To learn that they cannot make anyone love them. What they can do is to let themselves be loved...

To learn that what is most valuable is not what they have in their lives, but who they have in their lives...

To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. All will be judged individually on their own merits, not as a group on a comparison basis...

To learn that a rich person is not the one who has the most, but is one who needs the least...

To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and that it takes many years to heal them...

To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness...

To learn that there are persons that love them dearly, but simply do not know how to express or show their feelings...

To learn that money can buy everything but happiness...

To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see it totally different...

To learn that a true friend is someone who knows everything about them, and likes them anyway...

To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others, but that they have to forgive themselves."

I sat there for awhile enjoying the moment. I thanked Him for his time and for all that He has done for me and my family, and He replied, "Anytime. I'm here 24 hours a day. All you have to do is ask for me, and I'll answer."

Read More

The Labourer and the Nightingale

A Labourer lay listening to a Nightingale’s song throughout the summer night. So pleased was he with it that the next night he set a trap for it and captured it. ‘Now that I have caught thee,’ he cried, ‘thou shalt always sing to me.’ ‘We Nightingales never sing in a cage.’ said the bird. ‘Then I’ll eat thee.’ said the Labourer. ‘I have always heard say that a nightingale on toast is dainty morsel.’

‘Nay, kill me not,’ said the Nightingale; ‘but let me free, and I’ll tell thee three things far better worth than my poor body.’ The Labourer let him loose, and he flew up to a branch of a tree and said: ‘Never believe a captive’s promise; that’s one thing. Then again: Keep what you have. And third piece of advice is: Sorrow not over what is lost forever.’ Then the song-bird flew away.

Read More