Live Positive Way

Dedicated to my darling little sweetheart...my one and only daughter...

THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL

A weary mother returned from the store,
Lugging groceries through the kitchen door.
Awaiting her arrival was her 8 year old son,
Anxious to relate what his younger brother had done.

"While I was out playing and Dad was on a call,
T.J. took his crayons and wrote on the wall!
It's on the new paper you just hung in the den.
I told him you'd be mad at having to do it again."

She let out a moan and furrowed her brow,
"Where is your little brother right now?"
She emptied her arms and with a purposeful stride,
She marched to his closet where he had gone to hide.

She called his full name as she entered his room.
He trembled with fear--he knew that meant doom!
For the next ten minutes, she ranted and raved
About the expensive wallpaper and how she had saved.

Lamenting all the work it would take to repair,
She condemned his actions and total lack of care.
The more she scolded, the madder she got,
Then stomped from his room, totally distraught!

She headed for the den to confirm her fears.
When she saw the wall, her eyes flooded with tears.
The message she read pierced her soul with a dart.
It said, "I love Mommy," surrounded by a heart.

Well, the wallpaper remained, just as she found it,
With an empty picture frame hung to surround it.
A reminder to her, and indeed to all,
Take time to read the handwriting on the wall

Live Positive Way

A Nice Forward

Important Question

During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: 'What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. Absolutely, said the professor. "In your careers you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say hello". I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

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Judge by the Looks

A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston, and walked timidly without an appointment into the president's outer office. The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didn't even deserve to be in Cambridge. She frowned.

"We want to see the president," the man said softly.

"He'll be busy all day," the secretary snapped.

"We'll wait," the lady replied.

For hours, the secretary ignored them, hoping that the couple would finally become discouraged and go away. They didn't. And the secretary grew frustrated and finally decided to disturb the president, even though it was a chore she always regretted to do. "Maybe if they just see you for a few minutes, they'll leave," she told him. And he sighed in exasperation and nodded. Someone of his importance obviously didn't have the time to spend with them, but he detested gingham dresses and homespun suits cluttering up his outer office. The president, stern-faced with dignity, strutted toward the couple.

The lady told him, "We had a son that attended Harvard for one year. He loved Harvard. He was happy here. But about a year ago, he was accidentally killed. And my husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him, somewhere on campus". The president wasn't touched he was shocked.

"Madam," he said gruffly, "we can't put up a statue for every person who attended Harvard and died. If we did, this place would look like a cemetery."

"Oh, no," the lady explained quickly, "we don't want to erect a statue. We thought we would like to give a building to Harvard.

The president rolled his eyes. He glanced at the gingham dress and

homespun suit, then exclaimed, "A building! Do you have any earthly idea how much a building costs? We have over seven and a half million dollars in the physical plant at Harvard." For a moment the lady was silent.

The president was pleased. He could get rid of them now.

The lady turned to her husband and said quietly, "Is that all it costs to start a University? Why don't we just start our own?" Her husband nodded. The president's face wilted in confusion and bewilderment.

Mr. and Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away, traveling to Palo Alto, California where they established the University that bears their name, a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about!

Live Positive Way

This is really beautiful......When an old lady died in the geriatric ward of a small hospital near Dundee, Scotland, it was felt that she had nothing left of any value. Later, when the nurses were going through her meager possessions, it's quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital. One nurse took her copy to Ireland. The old lady's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas edition of the News Magazine of the North A slide presentation has also been...And this little old Scottish lady, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the authoress "" Goes to show that we"".....

AN OLD LADY'S POEM
What do you see, nurses, what do you see?
What are you thinking when you're looking at me?
A crabby old woman, not very wise,
Uncertain of habit, with faraway eyes?
Who dribbles her food and makes no reply""
Who seems not to notice the things that you do,
And forever is losing a stocking or shoe....
Who, resisting or not, lets you do as you will,
With bathing and feeding, the long day to fill....
Then open your eyes, nurse; you're not looking at me.
I'll tell you who I am as I sit here so still,
As I do at your bidding, as I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of ten...with a father ! and mother,
Brothers and sisters, who love one another.
A young girl of sixteen, with wings on her feet,
Dreaming that soon now a lover she'll meet.
A bride soon at twenty--my heart gives a leap,
Remembering the vows that I promised to keep.
At twenty-five now, I have young of my own,
Who need me to guide and a secure happy home.
A woman of thirty, my young now grown fast,
Bound to each other with ties that should last.
At forty, my young sons have grown and are gone,
But my man's beside me to see I don't mourn.
At fifty once more, babies play around my knee,
Again we know children, my loved one and me.
Dark days are upon me, my husband is dead;
I look at the future, I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing young of their own,
And I think of the years and the love that I've known.
I'm now an old woman....and nature is cruel;
Tis jest to make old age look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles, grace and vigor depart,
There is now a stone where I once had a heart.
But inside this old carcass a young girl still dwells,
And now and again my battered heart swells.
I remember the joys, I remember the pain,
And I'm loving and living life over again.
I think of the years....all too few, gone too fast,
And accept the stark fact that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, nurses, open and see,
...Not a crabby old woman; look closer...see ME!!

Live Positive Way

A beautiful case study ......

Recently, I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport as the daughter’s departure had been announced.

Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said: “I love you and I wish you enough.”

The daughter replied, “Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom.”

They kissed and the daughter left.

The mother walked over to the window where I sat. Standing there, I could see she wanted and needed to cry.

I tried not to intrude on her privacy but she welcomed me in by asking, “Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?”

“Yes, I have,” I replied. “Forgive me for asking but why is this a forever good-bye?”

“I am old and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is the next trip back will be for my funeral,” she said.

When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, “I wish you enough.” May I ask what that means?”

She began to smile. “That’s a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.”

She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail and she smiled even more.

“When we said ‘I wish you enough’ we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them”.

Then turning toward me, she shared the following, reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive.

I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

Live Positive Way

Here are some reading delights. Why are Goals Important? - Must read

On the best sunny day, the most powerful magnifying glass will not light paper if you keep moving the glass. But if you focus and hold it, the paper will light up. That is the power of concentration.

A man was traveling and stopped at an intersection. He asked an elderly man, "Where does this road take me?" The elderly person asked, "Where do you want to go?" The man replied, "I don't know." The elderly person said, "Then take any road. What difference does it make?"

How true. When we don't know where we are going, any road will take us there.

Suppose you have all the football eleven players, enthusiastically ready to play the game, all charged up, and then someone took the goal post away. What would happen to the game? There is nothing left. How do you keep score? How do you know you have arrived?

Enthusiasm without direction is like wildfire and leads to frustration. Goals give a sense of direction. Would you sit in a train or a plane without knowing where it was going? The obvious answer is no. Then why do people go through life without having any goals?

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Boy’s Job Appraisal

A little boy went into a drug store, reached for a soda carton and pulled it over to the telephone. He climbed onto the carton so that he could reach the buttons on the phone and proceeded to punch in seven digits (phone numbers). The store-owner observed and listened to the conversation.

Boy: ‘Lady, Can you give me the job of cutting your lawn?

Woman: (at the other end of the phone line): ‘I already have someone to cut my lawn.’

Boy: ‘Lady, I will cut your lawn for half the price of the person who cuts your lawn now.’

Woman: I’m very satisfied with the person who is presently cutting my lawn.

Boy: (with more perseverance) : ‘Lady, I’ll even sweep your curb and your sidewalk, so on Sunday you will have the prettiest lawn in all of Palm beach , Florida.’

Woman: No, thank you.

With a smile on his face, the little boy replaced the receiver. The store-owner, who was listening to all this, walked over to the boy.

Store Owner: ‘Son… I like your attitude; I like that positive spirit and would like to offer you a job.’

Boy: ‘No thanks.’

Store Owner: But you were really pleading for one.

Boy: No Sir, I was just checking my performance at the Job I already have. I am the one who is working for that lady I was talking to!’

Moral: This is what we call ‘Self Appraisal’. Every time if we don’t get ahead of others, we blame others for it. We should look to our self and compare, find own weaknesses and work hard to throw away weaknesses. Always Work Hard, Honest and with full Dedication. It will always pay up.

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One day Krishna & Arjuna were taking their usual walk, when they came across an old Brahmin begging, taking pity on his condition, Arjuna gave him a bag of gold coins.

The man was overjoyed. On his way to home, he was robbed by a thief in the forest. He cursed his fate and the next day set off to beg again.

Arjuna & Krishna saw him again & got to know his story. Arjuna once again took pity and gave him a large diamond. The man took it home and kept it in an old pot which had been unused for many years inorder to keep it safe and went to sleep. The next morning before he could wake up, his wife went to fetch water from the river & on her way back, she slipped and her pot broke. She immediately remembered the pot at home which lay unused and brought it to fill it with water. Just as she dipped the pot in to the river the diamond escaped the pot and went in to the river. 

When she returned home the Brahmin was desperately searching the house for the pot & when he saw it in his wife's hands, he got to know what had happened. Dejected with what had happened, he once again left to go begging.

Once again Arjuna and Krishna saw him and when Arjuna heard of the unfortunate incident that had happened, he told Krishna, 

" I don't think this man is destined to be blessed at all, I don’t think I can help him anymore".

Krishna then gave the man two pennies and the man took them and walked away.

Arjuna then asked Krishna," My Lord, if gold coins and diamond could not change his condition, what good can two pennies do to him?".

Krishna smiled and replied, "let us see".

As the man walked home he was cursing his fate when he saw a fish that had just been caught by a fisherman and was struggling for its life, he took pity on it and thought to himself, " these two pennies cannot fetch me food anyway, let me at least save the life of this creature" and he purchased the fish and was about to throw it in the river when he saw that the breathlessness of the fish was caused due to some large obstruction in its mouth and when removed it , it was the very diamond he had lost in the river. He was overjoyed and started shouting "Look what I found! Look what I found".

At this very time the thief that had robbed him in the forest was passing by and heard his shouts, he recognized the man and thought that man too recognized him and was thus shouting. Fearing that the Brahmin may take him to be executed, he rushed to him and begged for his forgiveness and returned all the gold coins he had stolen from him. The Brahmin was happy and walked away joyfully with all his wealth.

He went straight to Arjuna to narrate the turn of events and thanked him for all his help and went away.

Arjuna then asked Krishna,

"My Lord, how is it that my gold and diamond could not help him but your meager two pennies did?.

Krishna replied," when he had the gold and diamonds he was only thinking of himself and his needs, but when he had the two pennies he put the needs of another creature before his and so I took care of his needs. 

The truth is Arjuna, when you think of the pain and needs of others and work to help them, you are doing God's work and hence God Himself takes care of you."

Live Positive Way

Live Positive Way

After a gap of few months here comes my blog post but this time its with a heavy heart.

The Indian blog pages about positive thoughts cannot be complete without Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam's quotes.  There are many followers of him and I am really proud to say I am one among them.  Few years back I mailed Kalam Sir about my blog page.  I am not sure whether he had time to see but I always had the feel that he supports all such bloggers who share positive thoughts in their blog pages.  He has shown the students and youth a new path with full of hope and I am sure his wish to see India a Superpower will surely be accomplished and he be there with all of us in our hearts to guide and achieve it.

RIP Kalam Sir!  We will always miss you but will continue doing what you preached us!

Live Positive Way

A man found a cocoon of an emperor moth. He took it home so that he could watch the moth come out of the cocoon. On the day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the moth for several hours as the moth struggled to force the body through that little hole.

The moth seemed to be stuck and appeared to have stopped making progress. It seemed as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. The man, in his kindness, decided to help the moth; so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The moth then emerged easily. But its body was swollen and small, its wings wrinkled and shriveled. The man continued to watch the moth because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to and able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the little moth spent the rest of its life crawling around with a small, swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly. The man in his kindness and haste did not understand that the struggle required for the moth to get through the tiny opening was necessary to force fluid from the body of the moth into its wings so that it would be ready for flight upon achieving its freedom from the cocoon. Freedom and flight would only come after the struggle. By depriving the moth of a struggle, he deprived the moth of health.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If we were to go through our life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. Give every opportunity a chance, leave no room for regrets, and don't forget the power in the struggle.

Live Positive Way

Live Positive Way

Live Positive Way

Excerpt from Charles Sykes

Really interesting .........

On the rules of life for graduates.

Some have said this was from Bill Gates talk to high school graduates 

but probably he did not say this unless he quoted Sykes.

RULE 1.

Life is not fair; get used to it.

RULE 2.

The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you

to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

RULE 3.

You will NOT make 40 thousand dollars a year right out of high school OR

college. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone, until you earn

both.

RULE 4.

If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss. He

doesn't have tenure.

RULE 5.

Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a

different word for burger flipping; they called it opportunity.

RULE 6.

If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your

mistakes, learn from them.

RULE 7.

Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now.

They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and

listening to you talk about how cool you are. So before you save the

rain forest from the parasites of your parents' generation, try

"delousing" the closet in your own room.

RULE 8.

Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has

not. In some schools they have abolished failing grades; they'll give

you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear

the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

RULE 9.

Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very

few employers are interested in helping you find yourself. Do that on

your own time.

RULE 10.

Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave

the coffee shop and go to jobs.

RULE 11.

Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one

Live Positive Way

Top Ten Tiger Woods Lessons for Success:

1. Expect to win.

Know in your heart that you are a winner.

2. Let your expectations show.

Express no doubts, let your competitors and your friends know that you have none.

3. Work, practice, work, and practice some more.

At the top of his field, he can still be seen hitting buckets of balls until dark - even if he's just won.

4. Dress and act like a winner.

This is a part of keeping yourself in a winning frame of mind.

5. Have a sense of drama - don't create it but know it when you see it.

You don't have to seek out publicity, but know how to accept and use it when it comes to you.

6. Know that there is always room to grow.

Being the best does not mean you can't be even better.

7. Hang with the winners.

They understand the pressures and situations in which you will find yourself.

8. Put yourself in situations where you are not known as a success.

May be difficult, but this helps you to stay real.

9. Value and protect your free time and do what you enjoy.

The discipline of being a winner needs a safety valve from time to time.

10. Remember those who need help.

Somewhere, someone helped you - be willing to give back.

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Accept the fact that some days you’re the pigeon - and some days you’re the statue!

Always keep your words soft and sweet - just in case you have to eat them.

If you can’t be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

If you lend someone $20 and never see that person again, it was probably worth it.

Never buy a car you can’t push.

When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.

You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.

We could learn a lot from crayons. Some are sharp, some are pretty and some are dull. Some have weird names and all are different colors - but they all have to live in the same box.

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Have an awesome day and know that someone has thought about you today.

Live Positive Way

HOW WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE REMEMBERED?

About a hundred years ago, a man looked at the morning newspaper and to his surprise and horror, read his name in the obituary column. The news papers had reported the death of the wrong person by mistake. His first response was shock. Am I here or there? When he regained his composure, his second thought was to find out what people had said about him. The obituary read, "Dynamite King Dies." And also "He was the merchant of death." This man was the inventor of dynamite and when he read the words "merchant of death," he asked himself a question, "Is this how I am going to be remembered?" He got in touch with his feelings and decided that this was not the way he wanted to be remembered. From that day on, he started working toward peace. His name was Alfred Nobel and he is remembered today by the great Nobel Prize.

Just as Alfred Nobel got in touch with his feelings and redefined his values, we should step back and do the same.

What is your legacy?

How would you like to be remembered?

Will you be spoken well of?

Will you be remembered with love and respect?

Will you be missed?

Live Positive Way

The Travelers and The Plane Tree

Two men were walking along one summer day. Soon it became too hot to go any further and, seeing a large plane tree nearby, they threw themselves on the ground to rest in its shade. Gazing up into the branches one man said to the other,
“What a useless tree this is. It does not have fruit or nuts that we can eat and we cannot even use its wood for anything.”

“Don’t be so ungrateful,” rustled the tree in reply. “I am being extremely useful to you at this very moment, shielding you from the hot sun. And you call me a good-for-nothing!”

Moral: All of God’s creations have a good purpose. We should never belittle God’s blessings.

Live Positive Way

This is so inspirational just read and enjoy....

Value-A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?"

Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up.

He then asked, "Who still wants it?"Still the hands were up in the air.

"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe.

He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.

"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable 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, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way.

We feel as though we are 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!

Live Positive Way

A nice forwarded message

Reaction vs. Response

Suddenly, a cockroach flew from somewhere and sat on her. I wondered if this was the cockroach’s response to all the glory that was spoken about it! She started screaming out of fear. With panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started doing jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach. Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group got cranky to what was happening. The lady finally managed to push the cockroach to another lady in the group. Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama. The waiter rushed forward to their rescue. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter. The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough,
he grabbed and threw it out with his fingers.

Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behavior? If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed? He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos. It is not the cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed the ladies.
I realized even in my case then , it is not the shouting of my father or my boss that disturbs me, but its my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me.

It’s not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me.
More than the problem, it’s my reaction to the problem that hurts me.

Lessons learnt from the story:
I understood, I should not react in life. I should always respond.
The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.
Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always intellectual...