Saying Grace in a Restaurant

_Sometimes we forget the really important things in life._

Last week, I took my grand-children to a restaurant.

My six-year-old grandson asked if he could say grace.

As we bowed our heads he said, "God is good, God is great. 

Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more

if Nana gets us ice cream for dessert. 

And liberty and justice for all!  Amen!"

Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby,

I heard a woman remark,

"That';s what';s wrong with this country. 

Kids today don';t even know how to pray. 

Asking God for ice cream!  Why, I never!"

Hearing this, my grandson burst into tears and asked me,

"Did I do it wrong?  Is God mad at me?"

As I held him and assured him that he had done

a terrific job, and

God was certainly not mad at him,

an elderly gentleman approached the table.

He winked at my grandson and said, "I happen

to know that God thought that was a great prayer."

"Really?" my grandson asked. 

"Cross my heart," the man replied.

Then, in a theatrical whisper, he added

(indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing),

"Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. 

A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes."

Naturally, I bought my grandchildren ice cream

at  the end of the meal. 

My grandson stared at his for a moment,

and then did something I will remember the rest of my life. 

He picked up his sundae and, without a word,

walked over and placed it in front of the woman. 

With a big smile he told her, "Here, this is for you. 

Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes;

and my soul is good already.

CUP OF TEA A touching story

A group of 15 soldiers led by a Major were on their way to the post in Himalayas where they would be deployed for the next 3 months.

The batch who would be relieved waited anxiously.

It was cold winter intermittent snowfall made the treacherous climb more difficult.

If someone could offer a cup of tea. .

the Major thought, knowing it was a futile wish..

They continued for an hour before they came across a dilapidated structure, which looked like a tea shop but locked. It was late in the night.

"No tea boys, bad luck", said the Major. But he suggested all take some rest there as they have been walking for 3 hours.

"Sir, this is a tea shop and we can make tea... We will have to break the lock", suggested one soldier.

The officer was in great dilemma to the unethical suggestion but the thought of a steaming cup of tea for the tired solders made him to give the permission.

They were in luck, the place had everything needed to make tea and also packets of biscuits.

The solders had tea biscuits and were ready for the remaining journey.

The major thought, they had broken open lock and had tea biscuits without the permission of the owner. They're not a band of thieves but disciplined soldiers.

He took out a Rs1000/- note from his wallet, placed it on the counter, pressed under sugar container, so that the owner can see.

The officer was now relieved of his guilt.

He ordered to put the shutter down and proceed.

Three months passed, they continued to do gallantly in their works and were lucky not to loose anyone from the group in the intense insurgency situation.

It was time for another team to replace them.

Soon they were on their way back and stopped at the same tea shop which was open and owner was present in the shop.

The owner an old man with meager resources was very happy to greet 15 customers.

All of them had tea and biscuits.

They talked to the old man about his life and experience specially selling tea at such a remote place.

The old man had many stories to tell, replete with his faith in God.

"Oh, Baba, if God is there, why should He keep you in such poverty ?", commented one of them.

"Do not say like that Sahib ! God actually is there, I got a proof.

3 months ago."

"I was going through very tough times because my only son had been severely beaten by terrorist who wanted some information from him which he did not have.

I had closed my shop to take my son to hospital. Some medicines were to be purchased and I had no money.

No one would give

me loan for fear of the terrorists.

There was no hope, Sahib".

"And that day Sahib, I prayed to God for help. And Sahib, God walked into my shop that day."

"When I returned to my shop, I found lock broken,

I felt I was finished,

I lost whatever little I had.

But

then I saw that God had left Rs 1000/= under the sugar pot.

I can't tell you Sahib what that money was worth that day.

God exists Sahib. He does."

The faith in his eyes were unflinching.

Fifteen pairs of eyes met the eyes of the officer and read the order in his eyes clear and unambiguous, "Keep quiet".

The officer got up and paid the bill.

He hugged the old man and said, "Yes Baba, I know God does exist.

And yes,

the tea was wonderful."

The 15 pairs of eyes did not miss to notice the moisture building up in the eyes of their officer, a rare sight.

The truth is

*"YOU" can be GOD to anyone.*

(shared by a soldier friend ...a true story in Kupwara Sector- J&K)

The Water Pump

There was once a man who got lost in the desert. The water in his flask ran out two days ago, and he was on his last legs. He knew that if he didn't get some water soon, he would surely perish. The man saw a shack ahead of him. He thought it might be a mirage or hallucination, but having no other option, he moved toward it. As he got closer he realized it was quite real, so he dragged his weary body to the door with the last of his strength.

The shack was not occupied and seemed like it had been abandoned for quite some time. The man gained entrance, hoping against hope that he might find water inside.

His heart skipped a beat when he saw what was in the shack: a water pump..It had a pipe going down through the floor, perhaps tapping a source of water deep under-ground.

He began working the pump, but no water came out. He kept at it and still nothing happened. Finally he gave up from exhaustion and frustration. He threw up his hands in despair. It looked as if he was going to die after all.

Then the man noticed a bottle in one corner of the shack. It was filled with water and corked up to prevent evaporation.

He uncorked the bottle and was about to gulp down the sweet life-giving water when he noticed a piece of paper attached to it. Handwriting on the paper read: "Use this water to start the pump. Don't forget to fill the bottle when you're done."

He had a dilemma. He could follow the instruction and pour the water into the pump, or he could ignore it and just drink the water.

What to do? If he let the water go into the pump, what assurance did he have that it would work? What if the pump malfunctioned? What if the pipe had a leak? What if the underground reservoir had long dried up?

But then... maybe the instruction was correct. Should he risk it? If it turned out to be false, he would be throwing away the last water he would ever see.

Hands trembling, he poured the water into the pump. Then he closed his eyes, said a prayer, and started working the pump.

He heard a gurgling sound, and then water came gushing out, more than he could possibly use. He luxuriated in the cool and refreshing stream. He was going to live!

After drinking his fill and feeling much better, he looked around the shack. He found a pencil and a map of the region. The map showed that he was still far away from civilization, but at least now he knew where he was and which direction to go.

He filled his flask for the journey ahead. He also filled the bottle and put the cork back in. Before leaving the shack, he added his own writing below the instruction: "Believe me, it works!"

This story is all about life. It teaches us that we must give before we can receive abundantly. More importantly, it also teaches that faith plays an important role in giving. The man did not know if his action would be rewarded, but he proceeded regardless. Without knowing what to expect, he made a leap of faith.

Water in this story represents the good things in life. Something that brings a smile to your face. It can be  intangible knowledge or it can represent money, love, family, friendship, happiness, respect, or any number of other things you value. Whatever it is that you would like to get out of life, that's water.

The water pump represents the workings of the karmic mechanism. Give it some water to work with, and it will return

The Missing Goat !

It all started one lazy Sunday afternoon in a small town near Toronto in Canada.  Two school-going friends had a crazy idea.  They rounded up three goats from the neighborhood and painted the number 1, 2 and 4 on their sides.  That night they let the goats loose inside their school building.

The next morning, when the authorities entered the school, they could smell something was wrong.  They soon saw goat droppings on the stairs and near the entrance and realized that some goats had entered the building.  A search was immediately launched and very soon, the three goats were found.  But the authorities were worried, where was goat No. 3?  They spent the rest of the day looking for goat No.3. There was panic and frustration. The school declared a holiday for the students.  The teachers, helpers and the canteen boy were all busy looking for the goat No. 3, which, of course, was never found.   Simply because it did not exist.

We are all like those folks in the school – we may have our own goats, but are obviously looking for the elusive, missing, non-existent goat No.3.  So instead of making the most of what we have and focusing on our strengths, we worry about the missing piece – our shortcomings.

Our mind is so programmed to see the things to completion, a continuity and a carry forwardness. If this is denied then the program gets messed up. An absence of something is always larger than presence of something.

Do the best you can with what you have and be grateful for what you get. Success and happiness will come your way. 

Stop worrying about goat No. 3!

This is Indian wisdom.... can't question mom's logic!

Things were going exactly as Srinivasan had feared, his Mother would come in from India and crush his American way of life under her strong South Indian influence. For a genetic scientist like Vasu, as Srinivasan was called by his friends, the only kind of order was disorder. So consumed he was by his research that the world and it's affairs mattered little to him. When his last girlfriend walked out on him, "Find a girl on planet Srinivasan," she had screamed as she stomped out.

Now Vasu's Mother had taken over the administration of the planet. It irritated him, this milk at night and chywanprash every morning. "Have you been wearing the same pair of Jeans for the past three days?" Mother was beginning her morning interrogation.

Vasu stared at the hot idlis in front of him, the chywanprash to follow and the wardrobe interrogation that had begun. Something snapped in his mind. "Mom I love you and I love that you come all the way from India to take care of me but plesse don't fuss over me! It irritates me!  And then I cannot work!"

His Mother did not really care if Vasu was upset, "The idlis are getting cold," was her matter of fact response.

"You don't really care, do you Mom?"

"I care about you Vasu. The work you do is alright. If you don't do it, someone else will do it."

"Mom, I am genetic scientist. I am working on the evolution of man. Theory of evolution, Charles Darwin, have you heard of him? " Vasu was exasperated with her unwillingness to understand. His Mother sat down next to him and smiled, "I know Darwin, Vasu. I also know that what you think he discovered was old news in India."

" Yeah sure Mom!" Vasu said with sarcasm.

"Well if you are too smart then listen to this, " his Mother countered." Have you heard of Dashavatar? The ten avatars of Vishnu?" Vasu nodded. "Then let me tell you what you and Mr. Darwin don't know. The first avatar was the Matsya avatar, it means the fish. That is because life began in the water. Is that not right?" Vasu began to listen with a little more attention.

"Then came the Kurma Avatar, which means the tortoise, cause life moved from the water to the land. The amphibian. So the Tortoise denoted the evolution from sea to land. Third was the Varaha, the wild boar, which meant the wild animals with not much intellect, you call them the Dinosaurs, correct? " Vasu nodded wide eyed.

"The fourth avatar was the Narasimha avatar, half man and half animal, the evolution from wild animals to intelligent beings. Fifth the Waman avatar, the midget or dwarf, who could grow really tall. Do you know why that is? Cause there were two kinds of humans, Homo Erectus and the Homo Sapiens and Homo Sapiens won that battle." Vasu could see that his Mother was in full flow and he was stupefied.

"The Sixth avatar was Parshuram, the man who wielded the axe, the man who was a cave and forest dweller. Angry, and not social but the seventh avatar  was Ram, the first thinking social being, who laid out the laws of society and the basis of all relationships. The eight avatar was Krishna, the statesman, the politician, the lover who played the game of society and taught how to live and thrive in the social structure. The Ninth avatar, the Buddha, the man who rose from Narasimha and found man's true nature. The nature of Buddha, he identified man's final quest of enlightenment. And finally, my boy, will come Kalki, the man you are working on. The man who will be genetically supreme."

Vasu looked at his Mother speechless. "This is amazing Mom, how did you.. This makes sense!"

"Yes it does Vasu! Now have your chywanprash! "

A pencil story..Worth a read

Once upon a time...
A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter.
As one point, he asked, “Are you writing a story about what we’ve done? Is it a story about me??”
His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson, “I am writing about you...actually,
But more important than the words is the pencil I’m using.
I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.”
Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn’t seem very special.
“But it’s just like any other pencil I’ve ever seen!”, he said.
“That depends on how you look at things”, the grandmother replied.

“This pencil has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.

First quality: You are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps.
We call that hand..God, and He always guides us according to His will.

Second quality: Now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpener. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he’s much sharper.
So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.

Third quality: The pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes.
This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.

Fourth quality: What really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside.
So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.

Finally, the pencil’s fifth quality: It always leaves a mark.
In jus the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action."

MARIA'S NEW HAT 🎩!!!

Maria lived with her mother in a small apartment  in NYC.

She wasn't too young or too old..
not too short or too tall..
not particularly beautiful nor ugly..
She was just an average woman .

She worked as a secretary at a large company, and her life was pretty much boring and mundane.

No one at work paid any attention to her..
Those that did considered her to be as boring as her life was.

One morning, on her way to work,  Maria saw a new hat   shop that opened down the street.

In a spur of curiosity she walked  in!

In the shop was a little girl and her mother ,  who came to pick the girl a hat,  and another customer who was trying on hats...

Maria also tried on a few  hats,  until she found one she liked .

She put it on and
It looked nice!

First to notice was the little girl : "Mommy, look how pretty that woman looks with the hat on!"

The mother said:
"Ma'am, I must say, this hat just looks wonderful on you!"
The second buyer also came to look:
"Ma'am, you look lovely with that hat on!"

Maria went to the mirror ..
She looked at herself..
And for the first time in her adult life..
She liked what she saw.

Smiling , she went to the counter and bought the hat.

As she walked outside a new world  revealed itself to her.

She never before noticed the colors of the flowers ..
or the scent of the fresh air..

The sound of the cars  and the people ..
sounded like an harmonious melody..

She walked  as if drifting on a cloud..
with a song in her heart ..

When she passed by the coffee shop she walked  by every morning,
one of the young handsome men called out to her:
"Hey darling..looking good!
Are you new here?
Can I buy you a cup  of coffee? "

She smiled shyly and kept walking ..
Floating on her cloud...

When she got to the office building,
the doorman opened the door and wished her good morning..
Never before had he even noticed her!

The people in the elevator asked her the floor she
needed and pressed the button for her.

The people at the office, as if seen her for the first time
Flattered her on how lovely she looked today.

The manager asked her out to lunch to talk about how she felt at work!

When this magical workday was over she decided
tools take a cab  home instead of the bus .
As soon as she put her hand up 2 taxis stopped!

She took the first one and sat in the back seat..
Thinking about the miraculous day she had and
how her life changed thanks to the new hat!

When she got home , her mom opened the door.
The sight of Maria took her breath away!
"Maria" she said surprised
"How beautiful you look!
Your eyes  are all lit up like when you were a little girl! "

"Yes, mother" Said Maria
"It's all thanks to my new hat ,
I had the most marvelous day!"

"Maria"
said her mother
"What hat??"

Maria panicked.

She touched her head and saw that the hat that changed her life was not there..
She didn't remember taking it off in the cab ..
Or at lunch ..
Or at the office..

She thought back to the store where she had bought it..
How she noticed it for the first time..
She put it on..
Paying  for it at the cashier's...

And she remembered painfully now..
How she put it on the counter..
To get her purse  out to pay.. And how she forgot the hat right there.. On the counter...

Then she walked out to the street.. Hat-less yet glowing!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
It wasn't the hat  that freed Maria,
it was the quality of her thoughts! 

Our thoughts can enslave us into a horrible bondage or liberate us towards sweet freedom: to be, do, or have anything we wish for!!!

Don't place your mistakes on your head , their weight may crush you.

Instead, place them under your feet  and use them as a platform to raise your vision.