Story

Two friends

Two friends were walking through the desert. During some point of the journey they had an argument, and one friend slapped the other one in the face.

The one who got slapped was hurt, but without saying anything, wrote in the sand:

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SLAPPED ME IN THE FACE.

They kept on walking until they found an oasis, where they decided to take a bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in the mire and started drowning, but the friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he wrote on a stone:

TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.

The friend who had slapped and saved his best friend asked him, “After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand and now, you write on a stone, why?” The other friend replied “When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand where winds

of forgiveness can erase it away. But, when someone does something good for us, we must engrave it in stone where no wind can ever erase it.”

They say it takes a minute to find a special person and an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them, but then an entire life to forget them.

Moral

Do not value the THINGS you have in your life.But value WHO you have in your life!

Story

(can be done as an activity)

The Professor began his class by holding up a glass with some water in it. He held it up for all to see & asked the students “How much do you think this glass weighs?”

‘50gms!’….. ‘100gms!’ …..’125 gms’ …the students answered.

“I really don’t know unless I weigh it,” said the professor, “but, my question is:

What would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?”…. .

‘Nothing’ …..the students said.

‘Ok what would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?’ the professor asked.

‘Your arm would begin to ache’ said one of the student.

“You’re right, now what would happen if I held it for a day?”

“Your arm could go numb; you might have severe muscle stress & paralysis & have to go to hospital for sure!”….. Ventured another student & all the students laughed.

“Very good.

But during all this, did the weight of the glass change?” Asked the professor.

‘No’…. Was the answer.

“Then what caused the arm ache & the muscle stress?”.

The students were puzzled.

“What should I do now to come out of pain?” asked professor again.

“Put the glass down!” said one of the students.

“Exactly!” said the professor.

Life’s problems are something like this.

Hold it for a few minutes in your head & they seem OK.

Think of them for a long time & they begin to ache.

Hold it even longer & they begin to paralyze you. You will not be able to do anything.It’s important to think of the challenges or problems in your life, But EVEN MORE IMPORTANT is to ‘PUT THEM DOWN’ at the end of every day before you go to sleep…

That way, you are not stressed, you wake up every day fresh &strong & can handle any issue, any chal-lenge that comes your way!

Moral

So, when you start your day today, Remember friend to ‘PUT THE GLASS DOWN TODAY!’

Song

छोडो कल की बातें , कल की बात पुरानी
नए दौर में लिखेंगे , मिल कर नई कहानी
हम हिन्दुस्दु्तानी , हम हिन्दुस्दु्तानी

आओ मेहनत को अपना ईमान बनाए
अपने हाथों से अपना भगवान बनाए
राम की इस धरती को गौतम की भूमी को
सपनों से भी प्यारा हिन्दुस्दु्तान बनाए
नया खून है , नई उमंगें , अब हैनई जवानी
हम हिन्दुस्दु्तानी , हम हिन्दुस्दु्तानी

हर ज़र्रा हैमोती , आँख उठाकर देखो
मिटटी में सोना है , हाथ बढ़ाकर देखो
सोने की ये गंगा है चांदी की यमुना
चाहो तो पत्थर पे धान उगाकर देखो
नया खून है , नई उमंगें , अब हैनई जवानी
हम हिन्दुस्दु्तानी , हम हिन्दुस्दु्तानी

Story

Do not Doubt

A boy and a girl were playing together. The boy had a collection of marbles. The girl had some sweets with her.

The boy told the girl that he will give her all his marbles in exchange for her sweets. The girl agreed.

The boy kept the biggest and the most beautiful marble aside and gave the rest to the girl. The girl gave him all her sweets as she had promised.

That night, the girl slept peacefully. But the boy couldn’t sleep as he kept wondering if the girl had hidden some sweets from him the way he had hidden his best marble.

Moral

If you don’t give your hundred percent in a relationship, you’ll always keep doubting if the other person has given his/her hundred percent..

Activity

• Discuss what happens when you doubt others

Story

Why We Shout In Anger

A Hindu saint who was visiting river Ganges to take bath found a group of family members on the banks, shouting in anger at each other. He turned to his disciples smiled ‘n asked. ‘Why do people shout in anger shout at each other?’

Disciples thought for a while, one of them said, ‘Because we lose our calm, we shout.’ ‘But, why should you shout when the other person is just next to you? You can as well tell him what you have to say in a soft manner.’ asked the saint.

Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the other disciples.

Finally the saint explained, . ‘When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other.

The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other to cover that great distance.

What happens when two people love each other? They don’t shout at each other but talk softly, because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is either nonexistent or very small…’ The saint continued, ‘When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other in their love.

Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other ‘n that’s all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.’

He looked at his disciples and said. ‘So when you argue do not let your hearts get distant, Do not say words that distance each other more, Or else there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return.’

Activity

• What do you do when you are angry and what you must do when you are angry

Story

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

MORAL

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Story

The important things in life

A philosophy professor stood before his class with some items on the table in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2 inches in diameter.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous “Yes.”

“Now,” said the professor, “I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things – your family, your partner, your health, your children – things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter – like your job, your house, your car

The sand is everything else. The small stuff.”

“If you put the sand into the jar first,” he continued “there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life.

If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal.

Take care of the rocks first – the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

Activity

• Write down the important things in your life and prioritise them

Story

One young man went to apply for a managerial position in a big company.

He passed the initial interview, and now would meet the director for the final interview.

The director discovered from his CV that the youth’s academic achievements were excellent.

He asked, Did you obtain any scholarships in school…?

the youth answered “NO”.

Who paid for your school fees…?

“ Parents “, he replied.

“Where did they work……?”

“They worked as clothes cleaner.”

The director requested the youth to show his hands.

The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

“Have you ever helped your parents wash the clothes ?”

“Never, my parents always wanted me to study and read more books.

Besides, my parents can wash clothes faster than me.

The director said, “I have a request.

When you go home today, go and clean your parents hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.

The youth felt dejected.

When he went back home, he asked his parents to let him clean their hands.

His parents felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings,

They showed their hands to their son.

The youth cleaned their hands slowly.

His tear fell as he did that.

It was the first time he noticed that his parents’ hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in their hands.

Some bruises were so painful that they winced when he touched it.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fees.

The bruises in the hands were the price that the parents had to pay for his education, his school activities and his future.

After cleaning his parents’ hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for them.

That night, parents and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the director’s office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth’s eyes, when he asked:

“Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house….?”

The youth answered, I cleaned my parents hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes’

“I now know what appreciation is. Without my parents, I would not be who I am today…

By helping my parents, only now do I realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done on your own And I have come to appreciate the importance and value of helping one’s family.

The director said, “This is what I am looking for in a manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life.”

“You are hired.”

Activity

• Passing the parcel and each child has to say what their father, mother, brother, sister does for them

Story

Thinking “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.

Story

How can we be HAPPY? (Can be done as activity)

Once a group of 50 people was attending a seminar.

Suddenly the speaker stopped and decided to do a group activity. He started giving each one a balloon. Each one was asked to write his/her name on it using a marker pen. Then all the balloons were collected and put in another room.

Now these delegates were let in that room and asked to find the balloon which had their name written, within 5 minutes. Everyone was frantically searching for their name, colliding with each other, pushing around others and there was utter chaos.

At the end of 5 minutes no one could find their own balloon.

Now each one was asked to randomly collect a balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it.

Within minutes everyone had their own balloon.

The speaker began— Exactly this is happening in our lives. Everyone is frantically looking for happiness all around, not knowing where it is.

Our happiness lies in the happiness of other people. Give them their happiness, you will get your own happiness.

And this is the purpose of human life.