" If we're still expecting others to think the way we're thinking, to live the way we're living or to believe the way we do, then peace will never appear.

~Johni

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Most of us were born and/or grew up in different cultures and traditions. Many have faiths different than our own. It's just very wrong if we think our way is the right one and expect others to follow. Why don't we respect each other and accept each other for who we are and share the world together?

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Mistakes are the portals of discovery if we understand and take it in a right way.
~James Joyce

A Story

Long ago, in a distant land, there lived two sculptors named Seb and Matthias. One day they each received a Royal proclamation inviting them to take part in a sculpting competition to be held at the Royal Gardens. Both Seb and Matthias were extremely excited by this opportunity and immediately started preparing for the seven day journey.

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Seb set out on a bright Monday morning with his chisels and hammers packed in the back of his horse-drawn cart. At the end of his first day of traveling, he made camp in a clearing by the side of the road. After a simple meal, Seb noticed a large rock on the edge of the clearing and decided to get in some practice for the upcoming sculpting competition.

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He took out his tools and began to chisel away at the rock. Several hours later, Seb stood back to look at his sculpture. It was a statue of the Princess Rebecca, but while he was reasonably happy with his attempt, Seb realized that the statue’s hands were too big. He made a mental note to be careful of this in the future and went to sleep.

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The next morning, Seb continued on his way leaving his statue of Princess Rebecca by the side of the clearing. At the end of his second day, Seb found another rock to practice on and created another sculpture of the Princess. This time he got her hands right but made her legs too short. He made a mental note on how to improve next time and moved on.

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Seb continued this pattern throughout his journey. Each night he found a rock to practice on, created a sculpture of Princess Rebecca, made note on how he could improve and then moved on the following morning leaving the sculpture where he created it.

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By the time Seb reached the Royal Gardens he had made seven practice sculptures that were each a little bit better than the one before. On the day of the competition, Seb created his best sculpture ever and to his delight, he was awarded the coveted ‘Golden Hammer’ award which was presented by Princess Rebecca herself.

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Now you may be wondering what happened to the other sculptor, Matthias, so let me tell you his side of the story…

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Matthias also set out on the seven day journey to the Royal Gardens to compete in the sculpting competition. Like Seb, Matthias made camp on the first night and found a large rock to practice on. He too created a statue of the Princess Rebecca but found that he made her feet too big. Matthias was angry at himself for making this mistake and the next morning he heaved the statue onto the back of his cart so that he could study his mistake later.

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At the end of his second day of traveling, Matthias found another rock to practice on and created another statue. This time he forgot to include the princesses head dress and he became furious at his mistake. The next morning, he heaved the statue onto the back of his cart and continued slowly on his journey.

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Each night Matthias repeated this same pattern. He created a statue, became angry with himself when he made a mistake and then loaded the statue onto his cart before moving on.

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On the seventh day, Matthias woke up early and prepared for the final leg of his journey, but when he prompted his horse to get underway, the poor animal strained at his harness but could not move an inch. Matthias jumped down from his seat and went to the back of his cart.

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There he found all seven practice statues of the Princess Rebecca which were weighing the cart down and making it impossible to move. Matthias complained bitterly as he looked over the statues in detail – too big, too short, too tall…the list of mistakes went on and on. The unhappy sculptor sat down on a tree stump and continued to stare at his statues for hours, and as a result, he never made it to the Royal Gardens to compete in the competition.

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This simple story illustrates an important lesson that can often be the difference between success and failure. The statues in the story represent the mistakes that we all make in life. The difference between Seb and Matthias was the way in which they responded to their mistakes.

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When Seb made a practice statue he made a mental note of any problems and then he left his mistake where he made it and continued on his journey. As a result, he gradually developed his skills and eventually achieved his ultimate objective.

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Matthias on the other hand approached his mistakes in a different fashion. Each time he made a statue, he loaded it onto his cart and took it with him. Each day his cart became heavier and heavier until eventually it would not move at all. Instead of leaving his mistakes where he made them, Matthias carried the weight of his mistakes with him and the weight of these past mistakes eventually prevented him from reaching his real objective.

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On your journey to success, understand that you too will make mistakes. Some small, some big. Each time you make a mistake you have a choice. You can either learn from your mistake and move on like Seb, or you can carry your mistake with you like Matthias.

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The danger in harboring regret and continually analyzing your past mistakes is that, like Matthias, you can eventually get stuck and can jeopardize the achievements that are waiting for you in your future.

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Today I’d like to encourage you to reflect on the story of Seb and Matthias and make the decision to leave your mistakes where you make them. In this way, you’ll be able to learn from your mistakes but will still be able to move forward to achieve your ultimate objective.

By Dr. Anthony Fernando
~Forwarded by Aditi

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It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. If we have a positive attitude and constantly strive to give our best effort, eventually we would overcome our immediate problems and find ourselves are ready for greater challenges.

Blind Ambition

Charlie Boswell has always been one of my heroes. He has inspired me and thousands of others to rise above circumstances and live our true passion. Charlie was blinded during World War II while rescuing his friend from a tank that was under fire. He was a great athlete before his accident and in a testimony to his talent and determination he decided to try a brand new sport, a sport he never imagined playing even with his eyesight . . . golf!

Through determination and a deep love for the game he became the National Blind Golf Champion! He won that honor 13 times. One of his heroes was the great golfer Ben Hogan, so it truly was an honor for Charlie to win the Ben Hogan Award in 1958. Upon meeting Ben Hogan, Charlie was awestruck and stated that he had one wish and it was to have one round of golf with the great Ben Hogan.

Mr. Hogan agreed that playing a round together would be an honor for him as well, as he had heard about all of Charlie's accomplishments and truly admired his skills.

"Would you like to play for money, Mr. Hogan?" blurted out Charlie.

"I can't play you for money, it wouldn't be fair!" said Mr. Hogan.

"Aw, come on, Mr. Hogan...$1,000 per hole!"

"I can't, what would people think of me, taking advantage of you and your circumstance," replied the sighted golfer.

"Chicken, Mr. Hogan?"

"Okay," blurted a frustrated Hogan, "but I am going to play my best!"

"I wouldn't expect anything else," said the confident Boswell.

"You're on Mr. Boswell, you name the time and the place!"

A very self-assured Boswell responded .......

"10 o'clock . . . tonight!"

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True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness.

~Albert Einstein

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An American visited India and went back to America. Where he met his Indian friend who asked him, how did u find my country? The American said it is a great country with solid ancient history And immensely rich with natural resources.
The Indian friend then asked …. How did u find Indians …….?? Indians?? Who Indians?? I didn’t find or meet a single Indian There in India……. What nonsense?? Who else can u meet in india then……?? The American said ……..

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In Kashmir I met a kashmiri–
In Punjab a Panjabi—–
In Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Bengal, Tamilnadu
Bihari, Marathi, Marwadi, Bengali, Tamilian, Malayali………

Then I met
A Muslim,
A Hindu
A Christian,
A Jain,
A Buddhist
And many many many more
But not a single Indian did I meet

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Think how serious this joke is.

The day would not be far off when indeed we would become a collection of nation states...........Fight back - Always say I am Indian

Jai hind

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“The reality of the other person is not in what he reveals to you, but in what he cannot reveal to you. Therefore, if you would understand him, listen NOT to what he says but rather what he does not say”

~ Kahlil Gibran

Ours was an arranged marriage. It was done the traditional way. Our parents took care of everything. My only condition was that she should be ready to work. Our horoscopes and photos were exchanged. Everything Matched. I spoke to her over the phone. We talked about things two strangers would talk. She was a lecturer in Bangalore who felt Chemistry was more important than Hindi movies. There was no engagement. The date for marriage was fixed in 2 weeks as I could not get a vacation after that. Even the vacation time I got was just 10 days.

Everything was fixed. It was supposed to be very hectic for me. We got married and 2 days later we had to leave the country. She cried like there was no tomorrow when we left. She would not talk to me on the plane. I thought that was usual for an Indian girl. I th! ought she would get over it. Once home she would not talk to me. She sat in a corner staring at the TV. For the first couple of days I had to catch up on some work and did not take her mood seriously.

A week later I sat beside her and asked her, "What is wrong?"

"Why did you bring me here?"

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"I want to go home"

"This is your home"

"No. I want to go home. Please buy me a ticket"

"Look, everybody feels homesick. I did when I! came here the first time. It is normal. You will get over it. Sorry I have been busy with work. We can go out this weekend. You will meet my friends and other people who will be very friendly. Come on be a good girl"

"I hate this place. I miss my family, my friends, my college. All the people I know are not here. I want to go home"

"Think for a minute. Try to reason it out yourself. What is your plan by the way? So you want to go back and never come back?"

"Yes"

"Are you crazy?"

"If you think this is crazy then I am."

"It is ok if you do not answer this question. Is there someone else?"

"No. I want to go home. I will call 911 if you do not send me"

"First cool down. Think about it. Think about our parents. It is less than a month that we got married and now you want to return home. You very well knew that you had to come here. What were you thinking? Even if you are returning home what happens to our marriage?"

"I am not blaming you. I take the blame. It is my mistake. I can't stay so far away from my family. If you are so interested come to India"

"I am family too! What you are asking is ridiculous."

The next day she would not change her mind. I called my folks. They said that it was my decision and! They would stand by me. I booked her ticket and put it in her hand the next evening. She was to leave in 2 days. Nothing would convince her to change her mind. She was crying like a kid. Then she left.

She had done nothing for me to miss but something inside me was telling me that I was at fault. I tried to shake it off but as time grew I started feeling more guilty. I called her. She made it clear that she did not find me despicable but she would not leave her city. Her parents apologized profusely but they were helpless too.

I have had crushes. None of them were serious. There was this girl in my high school tuition whose phone no I managed to find out. Then the prettiest girl in college whom everybody loved, who talked to me once. Then the girl from my city who was at my university in USA who made me feel at home when I visited her place. I had ignored them once! I crossed their paths. But Anjali was my wife. I could not ignore her.

I decided to quit my job. I went home. No one back home knew I was returning. I wanted to surprise her. I dropped off my bags at my place and went to the college she was teaching. The gate keeper would not let me in. So I had to wait outside for the classes to get over.

She walked out alone, struggling to carry her bag, tired, with slow steps. She was walking towards the bus stop. I silently followed her and went behind her and whispered, "Do you mind if I carry your bag?"

She was startled and turned to face me. Her eyes lit up. I was not sure if I could hug her. I was smiling and she had a 100 questions written all over her face. "I want to spend a week with you in this city. Show me the things that you could not miss"

That one week went in a jiffy. She was treated a kid at home with all the comforts. That explained her behavior. Coffee was brought to her in the morning. Even her dress was laid out for her. She would have breakfast and leave. The bus journey was an hour. She would sit near the window with a book. Then once in the college she would teach her classes and come out tired in the evening. She would stand in the crowded bus carrying her bag which would look heavy. Then she would alight, go home, have a snack and would head out to a friend's place.

Sometimes she'd stay home watching TV or listening to music. When her dad returned she would join him and they'd have dinner. Then her mom would tuck her in bed. Weekends were not much different. She would sleep late, wake up for breakfast and lie down talking on the phone. Then she would visit the temple in the evening and would have her singing lessons. Then she would eat out and would head home late. That was her life. It was something every human being wanted - simple, content and happy. Of course to her I was a villain. I told her that I understood her. I wanted to know if it was ok if she stayed in the same city but away from her parents. Her only condition was that I should not stay at my parent's place to which I agreed.

So we moved into a small apartment. She knew nothing. She had to be taught everything. She learnt. It was hard to make her understand that she had duties and she had a husband. Coffee had to be brought to her in the morning. She made the rules and broke them. She did not care for me. Sometimes she would not return home but go to her parents' place without informing me. I would have had to go bring her back.

Slowly she started realizing about married life. She would wake up before me, try to cook, agree for a movie, visit my friend's place, invite me to her college, let me dress her up, dance in front of me, teach me Chemistry, talk about her crushes, play cricket with me, make me cry for a change. She was growing mature day by day. One day she apologized for the whole thing. I brushed it aside. Finally I had her the way I wanted.

Today I am happy and content with my life. She is still there crying to get her things done. I keep reminding her how she had threatened to call the police. She laughs it away. Sometimes I wonder how life would have been if I had not returned. Then again some things are left as they are.

That's how life is...
There are two ways of meeting difficulties:
You alter the difficulties, or you alter yourself to meet them"

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