LITTLE CANDLE

Once upon a time a little candle stood in a room filled with other candles,most of them much larger and much more beautiful than she was. Some were ornate and some were rather simple, like herself. Some were white, some were blue, some were pink, some were green. She had no idea why she was there, and the other candles made her feel rather small and insignificant. When the sun went down and the room began to get dark, she noticed a largeman walking toward her with a ball of fire on a stick. She suddenly realized that the man was going to set her on fire. “No, no!” she cried,“Don't burn me, please!” But she knew that she could not be heard and prepared for the pain that would surely follow. To her surprise, the room filled with light. She wondered where it came from since the man had extinguished his fire stick. To her delight, she realized that the light came from herself. Then the man struck another fire stick and, one by one, lit the other candles in the room. Each one gave out the same light that she did. During the next few hours, she noticed that, slowly, her wax began to flow.She became aware that she would soon die. With this realization came a sense of why she had been created. “Perhaps my purpose on earth is to giveout light until I die,” she mused. And that's exactly what she did. God created you and I to produce light in a dark world. Like that little candle, we all can produce the same amount of light, no matter how small weare or what color we might be. But we can't produce light until we receiveit from an outside source

WHAT's UP ?

Lovers of the English language might enjoy this......How do non-natives ever learn all the nuances of English???
There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that word is 'UP.'
It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but why do we wake UP in the morning?
At a meeting, why does a topic come UP?
Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report?
We call UP our friends.
We brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen.
We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car.
At other times the little word has real special meaning.
People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.
To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.
A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP.
We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.
We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP !
To understand the proper uses of UP, look UP the word UP in a dictionary.
In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4 page -- it can really add UP.
If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used.
It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more.
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP.
When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP.
When it rains, it wets UP the earth.
If it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP .
One could go on, but I'll wrap it UP.
For now my time is UP, so .... Time to shut UP .....!
Don't mess UP.
Send this to everyone you look UP in your address book.

GRATITUDE

Hans Selye, the great stress specialist, says that gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions and revenge is the most destructive. He's right. It is a fact that when you express gratitude for what you have, you will have more for which to be grateful. It is equally true that the more you complain about your problems, the more problems you will have to complain about. Here's why. People who express appreciation for what they have attract people who recognize that attitude. They are far more inclined to encourage and/or lend a helping hand because they know their help will be appreciated. People who are always complaining about their problems repel the very people who are in position to give them help and encouragement.Try this. Make a list of ten things you like about your job, mate, child(ren), city, school, etc. The next time someone asks you what you do or where you are from, respond enthusiastically, "I'm from XYZ City," or "I work at ABC Company, and I really like it!" They are likely to comment on your enthusiasm and ask you why you like your city or your job so much. You can respond, "The people there are really nice and we render a great service. My manager is a neat lady," and go right down the list. You'll be amazed at the response you will get and the impact it will have on your attitude and performance. Recently I met a lady who had been working for the JC Penney Company for many years and had grown disgruntled and unhappy. She decided to give this approach a try. Two weeks later she told me that her supervisor had commented on her dramatic change in attitude and performance. The lady added, "And you know, it's funny, I really do like my job much better!" Give it a try and I'll SEE YOU AT THE TOP!

By Zig Ziglar

Two Roads in MY Life

Today I took a time of silence just to look back on my life and to see what happened to me. I looked back on the road of my life and I saw that there are two roads that are leading to where I am currently standing. I could not understand this.
The one road is twisty and go through canyons, over cliffs and it seems that it is a road that no sane man will travel. The other road is a road that looks like a highway. It is straight and flat, but it is also very, very narrow.
I asked God why is there two roads that only converge a little way from where I am standing. God answered me and said that the one road - the twisty difficult road, is the road that I chose to walk. This road is so difficult and so dangerous because I did not heed God's word. I sinned and the devil led me on this twisty road.
As I looked at the twisty road, I started seeing road-signs all along the way, representing the things that I have done in my past. How shocked, horrified and ashamed was I to see all the bad things that I have said, that I have done, that I have thought of.
I can see where I went over cliffs, the places where I have fallen and stumbled and where I got hurt so badly that it seemed impossible to live. There were also places where it seemed impossible for me to have survived the road that I was traveling. It was really a horrific road. Sometimes there was no road at all and I wondered what happened during those times in my travels on this difficult road. I asked God and He said with a smile in His voice, "Son that is where the devil let go of you and I caught you, I carried you."
I said, but how is it still possible that if I was walking with and following the devil that You where still there for me. He said to me "It is because I love you and I will never stop loving you, regardless of your sins."
I looked with amazement to this horrible road and wondered how it happened that I ended up traveling this dangerous road. As if God knew what was on my mind, He said, "Son your choices was not always right and you had to learn, I gave you freedom to do as you wanted and was hoping that you would learn from your choices."
I shrieked in my body and soul, because the sign posts next to the road showed so clearly the choices that I have made. There was no doubt in my mind that all these choices was very far removed from what God had in mind for me and what He had planned for my life.
I asked God about the narrow road that is flat and straight and He said to me, "Son that is the road that I had planned for you and which you choose not to walk for so long. I was willing to lead you and show you all the riches that I had in my stores for you."
I wondered just how much I have missed in life by trying to follow my own road. I looked at the place where the two roads converge and my twisty and dangerous road meet with the narrow, straight road, it was only a very, very short distance from where I was standing at this moment.
Again, before I could ask God about this, He answered me and said, "Son you started praying, you started leaving the choices in My hands. You started trusting me and you started believing in the power of what I can do. I was hoping that you would come to Me and look at My road."
" All it took was for you, to start asking Me for the things in your life that you wanted and trusting Me enough with those things. I am burning to release My full flood of riches onto you, to give you far more than you could ever ask for or dream of! You must remember that it was YOUR choice to travel your own road, I was always there, but you never trusted Me, you never asked Me to help you."
" You where the one that went of on the difficult road with all the dangers and My road was there all along. It was up to you to come back to Me, because I never left you, it was you who left Me. There, where the roads converge, that is when you came back to Me, that was when you gave up on trying to be the leader in your own life, when you realized that on your own power you are not getting anywhere and you are not achieving anything meaningful in your life, when you stopped relying on your own power.
" That was when you said to me that I must take control of your life and lead you according to what I, your Father, has planned for you. I was waiting so long for you to just start asking Me for guidance, I wanted to take your hand everyday, but if you did not allow me and trust me, I could not do that."
I could only stand in amazement on what happened since the two roads converge. I could see the drastic change and the things that came my way since traveling God's way. I decided there and then that without God in my life, I do not want to live another day. I started understanding what God, my Father had in store for me and it is so simple. I just need to trust Him with everything and I must ask Him for it.
The simplicity of this only started sinking in and I now know that without God in my life, life is not worth living. I vowed that never again will I rely on my own strengths, never again will I doubt in what God has promised each and every one of us. I vowed to keep on looking for God's will in my life and to get to know Him a lot better! God is my King and Savior, how about yours?

Rhythym of Rituals

CHANGE IS INEVITABLE AND ALL CHANGE IS CYCLICAL; TO BREAK THE MONOTONY OF LIFE CREATE SOME MEANINGFUL RITUALS FOR YOURSELF

AS RAVI ENTERED his cabin, he suddenly felt lost. What was he supposed to do next? He set up his laptop and went straight for his email inbox. Maybe there were emails there to respond. And in the midst of responding to the emails, maybe he would find a purpose, a task that would make the rest of the day meaningful. Ravi needs structure in his life. A plan. But he does not know how to go about it. A business year has just got over and until last week the sales target was the destination, and the desire to reach it kept him going. Now, the target has been reached, the year is over, and suddenly there is a vacuum. What seemed like a full stop now reveals itself to be merely a comma, a pause, as he waits for a new goal. Is that what life is all about – moving from one target to another target, one year-end to another year-end, one project to another project?
Ravi was raised on fairy tales like Cinderella, Snow White and Rapunzel, which always ended with 'happily ever after'. But as the exhilaration of reaching last year's target wanes, Ravi has realised that 'happily ever after' is a dream, a fantasy far from reality. In frustration, his mind wandered to earlier that day, to when he was having breakfast. His wife drew his attention to traditional Indian narratives. Unlike European fairy tales which had clear beginnings (once upon a time), and clear endings, (happily ever after), classical Indian fairy stories such as Suka-saptati, Betalpachisi, Simhasan-battisi, had endings that invariably curved back to the beginning. For example, Suka-saptati always began with a travelling merchant's wife preparing to step out and meet her lover, and always ended with her not leaving the house, distracted as she was by the story narrated to her by her husband's pet parrot. Betal-pachisi always began with Vikram pulling down a ghost from a tree, and ended with the ghost always returning to the tree after telling a story. Simhasan-battisi, always began with a king approaching a throne thinking he was worthy of sitting on it, and always ended with him doubting his capability after hearing a tale of royal achievement narrated by the throne itself. Thus, the stories would run in cycles – again, and again, and again, with the same beginnings, with the same endings and change happening only in between. In the middle was the exciting part – mystery, action and romance. Ravi realised these tales were so much like life. Every business year would begin the same way – with a target. And would end the same way – with a struggle to reach the target. The exciting part was in the middle. In the middle was life.
While driving to office, Ravi had noticed a few workshops on the roadside where artisans were molding clay images of Ganesha and Durga. They did this each year, in the rainy season, preparing for festivals that were celebrated as the rains drew to a close. By which time the images of Ganesha and Durga would be ready for worship. After being worshipped for nine-ten days, the images would be dissolved in a water body. The following year, at the same time, the artisans would mold fresh images once again. Repetition was the key. The festivals recurred cyclically, just like the stories. Was this the way of the forefathers to show that while change is inevitable (stories end, images are dissolved in water), all change is cyclical (stories restart and images are recreated)? Through the rhythm of rituals, one's mind was drawn to the cyclical nature of things so that life seemed less uncertain and more predictable.
Are we rats on a ferret-wheel, running but reaching nowhere? From the window of his office, Ravi noticed the sticker of Tirupati Balaji pasted on a car parked below. The deity had a wheel on the right side. It rotated around the deity's index finger, a reminder of life's circular rhythm. The dreaded merry-go-round of life, no doubt. But there was a conch-shell on the left side of the deity. Here the rhythm was different - spiral not circular. The end did not actually meet the beginning – it was separated by a distance created by time.
It dawned on Ravi that when an event recurs, one is not the same person – one has matured, gained more experience and information, hence one's approach to the event should ideally be different. When the Ganesha or Durga festivals return after the rains this year, as ritually planned, Ravi should be able to perceive the celebrations with a more matured perspective compared to last year. And when Ravi hears the next story narrated either by the parrot, the ghost or the throne, he should be smarter than when the previous story was told. Ideally, when events recur, he should be more prepared, hence more efficient and more effective. Ravi concluded that circular rituals offered not just a predictable certainty, it also offered a chance to relook at the same event differently, allowing for new insights, making every recurring event something to look forward to.
Suddenly Ravi did not feel as lost as before. It dawned on him that for the past four years, ever since he took over as head of sales and marketing, this feeling of dread and despair always overwhelmed him in the period between the ending of the previous business year and the start of the current business year. Rather than surrender to monotony and despair, it was up to him to turn the cyclical truth of his job to his advantage.
Inspired, Ravi instituted a circular rhythm of rituals of his own in his office. Every Monday morning, he asked his team to meet in his cabin for coffee. The meeting had no agenda. What was important was the gathering. Sometimes the meeting generated heated discussion about work, sometimes people just gossiped on various topics, and sometimes nobody spoke; everybody just sipped coffee silently. Those who attended the meeting did not realise what the point of it all was. But Ravi did. The ritual anchored his team – gave the week a very certain start, a clear indicator that the weekend was over and the week had begun. It allowed the team to cope better with the Monday morning blues, and return to the corporate fold faster. Now, Ravi plans to institute more office rhythms – monthly reviews, quarterly team dinners, bi-annual picnics with family. He has realised that people respond to rhythms very well – like cyclical festivals and stories that give everyone the opportunity to find excitement and new insights in the otherwise monotony of life.

HAPPINESS

The Bamboo and The Fern

One day I decided to quit...I quit my job, my relationship, and my spirituality... I wanted to quit my life.
I went to the woods to have one last talk with God. "God", I said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"
His answer surprised me..."Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?" "Yes", I replied.
"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo." He said. "In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed.
But I would not quit. In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would not quit."
He said. "Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant...But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive.
I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle."
He said to me. "Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots?" "I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you." "Don't compare yourself to others."
He said. "The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful." "Your time will come", God said to me. "You will rise high" "How high should I rise?" I asked. "How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return. "As high as it can?" I questioned, "Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."
I left the forest and bring back this story. I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you. He will never give up on you. Never regret a day in your life. Good days give you happiness; bad days give you experiences; both are essential to life!