> A water bearer in China had two large pots, each hung on the ends
of a
CRACKED POTS
A
water bearer in China had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole which
he carried across his neck. One pot had a crack in it, while the other pot was
perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk
from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For a full two years this went on daily, with
the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his house. Of
course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, perfect for which it
was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and
miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to
do.
After 2 years of what it perceived to be a
bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream .. "I
am ashamed of myself, because this crack in my side causes water to leak out
all the way back to your house"
The bearer said to the pot, "Did you
notice that there are flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the
other pot's side ? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I
planted flower seeds on your side of the path. Every day while we walk back,
you ve watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful
flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there
would not be this beauty to grace the house"
MORAL: Each of us has our own
unique flaws. We're all cracked pots. Butit's the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so
very interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for
what they are, and look for the good in them. Blessings to all my crackpot
friends and relatives.
( brought to you by VUONG
HAI)
A TALE OF TWO FRIENDS
A
story tells that 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, he 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 the bath. The one who had been slapped got stuck in
the mire and start drowning, but his friend saved him. After he recovered from the near drowning, he carved on a stone:
"
TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE "
The
friend, who has slapped and saved his best friend, asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand, and now, you carve
on a stone, why ?"
The
other friend replied :"When someone hurts us, we should write
it down in sand, where the 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"
Author : unknown. From HOA NGHIEM magazine (2002)
The Window
A great note for
all to read. It will take just 37 seconds to read this and change your thinking.
Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital
room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed
was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked
for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service,
where they had been on vacation. Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the
time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live
for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.
The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model
boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the
distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would
close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing
by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band - he could see it. In his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed
it with descriptive words. Days and weeks passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only
to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the
hospital attendants to take the body away. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved
next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.
Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. He strained
to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. The man asked the nurse what could have compelled
his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was
blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."
Epilogue: There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations. Shared grief
is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have
that money can't buy.
"Today is a gift, that's why it is called the
present."
People will forget what you said...
People will forget what you did... But people will never forget how you made them feel...
Author unknown Recommended by HOAI VIET
IT
ALL DEPENDS ON THE WAY YOU LOOK AT THINGS !!!
One day a father and his rich family took his son to
a trip to the country with the firm purpose to show him how poor people can be.
They spent a day and a night in the farm of a very poor family.
Then they got back from their trip the father asked his
son,
"How was the trip?"
"Very good Dad!"
"Did you see how poor
people can be?" the father asked.
"Yeah!"
"And what did you learn?"
The son answered,
"I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden, they have creek that has no end. We
have imported lamps in the garden, they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard, they have a whole horizon."
When the little boy was finishing, his
father was speechless.
His son added, "Thanks Dad for showing
me how poor we are!"
Isn't
it true that it all depends on the way you look at things?
If
you have love, friends, family, health, good humor and a positive attitude towards life -- you've got everything!
AUTHOR:Unknown
Brought to you by CHQ
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