The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him, and every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect him from the elements and to store his few possessions. But then one day, after scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, the smoke rolling up to the sky. The worst had happened; everything was lost. He was stunned with grief and anger. "God, how could you do this to me?", he cried. Early the next day, however, he was awakened by the sound of a ship that was approaching the island. It had come to rescue him. "How did you know I was here?", asked the weary man of his rescuers. "We saw your smoke signal," they replied. It is easy to get discouraged when things are going badly. But we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, ev...

A group of scientists placed 5 monkeys in a cage and in the middle, a ladder with bananas on the top. Every time a monkey went up the ladder, the scientists soaked the rest of the monkeys with cold water. After a while, every time a monkey went up the ladder, the others beat up the one on the ladder. After some time, no monkey dare[d] to go up the ladder regardless of the temptation. Scientists then decided to substitute one of the monkeys. The 1st thing this new monkey did was to go up the ladder. Immediately the other monkeys beat him up. After several beatings, the new member learned not to climb the ladder even though he never knew why. A 2nd monkey was substituted and the same occurred. The 1st monkey participated on the beating for the 2nd monkey. A 3rd monkey was changed and the same was repeated (beating). The 4th was substituted and the beating was repeated and finally the 5th monkey was replaced. What was left was a group of 5 monkeys that even though never received a c...

Human Beings and frogs are the two creatures in nature who have tremendous power to adjust. Put a frog in a vessel of water and start heating the water. As the temperature of the water rises, the frog is able to adjust its body temperature accordingly. The frog keeps on adjusting with increase in temperature. Just when the water is about to reach boiling point, the frog is not able to adjust anymore. At that point the frog decides to jump out.  The frog tries to jump but is unable to do so, because it lost all its strength in adjusting with the water temperature. Very soon the frog dies. What killed the frog? Many of us would say the boiling water. But the truth is what killed the frog was its own inability to decide when it had to jump out. We all need to adjust with people and situations, but we need to be sure when we need to adjust and when we need to confront / face. There are times when we need to face the situation and take the appropriate action. If we allow people...

A wealthy man requested an old scholar to wean his son away from his bad habits.  The scholar took the youth for a stroll through a garden. Stopping suddenly he asked the boy to pull out a tiny plant growing there. The youth held the plant between his thumb and forefinger and pulled it out. The old man then asked him to pull out a slightly bigger plant. The youth pulled hard and the plant came out, roots and all. “Now pull out that one,” said the old man pointing to a bush. The boy had to use all his strength to pull it out. “Now take this one out,” said the old man, indicating a guava tree. The youth grasped the trunk and tried to pull it out. But it would not budge. “It’s impossible,” said the boy, panting with the effort. “So it is with bad habits,” said the scholar. “When they are young it is easy to pull them out but when they take hold they cannot be uprooted.” The session with the old man changed the boy’s life. Don’t wait for Bad Habits to grow in you, drop them whil...

There lived a Sage, who travelled across various countries. He preached the values of life to thousands of people. Years passed and he has become so old and decided to live his last days in a country which is the best among all the countries he visited by them. He called up his disciples to choose the right country for him. The disciples discussed with one another. Some suggested a wealthy country with all the facilities, some suggested where the sage has more followers, some suggested a country with less population so that he can be peaceful without much disturbance. But they could not finalize anything and returned to the sage. The Sage listened to them and said “I give you a clue, I wish to spend my last days in a country where good people live”. But the disciples were unable to find out a way of how to tell some people good or bad? They again returned to the sage and asked “Please guide us! How can we define someone good or bad? Because all the people loved you, they all listene...

Once upon a time a sage lived in a village near a forest. He possessed some magical powers. One day he heard some noise near his hut and found a Mouse trying to find a hide-out. He looked around and he spotted a Cat searching for that mouse. He felt so pity about that mouse and wanted to help it. So he changed the Mouse into a Cat. A few days later again he saw the cat chased by a dog. He changed the mouse again, from a Cat to a Dog. Some days passed. That dog wagged its tail looking at the Sage and looked so scared. He followed that direction it looked, there was a Cheetah. He thought for a while and decided to make the mouse more powerful. So he changed it into a Tiger! He believed that it will not get scared about any animal thereafter. He decided to leave that in the forest. As he neared his hut, the Tiger ran away inside his hut to hide. He wondered what could scare away a Tiger and looked back. He was expecting a Lion or an Elephant this time. But it was none other than the ...

A doctor, a lawyer, a little boy and a priest were out for a Sunday afternoon flight on a small private plane. Suddenly, the plane developed engine trouble. In spite of the best efforts of the pilot, the plane started to go down. Finally, the pilot grabbed a parachute and yelled to the passengers that they better jump, and he himself bailed out. Unfortunately, there were only three parachutes remaining. The doctor grabbed one and said “I’m a doctor, I save lives, so I must live,” and jumped out. The lawyer then said, “I’m a lawyer and lawyers are the smartest people in the world. I deserve to live.” He also grabbed a parachute and jumped. The priest looked at the little boy and said, “My son, I’ve lived a long and full life. You are young and have your whole life ahead of you. Take the last parachute and live in peace.” The little boy handed the parachute back to the priest and said, “Not to worry Father. The smartest man in the world just took off with my back pack.” Your job ...

A little boy went into a drug store, reached for a soda carton and pulled it over to the telephone. He climbed onto the carton so that he could reach the buttons on the phone and proceeded to punch in a phone number.  The store-owner observed and listened to the conversation. Boy: ‘Lady, Can you give me the job of cutting your lawn? Woman: (at the other end of the phone line): ‘I already have someone to cut my lawn.’ Boy: ‘Lady, I will cut your lawn for half the price of the person who cuts your lawn now.’ Woman: I’m very satisfied with the person who is presently cutting my lawn. Boy: (with more perseverance) : ‘Lady, I’ll even sweep your curb and your sidewalk, so on Sunday you will have the prettiest lawn in all of Palm beach , Florida.’ Woman: No, thank you. With a smile on his face, the little boy replaced the receiver. The store-owner, who was listening to all this, walked over to the boy. Store Owner: ‘Son… I like your attitude; I like that positive spirit and woul...