Story of Potatoes

Once a school teacher asked her students to bring some potatoes in a plastic bag. Each potato will be given a name of the person whom that child hates. Like this, the number of potatoes will be equal to the number of persons they hate.

On a decided day the children brought their potatoes well addressed. Some had two, some had three and some had even five potatoes. The teacher said they have to carry these 

potatoes with them everywhere they go for a week.

 As the days passed the children started to complain about the spoiled smell that started coming from these potatoes. Also some students who had many potatoes complained that it was very heavy to carry them all around. The children got rid of this assignment after a week, when it got over. The teacher asked, "How did you feel in this one week?" The children discussed their problems about the smell and weight. Then the teacher said, "This situation is very similar to what you carry in your heart when you don't like some people. This hatred makes your heart unhealthy and you carry that hatred in your heart everywhere you go. If you cannot bear the smell of spoiled potatoes for a week, imagine the impact of this hatred that you carry throughout your life, on your heart?"

Moral

We need to regularly clean the unwanted weeds that we grow. We must learn to forgive those who have not behaved with us as expected and forget the bad things. This would keep our mind more open and the cup will always have room for more good.

Ram Ram

The Reward

One day a fisherman was lying on a beautiful beach, with his fishing pole propped up in the sand and his solitary line cast out into the sparkling blue surf. He was enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun and the prospect of catching a fish.

About that time, a businessman came walking down the beach, trying to relieve some of the stress of his workday. He noticed the fisherman sitting on the beach and decided to find out why this fisherman was fishing instead of working harder to make a living for himself and his family. "You aren't going to catch many fish that way," said the businessman to the fisherman. "You should be working rather than lying on the beach!"

The fisherman looked up at the businessman, smiled and replied, "And what will my reward be?" "Well, you can get bigger nets and catch more fish!" was the businessman's answer. "And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman, still smiling. The businessman replied, "You will make money and you'll be able to buy a boat, which will then result in larger catches of fish!" "And then what will my reward be?" asked the fisherman again. The businessman was beginning to get a little irritated with the fisherman's questions. "You can buy a bigger boat, and hire some people to work for you!" he said. "And then what will my reward be?" repeated the fisherman.

The businessman was getting angry. "Don't you understand? You can build up a fleet of fishing boats, sail all over the world, and let all your employees catch fish for you!" Once again the fisherman asked, "And then what will my reward be?" The businessman was red with rage and shouted at the fisherman, "Don't you understand that you can become so rich that you will never have to work for your living again! You can spend all the rest of your days sitting on this beach, looking at the sunset. You won't have a care in the world!"

The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, "And what do you think I'm doing right now?"

Ram Ram

Joy of Giving

A tale of Two Seas…the joy of giving …..

Sitting in the geography class in school, I remember how fascinated I was when we were being taught all about the Dead Sea. If you recall, the Dead Sea is really a lake, not a sea. It’s so high in salt content that the human body can float easily. One can almost lie down and read a book!
The salt in the Dead Sea is as high as 35% – almost 10 times the normal ocean water. And all that saltiness has meant that there is no life at all in the Dead Sea. No fish. No vegetation. No sea animals. Nothing lives in the Dead sea.

Hence the name: Dead Sea.

While the Dead Sea has remained etched in my memory, I don’t seem to recall learning about the Sea of Galilee in my school geography lesson. So, when I heard about the Sea of Galilee & the Dead Sea and, the tale of the two seas – I was intrigued.
Turns out that the Sea of Galilee is just north of the Dead Sea. Both, the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, receive their water from river Jordan. Yet, they are very, very different.

Unlike the Dead Sea, the Sea of Galilee is pretty, resplendent with rich, colorful marine life. There are lots of plants and lot of fish, too. In fact, the sea of Galilee is home to over twenty different types of fishes.

Same region, same source of water, and yet, one sea is full of life, the other is dead. How come?

Here is why.
The River Jordan flows into the Sea of Galilee and then flows out. The water simply passes through the Sea of Galilee in and out – and that keeps the Sea healthy and vibrant, teeming with marine life.

But, the Dead Sea is so far below the sea level, that it has no outlet. The water flows in from the river Jordan, but does not flow out. There are no outlet streams at all. It is estimated that over a million tons of water evaporates from the Dead Sea every day, leaving it salty. Full of minerals and unfit for any marine life.

The Dead Sea takes water from the River Jordan, and holds it. It does not give/flow out. Result? No life at all.
Think about it.

Life is not just about getting. It’s about giving, sharing. We all need to be a bit like the Sea of Galilee.

We are fortunate to get wealth, knowledge, love and respect. But, if we don’t learn to give, we could all end up like the Dead Sea. The love, the respect, the wealth and the knowledge, could all evaporate. Like the water in the Dead Sea.

If we get the Dead Sea mentality of merely taking in more water, more money, more of everything, the results can be disastrous.
A good idea is to make sure that in the sea of your own life, you must have outlets. Many outlets for love, wealth and everything that you get in your life.
Make sure you don’t just get, you give out, too. Open the taps. And you’ll be opening the floodgates to happiness.

Make that a habit. To share, to give.

Experience life. Experience the magic of giving..!

Ram Ram