Breaking Bread

Several years ago, a friend and I were dining in a restaurant's outdoor seating area. As we neared the end of our dinner we noticed a man watching us from the pavement. His clothes were dirty, his face haggard. He walked up to us and with a cracked voice said, "When you finish your meal, if you have any leftovers, would you mind if I ate them?" We invited him to sit down, and we asked the waitress to bring him a grilled chicken and butter pasta entrée. For the next half hour, he told us bits of his story.

As we chatted, there were many truths we could have shared with the man. There were many wise, Biblical words we could have offered. It was obvious to us, however, that what this man needed most was a square meal and genuine conversation with people who cared about who he was - people who were interested in learning the sorrows that had led to his current condition.

After Jesus' resurrection, several disciples returned to fishing. But they weren't catching anything. In a surprising encounter, however, Jesus called out to them from the shore. He instructed them to cast their nets on the opposite side of the boat. They did, and  "they couldn't haul in the net because there were so many fish in it." (John 21:6) When they landed their boat on the shore, a charcoal fire with fish cooking over it awaited them. "Then Jesus served them the bread and the fish." (John 21:13)

I can imagine many things Jesus could have offered. Perhaps a rebuke for their faithlessness in the days surrounding His crucifixion. Yet, as a traditional prayer states, the "blessed Son made Himself known to His disciples in the breaking of bread."

Wherever you're hungry, God will meet you there.
- Winn Collier 

Blessings from the failure

The Law of Wasted Effort

Do you know that lions/ Tigers only succeed in a quarter of their hunting attempts — which means they fail in 75% of their attempts and succeed in only 25% of them.

Despite this small percentage shared by most predators, they don't despair in their pursuit and hunting attempts. 

The main reason for this is not because of hunger as some might think but it is the understanding of the “Law of Wasted Efforts” that have been instinctively built into animals, a law in which nature is governed. 

Half of the eggs of fishes are eaten... half of the baby bears die before puberty... most of the world's rains fall in oceans... and most of the seeds of trees are eaten by birds. 

Scientists have found that animals, trees, and other forces of nature are more receptive to the law of "wasted efforts". 

Only humans think that the lack of success in a few attempts is failure... but the truth is that: we only fail when we "stop trying".

Success is not to have a life free of pitfalls and falls... but success is to walk over your mistakes and go beyond every stage where your efforts were wasted looking forward to the next stage. 

If there is a word that summarizes this world, it will simply be: "Continue!"  All over again.........

Stay Inspired. 👍👍👍🙏🙏

Spend a minute to read it till d end even if you have read it before...

A cruise ship met with an accident at sea, on the ship was a pair of couple, after having made their way to the lifeboat, they realized that there was only space for one person left.

At this moment, the man pushed the woman behind him and jumped onto the lifeboat himself.

The lady stood on the sinking ship and shouted one sentence to her husband.

The teacher stopped and asked, "What do you think she shouted?"

Most of the students excitedly answered, "I hate you! I was blind!"

Now, the teacher noticed a boy who was silent throughout, she got him to answer and he replied, "Teacher, I believe she would have shouted - Take care of our child!"

The teacher was surprised, asking "Have you heard this story before?"

The boy shook his head, "Nope, but that was what my mum told my dad before she died to disease".

The teacher lamented, "The answer is right".

The cruise sunk, the man went home and brought up their daughter single-handedly.

Many years later after the death of the man, their daughter found his diary while tidying his belongings.

It turns out that when parents went onto the cruise ship, the mother was already diagnosed with a terminal illness.

At the critical moment, the father rushed to the only chance of survival.

He wrote in his diary, "How I wished to sink to the bottom of the ocean with you, but for the sake of our daughter, I can only let you lie forever below the sea alone".

The story is finished, the class was silent. 

The teacher knows that the student has understood the moral of the story, that of the good and the evil in the world, there are many complications behind them which are hard to understand. 

Which is why we should never only focus on the surface and judge others without understanding them first.

Those who like to pay the bill, do so not because they are loaded but because they value friendship above money.

Those who take the initiative at work, do so not because they are stupid but because they understand the concept of responsibility.

Those who apologizes first after a fight, do so not because they are wrong but because they value the people around them.

Those who are willing to help you, do so not because they owe you any thing but because they see you as a true friend.

Those who often text you, do so not because they have nothing better to do but because you are in their heart.

One day, all of us will get  separated  from each other; we will miss our conversations of everything & nothing; the dreams that we had. Days will pass by, months, years, until this contact becomes rare...
One day our children will see our pictures and ask 'Who are these people?' And we will smile with invisible tears  because a heart is touched with a strong word and you will say: 'IT WAS THEM THAT I HAD THE BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE WITH'. 


Regards,
Esther

Happiness is not a destination, it's a journey.

This story is about a beautiful, expensively dressed lady who complained to her psychiatrist that she felt that her whole life was empty, it had no meaning.

So, the lady went to visit a counselor to seek out happiness.

The counselor called over the old lady who cleaned the office floors.

The counselor then said to the rich lady "I'm going to ask Mary here to tell u how she found happiness. All I want u to do is listen to her."

So the old lady put down her broom and sat on a chair and told her story:

"Well, my husband died of malaria and three months later my only son was killed by a car. I had nobody. I had nothing left. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't eat, I never smiled at anyone, I even thought of taking my own life. Then one evening a little kitten followed me home from work. Somehow I felt sorry for that kitten. It was cold outside, so I decided to let the kitten in. I got some milk, and the kitten licked the plate clean. Then it purred and rubbed against my leg and, for the first time in months, I smiled.

Then I stopped to think, if helping a little kitten could make me smile, may be doing something for people could make me happy.

So, the next day I baked some biscuits and took them to a neighbor who was sick in bed.

Every day I tried to do something nice for someone. It made me so happy to see them happy.

Today, I don't know of anybody who sleeps and eats better than I do. I've found happiness, by giving it to others."

When she heard this, the rich lady cried. She had everything that money could buy, but she had lost the things which money cannot buy.

"The beauty of life does not depend on how happy you are; but on how happy others can be because of you..."

Happiness is not a destination, it's a journey. 

Happiness is not tomorrow, it is now. 

Happiness is not dependency, it is a decision. 

Regards,
ESTHER

Life is vanity without FRIENDS.

 

While a man was polishing his new car, his 6 yr old son picked up a stone and scratched lines on the side of the car. 

In anger, the man took the child's hand and hit it many times; 
not realizing he was using a wrench. 

At the hospital, the child lost all his fingers due to multiple fractures.

When the child saw his father...

with painful eyes he asked, 'Dad when will my fingers grow back?' 

The man was so hurt and speechless; 
he went back to his car and kicked it a lot of times.

Devastated by his own actions.....
sitting in front of that car he looked at the scratches;

the child had written 'LOVE YOU DAD'.

The next day that man committed suicide. . .



Anger and Love have no limits; 
choose the latter to have a beautiful, lovely life.....

Things are to be used and people are to be loved.

But the problem in today's world is that, 

People are used and things are loved.


Things are to be used,
but People are to be loved.

Watch your thoughts; they become words.

Watch your words; they become actions. 

Watch your actions; they become habits.

Watch your habits they become character;

Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.

Do u know the relationship between your two eyes?
They blink together, move together, cry together, see things together & sleep together. 

Even though they never see each other.

Friendship should be just like that! 

Life is vanity without FRIENDS.


God bless you.

Regards,

Esther

Strong and deterministic women

She got late at office that day and she
had to go home alone.

She started walking towards the auto
stand

But it was too late, she had to
wait for an auto.

She felt like someone was
following her

she turned back and 'Bhoo' he said.
She got scared and he laughed out loud.

Her office colleague it was.

"I'm here because
I can't let you walk alone
towards the auto stand and don't worry

I'll b with you till you get an auto.
You are my responsibility" he said.

After ten minutes of wait,

An auto came but no passenger was in
there.

She knew that this
could probably be the last auto to pass by.

She looked in an uncomfortable manner At
th auto driver.

"Don't worry sister, I'll drop you at your
home safely.

You are my responsibility" the auto
driver said.

She sat in.

Her home was in a dark lane,
she had to walk almost five minutes in the
lane to reach her
home.

She entered the lane and a mid-aged man
was smoking and looking at her.

It was a neighbour.

He threw the cigarette and said
"Come i'll walk with you till you
reach home.

Don't worry beti you are like my
daughter only.

You are my responsibility"

The girl finally reached home safely.

Everytime i gave a pause in the write up,

you must have felt that something wrong
will happen.

This fear is what our society has given us.
It will no longer have an existance if
every man be like that office colleague or
the auto driver or the neighbour.

𝐓𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞:⁣⁣
⁣⁣
1. Take care of your health. Spend time n money on maintaining yourself. ⁣⁣
⁣
2. Learn to be independent. Its perfectly ok to not earn, but its important to be independent. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
3. Learn to ride that bike or drive that car. You don't always need an escort! ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
4. Learn about investments and taxes. Its not necessary to have someone else manage your savings n earnings.⁣⁣
⁣⁣
5. Plan and save for your own gifts n desires. You don't always need a husband or your dad to buy you something you love. Gift yourself! ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
6. Take equal responsibility of your parents. Its not acceptable to expect everything from your brother every time. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
7. Let the father take care of the unwell child once in a while. Your career is equally important and the father is equally responsible. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
8. Its ok if the kitchen platform is exceptionally unclean or sink is full of dirty vessels. Relax n take that break! ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
9. Help the other woman, even if you dont like her. You never know what her battles are. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
10. Its ok to get on well with inlaws! Not every family needs to have a saas-bahu drama. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
11. Have some friends (men and women) beyond your husband's group, Its ok ! Spend some time away from family with your friends. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
12. Its ok to not cry. Not all women need to be sentimental all the time ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
13. When things go wrong, try to be balanced and find way out of your problems. You don't need to play the victim. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
14. Find time to read and keep yourself updated.⁣⁣
 ⁣⁣
15. Raise independent, caring and health conscious kids. Make all family members equally accountable and responsible. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
16. Create different girlie groups. Share your problems, seek opinions but finally take your own decision and stick to it.⁣
⁣⁣
17. Spend some time  doing what you like, even if its just sitting idle. Dont feel guilty because others feel its worthless. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
18. Believe in yourself, or noone else will.⁣
⁣
19. Remember, you have a voice, use it!⁣
⁣
20. Have a dream, and don’t sacrifice it for anyone! ⁣




Share so every woman reads this! 🙂

Dear friends, like your sister, mother and
wife are your responsibilities,
'She' is your responsibility too.
Understand if you can.


Regards,
Esther

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

MORAL :
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.

2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happens.

3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.

4. Give more.

5. Expect less from people but more from yourself.

You have two choices... smile and close this page,
or pass this along to someone else to share the lesson

Regards,

Esther

This made me think -

Something interesting: regarding those who believe and those who don't believe in God ! It stimulates our lateral thinking :
This lovely parable is from "Your Sacred Self" by Dr. Wayne Dyer.
In a mother’s womb were two babies. One asked the other: “Do you believe in life after delivery?”The other replied, “Why, of course. There has to be something after delivery. Maybe we are here to prepare ourselves for what we will be later.”
“Nonsense” said the first. “There is no life after delivery. What kind of life would that be?”
The second said, “I don’t know, but there will be more light than here. Maybe we will walk with our legs and eat from our mouths. Maybe we will have other senses that we can’t understand now.”
The first replied, “That is absurd. Walking is impossible. And eating with our mouths? Ridiculous! The umbilical cord supplies nutrition and everything we need. But the umbilical cord is so short. Life after delivery is to be logically excluded.”
The second insisted, “Well I think there is something and maybe it’s different than it is here. Maybe we won’t need this physical cord anymore.”
The first replied, “Nonsense. And moreover if there is life, then why has no one has ever come back from there? Delivery is the end of life, and in the after-delivery there is nothing but darkness and silence and oblivion. It takes us nowhere.”
“Well, I don’t know,” said the second, “but certainly we will meet Mother and she will take care of us.”
The first replied “Mother? You actually believe in Mother? That’s laughable. If Mother exists then where is She now?”
The second said, “She is all around us. We are surrounded by her. We are of Her. It is in Her that we live. Without Her this world would not and could not exist.”
Said the first: “Well I don’t see Her, so it is only logical that She doesn’t exist.”
To which the second replied, “Sometimes, when you’re in silence and you focus and listen, you can perceive Her presence, and you can hear Her loving voice, calling down from above.”
May be this was one of the best explanation to the theory of 'Afterdeath' and the concept of 'GOD'!

Regards
Esther

A tale of Two Seas !!

Here is an interesting story on two seas with some interesting lessons. I had heard of Dead Sea in school. No one ever told me this side of the story. You may find it interesting. I look forward to your perspective.


As you probably 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. You 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.

And 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 and 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. And 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 lots 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 while one sea is full of life, the other is dead. How come?

Here’s apparently 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 then out - and that keeps the sea healthy and vibrant, teeming with marine life.

But the Dead Sea is so far below the mean 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. It is estimated that over 7 million tons of water evaporate from the Dead Sea every day. Leaving it salty. Too 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.

Result? No life at all.

Think about it.

Life is not just about getting. Its about giving. 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 and 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 everything the results can be disastrous.
Good idea to make sure that in the sea of your own life, you have outlets. Many outlets. For love and wealth - and everything else that you get in your life. Make sure you don't just get, you give too.

Open the taps. And you'll open the floodgates to happiness. Make that a habit. To share. To give.

And experience life. Experience the magic!


The happiest people on this planet are not those who live on their own terms but are those who change their terms for others!

Regards,
Esther

Selfless Real Love

My wife called, 'How long will you be with that newspaper? Will you  come here and make your darling daughter eat her food?

I tossed the paper away and rushed to the scene. My only daughter, Sindu, looked frightened; tears were welling up in her eyes. 

In front of her was a bowl filled to its brim with curd rice. Sindu is a nice child, quite and  intelligent for her age.

I picked up the bowl. 'Sindu, darling, why don't you take a few mouthful of this curd rice? Just for Dad's sake, dear'.

Sindu softened a bit and wiped her tears with the back of her hands. 'Ok, Dad. I will eat - not just a few mouthfuls, but the whole lot of this. But, you should...' Sindu hesitated...... 'Dad, if I eat this entire curd Rice, will you give me whatever I ask for?'

'Promise'. I covered the pink soft hand extended by my daughter with mine, and clinched the deal.

Now I became a bit anxious. 'Sindu, dear, you shouldn't insist on getting a computer or any such expensive items. Dad does not have that kind of money right now. Ok?'

'No, Dad. I do not want anything expensive.'

Slowly and painfully, she finished eating the whole quantity. I was silently angry with my wife and my mother for forcing my child to eat something that she detested.

After the ordeal was through, Sindu came to me with her eyes wide with expectation. All our attention was on her.

'Dad, I want to have my head shaved off, this Sunday!' was her demand.

'Atrocious!' shouted my wife, 'A girl child having her head shaved off? Impossible!'

'Never in our family!' My mother rasped. 'She has been watching too much of television. Our culture is getting totally spoiled with these TV programs!'

'Sindu, darling, why don't you ask for something else? We will be sad seeing you with a clean-shaven head.'

'Please, Sindu, why don't you try to understand our feelings?' I tried to plead with her.

'Dad, you saw how difficult it was for me to eat that Curd Rice'. Sindu was in tears. 'And you promised to grant me whatever I ask for. Now, you are going back on your words. 
"Was it not you who told me the story of King Harishchandra, and its moral that we should honor our promises no matter what?'

It was time for me to call the shots. 'Our promise must be kept.'

'Are you out of your mind?' chorused my mother and wife.

'No. If we go back on our promises, she will never learn to honour her own. Sindu, your wish will be fulfilled.'

With her head clean-shaven, Sindu had a round-face, and her eyes looked big and beautiful.

On Monday morning, I dropped her at her school. It was a sight to watch my hairless Sindu walking towards her classroom. She turned around and waved. I waved back with a smile. 

Just then, a boy alighted from a car, and shouted, 'Sinduja, please wait for me!' What struck me was the hairless head of that boy. 'May be, that is the in-stuff', I thought.

A lady got out of car and came to me. She said 'Sir, your daughter Sinduja is great indeed! That boy who is walking along with your daughter is my son, Harish. He is suffering from... leukemia'. She paused to muffle her sobs. 

'Harish could not attend the school for the whole of the last month. He lost all his hair due to the side effects of the chemotherapy. He refused to come back to school fearing the unintentional but cruel teasing of the schoolmates.
...... Sinduja visited him last week, and promised him that she will take care of the teasing issue.....

"But, I never imagined she would sacrifice her lovely hair for the sake of my son! Sir, you and your wife are blessed to have such a noble soul as your daughter.'

I stood transfixed with tears 'My little Angel, you are teaching me how selfless real love is!'


Regards,
Esther