The mountain climber

There was a mountain climber who, desperate to conquer a mountain, initiated his climb after years of preparation. But he wanted the glory to himself, therefore, he went up alone. He started climbing and it was becoming later, and later. He did not prepare for camping, but decided to keep on going.

Soon it got dark. Night fell with heaviness at a very high altitude. Visibility was zero. Everything was black. There was no moon, and the stars were covered by clouds.

As he was climbing a ridge at about 100 meters from the top, he slipped and fell. Falling rapidly he could only see blotches of darkness that passed. He felt a terrible sensation of being sucked in by gravity. He kept falling... and in those anguishing moments good and bad memories passed through his mind. He thought certainly he would die.

But then he felt a jolt that almost tore him in half. Yes! Like any good mountain climber he had staked himself with a long rope tied to his waist. In those moments of stillness, suspended in the air he had no other choice but to shout: "HELP ME GOD. HELP ME!"

All of a sudden he heard a deep voice from heaven... "What do you want me to do?"

"SAVE ME."

"Do you REALLY think that I can save you?"

"OF COURSE, MY GOD."

"Then cut the rope that is holding you up."

There was another moment of silence and stillness. The man just held tighter to the rope. The rescue team says that the next day they found a frozen mountain climber hanging strongly to a rope...
TWO FEET OFF THE GROUND.

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How about you? How trusting are you in that rope? Why don't you let it go?
CUT THE ROPE AND SIMPLY TRUST IN HIM.

Adversity builds character

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could, and it could go no further. So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.

What the man, in his kindness and haste, did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through the tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our lives.

If God allowed us to go through our lives without any obstacles, it would cripple us.

We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We could never fly!

I asked for Strength... and God gave me Difficulties to make me strong.

I asked for Wisdom... and God gave me Problems to solve.

I asked for Prosperity... and God gave me Brain and Brawn to work.

I asked for Courage... and God gave me Danger to overcome.

I asked for Love... and God gave me Troubled people to help.

I asked for Favors... and God gave me Opportunities.

I received nothing I wanted ... I received everything I needed!

If Tomorrow Never Comes

If I knew it would be the last time that
I'd see you fall asleep,
I would tuck you in more tightly
and pray the Lord, your soul to keep.

If I knew it would be the last time
that I see you walk out the door,
I would give you a hug and kiss
and call you back for more.

If I knew it would be the last time
I'd hear your voice lifted up in praise.
I would video tape each action and word,
so that I could replay it back day by day.

If I knew it would be the last time,
I would spare an extra minute or two
to stop and say "I love you",
instead of assuming, that you know I do.

If I knew it would be the last time,
I would be there to share your day,
but I'm sure you'll have so many more,
so I can just let this one slip away.

For surely there's a tomorrow
to make up for an oversight,
and we always get a second chance
to make everything right.

There will always be another day
to say our "I love you's"
and certainly there's another chance
to say our "anything I can do's?"

But just in case I might be wrong,
and today is all I get,
I'd like to say how much "I love you"
and hope you never forget.

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone,
young and old alike,
and today may be the last chance you get
to hold your loved ones tight.

So if you're waiting for tomorrow,
why not do it today?
For if tomorrow never comes,
you'll surely regret the day.

That you didn't take that extra time
for a smile, a hug, a kiss
and you were too busy to grant someone,
what turned out to be their last wish.

So hold your loved ones close today,
whisper in their ear,
tell them how much you love them
and that you'll always hold them dear.

Take the time to say "I'm sorry,"
please forgive me. "Thank you" or "it's okay."
And if tomorrow never comes,
you'll have no regrets about today.

"Count Your Blessings"

If life happens to deliver a situation to you that you cannot handle, do not attempt to resolve it. Kindly put it in the SFGTD (something for God to do) box. All situations will be resolved... but in My time, not yours.

Once the matter is placed into the box, do not hold onto it by worrying about it. Instead, focus on all the wonderful things that are present in your life now

If you find yourself stuck in traffic; Don't despair. There are people in this world for whom driving is an unheard of privilege.

Should you have a bad day at work; Think of the man who has been out of work for years.

Should you despair over a relationship gone bad; Think of the person who has never known what it's like to love and be loved in return.

Should you grieve the passing of another weekend; Think of the woman in dire straits, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week to feed her children.

Should your car break down, leaving you miles away from assistance; Think of the paraplegic who would love the opportunity to take that walk.

Should you notice a new gray hair in the mirror; Think of the cancer patient in chemo who wishes she had hair to examine.

Should you find yourself at a loss and pondering what is life all about, asking what is my purpose? Be thankful. There are those who didn't live long enough to get the opportunity.

Should you find yourself the victim of other people's bitterness, ignorance, smallness or insecurities; Remember, things could be worse. You could be one of them!

Should you decide to send this to a friend; Thank you... you may have touched their life in ways you will never know!

The Three Filters Test

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, "Do you know what I just heard about your friend?"

"Hold on a minute," Socrates replied. "Before telling me anything I'd like you to pass a little test. It"s called the Three Filters Test."

"Three Filters?"

"That's right," Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you're going to say. That's why I call it the Three Filters Test.

The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?"

"No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it and..."

"All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it"s true or not. Now let"s try the second filter, the filter of goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?"

"No, on the contrary..."

"So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him, but you're not certain it"s true. You may still pass the test though, because there's one filter left: the filter of usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?"

"No, not really."

"Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?"

This is why Socrates was a great philosopher & held in such high esteem.

Is Your Life Out of Balance?

One day, you wake up and realize that your life is not turning out the way you expected.

Even though you are flying high in your career and money is pouring in but you do not seem to have the luxury of time to enjoy it, you're probably out of balance. If your hobbies and pet projects are depriving you from spending time with your friends and family, most likely your life is out of balance. If you are so caught up with other priorities in your life and ignore your health, you probably need a balance restoration. If you have the house, the car, the club, the holiday retreat but no one to share it with, your life is out of order.

Have you ever wondered whether you are living life too much on the edge or scurrying through life like there is no tomorrow? If you have, you should start to look at balancing life's priorities. Balance may sound good in theory but is hard to apply in "real" life unless you know how to tune into the energy within yourself and your living space by taking up meditation, Feng Shui or other life sciences.

With the constant pressure from work and families, it seem daunting to be able to empower oneself to accomplish all the things you would like to do. We may also stress ourselves by putting the needs of others ahead of our own. However, this may be a costly mistake in the long run. Nervous breakdown, burnout, depression and ill health are often the consequences for not making balance a priority in our lives.

History has proves that great leaders and successful individuals throughout time have somehow known intuitively, the importance of having balance in their lives. Instead of living to work, they worked to live. Along the way, they became much more enlightened, happy, well-rounded and balanced in their lives…characteristics which correlate to Success.

At this stage, you may be asking how you too, could achieve more balance in your life and hope for peace of mind and contentment that result from it. The first step is to find out which areas of your life are out of balance.

OPPORTUNITYISNOWHERE

What did you see when you read the title of this article? Did you see
OPPORTUNITY IS NOWHERE or OPPORTUNITY IS NOW HERE? Whether opportunity is nowhere to be found or is now here is a matter of perspective. Like the title of this article, it depends on how we view life. Everything good that happens to us is an opportunity that we have found. Everything "bad" that happens to us is an opportunity waiting to be discovered.

Take the case of Gracie and Walter. They decided to make their honeymoon peaceful and quiet, as well as romantic, so they left for a log cabin in the country. Every morning at sunrise, however, a woodpecker started hammering at the roof. The sounds echoed throughout the room, disturbing the sleep of the newlyweds. Did they get frustrated and angry? Did they demand to move to another cabin? No, they laughed it off. In fact, they used this "disturbance" as an opportunity. They used it as inspiration for creating the Woody Woodpecker cartoon character. You see, Walter Lantz was the cartoonist and his wife, Gracie, became the voice of Woody Woodpecker!

Some, like Walter and Gracie, RESPOND to a disturbance by changing it into a positive event. Others REACT in anger, oblivious to the hidden opportunity. When we respond, we are in charge; we use our reason and creativity to advance. But when we react, we abdicate our control to our emotions; we remain stuck in the mire of mediocrity. For those who react to every difficulty, opportunity is nowhere. Perhaps they're afraid of getting eyestrain by looking at the bright side. But for those who respond to every challenge, opportunity is now here. They have an open mind, heart and eyes.

Ladies, what if you were born unattractive? Would that be a disadvantage or an opportunity? According to Golda Meir, Israel's first woman Prime Minister, "Not being beautiful was the true blessing. Not being beautiful forced me to develop my inner resources. The pretty girl has a handicap to overcome."

What happens when someone becomes destitute? Should they throw in the towel or try to uncover a hidden opportunity? Read what Eileen Caddy said, "When you feel that you have reached the end and that you cannot go one step further, when life seems to be drained of all purpose: What a wonderful opportunity to start all over again, to turn over a new page."

If we are to uncover opportunity, we must realize that it often comes disguised as a problem, challenge, or obstacle. Barriers are meant to be smashed and hurdles meant to be jumped. Sure, life is full of hard knocks, but it may be opportunity that is knocking. Thomas A. Edison explains another reason why opportunities are often overlooked, "Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks
like work."

Opportunities abound. We are faced with hundreds, if not daily, weekly. They are in the choices we make all during the day. Do I drink water or coffee? Do I skip rope in the gym or skip my exercise? Do I jump to opportunities or jump to conclusions? Do I accept helpful criticism or ignore it. Do I arrive at work early or late? Can you see how each choice I make results in an opportunity gained or lost? To take advantage of the power of choice, it is a good idea to review our decisions at the end of the day. With constant evaluation, our choices will improve. Don't trivialize the importance of the smallest decisions, for small opportunities add up to big ones.

Why are there so many people who never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity? Those who complain of lack of opportunity frequently have no goals. How can we find what we are not looking for? The golden opportunity we are searching for is within ourselves. It is our perception, attitude, and ambition that bring opportunity to life. It is our choices and actions that result in opportunity. Opportunity comes not only by our
willingness to strike while the iron is hot, but by striking until the iron grows hot.

It is worth remembering Douglas MacArthur's words, "There is no security in this life. There is only opportunity." Also significant is this Arabian Proverb, "Four things come not back. The spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life, and the neglected opportunity." Thomas Jones describes something we do not want to do: "Many do with opportunities as children do at the seashore; they fill their little hands with sand, and then let the grains fall through, one by one, till all are gone." Let's graciously accept all the opportunities offered to us, diligently uncover those hidden from us, and enthusiastically create those denied to us. When life throws you a lemon, make lemonade and profit from it!

The Yin & Yang in Life

The most destructive habit........................Worry

The greatest joy......................................…..Giving

The saddest loss.....................................…. Self-respect

The most satisfying work.........................Helping others

The ugliest personality trait.....................Selfishness

The most endangered species.................Dedicated leaders

The least tapped natural resource..................The Human Mind

The greatest "pick me up"..................Encouragement

The greatest fear to overcome..........Fear itself

The most effective sleeping pill...............Peace of mind

The most self degenerating disease.........Excuses

The most powerful force in life................Love

The most dangerous individual..............A gossiper

The world's most incredible computer...The brain

The worst thing to be without..................Hope

The sharpest organ in our body .............The tongue

The two most power-filled words............"I Can"

The greatest respect we bestow upon God …...Faith

The most worthless emotion......................Self-pity

The most beautiful attire............................A smile!

The most prized possession...................... Integrity

The most powerful channel of communication.......Prayer

The most contagious spirit.........................Enthusiasm

The most expandable room in our living space …. The room for improvement

"Here we Grow again!"

Don't worry if you have problems! Which is easy to say until you are in the midst of a really big one, I know. But the only people I am aware of who don't have troubles are gathered in little neighborhoods. Most communities have at least one. We call them cemeteries. If you're breathing, you have difficulties. It's the way of life. And believe it or not, most of your problems may actually be good for you!

Let me explain. Maybe you have seen the Great Barrier Reef, stretching some 1,800 miles from New Guinea to Australia. Tour guides regularly take visitors to view the reef. On one tour, the guide was asked an interesting question. "I notice that the lagoon side of the reef looks pale and lifeless, while the ocean side is vibrant and colorful," a traveler observed. "Why is this?" The guide gave an interesting answer: "The coral around the lagoon side is in still water, with no challenge for its survival. It dies early. The coral on the ocean side is constantly being tested by wind, waves, storms & surges of power. It has to fight for survival every day of its life. As it is challenged and tested it changes and adapts. It grows healthy. It grows strong. And it reproduces." Then he added this telling note: "That's the way it is with every living organism."

That's how it is with people. Challenged and tested, we come alive! Like coral pounded by the sea, we grow. Physical demands can cause us to grow stronger. Mental and emotional stress can produce tough-mindedness and resiliency. Spiritual testing can produce strength of character and faithfulness. So, you have problems? No problem! Just tell yourself, "Here I grow again!'

A day in a life or a life in a day?

“All things will come to past.”

“Time changes everything.”

“The future is not guaranteed.”

What is the one word in each truism that connects with one another as a common factor?

It is “time”.

Our life on earth is measure in time. We can use it to our advantage or we can waste it. Once we loose it, it is gone forever (We cannot say we will store time and use it later). It is all up to us.

The 3 truisms are universal truth or certainties of life (as certain as the sun will shine in the morning and sets in the evening). No one can deny it or say it is not true.

Truth No.1. Time does not stand still. It keeps on moving. That’s why we cannot manage time. We can only manage our activities. Today will soon becomes yesterday and tomorrow will soon becomes today. It will come to past. History will take place.

Truth No. 2. Nothing stays the same. Nothing is permanent in life. Time changes everything. The only constant is change itself.

Truth No. 3. No one knows whether he or she will live to see another day. Only God knows.

Taking the 3 truths into consideration, what should we do? What should we do to live a quality life? To live a quality life ultimately means being happy.

Well, we have a choice. We can make happiness a destination or we can make happiness a journey.

If we make happiness a destination, it means we won’t be happy until something happens. It is just like saying “We will be happy when the weekend arrives. We will be happy when we got our bonus. We will be happy when we got promoted. We will be happy when we got married. We will be happy when we have a car, a house, etc?” But the day may not come as the future is not guaranteed.

Our better bet is to make happiness a journey. A journey we decide to take on a daily basis. In other words, make happiness a daily decision. If we die abruply today, we die with full accounting of each day well lived!

A rich man can still be sad if he decides to be sad, if he decides to see the negative side of things.

A poor man can still be happy if he decides to be happy, if he sees the positive side of things.

A Postcard to Mother Nature

Dear Mother,

I am sending this postcard to you from Earth. I have a bit of bad news to tell you. We have been experiencing erratic weather patterns this year. In fact, the weather man has reported unusual warm weather last Christmas and apparently, the snow man was a bit reluctant to show himself. We are having rain and drought at odd times of the year and the duration and severity is getting more pronounced. Come to think of it, we are having more natural calamities like floods, hurricane and Tsunami since the turn of this century and the frequency is alarming. To tell an inconvenient truth, we are desperate for a solution!

Brother Al Gore is going around telling everybody who care to listen that we are running short of time. Unless we pay attention to his plea and take proactive measure to heal the earth, we will pay the price of apathy and suffered the consequences of nature’s attrition. I am so sorry mother. We have been too busy exploiting the earth’s resources and not doing enough to re-generate, replenish and recycle the waste we have accrued to the extend that it depletes the environment. What should we do mother?

UN scientist delivered yesterday their starkest yet about the global warming, saying that fossil pollution would raise temperature this century, worsen floods, droughts and hurricanes, melt polar sea ice and damage the climate system for a thousand years to come. It further declared that the temperature rise over the past 50 years had “very likely” been caused by human activity. The signs of this happening can be seen from the drought in Australia to record high winter temperatures in Europe.

Mother, ever since the Kyoto Protocol which set a limit on emission of greenhouse gases until 2012 was abandoned by Uncle Sam, the top source of greenhouse gases, emissions by many backers of Kyoto are far over the target. An official report by Intergovernmental Panel on Climatic Change predicts that temperatures would rise by between 1.8 degrees and 4.0 degrees in the 21^st century and the 10 hottest years since records began in the 1850s have been since 1994.

I am so sorry mother. We are now living on borrowed times and the longer we wait to make nothing less than a revolutionizing change, we will live to see hell’s fury on earth and possible melting of the Arctic sea ice by 2100…

Love

Your Under the Weather Son.

Living Your Life And Loving It - 3 Enabling Steps To Happiness

All of us, I am sure, wish for a life of abundance, health and wealth, relationships and what have you. There are those who are born with a silver spoon and blessed with good fortune throughout their lives. Luck seems to go with them wherever they go,well at least most of the times. Others are not so lucky and have to put up with challenges after challenges in their embattled lives and problems keep cropping up from time to time. To them, life is nothing but suffering.

To quote the revered and his holiness, the Dalai Lama, “Life is suffering. Our purpose in life is to seek happiness”. What if there is a choice that we can make to turn things around?

What if the unpleasant events and circumstances that wefaced in the drudgery of living can be mitigated, lessened or dissolved with efforts on our part? Is hardship and adversity seems insurmountable? Can destiny be altered in our favor?

Yes!

The answer to all the above may shock you but just thing for a minute – Why is it that God made us the way we are? Each of us is unique and yet we are all the same – nobody’s perfect! Do we wait for divine intervention or some miracles to happen before we hope to see the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

Not if we can help it!

At birth, we are given a set of pillars to be our foundation and it is up to us to build upon them. Our destiny code is ingrained in these pillars but the power to steer the hands of destiny is within our control albeit measured.

Herein unfolds the 3 steps to strengthen our pillars.

Get Empowered!

We empower ourselves by knowing our

- strengths and weaknesses

- affinity and detachment

- characteristics and eccentricities

Our pillars of destiny contain the hidden factors that govern our success in life and how the above are played out depends on how we make use of these factors:-

- Self

- Output

- Wealth

- Influence

- Resource

All the above factors are interdependent on one another and how we use them holistically is the key to maneuvering destiny in our favor. This is the concept of the Chinese metaphysical science of Astrology known as the Four Pillars of Destiny.

Energized Yourself!

We are all affected by our living environment. The place we live, the location our house is sited, the landscape in our vicinity and the internal space within our home are channels where energy or life force known as “Qi” flow. This energy gives life to all living things and is dispersed by the wind and gathers at the boundary of water. The Chinese called it “Feng Shui” which simplymeans wind and water.This energy wax and wane through time and is inclined towards certain compass direction and location. If properly tapped, it gives prosperity and harmony to the inhabitants of a property in terms of health, wealth and relationships. The secret is in identifying, locating, containing and tapping into this energy using the Chinese compass known as the “Luo Pan”.

Be Proactive!

"Action may not always bring happiness, but there is no happiness without action." This is the quote by the British Statesman and literary figure, Benjamin Disraeli.How true! Everything that happened to us is a result of the actions taken by us or by others. If we want something in life, we have to take action, without it nothing happen. We can sit around and bemoan the sad state of affairs we are in or we can be proactive and start making positive changes to our lives. The choice is ours to take.

If destiny hands us a raw deal, we can make lemonade out of a lemon!!!

Sex and the Professions - How do they do it?

Accountants do it with Double Entry
Acupuncturists do it with a small prick
Ambulance drivers come quicker
Australians do it Down Under
Bach did it using the organ
Bankers do it with interest
Bartenders do it on the Rocks
Batman does it using his Robin
Bookkeepers do it for the record
Bosses delegate the task to others
Chess players check their Mates
Cops do it with cuffs
DJs do it on request
Deep-sea divers do it under extreme pressure
Dentists do it orally
Detectives do it under cover
Don’t do it with Bankers, most of them are Tellers
Elevator men do it up and down
Engineers do it to specifications
Firemen do it with a big hose
Flight Attendants do it in the air
Frank Sinatra does it his way
Garbagemen come twice a week
Gardeners do it on the bushes
Gas attendants Pump all day
Golfers do it in 18 holes
Landlords do it every 1st of the month
Managers make others do it
Salesperosns do it on commission
Scientists come shouting "Eureka! Eureka! Eureka!
Pizza delivery man comes in 30 minutes or it’s free
Politicians make empty promises
Postman always ring twice at every stop
Waiters and waitresses do it for tips
Zoologists do it with animals

Animal Magnetism or Leap of Faith ?

I came across an interesting bit of news from a local paper the other day. It was about a two year old calf that made its escape from an abattoir in Mumbai, India by attacking its owner and bolting out into a scrapyard, remaining there until help arrived. Apparently, it was due for slaughtering by its owner to celebrate the Muslim Holy Day which happened to fall on January 1st, 2007. Somehow, it instinctively new that its life was about to come to an end and through a leap of faith, took destiny into its own "horn" and miraculously saved its own hide. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals came to know of it and adopted the calf which now found a new home in the comfort of the animal shelter. It kind of reminds me that destiny can pan out differently if we took the bulls by the horn so to speak and make the plunge when the odds seems stacked against us. Miracles do happen just when we thought our fate is sealed if only we take actions despite the worst of circumstances. Sometime an attacking strategy is the best defense strategy! You know what? The new caretaker of the calf has even found a nickname for its new charge - George W. Bush! Do you see any familiar connection?