The Cookie Thief

A woman was waiting at the airport one night,
With several long hours before her flight.
She hunted for a book in the airport shop,
Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.
She was engrossed in her book, but happened to see,
That the man beside her, as bold as could be,
Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag between,
Which she tried to ignore, to avoid a scene.
She read, munched cookies, and watched the clock,
As the gutsy “cookie thief” diminished her stock.
She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by,
Thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I’d blackened his eye!”
With each cookie she took, he took one too.
When only one was left, she wondered what he’d do.
With a smile on his face and a nervous laugh,
He took the last cookie and broke it in half.
He offered her half, as he ate the other.
She snatched it from him and thought, “Oh brother,
This guy has some nerve, and he’s also rude,
Why, he didn’t even show any gratitude!”
She had never known when she had been so galled,
And sighed with relief when her flight was called.
She gathered her belongings and headed for the gate,
Refusing to look back at the “thieving ingrate.”
She boarded the plane and sank in her seat,
Then sought her book, which was almost complete.
As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise.
There was her bag of cookies in front of her eyes!
“If mine are here,” she moaned with despair,
“Then the others were his and he tried to share!”
Too late to apologize, she realized with grief,
That she was the rude one…the ingrate…the thief!

SAND AND STONE

This story tells about two friends that were walking through the desert.

At one point during the trip they started arguing and one of the friends hit the other in the face.

The one that had been hit was hurt, but without a further word, wrote down in the sand:

 

 ‘TODAY MY BEST FRIEND HIT ME IN THE FACE.'

They carried on walking until they came across an oasis, where they decided to freshen up and bathe. 
But the one that had been hit before got caught in the mud and was about to drown, but the friend saved him.

After he had recovered, he wrote down on a stone: 

“TODAY MY BEST FRIEND SAVED MY LIFE.”

The friend that had hit his best friend and had then saved him asked:

‘After I hit you, you wrote in the sand and now you are writing on stone, why?'

The other friend answered:
 

‘When someone hurts us we should write it down in sand so that the wind can forgive us by blowing it away.”

“But when someone does something nice for us, we should engrave it in stone, where no wind can ever blow it away.” 

LEARN TO WRITE DOWN YOUR PAIN IN SAND AND TO ENGRAVE THE GOOD EXPERIENCES IN STONE.

They say it takes a minute to find someone special, an hour to appreciate them, a day to get to like and love them, but it takes a lifetime to forget them.

Make time
to
live !

-God Bless All

Oceans Meet

'Music is born out of poems
Poems are born out of thoughts,
Thoughts spring from creative minds'

 

Oceans Meet

       
Friends, when I (Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam ) am in the midst of poets from around the world, in this beautiful environment of Taipei, I would like to share a poem which is a conversation of two beautiful islands - the Rameswaram Island from India and Formosa, with the two great divine minds – Buddha and Confucius. This poem is born out of friendship between Dr. Yu Hsi and myself as a tribute. Let me share this poem with all of you.

Oceans Meet

"I am the Island of Rameswaram, dear friend,
Born out of the shining water of the Indian Ocean.

O my fellow Island, O my dearest friend,

What is your origin and where do you live?"

"Dear Ramy, they call me Formosa – the beautiful Island,
I live like a beautiful flower seeing the early sun-rise,
Sitting in the gardens of magnificent oceans of the Pacific,
As the deepest waves of the noble ocean scatter around me."

"O friend, my dear friend – Formosa,
I greet you with a heart brimming with joy.
My vast ocean embraces a land of ancient religions, culture and divine wisdom,
It is the soil where enlightened one – Lord Buddha once walked upon."

"O Ramy! You are indeed showered with blessings divine,
Garlanding around me are nations with billions of human souls,
It was, the land and the nation which I call mine,
That gave birth to the wisest sage, Confucius who shaped human thought in noble roles."

And then, the two great humble oceans prayed and prayed,
The two noble sages, then descended like angels upon the Sangam ,
The magnificent oceans then with veneration asked the heavenly souls,
To glorify the earth with their wisdom like they did two millennia ago.

The waves of gracious smiles from them merged with peace into each other,
As they waited for the sages to ponder and illuminate with their knowledge.
The mighty oceans sat patiently with clasped watery hands,
As they swell and fell with each stroke of unfailing tide.

And then with the radiant sun shining behind them spreading day,
The sages smiled graciously as they began to say,
Their voice echoed from the horizon filling the anxious sky,
Time froze as the message of human glory and peace expanded to occupy the void.

       
The wisest sage, Confucius said,

"We are with two oceans who nurture half of humanity,
We came to the planet earth in the same century,
And gave the message of humanity and peace.
O enlightened one! O Lord Buddha,
Can you tell the world, how they can live,
With universal peace and prosperity for all?"

Buddha smiled with serene tranquility,

"God gifted humans with intelligence and the tool of reason,
It is for man to harness the might of the divine gift,

To prosper towards a life of goodness and truth."

The wisest sage, the holy master then agreed,

"O enlightened one! Your thoughts are unique,
Humans are indeed entrusted the great mission,
Of realizing with body, mind and soul – the God’s vision".

Then our Island friends and the oceans which gave them birth,
Humbly joined their voices from the heart,
As they prayed and prayed again,
Beseeching the divines to give a message of human renaissance.

Again a deep silence engulfed the universe,
The cosmos seemed to be filled with energy,
The waves from both the oceans went violently high,
And gently touched the feet of divinity with beautiful shehnai playing:

(O planet, what a past and what a present you possess,
And when they come together, greeting like us two seas,
They create the future, future of peace and prosperity for all)

"O wisest sage, Confucius! You have preached and preached to peasants and herders in Lu,
You preached the value of family life and that of righteousness in the heart,
And O enlightened one! Under the sprawling Bodhi tree,
You proclaimed – where there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character".

The wise sage then said,

"Yes I will sing now!
When there is beauty in the character,
There is harmony in the home"

The enlightened one, the Buddha added,

"When there is harmony in the home,
There is order in the nation,
When there is order in the nation
There is peace in the world".

In chorus, the two great sages wise and enlightened,
Blessed humanity with the song of life righteousness,
For world peace and prosperity for all.

The Islands and the oceans rejoiced in unison,
The waves and winds joined to sing the song of life in Sri Raga ,
Om Shanti! Om Shanti! then He-ping! He-ping!

The song was then done.




May God Bless You,

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam

PEACE IN LONELINESS

" when thou art alone in thy cell, shut thy door, and seat thy self in a corner, raise thy mind above all things in vain and transitory; recline thy beard and chin on thy chest; turn thine eyes and thy thoughts towards the middle of thy belly, the region of navel, and search the place of the heart, the seat of the soul. at first, all will be dark and comfortless; but if thou persevere day and night, thou wilt feel an ineffable joy; and no sooner has the soul discovered the place of the heart than it is involved in a mystic and ethereal light.

- extract from Gibbon's " Decline and fall of the Roman Empire".

Helpless Love

Once upon a time all feelings and emotions went to a coastal island for a vacation. According to their nature, each was having a good time. Suddenly, a warning of an impending storm was announced and everyone was advised to evacuate the island.

The announcement caused sudden panic. All rushed to their boats. Even damaged boats were quickly repaired and commissioned for duty.
Yet, Love did not wish to flee quickly. There was so much to do. But as the clouds darkened, Love realised it was time to leave. Alas, there were no boats to spare. Love looked around with hope.
Just then Prosperity passed by in a luxurious boat. Love shouted, “Prosperity, could you please take me in your boat?”
“No,” replied Prosperity, “my boat is full of precious possessions, gold and silver. There is no place for you.”
A little later Vanity came by in a beautiful boat. Again Love shouted, “Could you help me, Vanity? I am stranded and need a lift. Please take me with you.”
Vanity responded haughtily, “No, I cannot take you with me. My boat will get soiled with your muddy feet.”
Sorrow passed by after some time. Again, Love asked for help. But it was to no avail. “No, I cannot take you with me. I am so sad. I want to be by myself.”
When Happiness passed by a few minutes later, Love again called for help. But Happiness was so happy that it did not look around, hardly concerned about anyone.

Love was growing restless and dejected. Just then somebody called out, “Come Love, I will take you with me.” Love did not know who was being so magnanimous, but jumped on to the boat, greatly relieved that she would reach a safe place.

On getting off the boat, Love met Knowledge. Puzzled, Love inquired, “Knowledge, do you know who so generously gave me a lift just when no one else wished to help?”
Knowledge smiled, “Oh, that was Time.”

“And why would Time stop to pick me and take me to safety?” Love wondered.
Knowledge smiled with deep wisdom and replied, “Because only Time knows your true greatness and what you are capable of. Only Love can bring peace and great happiness in this world.”

“The important message is that when we are prosperous, we overlook love. When we feel important, we forget love. Even in happiness and sorrow we forget love. Only with time do we realize the importance of love. Why wait that long? Why not make love a part of your life today?”