Frog in a Milk-Pail

A frog was hopping around a farmyard, when it decided to investigate the 
barn. Being somewhat careless, and maybe a little too curious, he ended up 
falling into a pail half-filled with fresh milk. As he swam about attempting 
to reach the top of the pail, he found that the sides of the pail were too 
high and steep to reach. He tried to stretch his back legs to push off the 
bottom of the pail but found it too deep. But this frog was determined not 
to give up, and he continued to struggle. He kicked and squirmed and kicked 
and squirmed, until at last, all his churning about in the milk had turned 
the milk into a big hunk of butter. The butter was now solid enough for him 
to climb onto and get out of the pail! "Never Give Up!"


Who Is The Rich Man?

One day a wealthy father took his son on a trip to the country so that the 
son could see how the poor lived. They spent a day and a night at the farm 
of a very poor family. When they got back from their trip, the father asked 
his son, "How was the trip?" "Very good, Dad!" "Did you see how poor people 
can be?" "Yeah!" "And what did you learn?" The son answered, "I saw that we 
have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the 
middle of the garden; they have a creek that has no end. We have imported 
lamps in the house; they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front 
yard; they have the whole horizon." When the little boy was finished, the 
father was speechless. His son then added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how 
poor we are!"

The Salesman

A young Salesperson was disappointed. He had lost an important sale. In 
discussing the matter with the Sales Manager, the young man shrugged. "I 
guess," he said "it just proves you can lead a horse to water, but you can 
not make him drink." "Son," said the Sales Manager, "let me give you a piece 
of advice: your job is not to make him drink. It's to make him thirsty."

Creative Thinking

Some time ago I received a call from a colleague. He was about to give a 
student a zero for his answer to a physics question, while the student 
claimed a perfect score. The instructor and the student agreed to an 
impartial arbiter, and I was selected.I read the examination question: "SHOW 
HOW IT IS POSSIBLE TO DETERMINE THE HEIGHT OF A TALL BUILDING WITH THE AID 
OF A BAROMETER." The student had answered, "Take the barometer to the top of 
the building, attach a long rope to it, lower it to the street, and then 
bring it up, measuring the length of the rope. The length of the rope is the 
height of the building." The student really had a strong case for full 
credit since he had really answered the question completely and correctly! 
On the other hand, if full credit were given, it could well contribute to a 
high grade in his physics course and to certify competence in physics, but 
the answer did not confirm this. I suggested that the student have another 
try. I gave the student six minutes to answer the question with the warning 
that the answer should show some knowledge of physics. At the end of five 
minutes, he had not written anything. I asked if he wished to give up, but 
he said he had many answers to this problem; he was just thinking of the 
best one. I excused myself for interrupting him and asked him to please go 
on. In the next minute, he dashed off his answer which read: "Take the 
barometer to the top of the building and lean over the edge of the roof. 
Drop the barometer, timing its fall with a stopwatch. Then, using the 
formula x=0.5*a*t^^2, calculate the height of the building." At this point, 
I asked my colleague if he would give up. He conceded, and gave the student 
almost full credit. While leaving my colleague's office, I recalled that the 
student had said that he had other answers to the problem, so I asked him 
what they were. "Well," said the student, "there are many ways of getting 
the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer. For example, you 
could take the barometer out on a sunny day and measure the height of the 
barometer, the length of its shadow, and the length of the shadow of the 
building, and by the use of simple proportion, determine the height of the 
building. "Fine," I said, "and others?" "Yes," said the student, "there is a 
very basic measurement method you will like. In this method, you take the 
barometer and begin to walk up the stairs. As you climb the stairs, you mark 
off the length of the barometer along the wall. You then count the number of 
marks, and this will give you the height of the building in barometer 
units." "A very direct method." "Of course. If you want a more sophisticated 
method, you can tie the barometer to the end of a string, swing it as a 
pendulum, and determine the value of g at the street level and at the top of 
the building. From the difference between the two values of g, the height of 
the building, in principle, can be calculated." "On this same tact, you 
could take the barometer to the top of the building, attach a long rope to 
it, lower it to just above the street, and then swing it as a pendulum. You 
could then calculate the height of the building by the period of the 
precession". "Finally," he concluded, "there are many other ways of solving 
the problem. Probably the best," he said, "is to take the barometer to the 
basement and knock on the superintendent's door. When the superintendent 
answers, you speak to him as follows: 'Mr. Superintendent, here is a fine 
barometer. If you will tell me the height of the building, I will give you 
this barometer." At this point, I asked the student if he really did not 
know the conventional answer to this question. He admitted that he did, but 
said that he was fed up with high school and college instructors trying to 
teach him how to think.

The Troubles Tree

The carpenter I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished 
a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him lose an hour of work, his 
electric saw quit, and now his ancient pickup truck refused to start. While 
I drove him home, he sat in stoney silence. On arriving, he invited me in to 
meet his family. As we walked toward the front door, he paused briefly at a 
small tree, touching the tips of the branches with both hands. After opening 
the door, he underwent an amazing transformation. His tanned face was 
wreathed in smiles and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a 
kiss. Afterward, he walked me to my car. We passed the tree, and my 
curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do 
earlier. "Oh, that's my trouble tree," he replied. "I know I can't help 
having troubles on the job, but one thing for sure, troubles don't belong in 
the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them up on the tree 
every night when I come home. Then in the morning, I pick them up again." 
"Funny thing is," he smiled, "when I come out in the morning to pick them 
up, there aren't nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before."

To Fool a Wiseman

There once was a man who was digging for gold. And he discovered a large 
streak of gold, deep under his town. But he said to himself, "if word gets 
out about this, everyone else will grab it". So he tried to devised a plan. 
"It's easy to fool a fool", he said, "I've done that many times, but there 
are many wise people in this town, how will I keep them from finding this 
gold?" After a while, he thought of an ingenious plan. He went across the 
state and purchased a large load of Iron Pyrite (fools gold). Then he then 
planted 1000's of pieces all over his town, in rivers, creeks, gullies, and 
everywhere one could imagine. Then he took the largest piece and ran down 
the main street screaming, "I'VE FOUND GOLD, I'VE FOUND GOLD." This caused 
quite a commotion in his little town, and soon dozens of people were out 
with picks and shovels. In a few days, 100s of pieces were found, and there 
was a great euphoria covering the town. But when people started taking their 
pieces to the town jeweler, he gave them the terrible news. "All FAKES." The 
people were heart broken, their euphoria turned into gloom. But the wise 
people of the town, who were cautious and not so quick to rush in, they got 
a good laugh out of it. Then the man who devised the plan, slowly started to 
buy up all the fake pieces, all the Picks, shovels and other mining 
equipment. And every once in a while a real piece of gold would surface, but 
people would take it to him, instead of the town jeweler. And the wise 
people of the town would scoff whenever a rumor came up about real gold. So 
he continued to mine to gold in peace, fooling both the fools and the wise 
men.

3 bananas in the Morning and 4 in the Afternoon.

Zhuangzi told this story to his disciples to make a point: Once a zookeeper 
said to his monkeys: "You'll get 3 bananas in the Morning and 4 in the 
afternoon." All monkeys are upset. "OK. How about 4 bananas in Morning and 3 
in the afternoon?" Hearing this, the monkeys are content. One should realize 
that sometimes a change in phrasing does not represent a real change.

Time Management

One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business 
students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students 
will never forget. As he stood in front of the group of high-powered 
over-achievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz" and he pulled out a 
one-gallon, wide-mouth mason jar and set it on the table in front of him. He 
also produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one 
at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more 
rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone in the class 
yelled, "Yes." The time management expert replied, "Really?" He reached 
under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel in 
and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the 
spaces between the big rocks. He then asked the group once more, "Is the jar 
full?" By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them 
answered. "Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a 
bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all 
of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the 
question, "Is this jar full?" "No!" the class shouted. Once again he said, 
"Good." Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the 
jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, "What is 
the point of this illustration?" One eager beaver raised his hand and said, 
"The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard 
you can always fit some more things in it!" "No," the speaker replied, 
"that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is, "If you 
don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all. What are 
the 'big rocks' in your life, time with loved ones, your faith, your 
education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching or mentoring others? 
Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all. 
So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, 
ask yourself this question, "What are the 'big rocks' in my life?" Then, put 
those in your jar first.

Beginner's Mind

Once, a professor went to a Zen Master. He asked him to explain the meaning 
of Zen. The Master quietly poured a cup of tea. The cup was full but he 
continued to pour. The professor could not stand this any longer, so he 
questioned the Master impatiently, "Why do you keep pouring when the cup is 
full?" "I want to point out to you," the Master said, "that you are 
similarly attempting to understand Zen while your mind is full. First, empty 
your mind of preconceptions before you attempt to understand Zen."

The Brick

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, 
going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out 
from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. 
As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the 
Jag's side door! He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the 
spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of 
the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car 
shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are 
you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot 
of money. Why did you do it?" The young boy was apologetic. "Please, 
mister...please! I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do," he pleaded. 
"I threw the brick because no one else would stop!" With tears dripping down 
his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked 
car. "It's my brother," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his 
wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned 
executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's 
hurt and he's too heavy for me." Moved beyond words, the driver tried to 
swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the 
handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief 
and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything 
was going to be okay. "Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child 
told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy 
push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It 
was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, 
but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the 
dent there to remind him of this message "Don't go through life so fast that 
someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!"

Time

Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. 
It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening the bank deletes 
whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would 
you do? Draw out every cent, of course! Each of us has such a bank. Its name 
is TIME. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it 
writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good 
purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it 
opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If 
you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going 
back. There is no drawing against the "tomorrow." You must live in the 
present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in 
health, happiness, and success! The clock is running. Make the most of 
today. To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade. 
To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a 
premature baby. To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly 
newspaper. To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting 
to meet. To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the 
train. To realize the value of ONE-SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an 
accident. Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because 
you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time. 
Remember that time waits for no one. Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is 
mystery. Today is a gift. That's why it's called the present!


Knowledge

A scientific convention was held at a lakeside resort. After the first day?s 
proceedings, a mathematician, a physicist, an astronomer and a molecular 
biologist hired a boatman to row them around on the lake. As they sat in the 
boat, they discussed string theory, bubble universes, the Gaea Hypothesis 
and other abstruse topics. The biologist noticed the boatman looking at them 
from the corner of his eyes. He asked him, ?What do you think of these 
ideas?? The boatman replied, ?I didn?t understand any of it.? The astronomer 
asked him how far he had studied. He told them he couldn?t even read. ?I 
hate to say it,? said the physicist, ?but you seem to have wasted a good 
part of your life.? The boatman remained silent. By now they were out in the 
middle of the lake, far from shore. A sudden storm whipped up. The waves 
started churning and heaving. All of a sudden, the boat flipped over. The 
boatman started swimming for shore. The scientists cried out, ?Help! We 
can?t swim!? The boatman called back, ?I hate to say it, but you seem to 
have wasted your whole lives.?

Most Important Lesson

During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. 
I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I 
read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the 
school?" Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman 
several times. She was tall, dark haired and in her 50's, but how would I 
know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just 
before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count 
towards our quiz grade. "Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, 
you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention 
and care, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello'." I've never forgotten 
that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

The Broken Window Fallacy

This parable describes a shopkeeper whose window is broken by a little boy. 
Everyone sympathizes with the man whose window was broken, but pretty soon 
they start to suggest that the broken window makes work for the glazier, who 
will then buy bread, benefitting the baker, who will then buy shoes, 
benefitting the cobbler, etc. Finally, the onlookers conclude that the 
little boy was not guilty of vandalism; instead he was a public benefactor, 
creating economic benefits for everyone in town The fallacy of the 
onlookers' argument is that they considered the positive benefits of 
purchasing a new window, but they ignored the hidden costs to the shopkeeper 
and others. He was forced to spend his money on a new window, and therefore 
could not have spent it on something else. Perhaps he was going to buy 
bread, benefitting the baker, who would then have bought shoes, etc., but 
instead he was forced to buy a window. Instead of a window and bread, he had 
only a window. Or perhaps he would have bought a new shirt, benefitting the 
tailor; in that case the glazier's gain was the tailor's loss, and again the 
shopkeeper has only a window instead of a window and a shirt. The child did 
not bring any net benefit to the town. Instead, he made the town poorer by 
the value of one window.


Fate Is in Your Own Hands

Once upon a time, there was a general who was leading his army into battle 
against an enemy ten times the size of his own. Along the way to the battle 
field, the troops stopped by a small temple to pray for victory. The general 
held up a coin and told his troops, "I am going to implore the gods to help 
us crush our enemy. If this coin lands with the heads on top, we'll win. If 
it's tails, we'll lose. Our fate is in the hands of the gods. Let's pray 
wholeheartedly." After a short prayer, the general tossed the coin. It 
landed with the heads on top. The troops were overjoyed and went into the 
battle with high siprit. Just as predicted, the smaller army won the battle. 
The soldiers were exalted, "It's good to have the gods on our side! No one 
can change what they have determined." "Really?" The general show them the 
coin--both sides of it were heads.

Happiness is an attitude.

The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed 
each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup 
perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home 
today. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move 
necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing 
home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she maneuvered her 
walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, 
including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. "I love it," 
she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been 
presented with a new puppy. "Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room .... just 
wait." "That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied. "Happiness 
is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not 
doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how I arrange my 
mind. I already decided to love it ... It's a decision I make every morning 
when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the 
difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out 
of bed and be thankful for the ones that do. Each day is a gift, and as long 
as my eyes open I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've 
stored away ... just for this time in my life."

3 Frogs

Question: There were once three frogs on a log and on of them made a 
decision to jump in. How many were left? Answer: There are still three frogs 
on a log, he only made a decision, he took no action!

Help Yourself

A traveling preacher finds himself in a tremendous rainstorm. Within a few 
hours the hotel he is staying in becomes flooded. As the water rises, the 
preacher climbs to the roof and starts praying. "Lord, save me so I can 
continue on my mission of preaching your gospel." Just then, a coast guard 
rescue party floats by in a rowboat. "Let's go mister. Into the boat." "I'll 
stay here," says the preacher, "The Lord will save me." An hour later a 
second boat reaches the scene and the water is close to the roof of the 
hotel. "Sir, you better get in. the water is still rising." "No thanks. The 
Lord will be my salvation." Toward evening, the hotel is almost completely 
under water and the preacher is clinging to the satellite dish on the roof. 
A helicopter is spotted and on a loudspeaker is heard "Sir, grab on to the 
line and we will pull you up. This is your last chance. "I'm all right," 
says the preacher, as he looks heavenward. "I know the Lord will provide 
sanctuary." As the boat departs, the satellite dish is hit by lightning and 
the preacher is killed. When he arrived at the Pearly Gates he was furious. 
"What happened, " he shouts. "I thought the Lord would provide!" Moments 
later a thunderous voice is heard. "Gimmie a break pal. I sent you 2 boats 
and a chopper"

Donkey in the well

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, that the well needed to be covered anyway and that it 
just wasn't worth retrieving the donkey. So he invited all his neighbours 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 quietened down. A few shovel 
loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at 
what he saw. With every 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 neighbours 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 trotted off! 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.

Your Burden

The young man was at the end of his rope. Seeing no way out, he dropped to 
his knees in prayer. "Lord, I can't go on," he said. "I have too heavy a 
cross to bear." The Lord replied, "My son, if you can't bear it's weight, 
just place your cross inside this room. Then open another door and pick any 
cross you wish." The man was filled with relief. "Thank you, Lord," he 
sighed, and did as he was told. As he looked around the room he saw many 
different crosses; some so large the tops were not visible. Then he spotted 
a tiny cross leaning against a far wall. "I'd like that one, Lord," he 
whispered. And the Lord replied, "My son, that's the cross you brought in."

The Ripple Effect

The Master was walking through the fields one day when a young man, a 
troubled look upon his face, approached him. "On such a beautiful day, it 
must be difficult to stay so serious," the Master said. "Is it? I hadn't 
noticed," the young man said, turning to look around and notice his 
surroundings. His eyes scanned the landscape, but nothing seemed to 
register; his mind elsewhere. Watching intently, the Master continued to 
walk. "Join me if you like." The Master walked to the edge of a still pond, 
framed by sycamore trees, their leaves golden orange and about to fall. 
"Please sit down," the Master invited, patting the ground next to him. 
Looking carefully before sitting, the young man brushed the ground to clear 
a space for himself. "Now, find a small stone, please," the Master 
instructed. "What?" "A stone. Please find a small stone and throw it in the 
pond." Searching around him, the young man grabbed a pebble and threw it as 
far as he could. "Tell me what you see," the Master instructed. Straining 
his eyes to not miss a single detail, the man looked at the water's surface. 
"I see ripples." "Where did the ripples come from?" "From the pebble I threw 
in the pond, Master." "Please reach your hand into the water and stop the 
ripples," the Master asked. Not understanding, the young man stuck his hand 
in the water as a ripple neared, only to cause more ripples. The young man 
was now completely baffled. Where was this going? Had he made a mistake in 
seeking out the Master? After all he was not a student, perhaps he could not 
be helped? Puzzled, the young man waited. "Were you able to stop the ripples 
with your hands?" the Master asked. "No, of course not." "Could you have 
stopped the ripples, then?" "No, Master. I told you I only caused more 
ripples." "What if you had stopped the pebble from entering the water to 
begin with?" The Master smiled such a beautiful smile; the young man could 
not be upset. "Next time you are unhappy with your life, catch the stone 
before it hits the water. Do not spend time trying to undo what you have 
done. Rather, change what you are going to do before you do it." The Master 
looked kindly upon the young man. "But Master, how will I know what I am 
going to do before I do it?" "Take the responsibility for living your own 
life. If you're working with a doctor to treat an illness, then ask the 
doctor to help you understand what caused the illness. Do not just treat the 
ripples. Keep asking questions." The young man stopped, his mind reeling. 
"But I came to you to ask you for answers. Are you saying that I know the 
answers?" "You may not know the answers right now, but if you ask the right 
questions, then you shall discover the answers." "But what are the right 
questions, Master?" "There are no wrong questions, only unasked ones. We 
must ask, for without asking, we cannot receive answers. But it is your 
responsibility to ask. No one else can do that for you."

Make a Difference

Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his 
writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. 
One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw 
a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of 
someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up. 
As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn't 
dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something 
and very gently throwing it into the ocean. As he got closer he called 
out,"Good morning! What are you doing?" The young man paused, looked up and 
replied, "Throwing starfish in the ocean." "I guess I should have asked, why 
are you throwing starfish in the ocean?" "The sun is up and the tide is 
going out. And if I don't throw them in they'll die." "But, young man, don't 
you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along 
it. You can't possibly make a difference!" The young man listened politely. 
Then bent down, picked another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the 
breaking waves and said, "It made a difference for that one."

The River

A group of people are standing at a river bank and suddenly hear the cries 
of a baby. Shocked, they see an infant floating--drowning--in the water. One 
person immediately dives in to rescue the child. But as this is going on, 
yet another baby comes floating down the river, and then another! People 
continue to jump in to save the babies and then see that one person has 
started to walk away from the group still on shore. Accusingly they shout, 
"where are you going?" The response: "I'm going upstream to stop whoever's 
throwing babies into the river

Creation - A Sioux Indian Story

The Creator gathered all of Creation and said, "I want to hide something 
from the humans until they are ready for it. It is the realization that they 
create their own reality." The eagle said, "Give it to me, I will take it to 
the moon." The Creator said, "No. One day they will go there and find it." 
The salmon said, "I will bury it on the bottom of the ocean." "No. They will 
go there too." The buffalo said, "I will bury it on the Great Plains." The 
Creator said, "They will cut into the skin of the Earth and find it even 
there." Grandmother Mole, who lives in the breast of Mother Earth, and who 
has no physical eyes but sees with spiritual eyes, said, "Put it inside of 
them." And the Creator said, "It is done."

Physical Judgement

A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having 
fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco. "Mom and Dad, 
I'm coming home, but I've a favor to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring 
home with me." "Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him." "There's 
something you should know," the son continued, "he was hurt pretty badly in 
the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an arm and a leg. He has 
nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us." "I'm sorry to hear 
that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live." "No, Mom and Dad, 
I want him to live with us." "Son," said the father, "you don't know what 
you're asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on 
us. We have our own lives to live, and we can't let something like this 
interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about 
this guy. He'll find a way to live on his own." At that point, the son hung 
up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, 
however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had 
died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it 
was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken 
to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, 
but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know, their 
son had only one arm and one leg. The parents in this story are like many of 
us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have 
around, but we don't like people who inconvenience us or make us feel 
uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren't as healthy, 
beautiful, or smart as we are.

The Water Bearer

A water bearer had two large pots, one hung on each end of a pole which he 
carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, and while the 
other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the 
end of the long walk from the stream to the master's house, the cracked pot 
always arrived only half full. For two years this went on daily, with the 
bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his master's 
house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, 
fulfilled in the design for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was 
ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was unable to 
accomplish what it had been made to do. After two years of enduring this 
bitter shame, the pot spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream. "I am 
ashamed of myself and I apologize to you." "Why?" asked the bearer. "What 
are you ashamed of?" "I have been able, for these past two years, to deliver 
only half my load because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all 
the way back to your master's house. Because of my flaws, you have to do all 
of this work, and you don't get full value from your efforts," the pot said. 
The water bearer felt sorry for the old cracked pot, and in his compassion 
he said, "As we return to the master's house, I want you to notice the 
beautiful flowers along the path." Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old 
cracked pot took notice of the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the 
side of the path, and was cheered somewhat. But at the end of the trail, it 
still felt the old shame because it had leaked out half its load, and so 
again the pot apologized to the bearer for its failure. The bearer said to 
the pot, "Did you not notice that there were flowers only on your side of 
the path, and not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always 
known about your flaw, and I took advantage of it. I planted flower seeds on 
your side of the path, and every day while we've walked back from the 
stream, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these 
beautiful flowers to decorate my master's table. Without you being just the 
way you are, he would not have this beauty to grace his house." Each of us 
has flaws. We're all cracked pots. But if we will allow Him, the Lord will 
use our flaws to grace His Father's table. In God's great economy, nothing 
goes to waste. Don't be afraid of your flaws. Acknowledge them, and you, 
too, can bring something beautiful to the Father.

Struggle

A man found a cocoon of an emperor moth. He took it home so that he could 
watch the moth come out of the cocoon. On that day a small opening appeared, 
he sat and watched the moth for several hours as the moth struggled to force 
the 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 farther. It just seemed to be stuck. Then the man, in his kindness, 
decided to help the moth, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the 
remaining bit of the cocoon. The moth then emerged easily. But it had a 
swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the moth 
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 little moth spent the rest of its life crawling 
around with a swollen body and shriveled 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 moth to 
get through the tiny opening was the way of forcing fluid from the body of 
the moth into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it 
achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Freedom and flight would only come 
after the struggle. By depriving the moth of a struggle, he deprived the 
moth of health. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If 
we were to go through our life without any obstacles, we would be crippled. 
We would not be as strong as what we could have been. Give every opportunity 
a chance.

The Axe

A man who lost his axe suspected his neighbour's son of stealing it. To him, 
as he observed the boy, the way the lad walked, the expression on his face, 
the manner of his speech - in fact everything about his appearance and 
behaviour betrayed that he had stolen the axe. Not long afterwards the man 
found his axe while digging in his cellar. When he saw his neighbour's son 
again, nothing about the boy's behaviour nor appearance seemed to suggest 
that he had stolen the axe.

The Final Exam

A professor stood before his class of 20 senior organic biology students, 
about to hand out the final exam. "I want to say that it's been a pleasure 
teaching you this semester. I know you've all worked extremely hard and many 
of you are off to medical school after summer. So that no one gets their GP 
messed up because they might have been celebrating a bit too much this week, 
anyone who would like to opt out of the final exam today will receive a "B" 
for the course." There was much rejoicing amongst the class as students got 
up, passed by the professor to thank him and sign out on his offer. As the 
last taker left the room, the professor looked out over the handful of 
remaining students and asked, "Any one else? This is your last chance." One 
final student rose up and took the offer. The professor closed the door and 
took attendance of those students remaining. "I'm glad to see you believe in 
yourself." he said. "You all have A's."



Rabbit's Ph.D. Thesis

Scene It's a fine sunny day in the forest, and a rabbit is sitting outside 
his burrow, tippy-tapping on his typewriter. Along comes a fox, out for a 
walk. Fox "What are you working on?" Rabbit "My thesis." Fox "Hmmm. What's 
it about?" Rabbit "Oh, I'm writing about how rabbits eat foxes." 
(incredulous pause) Fox "That's ridiculous! Any fool knows that rabbits 
don't eat foxes." Rabbit "Sure they do, and I can prove it. Come with me." 
They both disappear into the rabbit's burrow. After a few minutes, the 
rabbit returns, alone, to his typewriter and resumes typing. Soon, a wolf 
comes along and stops to watch the hardworking rabbit. Wolf "What's that 
you're writing?" Rabbit "I'm doing a thesis on how rabbits eat wolves." 
(loud guffaws) Wolf "You don't expect to get such rubbish published, do 
you?" Rabbit "No problem. Do you want to see why?" The rabbit and the wolf 
go into the burrow, and again the rabbit returns by himself, after a few 
minutes, and goes back to typing. Scene: inside the rabbit's burrow. In one 
corner, there is a pile of fox bones. In another corner, a pile of wolf 
bones. On the other side of the room, a huge lion is belching and picking 
his teeth. (The End) Moral It doesn't matter what you choose for a thesis 
subject. It doesn't matter what you use for data. What does matter is who 
you have for a thesis advisor.

A Parable of Two Frogs

A group of frogs were hopping contentedly through the woods, going about 
their froggy business, when two of them fell into a deep pit. All of the 
other frogs gathered around the pit to see what could be done to help their 
companions. When they saw how deep the pit was, the rest of the dismayed 
group agreed that it was hopeless and told the two frogs in the pit that 
they should prepare themselves for their fate, because they were as good as 
dead Unwilling to accept this terrible fate, the two frogs began to jump 
with all of their might. Some of the frogs shouted into the pit that it was 
hopeless, and that the two frogs wouldn't be in that situation if they had 
been more careful, more obedient to the froggy rules, and more responsible. 
The other frogs continued sorrowfully shouting that they should save their 
energy and give up, since they were already as good as dead. The two frogs 
continued jumping as hard as they could, and after several hours of 
desperate effort were quite weary. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to 
the calls of his fellows. Spent and disheartened, he quietly resolved 
himself to his fate, lay down at the bottom of the pit, and died as the 
others looked on in helpless grief. The other frog continued to jump with 
every ounce of energy he had, although his body was wracked with pain and he 
was completely exhausted. His companions began anew, yelling for him to 
accept his fate, stop the pain and just die. The weary frog jumped harder 
and harder and - wonder of wonders! finally leapt so high that he sprang 
from the pit. Amazed, the other frogs celebrated his miraculous freedom and 
then gathering around him asked, "Why did you continue jumping when we told 
you it was impossible?" Reading their lips, the astonished frog explained to 
them that he was deaf, and that when he saw their gestures and shouting, he 
thought they were cheering him on. What he had perceived as encouragement 
inspired him to try harder and to succeed against all odds. This simple 
story contains a powerful lesson. Your encouraging words can lift someone up 
and help them make it through the day. Your destructive words can cause deep 
wounds; they may be the weapons that destroy someone's desire to continue 
trying - or even their life. Your destructive, careless word can diminish 
someone in the eyes of others, destroy their influence and have a lasting 
impact on the way others respond to them.

The Mouse, the Frog, and the Hawk

A Mouse who always lived on the land, by an unlucky chance, formed an 
intimate acquaintance with a Frog, who lived, for the most part, in the 
water. One day, the Frog was intent on mischief. He tied the foot of the 
Mouse tightly to his own. Thus joined together, the Frog led his friend the 
Mouse to the meadow where they usually searched for food. After this, he 
gradually led him towards the pond in which he lived, until reaching the 
banks of the water, he suddenly jumped in, dragging the Mouse with him. The 
Frog enjoyed the water amazingly, and swam croaking about, as if he had done 
a good deed. The unhappy Mouse was soon sputtered and drowned in the water, 
and his poor dead body floating about on the surface. A Hawk observed the 
foating Mouse from the sky, and dove down and grabbed it with his talons, 
carrying it back to his nest. The Frog, being still fastened to the leg of 
the Mouse, was also carried off a prisoner, and was eaten by the Hawk. 
"Choose your allies carefully"

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