Karma - " What Goes Around Comes Around "

What Goes Around, Comes Around... 

A true story, happened in 1892 at Stanford University:

An 18-year-old student was struggling to pay his fees.  He was an orphan, and not knowing where to turn for money,  he came up with a bright idea. 

He and a friend decided to host a musical concert on campus to raise money for their education. They reached out to the great pianist Ignacy J. Paderewski.  His manager demanded a guaranteed fee of $2000 for the piano recital.  A deal was struck and the boys began to work to make the concert a success.

The big day arrived. But unfortunately, they had not managed to sell enough tickets. The total collection was only $1600. 

Disappointed, they went to Paderewski and explained their plight. They gave him the entire $1600, plus a cheque for the balance $400. They promised to honour the cheque at the soonest possible.

“No,” said Paderewski. “This is not acceptable.” He tore up the cheque, returned the $1600 and told the two boys: 

“Here’s the $1600. 

Please deduct whatever expenses you have incurred. Keep the money you need for your fees. And just give me whatever is left”. The boys were surprised, and thanked him profusely.

It was a small act of kindness. But it clearly marked out Paderewski as a great human being.

Why should he help two people he did not even know?  We all come across situations like these in our lives.  And most of us only think “If I help them, what would happen to me?”

The truly great people think, “If I don’t help them, what will happen to them?”  They don’t do it expecting something in return.  They do it because they feel it’s the right thing to do.

Paderewski later went on to become the Prime Minister of Poland. He was a great leader, but unfortunately when the World War began, Poland was ravaged.  There were more than 1.5 million people starving in his country, and no money to feed them.  Paderewski did not know where to turn for help.  He reached out to the US Food and Relief Administration for help. The head there was a man called Herbert Hoover — who later went on to become the US President.  Hoover agreed to help and quickly shipped tons of food grains to feed the starving Polish people. A calamity was averted. Paderewski was relieved. 

He decided to go across to meet Hoover and personally thank him. When Paderewski began to thank Hoover for his noble gesture, Hoover quickly interjected and said,  “You shouldn’t be thanking me Mr. Prime Minister.  You may not remember this, but several years ago, you helped two young students go through college. I was one of them.”

The world is a wonderful place. What goes around comes around!

Anger ... the Nail in the Fence

Anger can harm yourself more than any other

A carpenter went home after shutting down his workshop, a black poisonous cobra entered his workshop.
The cobra was hungry and hoped to find its supper lurking somewhere within. It slithered from one end to another and accidentally bumped into a double-edged metal axe and got very slightly injured.
In anger and seeking revenge, the snake bit the axe with full force. What could a bite do to a metallic axe? Instead the cobra’s mouth started bleeding.
Out of fury and arrogance, the cobra tried its best to strangle and kill the object that was causing it pain by wrapping itself very tightly around the blades.
The next day when the carpenter opened the workshop, he found a seriously cut, dead cobra wrapped around the axe blades.
The cobra died not because of someone else’s fault but faced these consequences merely because of its own anger and wrath.
· Sometimes when angry, we try to cause harm to others but as time passes by, we realise that we have caused more harm to ourselves.
· For a happy life, it’s best we should learn to ignore and overlook some things, people, incidents, affairs and matters.
· It is not necessary that we show a reaction to everything. Step back and ask yourself if the matter is really worth responding or reacting to.
· Let Treat people with kindness even if they hurt you.
· People that show no inclination to change, are best handled with silence and prayer.
 If I hurt someone, grant me the humility courage to ask for forgiveness.

Now read the story…..
  

The Nail in the Fence.

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, “You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there.”

A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us.

Remembering Mam's Clothesline

Remembering Mom’s Clothesline.

          THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES:                                                                                         (If you don’t even know what clotheslines are ?)

          1. You had to hang the socks by the toes... NOT the top. 

          2. You hung pants by the BOTTOM/cuffs... NOT the waistbands.

          3. You had to WASH the clothesline(s) before hanging any clothes -

          Walk the entire length of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.  

          4. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang "whites" with "whites," and hang them first.

          5. You NEVER hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail!

          What would the neighbours think?

          6. Wash day on a Monday! NEVER hang clothes on the weekend,

          Or on Sunday, for Heaven's sake!

          7. Hang the sheets and towels on the OUTSIDE lines so you could

          Hide your "unmentionables" in the middle.

          8. It didn't matter if it was sub-zero weather... Clothes would "freeze-dry."

          9. ALWAYS gather the clothes pegs when taking down dry clothes!

          Pegs left on the lines were "tacky"!

          10. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item did not need two clothes pegs, but shared one of the clothes pegs with the next washed item. 

          11. Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes basket, and ready to be ironed.  IRONED??!! Well, that's a whole OTHER subject! 

          12. Long wooden pole (clothes pole) that was used to push the clotheslines up so that longer items (sheets/pants/etc.) didn't brush the ground and get dirty. 

          And now a Poem ... 

          A clothesline was a news forecast, to neighbours passing by,

          There were no secrets you could keep, when clothes were hung to dry.

          It also was a friendly link, for neighbours always knew

          If company had stopped on by, to spend a night or two.

          For then you'd see the "fancy sheets", and towels upon the line;

          You'd see the "company table cloths", with intricate designs.

          The line announced a baby's birth, from folks who lived inside,

          As brand new infant clothes were hung, so carefully with pride!

          The ages of the children could, so readily be known

          By watching how the sizes changed, you'd know how much they'd grown!

          It also told when illness struck, as extra sheets were hung;

          Then night clothes and a bathrobe too, haphazardly were strung. 

          It also said, "On vacation now", when lines hung limp and bare.  

          It told, "We're back!" when full lines sagged, with not an inch to spare!

          New folks in town were scorned upon, if wash was dingy and grey,

          As neighbours carefully raised their brows, and looked the other way.

          But clotheslines now are of the past, for dryers make work much less.

          Now what goes on inside a home, Is anybody's guess!

          I really miss that way of life, it was a friendly sign

          When neighbours knew each other best... By what hung on the line.

"Thankful"

Thankful

Josh Groban

Some days, we forget to look around us,
Some days, we can't see the joy that surrounds us,
So caught up inside ourselves,
We take when we should give,
So for tonight we pray for,
What we know can be,
And on this day we hope for,
What we still can't see,
It's up to us, to be the change,
And even though we all can still do more,
There's so much to be thankful for,
Look beyond ourselves,
There's so much sorrow,
It's way too late to say, I'll cry tomorrow
Each of us must find our truth,
It's so long overdue,
So for tonight we pray for,

What we know can be,
And every day, we hope for,
What we still can't see,
It's up to us, to be the change,
And even though we all can still do more,
There's so much to be thankful for,

Even with our differences

There is a place we’re all connected,

Each of us can find each other’s light,

So for tonight, we pray for

What we know can be,

And on this day we hope for,

What we still can’t see,

It’s up to us to be the change,

And even though this world needs so much more

There’s so much to be thankful for.