Tuesday, November 26, 2019

2019-49 - Just like marriage...

Nasrudin spent the entire autumn working his garden. The flowers had blossomed in the spring - and Nasrudin noticed a few dandelions appearing, which he hadn't planted.
Nasrudin tore them up. But the pollen had already spread and others began to grow. He tried to find a weed killer which only killed dandelions. A specialist told him any type of poison would end up killing all the other flowers. In despair, he went to ask a gardener for help.
"It is like a marriage" said the gardener. "Along with the good things, a few little inconveniences always appear."
"What can I do?" insisted Nasrudin.
"Learn how to love them. Although they are flowers you did not count on, they are still part of the garden."
~ Paulo Coelho

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"Truly loving another means letting go of all expectations. It means full acceptance, even celebration of another's personhood."

~ Author Unknown

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Tuesday, November 19, 2019

2019-47 - What, How, Who...

A little boy playing in his sandbox discovered a large rock. The lad managed to dislodge it from the dirt.

With a little bit of struggle, he pushed and nudged but found that he couldn't roll it up and over the little wall. Determined, the little boy shoved, pushed, and pried, but the rock tipped and then fell back into the sandbox. Finally he burst into tears of frustration.

At the moment the tears fell, a large shadow moved across the boy and the sandbox. It was the boy's father. Gently but firmly he said, "Son, why didn't you use all the strength that you had available?"

Defeated, the boy sobbed back, "But I did, Daddy, I did! I used all the strength that I had!"

"No, son," corrected the father kindly. "You didn't use all the strength you had. You didn't ask me."

With that the father reached down, picked up the rock, and removed it from the sandbox.

~ Rohan Matthew




To solve any problem ask yourself; What could I do? How could I do it? and, Who could I ask?

~ Rohan Matthew

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

2019-45 - Choose One Chair...

The world-renowned opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti recalls...

When I was a boy, my father, a baker, introduced me to the wonders of song. He urged me to work very hard to develop my voice. Arrigo Pola, a professional tenor in my hometown, took me on as a student. I also enrolled in a teacher's college.

As graduation was nearing I asked my father, "Shall I be a teacher or a singer?"

"Luciano," my father replied, "if you try to sit on two chairs, you will fall between them. For life, you must choose, you can only sit in one chair."

Pavarotti continues... I chose one. It took seven years of study and frustration before I made my first professional appearance. It took another seven years to reach the Metropolitan Opera.

And now I think, whether it's laying bricks, writing a book - whatever we choose - we should give ourselves completely to it. Commitment that's the key. Choose one chair."

 
~ Luciano Pavarotti




Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans.

~ Peter F Drucker