An elephant came to the edge of a stream of clear rushing water.
Being thirsty, the elephant leaned over, dropped its trunk into the
cool water and... plunk!
"What? What happened?" the elephant cried. "I can't see! My eye...
it fell in the water! Oh nooooooh," the elephant wailed in a panic,
"I lost my eye!"
And, in fact, the elephant's right eye had popped out of its
socket and fallen into the stream. The elephant searched frantically
for the eye, groping with its trunk along the bottom of the stream.
The more he groped, the cloudier the water became. That made him panic
even more, and he started churning up great piles of sand, until
he couldn't see anything.
Then the elephant heard the sound of laughing. Furious, he
looked around to see who it was, and saw a little green frog sitting
on a log, laughing and laughing.
"You think this is funny?" the elephant shouted. "I lose an eye
and that makes you laugh?"
"What's funny is to see how upset you are. Calm down and everything
will be fine," the frog replied.
The elephant felt a little ashamed and took the frog's advice.
He stopped moving his trunk around, and soon the water became clearer
as the sand sank to the bottom. And there in the stream lay his eye.
He reached for it with his trunk and popped it back into its socket.
And then he thanked the frog.
....................................................................
This simple parable contains great wisdom. There's nothing funny
about losing an eye... the sudden panic, thrashing around in murky water,
desperation... that's exactly what happens to us when we lose control
and panic. Our haste makes us blind.
We become temporarily incapable of seeing the world around us
objectively and rationally. But there is an antidote to panic: wait.
Wait until the situation becomes clear and the black clouds disperse.
Many years ago, in a poor Chinese village, there lived a farmer and his son.
His only material possession, apart from the land and a small hut, was a horse he had inherited from his father.
One day, the horse ran away, leaving the man with no animal with which to work the land.
His neighbours, who respected him for his honesty and diligence, went to his house to say how much they regretted his loss. He thanked them for their visit, but asked:
"How do you know that what happened was a misfortune in my life?"
Someone muttered to a friend: "He obviously doesn't want to face facts, but let him think what he likes, after all, it's better than being sad about it."
And the neighbours went away again, pretending to agree with what he had said.
A week later, the horse returned to its stable, but it was not alone; it brought with it a beautiful mare for company.
The inhabitants of the village were thrilled when they heard the news, for only then did they understand the reply the man had given them, and they went back to the farmer's house to congratulate him on his good fortune.
"Instead of one horse, you've got two. Congratulations!" they said.
"Many thanks for your visit and for your solidarity," replied the farmer. "But how do you know that what happened was a blessing in my life?"
The neighbours were rather put out and decided that the man must be going mad, and, as they left, they said: "Doesn't the man realise that the horse is a gift from God?"
A month later, the farmer's son decided to break the mare in. However, the animal bucked wildly and threw the boy off; the boy fell awkwardly and broke his leg.
The neighbours returned to the farmer's house, bringing presents for the injured boy. The mayor of the village solemnly presented his condolences to the father, saying how sad they all were about what had occurred.
The man thanked them for their visit and for their kindness, but he asked:
"How do you know that what happened was a misfortune in my life?"
These words left everyone dumbstruck, because they were all quite sure that the son's accident was a real tragedy. As they left the farmer's house, they said to each other: "Now he really has gone mad; his only son could be left permanently crippled, and he's not sure whether the accident was a misfortune or not!"
A few months went by, and Japan declared war on China. The emperor's emissaries scoured the country for healthy young men to be sent to the front.
When they reached the village, they recruited all the young men, except the farmer's son, whose leg had not yet mended.
None of the young men came back alive. The son recovered, and the two horses produced foals that were all sold for a good price.
The farmer went to visit his neighbours to console and to help them, since they had always shown him such solidarity.
Whenever any of them complained, the farmer would say: "How do you know that what happened was a misfortune?"
If someone was overjoyed about something, he would ask: "How do you know that what happened was a blessing?"
And the people of the village came to understand that life has other meanings that go beyond mere appearance.
A farmer came into chinese town and asked the owner of a restaurant if he could sell him a million frog legs. The restaurant owner was shocked and asked the man where he could get so many frog legs! The farmer replied, "There is a pond near my house that is full of frogs - millions of them. They all croak all night long and they are about to make me crazy!" So the restaurant owner and the farmer made an agreement that the farmer would deliver frogs to the restaurant, five hundred at a time for the next several weeks. The first week, the farmer returned to the restaurant looking rather sheepish, with two scrawny little frogs. The restaurant owner said, "Well... where are all the frogs?" The farmer said, "I was mistaken. There were only these two frogs in the pond. But they sure were making a lot of noise!"
1- Next time you hear somebody criticizing or making fun of you, remember, it's probably just a couple of noisy frogs.
2- Problems always seem bigger in the dark. Have you ever laid in your bed at night worrying about things which seem almost overwhelming like a million frogs croaking? Chances are pretty good that when the morning comes, and you take a closer look, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.
He was a young boy who lived with his elderly Mother. His mother wanted him to learn how to play the piano because she Longed to hear her son play for her. She sent her son to a piano teacher who Took Robby in under her guidance.
However, there was one small problem Because Robby was not musically inclined and therefore was very slow in Learning.
The teacher did not have much faith in the boy because of his Weakness. The mother was very enthusiastic and every week she would send Robby to the teacher .
One day Robby stopped attending the piano lessons. The teacher thought that He had given up and in fact she was quite pleased since she did not give Much hope to Robby. Not long after, the piano teacher was given the task to Organize a piano concert in town. She sent out circulars to invite the Students and public to attend the event.
Suddenly, she received a call from Robby who offered to take part in the concert. The teacher told Robby that He was not good enough and that he was no longer a student since he had Stopped coming for lessons.
Robby begged her to give him a chance and Promised that he would not let her down.
Finally, she gave in and she put him to play last, hoping that he will Change his mind at the last minute. When the big day came, the hall was Packed and the children gave their best performance. Finally ,
It was Robby's Turn to play and as his name was announced, he walked in. He was not in Proper attire and his hair was not properly groomed.
The teacher was really Nervous since Robby's performance could spoil the whole evening's brilliant Performance.
As Robby started playing the crowd became silent and was amazed At the skill of this little boy. In fact, he gave the best performance of The evening. At the end of his presentation the crowd and the piano teacher Gave him a standing ovation. The crowd asked Robby how he managed to play so Brilliantly.
With a microphone in front of him, he said, "I was not able to Attend the weekly piano lessons as there was no one to send me because my Mother was sick with cancer.
She just passed away this morning and I wanted Her to hear me play. You see, this is the first time she is able to hear me Play because when she was alive she was deaf and now I know she is listening To me. I have to play my best for her!"
SUCCESS PRINCIPLES
This is indeed a touching story of love and excellence. When you have a Passion and a reason to do something, you will surely excel.
You may not be Talented or gifted but if you have a strong enough reason to do something, You will be able to tap into your inner God given potential.