The Cracked Pot

The Cracked Pot

A water bearer in India had two large pots, each 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 arrived only half full.

For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water in his master’s house. Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments.

But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half of what it had been made to do. After two years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream.

“I am ashamed of myself, and I want to apologize to you.”

“Why?” asked the bearer. “What are you ashamed of?”

“I have been able 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 specially notice the beautiful flowers along the path.”

Indeed, as they went up the hill, the old cracked pot noticed the sun warming the beautiful wild flowers on the side of the path. But at the end of the trail, it still felt bad 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 notice that there were flowers only on your side of your path, but not on the other pot’s side? That’s because I have taken advantage of your flaw . I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk 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 and without your help , he would not have this beauty to grace his house.”


MORAL OF THE STORY: Do not underestimate yourself by comparing yourself with others. It’s our differences that make us unique & Beautiful.

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Seeds Of Life ~ CEO

Seeds of Life ~ CEO ~www.storydose.com

A successful business man was growing old and knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business. He decided on choosing a successor in a novel way.

He called all the young executives in his company and informed them that it was time for him to step down and choose the next CEO and It will be one amongst them. The young executives were shocked . The boss continued. “I am going to give each one of you a SEED today – one very special SEED. I want you to plant the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with what you have grown from the seed I have given you. ”I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next CEO.”

One man, named Jim, was there that day who received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow. Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn’t have a plant to show and he felt like a failure. Six months went by , still nothing in Jim’s pot. He just knew he had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Jim didn’t say anything to his colleagues, however, he just kept watering and fertilizing the soil but to no avail.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company brought their plants to the CEO for inspection. Jim told his wife that he wasn’t going to take an empty pot. But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick to his stomach and knew it was going to be the most embarrassing moment of his life, but he trusted his wife’s judgement. He took his empty pot to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and many of his colleagues laughed at him.

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young executives. Jim just tried to hide in the back. “My, what great plants, trees and flowers you have grown,” said the CEO. “Today one of you will be appointed the next CEO!” All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to the front. Jim was terrified. He thought, “May be today is the day I shall be fired!”

When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened to his seed – Jim told him the story. The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim, and then announced to the young executives, “Please welcome your next Chief Executive Officer ! His name is Jim!” Jim couldn’t believe it. Jim couldn’t even grow his seed. “How could he be the new CEO?” the others said.

Then the CEO said, “One year ago today, I gave everyone in this room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds; they were dead it was not possible for them to grow. All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. It is clear that when you found out that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new Chief Executive Officer!”

If you plant honesty, you will reap trust. If you plant goodness, you will reap friends. If you plant humility, you will reap greatness If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment. If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective. If you plant hard work, you will reap success. If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation So, be careful what you plant now; it will determine what you will reap later.

Do you know what the Relationship is between your two eyes? They blink together, they move together, they cry together, they see things together, and they sleep together, but they never see each other; ….that’s what friendship is.. Your aspiration is your motivation, your motivation is your belief, your belief is your peace, your peace is your target, your target is heaven, and life is like hard core torture without it! Live a sincere Life! It pays! God bless!

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Each Day is a Gift

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.”

She went on to explain, “Old age is like a bank account, you withdraw from what you’ve put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I am still depositing.”

And with a smile, she said: “Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.”

Don't Forget to share your thoughts in Comments below..

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Miracle Story of Mother and New Borb Baby

True Story - Miracle Story of Mother and New Baby

I found this story on Facebook and thought to share with Readers.
Please spend your valuable 2 minutes on reading this miraculous story about Mom and her New Born Baby.. Please

When Carolyn Isbister put her 20oz baby on her chest for a cuddle, she thought that it would be the ONLY CHANCE she would ever have to hold her. Doctors had told the parents that baby Rachel only had only MINUTES TO LIVE because her heart was beating once every ten seconds and she was not breathing.

"I didn’t want her to die being cold," Carolyn says, "so I lifted her out of her blanket and put her against my skin to warm her up. Her feet were so cold. It was the only cuddle I was going to have with her, so I wanted to remember the moment.”

Then something remarkable happened: the warmth of her mother’s skin kick started Rachael’s heart into beating properly, which allowed her to take little breaths of her own.

"We couldn’t believe it – and neither could the doctors. She let out a tiny cry. The doctors came in and said there was still no hope – but I wasn’t letting go of her. We had her blessed by the hospital chaplain, and waited for her to slip away. But she still hung on."

And then amazingly the pink color began to return to her cheeks. She literally was turning from gray to pink before our eyes, and she began to warm up too.

The sad part is that when the baby was born, doctors took one look at her and said ‘no’. They didn’t even try to help her with her breathing as they said it would just prolong her dying.

"Everyone just gave up on her,” says Carolyn.

At 24 weeks a womb infection had led to her premature labor and birth. Says Carolyn (who also has two children Samuel, 10, and Kirsten, 8 ): “We were terrified we were going to lose her. I had suffered three miscarriages before, so we didn’t think there was much hope.”

When Rachael was born she was grey and lifeless. Ian Laing, a consultant neonatologist at the hospital, said: “All the signs were that the little one was not going to make it and we took the decision to let mum have a cuddle as it was all we could do.
Two hours later the wee thing was crying."

"This is indeed a miracle baby," adds the doctor, "and I have seen nothing like it in my 27 years of practice. I have not the slightest doubt that mother’s love saved her daughter.”

Rachael was moved onto a ventilator where she continued to make steady progress and was tube and syringe fed her mother’s pumped breastmilk.

“The doctors said that she had proved she was a fighter and that she now deserved some intensive care as there was some hope," says Carolyn. "Rachael did it all on her own – without any medical intervention or drugs. She had clung on to life – and it was all because of that cuddle."

The cuddle had warmed up her body and regulated her heart and breathing enough for her to start fighting. At 5 weeks she was taken off the ventilator and began breastfeeding on her own. At four months Rachel went home with her parents, weighing 8lbs – the same as any other healthy newborn.

Because Rachel had suffered from a lack of oxygen doctors said there was a high risk of damage to her brain. But a scan showed no evidence of any problems and today Rachel is on par with her peers.

"She is doing so well," says Carolyn, smiling. "When we brought her home, the doctors told us that she was a remarkable little girl. And most of all, she just loves her cuddles. She will sleep for hours, just curled into my chest. It was that first cuddle which saved her life – and I’m just so glad I trusted my instinct and picked her up when I did. Otherwise she wouldn’t be here today.”

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Pick Your Colored Leaf – Personality Test

Colors can tell a lot about one’s personality. Color tests have been around for a long time and we think they can be a very accurate tell on your personality… See if the personality characteristic matches your true personality! Share your comments in the comment box below the prediction!

1) Having a personality color orange means you are warm, optimistic, extroverted and often flamboyant.You are friendly, good-natured and a generally agreeable person.
You are assertive and determined rather than aggressive – having a personality color orange means you are more light-hearted and less intense than those who love red.
You thrive on human social contact and social gatherings, bringing all types together.
As a personality color orange you enjoy partying and socializing and planning all types of social events – orange people are the life of the party, the uninhibited performer! You are often the loud talker in a group.

2) Having a personality color red identifies you as extroverted and optimistic, courageous and confident.
You are action oriented and physically active – sex is a necessity to you – you have strong survival instincts.
With a favorite color red, you like to be the center of attention – in fact all reds crave attention – other people are drawn to the vitality and sense of excitement you emit.
As a personality color red, you are stimulating to be with and you radiate a great deal of energy.

3) With a personality color green you are a practical, down-to-earth person with a love of nature.
You are stable and well balanced or are striving for balance – in seeking this balance, you can at times become unsettled and anxious.
Having a personality color green means you are kind, generous and compassionate – good to have around during a crisis as you remain calm and take control of the situation until it is resolved.
You are caring and nurturing to others – however you must be careful not to neglect your own needs while giving to others.

4) Having a personality color black means that prestige and power are important to you.
You are independent, strong-willed and determined and like to be in control of yourself and situations.
As a lover of black you may be conservative and conventional – black is restricting and contained.
You may be too serious for your own good – bring some color into your life to lighten you up – life should be fun.
You may appear intimidating to even your closest colleagues and friends, with an authoritarian, demanding and dictatorial attitude.

5) Having a personality color brown means you are honest, down-to-earth and wholesome, salt of the earth people with both feet planted firmly on the ground.
You are steady and reliable and quietly confident.
You are friendly and approachable, genuine and sincere.
With a personality color brown you have a keen sense of duty and responsibility – you take your obligations very seriously.

6) Note: Rarely is the personality color white a favorite color from childhood – a favorite color white tends to become a favorite at a time when you are going through a transitional period in your life, preparing for new beginnings or seeking a new direction in one or more areas of your life. The following descriptions will apply to both those who love white and those going through a transitional time, although the latter may be a temporary display of the following qualities until the transitional period has passed. This transitional time may last for weeks or years.
Having a personality color white means you are neat and immaculate in your appearance, in the presentation of your home and in your car, almost to the point of being fanatical.
You have impeccable standards of cleanliness and hygiene and you expect others to adhere to your high standards.
You are far-sighted, with a positive and optimistic nature.
You are well-balanced, sensible, discreet and wise.

7) With a personality color yellow you have a happy disposition and are cheerful and fun to be with.
You are creative, often being the one who comes up with new ideas – an ideas person who needs others to bring the ideas into reality – you tend to have your head in the clouds much of the time.
You can be very critical of yourself as well as others – a perfectionist.
You analyze everything, all the time, and are methodical in your thinking.

8) With a personality color blue as your favorite color you are conservative, reliable and trustworthy – you are quite trusting of others although you are very wary in the beginning until you are sure of the other person. At the same time, you also have a deep need to be trusted.
You are not impulsive or spontaneous – you always think before you speak and act and do everything at your own pace in your own time. You take time to process and share your feelings.
You are genuine and sincere, and you take your responsibilities seriously.
Having a personality color blue means you have a deep need for peace and harmony in your everyday life – you don’t like having your feathers ruffled. You would benefit from daily meditation and quiet time for reflection, introspection and self-discovery.

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Salty Coffee ~ A beautiful Love Story

A young guy met a pretty girl at a party. She was so outstanding, this sent many guys chasing after her, while he being average, nobody paid him attention.

At the end of the party, he finally summoned courage to invite the girl to have coffee with him. She was surprised, but out of politeness, she promised. They both sat in a nice coffee shop, he was too nervous to say anything, she felt uncomfortable, waiting for coffee..

She kept on thinking, "Please, let it get over soon...let me go home...." she finally said. The coffee was brought and suddenly, he asked the waiter. "Would you please get me some salt? I'd like to put it in my coffee!" Everyone at the shop stared at him, so strange! His face turned red, but still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it. She asked him curiously, "Why this unusual habit?" He took a couple of sips and replied, "When I was still a little boy, I lived near the sea, I liked playing in the sea! I can still remember the taste of the sea..

This salty coffee...every time I drink it, I always think of my childhood days, think of my hometown... Oh no! I miss my hometown so much... I miss my parents who are still out there." While saying this, tears filled his eyes.

The pretty girl was deeply touched. A man who can tell out his homesickness, must be a man who loves home, cares about home, has responsibility of home. Pretty soon, she also started to speak, she spoke about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family. That was a really great date, also a beautiful beginning of their story.

This new pair continued to date. She got to discover that actually, he was a man who met all her expectations: he was tolerant, kind hearted, warm, caring. He was such a good man and had it not been for the salt in the coffee, she'd never have really known him!

The rest of the story was just like any other beautiful love story: they finally got married, and they lived a very happy married life. And sure! every time she made coffee for him, she put some salt in the coffee, just the way he liked it! After 40 years of marital bliss, he died after a short illness. One day, she found a letter he had left for her: "My dearest, Please forgive me, but I lied to you.. Only once.. Remember the first time we dated? I was so nervous, I asked for salt instead of sugar! I was too embarrassesd to admit it, so I just went ahead. I never thought that could bring about such a frank and intimate conversation between the two of us!

Later, I tried to tell you the truth so many times but was afraid you'd think I was a liar and never again believe me ... Now I'm dying, and am afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth: I don't like salty coffee, as a matter of fact I hate it! What a strange bad taste.. But since you made it for me with so much love, I drank it all my life!

Please forgive me, darling.. for lying to you first in that Coffee Shop and then not telling you the truth everytime you made coffee for me! I am not lying now when I say, I couldn't have that coffee any other way! - still madly in love with you"

If anybody ask her: "How did that salted coffee taste?" "It's sweet." She always replied.


MESSAGES OF THE STORY
1. Always learn to make the best of every situation. Also, be wise.
2. A great disappointment might be a blessing in disguise, who knows.

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Eighty Years of Man’s Life Explained

On the first day, God created the dog and said: ‘Sit all day by the door and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.’ The dog said: ‘That’s a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I’ll give you back the other ten?’ So God agreed.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said: ‘Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I’ll give you a twenty-year life span.’ The monkey said: ‘Monkey tricks for twenty years? That’s a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?’ And God agreed.

On the third day, God created the cow and said: ‘You must go into the field with the farmer all day long , have calves and give milk to support the farmer’s family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.’ The cow said: ‘That’s kind of a tough life to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I’ll give back the other forty?’ And God agreed again.

On the fourth day, God created man and said: ‘Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I’ll give you twenty years.’ But man said: ‘Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?’ ‘Okay,’ said God, ‘You got it.’

So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family living cow’s life . For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Now you know why We live the life the way We live.

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Be Careful - Cell Phone Security

CELL PHONES ~ I never thought of this.......

This lady has now changed her habit of how she lists her names on her cell phone after her handbag was stolen. Her handbag, which contained her cell phone, credit card, wallet, etc., was stolen.

20 minutes later when she called her hubby,
from a pay phone telling him what had happened, hubby says 'I received your text asking about our Pin number and I've replied a little while ago.'

When they rushed down to the bank, the bank staff told them all the money was already withdrawn. The thief had actually used the stolen cell phone to text 'hubby' in the contact list and got hold of the pin number. Within 20 minutes he had withdrawn all the money from their bank account.

Moral of the lesson:

a. Do not disclose the relationship between you and the people in your contact list. Avoid using names like Home, Honey, Hubby, Sweetheart, Dad, Mom, etc.

b. And very importantly, when sensitive info is being asked through texts, CONFIRM by calling back.

c. Also, when you're being texted by friends or family to meet them somewhere, be sure to call back to confirm that the message came from them. If you don't reach them, be very careful about going places to meet 'family and friends' who text you.

PLEASE PASS THIS ON ~ Even if this doesn't pertain to you....Pass it on to your family and friends

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What is Love? Answers by Children

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, “What does love mean?” The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all even when his hands got arthritis, too. That’s Love. Rebecca – age 8
When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.” Billy – age 4

“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.” Karl – age 5

“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French Fries without making them give you any of theirs.” Chrissy – age 6

“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.” Terri – age 4

“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.” Danny – age 7

“Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss” Emily – age 8

“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.” Bobby – age 7 (Wow!)

“If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.” Nikka – age 6

“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it
everyday.” Noelle – age 7

“Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.” Tommy – age 6

“During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore.” Cindy – age 8

“My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.” Clare – age 6

“Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.” Elaine-age 5

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redford.” Chris – age 7

“Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.” Mary Ann – age 4

“I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old
clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.” Lauren – age 4

“When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you” Karen – age 7

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy on the toilet and she doesn’t think it’s gross.” Mark – age 6

“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget,” Jessica – age 8

And the final one — Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. (Now this will melt your heart.) The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there. When his Mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, “Nothing, I just helped him cry.”

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