Monday, February 20, 2017
Shark Bait
During a research experiment a marine biologist placed a
shark into a large holding tank and then released several small bait fish into
the tank.
As you would expect, the shark quickly swam around the tank,
attacked and ate the smaller fish.
The marine biologist then inserted a strong piece of clear
fiberglass into the tank, creating two separate partitions. She then put the
shark on one side of the fiberglass and a new set of bait fish on the other.
Again, the shark quickly attacked. This time, however, the shark slammed into
the fiberglass divider and bounced off.
Undeterred, the shark kept repeating this behavior every few minutes to
no avail. Meanwhile, the bait fish swam
around unharmed in the second partition.
Eventually, about an hour into the experiment, the shark gave up.
This experiment was repeated several dozen times over the
next few weeks. Each time, the shark got
less aggressive and made fewer attempts to attack the bait fish, until
eventually the shark got tired of hitting the fiberglass divider and simply
stopped attacking altogether.
The marine biologist then removed the fiberglass divider,
but the shark didn’t attack. The shark
was trained to believe a barrier existed between it and the bait fish, so the
bait fish swam wherever they wished, free from harm.
The moral: Many of
us, after experiencing setbacks and failures, emotionally give up and stop
trying. Like the shark in the story, we believe that because we were
unsuccessful in the past, we will always be unsuccessful. In other words, we
continue to see a barrier in our heads, even when no ‘real’ barrier exists
between where we are and where we want to go.
The Weight of the Glass
Once upon a time a psychology professor walked around on a
stage while teaching stress management principles to an auditorium filled with
students.
As she raised a glass of
water, everyone expected they’d be asked the typical “glass half empty or glass
half full” question. Instead, with a
smile on her face, the professor asked, “How heavy is this glass of water I’m
holding?”
Students shouted out answers ranging from eight ounces to a
couple pounds.
She replied, “From my perspective, the absolute weight of
this glass doesn’t matter. It all
depends on how long I hold it. If I hold
it for a minute or two, it’s fairly light.
If I hold it for an hour straight, its weight might make my arm ache a
little.
If I hold it for a day straight,
my arm will likely cramp up and feel completely numb and paralyzed, forcing me
to drop the glass to the floor. In each
case, the weight of the glass doesn’t change, but the longer I hold it, the
heavier it feels to me.”
As the class shook their heads in agreement, she continued,
“Your stresses and worries in life are very much like this glass of water. Think about them for a while and nothing
happens. Think about them a bit longer
and you begin to ache a little. Think about
them all day long, and you will feel completely numb and paralyzed – incapable
of doing anything else until you drop them.”
The moral: It’s
important to remember to let go of your stresses and worries. No matter what happens during the day, as early
in the evening as you can, put all your burdens down. Don’t carry them through the night and into
the next day with you. If you still feel
the weight of yesterday’s stress, it’s a strong sign that it’s time to put the
glass down.
All the Difference in The World
Every Sunday morning I take a light jog around a park near
my home. There’s a lake located in one
corner of the park. Each time I jog by
this lake, I see the same elderly woman sitting at the water’s edge with a
small metal cage sitting beside her.
This past Sunday my curiosity got the best of me, so I
stopped jogging and walked over to her.
As I got closer, I realized that the metal cage was in fact a small
trap. There were three turtles,
unharmed, slowly walking around the base of the trap. She had a fourth turtle in her lap that she
was carefully scrubbing with a spongy brush.
“Hello,” I said. “I
see you here every Sunday morning. If
you don’t mind my nosiness, I’d love to know what you’re doing with these
turtles.”
She smiled. “I’m
cleaning off their shells,” she replied.
“Anything on a turtle’s shell, like algae or scum, reduces the turtle’s
ability to absorb heat and impedes its ability to swim. It can also corrode and weaken the shell over
time.”
“Wow! That’s really
nice of you!” I exclaimed.
She went on: “I spend a couple of hours each Sunday morning,
relaxing by this lake and helping these little guys out. It’s my own strange way of making a
difference.”
“But don’t most freshwater turtles live their whole lives
with algae and scum hanging from their shells?” I asked.
“Yep, sadly, they do,” she replied.
I scratched my head.
“Well then, don’t you think your time could be better spent? I mean, I think your efforts are kind and
all, but there are fresh water turtles living in lakes all around the
world. And 99% of these turtles don’t
have kind people like you to help them clean off their shells. So, no offense… but how exactly are your
localized efforts here truly making a difference?”
The woman giggled aloud.
She then looked down at the turtle in her lap, scrubbed off the last
piece of algae from its shell, and said, “Sweetie, if this little guy could
talk, he’d tell you I just made all the difference in the world.”
The moral: You can
change the world – maybe not all at once, but one person, one animal, and one
good deed at a time. Wake up every
morning and pretend like what you do make a difference. It does.
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Little Boy with a Slingshot
Once upon a time Sammy and his sister Marie visited their
grandparents at their farm. Sammy picked up a slingshot to play with out in the
woods. He practiced in the woods but he
could never hit the target. Getting a
little discouraged, he headed back for the lunch. As he was walking back he saw Grandma’s pet
duck.
Just out of impulse, he let the slingshot fly which hit the
duck square in the head and killed it. He was shocked and grieved. In a panic,
he hid the dead duck in the pile of woods.
Marie had seen it all from the window but she said nothing. After the
lunch, the next day Grandma said, “Marie, let’s wash the dishes.” Marie said, “But Grandma, Sammy told me he
wanted to help in the kitchen.”
Then she whispered to Sammy, “Remember the duck?” Sammy got
nervous knowing his sister knew about the duck and if he doesn’t obey, she may
tell his grandparents about it. So
without saying anything he did the dishes.
Later that day, Grandpa asked if the children wanted to go
fishing but Grandma said, “I’m sorry but I need Marie to help make a
supper.” Marie just smiled and said,
“Well that’s all right because Sammy told me he wanted to help.”
She whispered again to Johnny, “Remember the duck?” So Marie went fishing and Sammy stayed to
help. After several days of Marie taking
advantage of Sammy, he finally couldn’t stand it any longer. He came to Grandma and confessed that he had
killed the duck.
Grandma knelt down, gave him a hug and said, “Sweetheart, I
know. I was standing at the window and I saw the whole thing but because I love
you, I forgave you. I was just wondering
how long you would let Marie take advantage of you.”
Moral: Always confess of your mistakes. It will take away a
load of guilt from your heart which will boost your conscience and no one will
take an advantage of your secret mistakes! Accept your mistake, apologize and
seek forgiveness politely.
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
Sunday, February 5, 2017
You are Unique!
Think what a remarkable, unduplicatable, and miraculous
thing it is to be you! Of all the people who have come and gone on the earth,
since the beginning of time, not ONE of them is like YOU!
No one who has ever lived or is to come has had your
combination of abilities, talents, appearance, friends, acquaintances, burdens,
sorrows and opportunities.
No one’s hair grows exactly the way yours does. No one’s
finger prints are like yours. No one has the same combination of secret inside
jokes and family expressions that you know.
The few people who laugh at all the same things you do,
don’t sneeze the way you do. No one prays about exactly the same concerns as
you do. No one is loved by the same combination of people that love you – NO
ONE!
No one before, no one to come. YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY UNIQUE!
Enjoy that uniqueness. You do not have to pretend in order
to seem more like someone else. You weren’t meant to be like someone else. You
do not have to lie to conceal the parts of you that are not like what you see
in anyone else.
You were meant to be different. Nowhere ever in all of
history will the same things be going on in anyone’s mind, soul and spirit as
are going on in yours right now.
If you did not exist, there would be a hole in creation, a
gap in history, something missing from the plan for humankind.
Treasure your uniqueness. It is a gift given only to you.
Enjoy it and share it!
No one can reach out to others in the same way that you can.
No one can speak your words. No one can convey your meanings. No one can
comfort with your kind of comfort. No one can bring your kind of understanding
to another person.
No one can be cheerful and lighthearted and joyous in your
way. No one can smile your smile. No one else can bring the whole unique impact
of you to another human being.
Share your uniqueness. Let it be free to flow out among your
family and friends and people you meet in the rush and clutter of living
wherever you are. That gift of yourself was given you to enjoy and share. Give
yourself away!
See it! Receive it! Let it tickle you! Let it inform you and
nudge you and inspire you! YOU ARE UNIQUE!
Maturity
Maturity is many things. It is the ability to base a
judgment on the big picture, the long haul.
It means being able to resist the urge for immediate
gratification and opt for the course of action that will pay off later.
One of the characteristics of the young is “I want it now.”
Grown-up people can wait.
Maturity is perseverance–the ability to sweat out a project
or a situation, in spite of heavy opposition and discouraging setbacks, and
stick with it until it is finished.
The adult who is constantly changing friends and changing
mates is immature. He/she cannot stick it out because he/she has not grown up.
Maturity is the ability to control anger and settle
differences without violence or destruction. The mature person can face
unpleasantness, frustration, discomfort and defeat without collapsing or
complaining. He/she knows he cannot have everything his/her own way every time.
He/she is able to defer to circumstances, to other people-and to time. He/she
knows when to compromise and is not too proud to do so.
Maturity is humility. It is being big enough to say, “I was
wrong.” And, when he/she is right, the mature person need not experience the
satisfaction of saying, “I told you so.”
Maturity is the ability to live up to your responsibilities,
and this means being dependable. It means keeping your word. Dependability is
the hallmark of integrity. Do you mean what you say-and do you say what you
mean? Unfortunately, the world is filled with people who cannot be counted on.
When you need them most, they are among the missing. They never seem to come
through in the clutches.
They break promises and substitute alibis for
performance. They show up late or not at all. They are confused and
disorganized. Their lives are a chaotic maze of broken promises, former
friends, unfinished business and good intentions that somehow never
materialize. They are always a day late and a dollar short.
Maturity is the ability to make a decision and stand by it.
Immature people spend their lives exploring endless possibilities and then
doing nothing. Action requires courage. Without courage, little is
accomplished.
Maturity is the ability to harness your abilities and your
energies and do more than is expected. The mature person refuses to settle for
mediocrity. He/she would rather aim high and miss the mark than low-and make
it.
Wednesday, February 1, 2017
Bumi Beku Hokkaido - Jan 2017
Bila aku sampai ke bumi Hokkaido bulan lepas,
inilah pemandangan yang menyambut pandangan aku.
Maha Hebat Allah!
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