Written by pravsj on Thursday, July 31st, 2008 in Attitude, Balance, Belief, Character, Faith, Happiness, Helping, How To Live, Learning, Life, Living Today, Pravs World, Satisfaction.
Richness Of Life
You are Rich or Poor in life by…
Smiles around you,
Friends you make,
People you are with,
Ideas you have,
Dreams you chase,
And the love you spread.
From archives; Shared on Pravs World
Written by pravsj on Monday, November 12th, 2007 in Helping, Hope, How To Live, Life, Living Today, People, Relations, Text Mail.
Little Moments Of Joy
                                                 - by Barry Kingsley
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Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. It was a cowboy’s life, a life for someone who wanted no boss. What I didn’t realize was that it was also a ministry.
Because I drove the night shift, my cab became a moving confessional. Passengers climbed in, sat behind me in total anonymity, and told me about their lives. I encountered people whose lives amazed me, ennobled me, made me laugh and weep.
But none touched me more than a woman I picked up late one August night.
I was responding to a call from a small brick fourplex in a quiet part of town. I assumed I was being sent to pick up some partiers, or someone who had just had a fight with a lover, or a worker heading to an early shift at some factory for the industrial part of town.
When I arrived at 2:30 a.m., the building was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window. Under these circumstances, many drivers would just honk once or twice, wait a minute, then drive away. But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended on taxis as their only means of transportation. Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went to the door. This passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned to myself. So I walked to the door and knocked.
“Just a minute,” answered a frail, elderly voice. I could hear something being dragged across the floor. After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her 80s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940’s movie.
By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets. There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or utensils on the counters. In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos and glassware.
“Would you carry my bag out to the car?” she said.
I took the suitcase to the cab, then returned to assist the woman. She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. She kept thanking me for my kindness.
“It’s nothing,” I told her. “I just try to treat my passengers the way I would want my mother treated.”
“Oh, you’re such a good boy,” she said.
When we got in the cab, she gave me an address, then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?”
“It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.
“Oh, I don’t mind,” she said. “I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice.”
I looked in the rear view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. “I don’t have any family left,” she continued. “The doctor says I don’t have very long.”
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. “What route would you like me to take?” I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the neighborhood where she and her husband had lived when they were newlyweds. She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a girl. Sometimes she’d ask me to slow in front of a particular building or corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
As the first hint of sun was creasing the horizon, she suddenly said, “I’m tired. Let’s go now.”
We drove in silence to the address she had given me. It was a low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as we pulled up. They were solicitous and intent, watching her every move. They must have been expecting her. I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.
“How much do I owe you?” she asked, reaching into her purse.
“Nothing,” I said.
“You have to make a living,” she answered.
“There are other passengers,” I responded.
Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her a hug. She held onto me tightly.
“You gave an old woman a little moment of joy,” she said. “Thank you.”
I squeezed her hand, then walked into the dim morning light. Behind me, a door shut. It was the sound of the closing of a life.
I didn’t pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly, lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient at the end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?
On a quick review, I don’t think that I have done anything more important in my life. We’re conditioned to think that our lives revolve around great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware–beautifully wrapped in what others may consider a small one.
People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, …but they will always remember how you made them feel.
From Archives; Shared on Textmail
Written by pravsj on Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007 in God, Helping, How To Live, Life, Relations, Text Mail.
Cupcakes and RootbeerÂ
                                                  - by Julie A. Manhan
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There once was a little boy who wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with cupcakes, several cans of root beer and started on his journey.
When he had gone about three blocks, he saw an elderly woman. She was sitting on a park bench watching the pigeons. The boy sat down next to her and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed the lady looked hungry so he offered her a cupcake. She gratefully accepted and smiled at him.
Her smile was so wonderful that he wanted to see it again, so he offered a root beer as well. Once again she smiled at him. The boy was delighted!
They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling without saying a word.
As it began to grow dark, the boy realized how tired he was and wanted to go home. He got up to leave but before he had gone no more than a few steps, he turned around and ran back to the old woman, giving her a big hug. She gave him her biggest smile ever.
When the boy arrived home his Mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked, What has made you so happy today He replied, I had lunch with God. Before his mother could respond he added, You know what She’s got the most beautiful smile in the whole world!
Meanwhile, the old woman, also radiant with joy, returned to her home. Her son was stunned by the look of peace on her face. He asked, Mother, what has made you so happy today She replied, I ate cupcakes in the park with God. And before her son could reply, she added, You know, he is much younger than I expected.
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring; all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Take no one for granted and embrace all equally with joy!
From archives; Shared on TextMail
Written by pravsj on Saturday, September 29th, 2007 in Attitude, Balance, Family, Happiness, Helping, How To Live, People, Pravs World, Self.
Happiness Will Find You
Happiness lives for those who cry, those who are hurt, those who have searched, and those who tried. For only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives.
The happiest of people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.
If you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But if your focus on your family, your friends, the needs of others, your work and doing the very best you can, happiness will find you.
From archives; Shared on Pravs World
Written by pravsj on Thursday, September 27th, 2007 in Balance, Belief, Character, Experience, Helping, Hope, How To Live, Learning, Life, Pravs World, Self.
Look Within
People spend a lifetime searching for happiness; looking for peace.
They chase idle dreams, addictions, religions, even other people, hoping to fill the emptiness that plagues them.
The irony is that the only place they ever needed to search was withing themselves.
From archives; Shared on Pravs World
Written by pravsj on Thursday, September 27th, 2007 in Change, Character, Experience, Helping, Hope, How To Live, Learning, Life, Sorrow, Text Mail.
Cure For Sorrow
There is an old Chinese tale about a woman whose only son died.
In her grief, she went to the holy man and said, “What prayers, what magical incantations do you have to bring my son back to life?”
Instead of sending her away or reasoning with her, he said to her, “Fetch me a mustard seed from a home that has never known sorrow. We will use it to drive the sorrow out of your life.”
The woman went off at once in search of that magical mustard seed. She came first to a splendid mansion, knocked at the door, and said, “I am looking for a home that has never known sorrow. Is this a place? It is very important to me.”
They told her, “You’ve certainly come to the wrong place,” and began to describe all the tragic things that recently had befallen them. The woman said to herself, “Who is better able to help these poor, unfortunate people that I, who have had misfortune of my own?”
She stayed to comfort them, and then went on in search of a home that had never known sorrow. But wherever she turned, in hovels and in other places, she found one tale after another of sadness and misfortune.
She became so involved in ministering to other people’s grief that ultimately she forgot about her quest for the magical mustard seed, never realizing that it had, in fact, driven the sorrow out of her life.
From archives; Shared on Text Mail
Written by pravsj on Sunday, September 9th, 2007 in Helping, How To Live, People, Relations, Text Mail.
Why do You Share..
A reporter once asked a farmer to divulge the secret behind his corn, which won the state fair contest year after year. The farmer confessed it was all because he shared his seed with his neighbors.
Why do you share your best seed corn with your neighbors when you’re entering the same contest each year as well asked the reporter.
Why sir, said the farmer, didn’t you know The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grew inferior corn, cross-pollination would steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbor do the same.
And so it is with other situations in our lives. Those who want to be successful must help their neighbors, friends, relatives to be successful.
Those who choose to live well must help others live well, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy must help others find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all.
This story exemplifies “altruism.â€
Altruism: Action that benefits another person, including comforting, helping, sharing, rescuing and cooperating. Acts of concern for other people - without any hope of reward.
From archives; Shared on Text Mail