Brewing Coffee

Thachayini Coffee Talk at 4:48 PM

Sunday, October 12, 2008

To Be The Best

A couple of weeks back, my cousin was upset that she did not do well for her assignment as she had expected. However, her friend, with whom she did the assignment, got an A for it. In her moment of despair, my cousin sent me an email pouring her heart out. She did not understand where she went wrong. In my reply to her email, I sent her this story and urged her to reflect. With her permission, I am dedicating this post to you.

Emperor Akbar was fond of music and he had a court singer to entertain him. On one such occasion, Akbar was immersed in the song sung by the court singer. At the end of the song, the emperor praised the singer for his magnificent voice and declared that he is incomparable. However, the modest singer maintained that there is singer greater than he. Akbar was curious to know this singer. He could not imagine anyone better. He expressed his wish to see such a splendid singer. The court singer told him that the singer is none other than his Guru; the one who taught him. He also added that the latter will not come to the court. In fact, he does not leave his humble home. Hence, they would have to visit him instead. Akbar agreed.

On another day, Akbar, his minister, Birbal and the court singer set out to the Guru's house in the woods. They came across a small hut in the woods. The court singer told them that they would have to observe from a distance. Therefore, Akbar and Birbal found a spot and waited for the Guru to appear.

A while later, the Guru appeared and said his morning prayer. He settled at the porch and began singing. Once again, Akbar was immersed in the song sung by the Guru and he agreed that the latter was the best. The court singer introduced Akbar to his Guru and the emperor expressed his appreciation.

On their way back, Akbar had a nagging question that he had to ask Birbal. "The court singer is a good singer and so is his Guru. But why is the Guru a better singer?"

For which Birbal replied, "The court singer sings for what he receives but the Guru sings for God. And any dedication to God is always the best."

So my friends, need I say more? The best are those who do what they do with dedication and devotion.

True strength lies in submission which permits one to dedicate his life, through devotion to something beyond himself. - Henry Miller

Labels: Inspiration

Thachayini Coffee Talk at 11:34 PM

Thursday, January 3, 2008

To Be Or Not To Be

Ralph Nader is an activist and politician who ran for president in 1996 and 2000 as a candidate for the Green Party. Nader became the best-known consumer advocate in the U.S., lecturing widely and forming non-profit groups like Public Citizen, whose stated goal was to protect consumers against corporate carelessness and greed. And this is an account of his life that helped him make his choice on what he wanted to be.....

In the early forties, when Ralph Nader was a fourth grader, it was common for boys of 1st to 3rd grade to wear shorts while the older boys wore long pants.

There was a distinct difference between shorts and long pants. Boys wearing shorts were considered little boys or sissy. Young Ralph was teased mercilessly by the boys in his class for wearing shorts to school everyday.

Taunted by the constant ridicule, Young Ralph returned home from school, one day, looking miserable. His mother had noticed the difference in her son.

He told his mother, on the verge of tears, how all the other boys in the fourth grade were wearing long pants. "Why can't I? The boys are laughing at me," he said.

"Tell me why you want to wear long pants?" she asked gently.

He thought for a moment and answered, "Because all the other boys are wearing long pants."

That obviously was not the answer his mother wanted to hear. She stood up from the ktichen table, "Ralph, are you going to grow up to be a leader or a follower?" she asked and walked out of the kitchen before he could say another word.

Young Ralph was pretty savvy for his age and he understood what she was getting at. As much as he wanted to be a leader, he just wanted to be one wearing long pants.

The very next morning, things were not very much different when he went to his school in his shorts.

That afternoon, on the playground behind the school, a group of boys was having races to see who was the fastest in the class. Ralph lined up for the race to the chagrin of some of the boys. They were all in their long pants but he was the only one wearing his shorts.

When the race began, Ralph ran as fast as he could. He had a distinct advantage in his shorts over the boys who wore the long pants. At first the only sound he heard was that of his heart pounding. Then the sounds of laboured breathing as the other boys closed in behind him, and then the yelling and cheering of the little crowd that had amassed on the side of the field.

Guess who won?

That was a turning point in Ralph Nader's life. He felt self-confident and began to see that being different could be a source of strength.

His mother had helped him to understand that a leader need not care about being mocked for his or her unique views, and that one person can make a difference. If you want to change the world, or just your community, you need to be the kind of person who is willing to run life's race in short pants.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy - Martin Luther King, Jr.

Labels: Inspiration

Thachayini Coffee Talk at 12:24 PM

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Happiness

For all those who have been dragging your feet to work after a long weekend, here's a story to enjoy with a cup of coffee to perk you up.

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and shaved perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.

His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.

As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.

"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait."

"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he 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. 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."

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.

Labels: Inspiration

Thachayini Coffee Talk at 4:33 PM

Monday, December 10, 2007

Winners Never Quit!

Nothing is impossible to a willing heart. - John Heywood, sixteenth-century English poet

A little girl - the 20th of 22 children, was born prematurely and her survival was doubtful.

When she was 4 years old, she contracted double pneumonia and scarlet fever, which left her with a paralysed left leg.

At age 9, she removed the metal leg brace she had been dependent on and began to walk without it.

By 13 she had developed a rhythmic walk, which doctors said was a miracle. That same year she decided to become a runner.She entered a race and came in last.

For the next few years every race she entered, she came in last. Everyone told her to quit, but she kept on running.

One day she actually won a race, and then another. From then on she won every race she entered.

Eventually this little girl - Wilma Rudolph, went on to win three Olympic gold medals.

Labels: Inspiration

Thachayini Coffee Talk at 1:25 PM

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Love What You Do Or Do What You Love

While a sculptor was chiselling a statue, feeling tired and bored of his seemingly unglamourous life, he saw a procession pass by.

Four guards were carrying a palaquin on their shoulders with a magistrate settled in it.

Watching the expressionless guards, the sculptor assumed that they were having an easier life than he did.

"How nice would it be if I could be a guard. They don't have to use great force to chip stones like I do and how difficult can it be to carry a palaquin and walk."

The next instant, the sculptor saw himself as a guard carrying the palaquin on his shoulder.

After travelling a safe distance in his new vocation, the hands of the ex-sculptor grew tired and he began to feel the pressure on his shoulder.

"Being a guard is not easy after all," he wondered. Seated in the palaquin, with the greatest of creature comforts at his feet, he envied the ease of the Magistrate.

"He gets to enjoy the best because he is powerful. How I wish I could be a magistrate?" he lamented.

Just as he had wished, the ex-sculptor found himself comfortably settled in a palaquin, carried labouriously by four guards who waited on him. Life never felt better.

While enjoying his new-found authority and power, the "magistrate" got off his palaquin and was exposed to the unbearable heat of the Sun. He had to take shelter in a nearby inn. Then, it dawned upon him that the Sun was mightier for even a powerful magistrate like him had to retreat from its heat. He desired to be the Sun and he became one.

As the Sun, he shone with his greatest might, gleefully making the lands parched. However, his supremacy was shortlived when the clouds covered him and his rays were blocked.

"Looks like even the mighty Sun has to succumb to the clouds," he moaned behind the clouds that bound him. "Then I shall become the cloud!"

With that exclamation, he became a cloud. In his new form, he basked in glory as he blocked out the sun rays as often as he could. His glory ended briefly when the winds blew at him. He drifted away from the Sun helplessly and struggled to find his way back.

Understanding that he was at the mercy of the winds, he transformed into the wind. He happily blew away everything in sight, feeling the potency of his new power.

Almost everything; living and non-living was blown away, save one. Summoning his greatest might, he blew hard at a mountain that just would not budge. Eventually, he grew tired and admitted to himself that the great mountain was mightier than he was. With that, he became a mountain.

He stood tall and mighty in the middle of the valley, feeling more powerful than he had ever been. He was stronger than a guard, mightier than a magistrate, the Sun could not melt him, the clouds could not hide him and the winds could not blow him away.

He had finally become the mightiest of all creations and he could not be swayed. Then, in a distance, he heard some tapping, followed by some knocks. He felt a miniscule part of him vibrate.

"What could it be?" he wondered as he gazed down perplexed. And there he saw on his great form, a sculptor chiselling a statue on him.

As an old Tamil adage says, "God is in Service. And it is through our profession that we serve."

Labels: Inspiration

Thachayini Coffee Talk at 9:57 PM

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Make A Difference

"To know one life has breathed easier because you have lived is to have succeeded" - Emmerson

This quote was passed to me by my friend when I was there with her during her difficult times. I had saved it for it means a lot to me and I have just the story to match it. :)

There was a young man walking down a deserted beach just before dawn. In the distance, he saw a frail old man. As he approached the old man, he saw him picking up stranded starfish and throwing them back into the sea.

The young man gazed in wonder as the old man again threw the small starfish into the water. He asked, "Old man, why do you spend so much energy doing what seems to be a waste of time."

The old man explained that the stranded starfish would die if left in the morning sun. "But there must be thousands of beaches and millions of starfish!" exclaimed the young man. "How can you make any difference?"

The old man looked at the small starfish in his hand and as he threw it to the safety of the sea, he said, "It makes a difference to this one!"

Labels: Inspiration

Thachayini Coffee Talk at 1:01 PM

Letting it Out

To Be The Best

To Be Or Not To Be

Happiness

Winners Never Quit!

Love What You Do Or Do What You Love

Make A Difference