Knowing but not showing

Knowing but not showing

There was a young boy in our neighborhood, whom everyone knew was a bit slow. He did not have any friends as everyone regarded him ’stupid' and did not want to play with him.

One day a group of boys were playing in the park, when they saw the young boy. One of the elder boys called out to him, "Hey kid, come herel” The boy obediently walked over. The older boy took a $1 coin in one hand and a fifty cents coin in the other, and asked the child to take his pick. The child took the fifty cents coin and everyone laughed. Soon this news spread and everyone wanted to play this game with the young child. It becomes a regular party trick. And every time the ‘slower’ boy would take the fifty cents coin instead of $1.

A concern adult finally took the slower boy aside and told him that even though the $1 coin was smaller it was more valuable. “l know!" said the boy. “Then why don’t you take it?" asked the adult. “Because then he will stop playing with me,” replied the boy.

Who is the smarter among the two?

Moral of the story

Those of us who have goals in mind would not be afraid to look foolish in front of others

The Eagle and the Chicken

The Eagle and the Chicken

Once upon a time, there was a large mountainside, where an eagle’s nest rested. The eagle’s nest contained four large eagle eggs. One day an earthquake rocked the mountain causing one of the eggs to roll down the mountain, to a chicken farm, located in the valley below. The chicken knew that they must protect and care for the eagle’s egg, so an old hen volunteered to nurture and raise the large egg. The egg hatched and a beautiful eagle was born. Sadly, however. The eagle was raised to be a chicken. Soon, the eagle believed he was nothing more than a chicken.

One day an eagle flying nearby saw the little eager mingling together with the other chickens. He flew down to talk to the young eagle. All the chickens ran away because they were terrified of the eagle. The young eagle also tried to run but was stopped by the adult eagle. The adult eagle asked. ‘What are you doing here with the chickens? You are an eagle just like me. You can fly like me and your home is high up among the cliff." The young eagle was confused and could not accept the fact that he was an eagle. The young eagle said, “I am a chicken and this is where I belong, together with the other chickens. See, I cannot fly!" The adult eagle then grabbed the young eagle in its claws, and with a mighty swish of its wings, proceeded to fly to nearby cliff. The adult eagle said, “I am going to teach you how to fly.”
The flying lesson began and to his bewilderment, the young eagle discovered that he could indeed fly." Of course, he fell many times before succeeding. He discovered his true self with the help of the adult eagle, and never again went back to the chickens.

Moral of the story
You become what you believe you are; so if you ever dream to become an eagle follow your dreams and sometimes, along the way, we need those who can see the "eagle" in us to bring out the eagle in us.

You can keep the F and I'll keep my dream !!

You can keep the F and I'll keep my dream

        Mark has a friend named Monty Roberts who owns a horse ranch in San Ysidro. He has Mark use his house to put on fund raising events to raise money for youth at risk programs.

The last time Mark was there, Monty Roberts introduced him by saying, "l want to tell you why I let Mark use my house. It all goes back to a story about a young man who was a son of itinerant horse trainer who would go from stable to stable, race track to race track, farm to farm and ranch to ranch, training horses. 

As a result, the boy's high school career was continually interrupted. When he was a senior, he was asked to write a paper about what he wanted to be and do when he grew up.

"That night he wrote a seven page paper describing, his dream of someday owning a horse ranch. He wrote about his dream in great detail and even drew a diagram of a 200-acre ranch, showing the location of all the buildings, the stables and the track. Then he drew a detailed floor plan for a 4000 square foot house that would sit on the 200-acre dream ranch.

“He put a great deal of his heart into the project and the next day he handed it to his teacher. Two days later he received his paper back. On the front page was a large red F with a note that read, "See me after class."

"The boy with the dream went to see the teacher after class and asked, “Why did I receive an F?”

'The teacher said, "This is an unrealistic dream for a young boy like you. You have no money. You come from an itinerant family. You have no resources. Owning a horse ranch requires a Iot of money. You have to buy the land. You have to pay for the original breeding stock and later you’ll have to pay large stud fees. There's no way you could ever do it.’ Then the teacher added, ‘if you rewrite this paper with a more realistic goal, I will reconsider your grade.’

‘The boy went home and thought about it long and hard. He asked his father what he should do His father said, ’Look, son, you have to make up your own mind on this. However, I think it is a very important decision for you.'

'Finally. After sitting on it for a week, the boy turned in the same paper, making no changes at all. He stated, “You can keep the F and I‘II keep my dream." Monty then turned to the assembled group and said, "l tell you this story because you are sitting in my 4,000-square-foot house in the middle of my 200-acre horse ranch.

Moral of the story

Don’t let anyone steal your DREAM. Follow your heart, no matter what.

Sparky – Charlie Brown

                                                      Sparky – Charlie Brown

                                                                                      The Peanuts gang

A story is told about a boy named Sparky. For Sparky school was all but impossible. He failed every subject in the eighth grade. He flunked physics in high school. Receiving a flat zero in the subject, he distinguished himself as the worst physics student in the school’s history. Sparky also flunked Latin, algebra and English. He didn't do much better in sports. Although, he managed to make the school's golf team, he promptly lost the only important match of the season. There was also consolation match but he lost that too.

throughout his youth, Sparky was awkward socially. He was not actually disliked by the other students. It’s just that no one cared that much. He would be astonished if a classmate ever said hello to him outside of school hours. There’s no way to tell how he might have done at dating since Sparky never once asked a girl to go out in high school. He was too afraid of being turned down.

Sparky was a loser. He, his classmates... everyone knew it. So he rolled with it. Sparky had made up his mind early in life that if things were meant to work out, they would. Otherwise he would content himself with what appeared to be his inevitable mediocrity.

However there is one thing that was important to Sparky - drawing. He was proud of his artwork. Of course, no one else appreciated it. ln his senior years of high school, he submitted some cartoons to the editors of the yearbook. They were turned down. Despite this particularly painful rejection, Sparky was so convinced of his ability that he decided to become a professional artist.

Upon graduating from high school, he wrote a letter to Walt Disney Studios. He was told to send some samples of his artwork, and the subject matter for cartoons was suggested. Sparky drew the proposed cartoon. He spent a great deal of time on it and on all the other drawings he submitted. Finally the reply came from Disney Studios; he had been rejected once again, it was just another loss for the loser.

So Sparky decided to write his own autobiography in cartoons. He described his childhood self- a littIe boy loser and chronic under achiever. The cartoon character would soon become famous worldwide. For Sparky, the boy who had failed every subject in the eight grades and whose work was rejected again and again was Charles Schulz. He created the "Peanuts". Comic strip and the little cartoons boy whose kite would never fly and who never succeeded in , kicking the football - Charlie Brown.

                                                                     Charlie Brown

Moral of the story

Know your dream and potential, never give up.
What is needed is an idea put into action.

別為小事抓狂!!

別為小事抓狂!!

別為小事抓狂!!

從戀愛走進现實婚姻生活中，浪漫的愛情面臨了挑戰，
兩人的衝突常發生在“對”與“錯”的爭執上
似乎“對”與“錯”比彼此的關係更重要。

一對新婚不久的太太來電抱怨，先生每次洗碗總是洗得不乾淨，並且把廚房弄 得濕淋淋，還要她去處理善後，真是越幫越忙，因此夫妻二人為此事常常吵架不休，最後先生表示“再也不要幫妳洗碗了!”。先生善意且體貼的行動，在太太完美主義的要求及不留顏面的批評下終結了。

   

從戀愛走進現實婚姻生活中，浪漫的愛情似乎面臨了挑戰，因為現實生活中充滿許多的．  ”小事” ，會呈現兩人的生活習慣、衛生習慣、用錢哲學、社交方式、休閒嗜好…等方面的不同。但是當兩個人出現差異時，真的值得用吵架來解決問題嗎?夫妻之間的爭吵，其實想 一想，都不是甚麼大不了的事情，甚至過了一陣子之後，也忘掉為了什麼事情鬧得不愉快，只是當時兩人都不肯退一步，都覺得對方無理，自己委屈。兩人的衝突常發在“對”與“錯”的爭執上，似乎，“對”與，“錯”比彼此的關係更重要。

有一則網路上流傳的故事是這麼說的：有一位老爺爺過90歲大壽生曰，一大群來為壽星祝壽的人都稱讚老爺爺身體十分硬朗、紅光滿面、精神抖擻．一點都不像90歲的人。其中就有人問老爺爺長壽祕訣是什麼?。“好吧，我告訴你們我的祕密!”老爺爺當眾神祕且得意地說．道：  “65年前我結婚的時候，我和太太就在新婚之夜時約法三章，今後只要我們吵架，一旦證明誰理虧，誰就要出去院子散步。”  ．“這65年來每次吵架，都是我到院子裡或街道上散步。”這個故事充分顯出老爺爺以包容的心化解兩人爭執的智慧。

聖經上提到“愛是凡事包容”，這是一個不容易做到，卻要花一輩子來學習的功課。每一個人習慣的形成往往其來有自，也非一朝一夕能改變的。我告訴這位太太，我剛結婚時也曾經和她一樣的反應，結果也是不歡而散，但是現在結婚二十餘年了，先生還是會把廚房弄得濕淋淋，但我會默默的在他不注意時擦一擦，然後撒嬌的謝謝先生的幫忙。這表示一個人的習慣不會因為愛情而改變，但是可以因為愛情彼此接納包容。

演員黃嘉千在接受沈舂華lifeshow訪問時，表示她的父親曾經告訴她先生“愛她就要愛她的全部，包括她的優點與缺點』。連續劇“光陰的故爭”中孫媽媽告訴許毅源孫一美有許多缺點。也就是孫媽媽在確認許毅源是否真的愛一美，是否完全的接納她。

面對對方的缺點(或許不是缺點，只是與自己不同的地方），不是去改變，而是去接納與包容。只可惜還是有不少人仍然陷在愛情的迷思中。再一次的演講中．講員問聽眾相信愛情會改變對方的請舉手，結果許多女生舉了手，呈現女生想要以愛來改變男方的現象較普遍但是單單想以愛來感化他人，失敗的機率將會相當高。 

誰對？誰錯？都對？都錯？

一件事有千百種觀點，一個物體有無數
個面，在爭得面紅耳赤之前，

不妨先跳開對與錯，

因為…

你永遠不知道你還會再看到什麼?

多一點包容，別為小事抓狂，
天空會更開闊。心中會跟多喜樂

Story Of Two Seeds

Story Of Two Seeds

Story Of Two Seeds

Two Seeds lay side by side in the fertile spring soil.

The first seed said, "My dream is to grow. I wish to send my roots deep into the soil beneath me, and thrust my sprouts through the earth’s crust above me. I want to unfurl my tender buds like banners to announce the arrival of spring. I want to feel the warmth of the sun on my face and the blessing of the morning dew on my petals."

And now she grew.

the second seed said, "l do not know what I want. I'm afraid if l send my roots into the ground below, I don't know what I will encounter in the dark. lf l push my way through the hard soil above me, I may damage my delicate sprouts. What if I let my buds open and a snail tries to eat them? And what if I was to open my blossoms, a small child may pull me from the ground. No, it is much better for me to wait until it is safe."

And so she waited.

A hen scratching around in the early spring ground for food found the waiting seed and
promptly ate it.

Moral of  the story
Those of us who have  goals and dreams will grow and prosper.
Those of us who refuse to risk and grow will get swallowed up by life.

The Art Of Appreciation In A Marriage 我需要你的讚美！

我需要你的讚美！

The Art Of Appreciation In A Marriage
我需要你的讚美！

              我最喜歡老婆"讚美"我的時候！雖然我對自己。
              已經有一定程度的自信，但是來自太太的讀美。
              對我而言仍然非常重要，因為那讓我更加肯定自己的“價值”。
              還會讓我有一殴繼續往前向上的動力，

學習讚美 婚姻幸福又甜蜜

結婚這八年來，我發現，夫妻相處，除了忍耐包容，溫柔體貼外，不吝“讚美”也是常保小倆口幸福甜蜜的“撇步”。“讚美”另一半，其實一點也不難，只是結婚後，我久而久之就忽略了這點，讚美對方的次數也因而漸減，仔細想想，你是否也已經有好一段時間，沒有讚美過另一半呢？

講到“讚美”另一半，我老婆可真是一位深懂此道的妻子，她非常瞭解“讚美”對於她的老公可以產生多大功效，她也很清楚，我尤其需要她的讚美。想我很喜歡偶爾有閑時，下廚做飯給家人吃，其中有一部分的原因，就是可以得到太太的讚美。沒回當我汗流浹背煮完一桌飯，姑且不論我的廚藝與菜肴的味道如何，老婆總會帶著兩個可愛的寶貝兒女，由衷地向我發出感謝與讚美之語，“你們是不是也覺得爸爸今天煮的意大利麵好好吃？！趕快謝謝爸爸，爸爸你最棒了！你煮的面真好吃喔！聽到這樣的讚美，下廚反而變成了一種快樂，而且還會讓我期待下一次繼續為他們“服務”。

雖然我們週遭的親朋好友，也常會對我們說一些肯定或鼓勵的話，但是，被人的稱讚，都遠不及我們親密愛人的一句讚美好話。

簡單讚美 溫暖感動在心頭

我有個口才很好的朋友，經常受邀到各地演講，他風趣幽默又有內容的分享，總讓他受到聽眾的歡迎與喜愛，而他太太就像他的助理一樣，常到處伴隨著他同行。某次我與這位朋友閒聊，聽他講到跟太太相處上的問題時，他與我分享道，他最希望太太對他做的一件事，竟是多說一些讚美他的話語，因為他的太太幾乎從來不讚美她。“我常常會在演講完了之後，習慣性地問一下我太太，怎麼樣，剛才我分享的內容還不錯吧？

但我太太回應我的答案總是，“還好啦！沒有什麼特別的感覺。”要不然，“就是告訴我說，你講得再好，也不會有比那個某某某好啦！”這些話真讓我聽了當場覺得很受挫，我只不過期望她能對我說一句：“老公，你剛才在台上講的很不錯喔！”對我就是極大的鼓勵了。”

原來，妻子一句簡單的讚美話語，就能讓丈夫如此的心滿意足！而做丈夫的，也要學習常常讚美自己的妻子，日常生活中，不管“阿娜答”的小事大事，從另一半的穿著打扮，到他們所做的事情，我們都應該不吝嗇對他們讚美。

“讚美”，還可以改變我們看待另一半的角度！

夫妻相處 靠讚美改變關係

我的某對夫妻朋友，太太總認為先生做事不夠積極，工作上也常常缺乏主動出擊的態度，在求好心切下，每次夫妻倆在討論工作問題時，太太總會直接點出先生的問題所在，讓先生倍感壓力，雙方三不五時也就會因此而發生爭執，讓夫妻關係動不動就緊張起來。

後來，他們夫妻開始試著用讚美對方的方式來溝通，太太會讚美她的先生說，“老公，我一直覺得你很棒，你擁有這麼多別人沒有的優點，如果沒有讓她們被人看見，甚至表現出來，會很可惜的，我相信你一定可以在工作上發揮的長處。”而先生也開始感謝，並且讚美他的太太，“老婆，若不是有妳常常告訴我這些要改進的地方，我可能一輩子都在原地踏步，也就不會擁有更高的成就，我現在能跟進一步，都是因為有你這麼一個好太太。”

“讚美”是可以養成習慣的，同樣的，“不讚美”久了也會讓人習慣，我們都需要學習如何讚美另一半，而這絕對有助於夫妻與婚姻關係的加溫。常對另一半說些鼓勵與肯定他（她）的好話，就能讓他們更有力量變得更好更棒！所以，千萬別小看“讚美”在婚姻中所能產生的改變，就算結婚已經很久的老夫老妻，也請別忘了彼此提醒，要常常讚美對方。

婚姻，這門“活到老，學到老”的人生課程，讓我們一輩子都在學習如何與另一半相處的“智慧”，我想，“讚美”是其中最大的智慧！