Founder's Day...

Baden-Powell's Last Message

Towards the end of his life, although still in comparatively good health, he prepared a farewell message to his Scouts for publication after his death. It read:

"Dear Scouts - if you have ever seen the play 'Peter Pan' you will remember how the pirate chief was always making his dying speech because he was afraid that possible, when the time came for him to die, he might not have time to get it off his chest. It is much the same with me, and so, although I am not at this moment dying, I shall be doing so one of these days and I want to send you a parting word of goodbye.

Remember, it is the last time you will ever hear from me, so think it over. I have had a most happy life and I want each one of you to have a happy life too.

I believe that God put us in this jolly world to be happy and enjoy life. Happiness does not come from being rich, nor merely being successful in your career, nor by self-indulgence. One step towards happiness is to make yourself healthy and strong while you are a boy, so that you can be useful and so you can enjoy life when you are a man.

Nature study will show you how full of beautiful and wonderful things God has made the world for you to enjoy. Be contented with what you have got and make the best of it. Look on the bright side of things instead of the gloomy one.

But the real way to get happiness is by giving out happiness to other people. Try and leave this world a little better than you found it and when your turn comes to die, you can die happy in feeling that at any rate you have not wasted your time but have done your best. 'Be Prepared' i this way, to live happy and to die happy - stick to your Scout Promise always - even after you have ceased to be a boy - and God help you to do it.

Your friend,

V for Valentine's

Every year on Valentine's day, there's always going to be someone that doesn't have anyone to tell them that they love them. Every year on Valentine's day, someone will be sitting at home alone with no one to care.
Then there are those people who have someone on Valentine's day, someone to hold, someone to love. Sometimes the ones who are lonely see the ones who are not and wish they had that. So I'd like to share these string of words on this Valentine's Day...


The day of love draws near,
Time for love and flowers,
Fancy candlelit dinners,
Staring at each other for hours.

The day of the lovers,
On a Wednesday this year,
More suicides occur,
As this dreadful day draws near.

Oh Valentines day,
Cruel Valentines day.
Why do you taunt me,
With your melting candy hearts,
And your paper "I love you"s?
With your sugar coated lies,
That taste as sweet as hate.

Watching lovers cuddles,
Just deepens the pain.
"I'm a nobody, I have nothing to gain"

Some miss their ex,
Some have lost all hope,
"I'm not beautiful"
Then they overdose on dope

So many couples,
Everywhere you go.
And here you stand alone,
Nothing but sadness,
Comes from your eyes
On Valentine's Day.

It's supposed to be a happy day,
For most people it probably is
But not your kind of day.

So when with your other tomorrow,
Forgive those who whine,
Remember not everyone
Has their own Valentine.

You have no one
Standing next to you,
You're all alone in the world.
Then you see
All the happy couples,
In love and holding hands.

It makes you sick to see them,
Thinking you aren't worth the time.
You just want the day to end
That's the way life goes.
Nothing good for you
This Valentine's Day...

We'll be waiting in the shadows,
We'll be waiting for a sign,
We'll be praying to our Gods each night
To bring back our Valentine!

The Law of Seed...

Take a look at an apple tree.
There might be five hundred apples on the tree, but each apple has just ten seeds.
That's a lot of seeds!

We might ask, "Why would you need so many seeds to grow just a few more apple trees?"
Nature has something to teach us here.
It's telling us: "Not all seeds grow. In life, most seeds never grow.

So if you really want to make something happen, you had better try more than once."

This might mean:

You'll attend twenty interviews to get one job.
You'll interview forty people to find one good employee.
You'll talk to fifty people to sell one house, one car, one vacuum cleaner, one insurance policy, or a business idea.
And you might meet a hundred acquaintances just to find one special friend.

When we understand the "Law of the Seed", we don't get so disappointed.

We stop feeling like victims.

We learn how to deal with things that happen to us.

Laws of nature are not things to take personally. We just need to understand them - and work with them.

Basically,
Successful people fail more often. But they plant more seeds.
When Things Are Beyond your control, here's something that you must NOT DO so as to avoid misery in your life:

You must not decide how you think the world SHOULD be.
You must not make rules for how everyone SHOULD behave.

Then, when the world doesn't obey your rules, you get angry...
That's what miserable people do.

On the other hand, let's say you expect that:
Friends SHOULD return favours.
People SHOULD appreciate you.
Planes SHOULD arrive on time.
Everyone SHOULD be honest.
Your best friends SHOULD remember your birthday.

These expectations may sound reasonable. But often, these things won't happen ;) So you end up frustrated and disappointed.

There's a better strategy. Demand less, and instead, have preferences. For things that are beyond your control, tell yourself:
"I would prefer 'A', but if 'B' happens, it's OK too!"

This is a change in mindset. It is a shift in attitude, and it gives you more peace of mind...

You prefer that people are polite... but when they are rude, it doesn't ruin your day.
You prefer sunshine...but if it rains, it is ok too.

To become happier, we either need to
a) Change the world, or
b) Change our thinking.

It is easier to change our thinking.

It is not the problem that is the issue, but rather it is your attitude attending to the problem, tha is the problem.It's not what happens to you that determine your happiness. It's how you think about what happens to you...

Human relation...

This was narrated by an India Air Force pilot to IIT students on special seminar for HUMAN RELATION...

My parents left for our native place on Thursday and we went to the airport to see them off. In fact, my father had never traveled by air before, so I just took this opportunity to make him experience the same. In spite of being asked to book tickets by train, I got them tickets on Jet Airways.

The moment I handed over the tickets to him, he was surprised to see that I had booked them by air. The excitement was very apparent on his face, waiting for the time of travel. Just like a school boy, he was preparing himself on that day and we all went to the airport, right from using the trolley for his luggage, the baggage check-in and asking for window seat and waiting restlessly for the security check-in to happen. He was thoroughly enjoying himself and I, too, was overcome with joy watching him experience all these things.

As they were about to go in for the security check-in, he walked up to me with tears in his eyes and thanked me. He became very emotional and it was not as if I had done something great but the fact that this meant a great deal to him.

When he said thanks, I told him there was no need to thank me. But later, thinking about the entire incident, I looked back at my life. As a child how many dreams our parents have made come true. Without understanding the financial situation, we ask for cricket bats, dresses, toys, outings, etc. Irrespective of their affordability, they have catered to all our needs. Did we ever think about the sacrifices they had to make to accommodate many of our wishes? Did we ever say thanks for all that they have done for us?

Same way, today when it comes to our children, we always think that we should put them in a good school. Regardless of the amount of donation, we will ensure that we will have to give the child the best, theme parks, toys, etc. But we tend to forget that our parents have sacrificed a lot for our sake to see us happy, so it is our responsibility to ensure that their dreams are realized and what they failed to see when they were young, it is our responsibility to ensure that they experience all those and their life is complete.

Many times, when my parents had asked me some questions, I have actually answered back without patience. When my daughter asks me something, I have been very polite in answering. Now I realize how they would have felt at those moments. Let us realize that old age is a second childhood and just as we take care of our children, the same attention and same care need to be given to our parents and elders.

Rather than my dad saying thank you to me, I would want to say sorry for making him wait so long for this small dream. I do realize how much he has sacrificed for my sake and I will do my best to give the best possible attention to all their wishes.

Just because they are old does not mean that they will have to give up everything and keep sacrificing for their grandchildren also. They have wishes, too.

Take care of your parents.

The paradox of our time...

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints.
We spend more, but have less, we buy more but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.


We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much love too seldom, and hate too often.


We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbour. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.


We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.


These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes.
These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom...

Points to ponder...

* God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

* Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.

* There is no key to happiness. The door is always open.

* Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.

* Do the math. Count your blessings.

* Laugh every day, it's like inner jogging.

* Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.

* The most important things in your home are the people.

* A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.

* He who dies with the most toys is still dead.

* We do not remember days, but moments. Life is moving too fast, so enjoy your precious moments.

* Nothing is real to you until you experience it, otherwise it's just hearsay.

* It's all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again. Just be sure to flush when you are done.

* Surviving and living your life successfully requires courage.

* The goals and dreams you're seeking require courage and risk-taking. Learn from the turtle --it only makes progress when it sticks out its neck.

* Life is uncertain; eat the dessert first.

* Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.

Cliché...

Proactive behaviour...

A boy was born to a couple after eleven years of marriage. They were aloving couple and the boy was the gem of their eyes. When the boy was around two years old, one morning the husband saw a medicine bottle open.He was late for office so he asked his wife to cap the bottle and keep itin the cupboard. His wife, preoccupied in the kitchen totally forgot the matter.The boy saw the bottle and playfully went to the bottle fascinated by itscolor and drank it all. It happened to be a poisonous medicine meant foradults in small dosages. When the child collapsed, the mother hurried him to the hospital. He died.The mother was stunned! She was terrified how she was going to face herhusband. When the distraught father came to the hospital and saw the deadchild, he looked at his wife and uttered just five words...


QUESTIONS:
1. What were the five words?
2. What is the implication of this story?





ANSWER:

The husband just said "I am with you Darling".The husband's totally unexpected reaction is a proactive behavior. The child is dead. He can never be brought back to life. There was no point in finding fault with the mother. Besides, if only he had taken time to keepthe bottle away, this would not have happened. No one is to be blamed. She had also lost her only child. What she needed at that moment was consolation and sympathy from the husband. That is what he gave her. If everyone can look at life with this kind of perspective, there would be much fewer problems in the world.

Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness, and fears. And you will find things are actually not as difficult as you think.


MORAL OF THE STORY
Sometimes we spend time in asking who is responsible or whom to blame, whether in a relationship, in a job or with the people we know. By this way we miss out some warmth in human relationship.

About faith...

Those who have great realization about delusion are wise. Those who are greatly deluded within realization are sentient beings.

To travel with the unawakened makes the journey long and hard and is as painful as traveling with an enemy. But the company of the wise is as pleasant as meeting with friends. Follow the wise, the intelligent, and the awakened. Follow them as the moon follows the path of the stars.

A story....

Here is a little story...that teaches a lot...

A giant ship engine failed. The ship's owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine. Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom. Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed! A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars. "What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!" So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill."

CAN YOU GUESS WHAT WAS THE BREAK DOWN???? The man sent a bill that read:

Tapping with a hammer. ............. . $ 2.00
Knowing where to tap..........$ 9, 998.00

Effort is important , but knowing where to make an effort in your life makes all the difference