brainhack: PARABLE OF THE PENCIL

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box. "There are 5 things you need to know," he told the pencil, "Before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be."

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God's hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.

Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems in life, but you'll need it to become a stronger person.

Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

Four: The most important part of you will always be what's on the inside.

And Five: On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to do your duties.

brainhack: THE EAGLE AND THE GRASSHOPPER
Author - Rev. John Brian

[size=3pt]Once upon a time there was a grasshopper, who through diligent practice, became one of the best hoppers in the land. She loved hopping so much, she began teaching other grasshoppers how to hop. She was very disciplined and required they faithfully follow her commands. She told her students what to eat, when to eat and how to eat. During their practice sessions, she barked out orders telling them exactly what to do.

Soon, baby grasshoppers that had never hopped before were learning how to hop, adults that could barely hop were hopping much better, and even those who already were good hoppers could now hop much higher. The teacher felt very fulfilled.

Then one day a creature showed up that she had never seen before - an eagle. She was determined to teach the eagle how to hop, as she was certain that hopping was the path to fulfillment and enlightenment. But every time she approached the eagle, he just said, "There is no need." She kept trying, but the eagle insisted,

"There is no need." Finally, at a large gathering of all the grasshoppers,she pointed to the eagle and announced angrily,

"No matter what I say or do, this stupid eagle will never learn how to hop. He does not understand us."

The eagle looked at the grasshoppers and said,"You are content with hopping, but I can fly."

"Stop this foolish talk of flying!" screamed the teacher.

"Flying is just imagination and fantasy."

She turned to the grasshoppers and said,

"Any time such thoughts arise, immediately focus your energy back on your hopping - this is how you will become enlightened."

"You know nothing about flying!" said the eagle with a commanding voice that silenced the grasshopper.

The eagle turned to the grasshoppers. "I can show you a world far beyond your grass fields. If you listen to me, I will teach you all to fly."

The eagle waited for them to respond, but when he looked around, incredibly, all he saw were blank looks on the faces of the grasshoppers. He walked away, very sad.

Later that day, while soaring far above the tall grass of the fields, an insight emerged from deep within the eagle's innermost being. He realized that to communicate with the grasshoppers, he would have to speak the grasshopper's language - the language of hopping.

The next day, the eagle returned to the grasshoppers' world and began hopping with them. The grasshoppers were surprised. Not only could the eagle hop, but he could hop as well as any of them.

The teacher kept a wary eye on the eagle. She feared her grasshoppers would get swept away by the eagle's stories.

But the grasshoppers were curious and some of them began to sneak away to talk to the eagle.

"How is it that you know how to hop and yet you talk of flying? It goes against our teacher's orders."

"Hopping is useful, but when you can fly, it is no longer necessary."

"Tell us more," said the grasshoppers.

The eagle began describing the world beyond the grass fields, a world that included mountains, rivers and oceans. He sensed they were nervous but assured them was nothing to fear.

The grasshoppers asked, "What's it like to fly?"

"When you are flying, you are totally at peace. Sometimes, I feel like I am connected with everything and watch as everything happens automatically without any effort on my part. I am no longer an eagle flying, but I become flying itself."

Later that day, a solitary, brave grasshopper approached the eagle and asked, "Can you take me flying?"

The eagle nodded and gently took the grasshopper in his powerful talon. With a few beats of his wings they were aloft. Circling overhead, the grasshopper could see the mountains, rivers and ocean that the eagle had described, far beyond the familiar grass fields.

Careful not to go too high, the eagle soon returned the grasshopper to the ground. Hearing the commotion, the other grasshoppers rushed over to find out what had happened.

"He took me flying!" announced the brave grasshopper proudly, but then admitted, "I got dizzy. I didn't like it."

"But our teacher has told us that flying is just imagination." said another grasshopper.

"Bless your teacher and be grateful to her, for she has taught you to hop," said the eagle.

"But now you know the truth."

The eagle looked deep within the eyes of the brave grasshopper. Though she was still a bit dizzy, he saw a spark within her very being. He looked at the others and saw that the spark was already spreading to them. Soon, they would no longer be content with just hopping - they would all want to fly.

"My work here is done," announced the eagle abruptly. "Some day you will all learn to fly!"

"But if you leave, who will teach us?"

"Rest assured, as it has always been, when the student is ready, the teacher will appear."

With that, the eagle unveiled his powerful wings and soared off into the sky.[/size]

brainhack: THE WINDOW

[size=2pt]Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days and weeks passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the world outside.

Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself. He strained slowly turned to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you."[/size]

brainhack:

*kails* has a beautiful mind

*Kails*:


part of me believes this.
like God gave us all duties to be filled prior to our birth.

but in another realm. We don't remember it while on earth.

*Kails*:




thanks bro. i appreciate that.
and i appreciate you!!

*Kails*:
lol that story literally has me teary eyed

SonofIssachar:

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
"Oh excuse me please" was my reply.

He said, "Please excuse me too;
I wasn't watching for you."

We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye.

But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.

Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.

When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.

He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.

While I lay awake in bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said,

"While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,
but the family you love, you seem to abuse.

Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.

Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.

He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes."

By this time, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.

I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
"Wake up, little one, wake up," I said.

"Are these the flowers you picked for me?"
He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree.

I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."

I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."
He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay.
I love you anyway."

I said, "Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue."

belloahmad:

Sometimes our biggest weakness can become our biggest strength. Take, for example, the story of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study Judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese Judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn’t understand why, after three months of training the master had taught him only one move.

“Sensei,” the boy finally said, “Shouldn’t I be learning more moves?”

“This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know.” – the sensei replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.

Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened.

“No,” the sensei insisted, “Let him continue.”

Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.

On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.

“Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?”

“You won for two reasons,” the sensei answered. “First, you’ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grap your left arm.”

brainhack:
THE GARDENER AND GOD

There’s a story about a man who took a piece of land that was a rock pile and in two years, turned it into a fabulous garden. And people came from everywhere to see it.

One day, a man came by and saw the garden and thought it was fabulous, but he wanted to make sure the gardener did not take all the credit. He had this deep feeling inside that a lot of people leave God out.

So the man toured the garden to have the chance to meet the gardener. He eventually found the gardener, shook his hand and said, “Mr Gardener, the good Lord made this beautiful garden.”

The gardener immediately understood his message and his point. So he replied, “I think that’s true. If it’s not for the sunshine and the rain, and the miracle of the seeds and the soil and the seasons, there would be no garden at all.”

And he continued, “But you know, you should have seen this place a couple of years ago when God had it all by himself"

brainhack:
THE PONY IN THE DUNG HEAP

An excerpt from “How Ronald Reagan Changed My Life” by Peter Robinson:

Chapter One
The Pony In the Dung Heap When Life Buries You, Dig.
Journal Entry, June 2002:

Over lunch today I asked Ed Meese about one of Reagan’s favorite jokes. “The pony joke?” Meese replied. “Sure I remember it. If I heard him tell it once, I heard him tell it a thousand times.”

The joke concerns twin boys of five or six. Worried that the boys had developed extreme personalities — one was a total pessimist, the other a total optimist — their parents took them to a psychiatrist.

First the psychiatrist treated the pessimist. Trying to brighten his outlook, the psychiatrist took him to a room piled to the ceiling with brand-new toys. But instead of yelping with delight, the little boy burst into tears. “What’s the matter?” the psychiatrist asked, baffled. “Don’t you want to play with any of the toys?” “Yes,” the little boy bawled, “but if I did I’d only break them.”

Next the psychiatrist treated the optimist. Trying to dampen his out look, the psychiatrist took him to a room piled to the ceiling with horse manure. But instead of wrinkling his nose in disgust, the optimist emitted just the yelp of delight the psychiatrist had been hoping to hear from his brother, the pessimist.

Then he clambered to the top of the pile, dropped to his knees, and began gleefully digging out scoop after scoop with his bare hands. “What do you think you’re doing?” the psychiatrist asked, just as baffled by the optimist as he had been by the pessimist. “With all this manure,” the little boy replied, beaming, “there must be a pony in here somewhere!”

There must be a pony in here somewhere!

“Reagan told the joke so often,” Meese said, chuckling, “that it got to be kind of a joke with the rest of us. Whenever something would go wrong, somebody on the staff would be sure to say, “There must be a pony in here somewhere."

brainhack:
ANGELS

Not all of the angels can fly,
And not all of them come from the sky.

Some of them aren't sent from above,
Some of the angels are those you love.

All of the angels have different faces,
All of the angels come from different places.

Some people spend their whole life searching for one, But if you look closer, you could be done.

When you look closer you will see, the angels in your life is your family.