One day a farmer’s Mule fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the mule. So he invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.
At first, the mule realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw.
With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the mule was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the mule stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off.
The Moral: Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!
I was working in my old building this morning and saw these quotes on Laura/Nitesh’s old whiteboard which didn’t get erased before we moved. Found them pretty inspirational so you know me, I took a picture of them with my iPhone so they could be shared with the world.
Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up.
As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn’t dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean.
As he got closer he called out, “Good morning! What are you doing?”
The young man paused, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish in the ocean.”
“I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?”
“The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don’t throw them in they’ll die.”
“But, young man, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can’t possibly make a difference!”
The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said- “It made a difference for that one.”
This is a story about a dog who was born on Christmas Eve, 2002. He was born with 3 legs – 2 healthy hind legs and 1 abnormal front leg which needed to be amputated. He of course could not walk when he was born. Even his mother did not want him. He was rejected and scorned.
His first owner also did not think that he could survive. Therefore , he was thinking of putting him to sleep. At this time , his present owner Jude Stringfellow came into his life and wanted to take care of him. She was determined to teach and train this dog to walk by him self. She thought , all we need is a little faith. Therefore she named him ‘Faith.’ In the beginning , she put Faith on a surf board to let him feel the movements of the water. Later she used peanut butter on a spoon as a lure and to reward him for standing up and jumping around. Even the other dogs at home helped to encourage him to walk. Amazingly , after only 6 months , like a miracle , Faith learned to balance on his 2 hind legs and jumped to move forward. After further training in the snow , he can now walk like a human being.
Faith loves to walk around now. No matter where he goes , he just attracts all the people around him. He is now becoming famous on the international scene. He has appeared in various newspapers and TV shows. There is even one book entitled ‘With a little faith’ being published about him. He was even considered to appear in one of Harry Potter movies.
His present owner Jude Stringfellow has given up her teaching job and plans to take him around the world to preach, ‘that even without a perfect body, one can have a perfect soul.’
In life there are always undesirable things. Perhaps a person who feels things are not going as well as they could will feel better if they change their point of view and see things from another perspective. Perhaps this message will bring fresh new ways of thinking to everyone. Perhaps everyone can appreciate and be thankful for each beautiful day that follows. Life is the continual demonstration of the power of thinking positive and having faith. Believe in yourself. Never lose faith.
Found this really nice article today on the web about a basketball player who was born without most of his left arm and a girl/woman his same age who lost hers in a traffic accident. To top it all off, his family is from Pleasanton, CA which is the same city I work in. Hopefully everything works out well for them, it is a great story. Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/
Prospect Provides Inspiration With What He Doesn’t Have
By ADAM HIMMELSBACH
FORK UNION, Va. — Kelli Whitescarver did not see traffic bottle up on Interstate 95 until it was too late. She lost control of her black Ford Explorer, which smashed a guardrail, flipped onto the driver’s side and dragged her left arm on the pavement.
Whitescarver, 21, had been on her way home to Richmond on Nov. 2 after visiting her sister in North Carolina. Instead, she was on her way to the hospital to have her left hand amputated.
During Whitescarver’s three-week stay at the Medical College of Virginia, she was told the amputation would not stop her from maintaining a normal life. But the people who told her that had two hands. Then, through some unusual serendipity, Whitescarver heard about someone who did not.
Kevin Laue, 18, was a 6-foot-10-inch college basketball prospect from California who was born with a left arm that ended at the elbow. He had recently enrolled at Fork Union Military Academy, about 50 miles from Richmond, in hopes of being noticed by an Ivy League team, but not for the reason he was most often noticed.
May 1, 1969: Fred Rogers testifies before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications
For Christmas, my mom and dad got me “The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember”. Kevin Rose just Tweeted about the video above.
“In 1969 the US Senate had a hearing on funding the newly developed Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The proposed endowment was $20 million, but President Nixon wanted it cut in half because of the spending going on in the Vietnam War. This is a video clip of the exchange between Mr. Rogers and Senator Pastore, head of the hearing. Senator Pastore starts out very abrasive and by the time Mr. Rogers is done talking, Senator Pastore’s inner child has heard Mr. Rogers and agreed with him. Enjoy”
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