Stochastic Probability Theory - Pregnant Deer Scenario

Consider this scenario: In a remote forest, a pregnant deer is about to give birth to a baby. It finds a remote grass field near by a river and slowly goes there thinking it would be safe. As she moves slowly, she gets labor pain, at the same moment, dark clouds gather around that area and lightning starts a forest fire. Turning left she sees a hunter who is aiming an arrow from a distance. As she tries to move towards right, she pots a hungry lion approaching towards her.

Stochastic Probability Theory - Pregnant Deer Scenario

What can the pregnant deer do ….as she is already under labor pain ?

…
…
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What do you think will happen?

Will the deer survive?

Will it give birth to a fawn?

Will the fawn survive? or

Will everything be burnt by the forest fire?
…
…

That particular moment?
…
…
Can the deer go left? – Hunter’s arrow is pointing

Can she go right? – Hungry male lion approaching
Can she move up ? – Forest fire

Can she move down ? – Fierce river

Answer: She does nothing. She just focuses on giving birth to a new LIFE.
The sequence of events that happens at that fraction of a second (moment) are as follows:

In a spur of MOMENT …a lightning strikes (already it is cloudy ) and blinds the eyes of the Hunter. At that MOMENT, he releases the arrow missing and zipping past the deer. At that MOMENT the arrow hits and injures the lion badly. At that MOMENT, it starts to rain heavily and puts out the forest fire. At that next MOMENT, the deer gives birth to a healthy fawn.
In our life, it’s our MOMENT of CHOICE and we all have to deal with such negative thoughts from all sides always. Some thoughts are so powerful they overpower us and make us clueless. Let us not decide anything in a hurry. Let’s think of ourselves as the pregnant deer with the ultimate happy ending. Anything can happen in a MOMENT in this life. If you are religious, superstitious, atheist, agnostic… or whatever… you can attribute this MOMENT as divine intervention, faith, sudden luck, chance (serendipity), coincidence… or a simple ‘don’t know’. We all feel the same. But, whatever one may call it, I would see the priority of the deer in that given moment was to giving birth to a baby…because LIFE IS PRECIOUS.

Hence, whether you are deer or a human, keep that faith and hope within you always.

Forgiveness..

The 50 Top Puns..

1. I wondered why the baseball was getting bigger. Then it hit me.
2. I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down.
3. Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.
4. It's not that the man did not know how to juggle, he just didn't have the balls to do it.
5. I couldn't quite remember how to throw a boomerang, but eventually it came back to me.
6. There was a sign on the lawn at a drug re-hab center that said 'Keep off the Grass'.
7. I was going to look for my missing watch, but I could never find the time.
8. I used to have a fear of hurdles, but I got over it.
9. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.
10. Police were called to a daycare where a three-year-old was resisting a rest.
11. To write with a broken pencil is pointless.
12. He drove his expensive car into a tree and found out how the Mercedes bends.
13. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
14. I did a theatrical performance about puns. Really it was just a play on words.I used to be addicted to soap, but I'm clean now. 
15.  
16. Show me a piano falling down a mineshaft and I'll show you A-flat minor.
17. A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two-tired.
18. Need an ark to save two of every animal? I noah guy.
19. A new type of broom came out, it is sweeping the nation.
20. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was a nurse said 'No change yet'.
21. The new weed whacker is cutting-hedge technology.
22. Some people's noses and feet are built backwards: their feet smell and their noses run.
23. When William joined the army he disliked the phrase 'fire at will'.
24. Did you hear about the guy who got hit in the head with a can of soda? He was lucky it was a soft drink.
25. There was once a cross-eyed teacher who couldn't control his pupils.
26. The butcher backed up into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
27. I wanted to lose weight so I went to the paint store. I heard I could get thinner there.
28. Lightning sometimes shocks people because it just doesn't know how to conduct itself.
29. A prisoner's favorite punctuation mark is the period. It marks the end of his sentence.A rule of grammar: double negatives are a no-no. 
30.  
31. Sleeping comes so naturally to me, I could do it with my eyes closed.
32. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
33. Atheists don't solve exponential equations because they don't believe in higher powers.
34. It's raining cats and dogs. Well, as long as it doesn't reindeer.
35. I relish the fact that you've mustard the strength to ketchup to me.
36. My new theory on inertia doesn't seem to be gaining momentum.
37. I was going to buy a book on phobias, but I was afraid it wouldn't help me.
38. The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
39. What did the grape say when it got stepped on? Nothing - but it let out a little whine.
40. When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.
41. If you don't pay your exorcist you get repossessed.
42. She got fired from the hot dog stand for putting her hair in a bun.The dead batteries were given out free of charge. 
43.  
44. John Deere's manure spreader is the only equipment the company won't stand behind.
45. Pencils could be made with erasers at both ends, but what would be the point?
46. I was arrested after my therapist suggested I take something for my kleptomania.
47. A hungry traveller stops at a monastery and is taken to the kitchens. A brother is frying chips. 'Are you the friar?' he asks. 'No. I'm the chip monk,' he replies.
48. Yesterday I accidentally swallowed some food coloring. The doctor says I'm OK, but I feel like I've dyed a little inside.
49. What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead giveaway).
50. Two peanuts were walking in a tough neighborhood and one of them was a-salted.

Valentine Story

John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened his Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people making their way through Grand Central Station. He looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn't, the girl with the rose.

His interest in her had begun thirteen months before in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he found himself intrigued, not with the words of the book, butwith the notes penciled in the margin. The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and insightful mind. In the front of the book, he discovered the previous owner's name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he located her address. She lived in New York City. He wrote her a letter introducing himself and inviting her to correspond.

The next day he was shipped overseas for service in World War II. During the next year and one month the two grew to know each other through the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile heart. A romance was budding. Blanchard requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt that if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like.

When the day finally came for him to return from Europe, they scheduled their first meeting - 7:00 PM at the Grand Central Station in New York. "You'll recognize me," she wrote, "by the red rose I'll be wearing on my lapel." So at 7:00 he was in the station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but whose face he'd never seen.

I'll let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened:

A young woman was coming toward me, her figure long and slim. Her blonde hair lay back in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were blue as flowers. Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her pale green suit she was like springtime come alive. I started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice that she was not wearing a rose. As I moved, a small, provocative smile curved her lips. "Going my way, sailor?" she murmured. Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer to her, and then I saw Hollis Maynell. She was standing almost directly behind the girl. A woman well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a worn hat. She was more than plump, her thick-ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes. The girl in the green suit was walking quickly away. I felt as though I was split in two, so keen was my desire to follow her, and yet so deep was my longing for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned me and upheld my own. And there she stood. Her pale, plump face was gentle and sensible, her gray eyes had a warm and kindly twinkle. I did not hesitate. My fingers gripped the small worn blue leather copy of the book that was to identify me to her. This would not be love, but it would be something precious, something perhaps even better than love, a friendship for which I had been and must ever be, grateful. I squared my shoulders and saluted and held out the book to the woman, even though while I spoke I felt choked by the bitterness of my disappointment.

"I'm Lieutenant John Blanchard,and you must be Miss Maynell. I am so glad you could meet me; may I take you to dinner?"

The woman's face broadened into a tolerant smile. "I don't know what this is about, son," she answered, "but the young lady in the green suit who just went by, she begged me to wear this rose on my coat. And she said if you were to ask me out to dinner, I should go and tell you that she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!"

It's not difficult to understand and admire Miss Maynell's wisdom. The true nature of a heart is seen in its response to the unattractive. "Tell me whom you love," Houssaye wrote, "And I will tell you who you are."

Happiness..

It’s YOU..

One day all the employees reached the office and they saw a big advice on the door on which it was written: ‘Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym’.In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know who was that man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and the company itself.

The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement heated up. Everyone thought: ‘Who is this guy who was hindering my progress? Well, at least he died!’ One by one the thrilled employees got closer to the coffin, and when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless.

There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself. There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: ‘there is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth: it is YOU.’You are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your success. You are the only person who can help yourself.

Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your partner changes, when your company changes. Your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs, when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your life. Examine yourself, watch yourself. Don’t be afraid of difficulties, impossibilities and losses: be a winner, build yourself and your reality.

Moral: Change YOURSELF!!!

Points to ponder..

The Old Fisherman..

Our house was directly across the street from the clinic entrance of Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. We lived downstairs and rented the upstairs rooms to out patients at the clinic. One summer evening as I was fixing supper, there was a knock at the door. I opened it to see a truly awful looking man. "Why, he's hardly taller than my eight-year-old," I thought as I stared at the stooped, shriveled body. But the appalling thing was his face -- lopsided from swelling, red and raw. Yet his voice was pleasant as he said, "Good evening. I've come to see if you've a room for just one night. I came for a treatment this morning from the eastern shore, and there's no bus 'til morning."

He told me he'd been hunting for a room since noon but with no success, no one seemed to have a room. "I guess it's my face...I know it looks terrible, but my doctor says with a few more treatments..."

For a moment I hesitated, but his next words convinced me: "I could sleep in this rocking chair on the porch. My bus leaves early in the morning."

I told him we would find him a bed, but to rest on the porch. I went inside and finished getting supper. When we were ready, I asked the old man if he would join us. "No thank you. I have plenty." And he held up a brown paper bag. When I had finished the dishes, I went out on the porch to talk with him a few minutes. It didn't take a long time to see that this old man had an oversized heart crowded into that tiny body. He told me he fished for a living to support his daughter, her five children, and her husband, who was hopelessly crippled from a back injury.

He didn't tell it by way of complaint; in fact, every other sentence was preface with a thanks to God for a blessing. He was grateful that no pain accompanied his disease, which was apparently a form of skin cancer. He thanked God for giving him the strength to keep going. At bedtime, we put a camp cot in the children's room for him. When I got up in the morning, the bed linens were neatly folded and the little man was out on the porch. He refused breakfast, but just before he left for his bus, haltingly, as if asking a great favor, he said, "Could I please come back and stay the next time I have a treatment? I won't put you out a bit. I can sleep fine in a chair." He paused a moment and then added, "Your children made me feel at home. Grownups are bothered by my face, but children don't seem to mind." I told him he was welcome to come again. And on his next trip he arrived a little after seven in the morning. As a gift, he brought a big fish and a quart of the largest oysters I had ever seen. He said he had shucked them that morning before he left so that they'd be nice and fresh. I knew his bus left at 4:00 a.m. and I wondered what time he had to get up in order to do this for us.

In the years he came to stay overnight with us there was never a time that he did not bring us fish or oysters or vegetables from his garden. Other times we received packages in the mail, always by special delivery; fish and oysters packed in a box of fresh young spinach or kale, every leaf carefully washed. Knowing that he must walk three miles to mail these, and knowing how little money he had made the gifts doubly precious. When I received these little remembrances, I often thought of a comment our next-door neighbor made after he left that first morning. "Did you keep that awful looking man last night? I turned him away! You can lose roomers by putting up such people!" Maybe we did lose roomers once or twice. But oh! If only they could have known him, perhaps their illness' would have been easier to bear. I know our family always will be grateful to have known him; from him we learned what it was to accept the bad without complaint and the good with gratitude to God.

Recently I was visiting a friend who has a greenhouse, As she showed me her flowers, we came to the most beautiful one of all, a golden chrysanthemum, bursting with blooms. But to my great surprise, it was growing in an old dented, rusty bucket. I thought to myself, "If this were my plant, I'd put it in the loveliest container I had!" My friend changed my mind. "I ran short of pots," she explained, "and knowing how beautiful this one would be, I thought it wouldn't mind starting out in this old pail. It's just for a little while, till I can put it out in the garden."

She must have wondered why I laughed so delightedly, but I was imagining just such a scene in heaven. "Here's an especially beautiful one," God might have said when he came to the soul of the sweet old fisherman. "He won't mind starting in this small body." All this happened long ago -- and now, in God's garden, how tall this lovely soul must stand.

Giving..

It was a really hot summer’s day many years ago. Adam was on his way to pick up two items at the grocery store. In those days, he was a frequent visitor to the store because there never seemed to be enough money for a whole week’s food-shopping at once.

You see, his young wife, after a tragic battle with cancer, had died just a few months earlier. There was no insurance -- just many expenses and a mountain of bills. He held a part-time job, which barely generated enough money to feed his two young children.

Things were bad -- really bad.

And so it was that day, with a heavy heart and Rs. 40 in his pocket, he was on his way to the store to purchase a packet of milk and a loaf of bread. The children were hungry and he had to get them something to eat. As he came to a red traffic light, he noticed on his right a young man, a young woman and a child on the grass next to the road. The blistering noonday sun beat down on them without mercy.

The man held up a cardboard sign which read, "Will Work for Food." The woman stood next to him. She just stared at the cars & buses that stopped at the red light. The child, probably about two years old, sat on the grass holding a one-armed doll. Adam noticed all this in the thirty seconds it took for the traffic light to change to green.

He wanted so desperately to give them a few rupees, but if he did that, there wouldn’t be enough left to buy the milk and bread. 40 rupees will only go so far. As the light changed, He took one last glance at the three of them and went off feeling both guilty (for not helping them) and sad (because he didn’t have enough money to share with them).

As he kept riding his cycle, he couldn’t get the picture of the three of them out of his mind. The sad, haunting eyes of the young man and his family stayed with him for about a mile. Adam could take it no longer. He felt their pain and had to do something about it. He turned around and went back to where he had last seen them.

Adam went close to them and handed the man twenty of his forty rupees. There were tears in his eyes as he thanked Adam. Adam smiled and went on to the store. Perhaps both milk and bread would be on sale, Adam thought. And what if he only got milk alone, or just the bread? Well, it would have to do.

Adam pulled into the parking lot, still thinking about the whole incident, yet feeling good about what he had done. As Adam stepped out of the parking lot, his foot slid on something on the pavement. There by his feet was a 500 rupee note. He just couldn’t believe it. He looked all around, picked it up with awe, went into the store and purchased not only bread and milk, but several other items he desperately needed.

Adam never forgot that incident. It reminded him that the universe was strange and mysterious. It confirmed his belief that you could never out give the universe. He had given away twenty rupees and got 500 in return. On his way back from the store, Adam rode by the hungry family and shared additional 100 rupees with them.

This incident is only one of many that have occurred in one's life. It seems that the more we give, the more we get. It is, perhaps, one of those universal laws that say, "If you want to receive, you must first give."

There is a little rhyme that goes like this:

"A man there was, and they called him mad, The more he gave, the more he had."

Most times, we think that we don’t have anything to give. Yet, if we look more closely, we ’ll see that even the little we have could be shared with others. Let us not wait for a time when we think we’ll have lots and then we’ll give. By giving and sharing the little we have, we open up the storehouse of the universe and permit rivers of good to come our way.

Don’t take my word for it. Just honestly try to give and you’ll be surprised at the results. Generally, the returns do not come back from those we give to. It comes back from sources we could hardly imagine. So give your way to riches.

Take a chance on this universal principle. Take a chance on yourself. Universal principles always work.

Sometimes the return from giving happens very quickly as in the true story above. Other times, it takes much longer. But be assured of this: Give and you will receive - and you’ll receive lots more than you ever gave.

And when you give, don’t do it with a heart of fear, but with a heart full of gratitude. You will be amazed at how it all works out.

Open the gates of affluence in your life by giving a bit of what you have to those in need. As the great Teacher said, Give and it will be given unto you in good measure.

Compassion and Connection..

Did you know that the feeling of compassion and connection is probably more powerful to fight diseases than all the world’s medications put together? And this is no mumbo jumbo. It has all been scientifically proven.

So please take a few minutes to read the rest of this article and share with us how you think we can improve positive connection and combat diseases…

Even if this case has been featured in many books and articles, there is no way to discuss the health benefits of human connections without beginning with the true story of the town of Roseto. This small Italian immigrant town created big fuss in the medical community in the 1960s.

When researchers began to go over death records from this little town, they discovered that people generally didn’t die of diseases but of old age. Heart attacks were especially rare. In fact, there were no records of ANYONE under the age of 45 ever dying of heart attack.

What was even more astonishing was people in Roseto didn’t live a very healthy lifestyle. They smoked, drank, ate and worked hard. Low cholesterol diets didn’t exist in their vocabulary. And the pollution from working in the slate quarries should have been enough to destroy even the toughest hearts.

But it didn’t!

What the people of Roseto had was an extremely strong family and society connection. They took the time to stop and talk and smile and shake hands as they walked through the town. If someone got sick or came upon hard time, he or she could rely on the neighbors to help. Thefts and crimes were literally non-existant. There was not a single case of burglary reported in anywhere.

They had connection, and that connection kept them healthy.

Sadly, as the Roseto community “developed,” so did the modern diseases. In the 1980s, the little town of Roseto had ‘Americanized’ and heart attacks had become just as common as anywhere else.

Many other close communities have a similar health structure. The traditional Amish community, for example, has only half the cancer risk of the average American, lower cholesterol, less diabetes and some Amish communities are even seen to be immune to heart attacks.

Several studies have revealed that married people, especially married men, live longer and suffer less diseases than those who’re not married.

Other studies show that people who get divorced have 20% more chronic health conditions such as cancer and heart diseases and type 2 diabetes. What’s more, even after people move on and get remarried, the chronic disease rate is still 12% higher.

This shows how much the lingering and chronic stress of separation and disconnection from those we love can negatively impact our health.

There are finally numerous studies that show that people who develop life-threatening diseases have a much greater chance of overcoming any health problems if they have a strong base of supporting friends and family.

There is an old Jewish story about a Rabbi who visited hell. He saw people sitting there on two sides of a long table with the most delicious bowl of soup in front of each and every one and spoon in hand. But their arms were splinted on wooden slats so they couldn’t bend their elbow and enjoy the soup. Everyone was pale and miserable. Then he visited heaven and surprisingly the scenery was exactly the same except that there, everyone was feeding the person across from them so now they were enjoying the soup and connection with smile and laughter.

Human connection is free. It has no negative side-effects and may actually be quite pleasurable from time to time.

Affluenza

Affluenza is a term used by critics of consumerism, a portmanteau of affluence and influenza.  Sources define this term as follows:

• affluenza, n. a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.
• affluenza, n. 1. The bloated, sluggish, and unfulfilled feeling that results from efforts to keep up with the Joneses.  2. An epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by the pursuit of the American Dream.  3. An unsustainable addiction to economic growth.

Introspection..

હીન્દુઓ ભગવદ્ ગીતા વાંચે છે. મુસલમાનો કુરાન વાંચે છે. ખ્રીસ્તીઓ બાઈબલ વાંચે છે. બૌદ્ધો ધમ્મપદ વાંચે છે. જૈનો સમણસુત્તં વાચે છે. એવું તે શું છે કે જે કશુંક વંચાય એની અસર જીવનનના વ્યવહાર પર પડતી નથી ? ક્યારેક તો ધર્મગ્રંથોનું વાચન માણસમાં ધાર્મીક હોવાનું મીથ્યાભીમાન જગાડનારું બની રહે છે. ગીતા વાંચનારાનું જીવન કોરું રહી જાય છે. કુરાન મોઢે હોય તોય જીવનમાં ઝનુનની બોલબાલા! ધર્મ સાથે જીવનના કેવા છુટાછેડા!

વર્ષો પહેલાં બનેલો એક સાચો પ્રસંગ યાદ આવે છે. મારા ઘરથી થોડાક અન્તરે ગુજરાત ઈલેક્ટ્રીસીટી બોર્ડ (જીઈબી)ની હાઉસીંગ કૉલોની છે. એક સાંજે હું ઘરના હીંચકે બેઠો હતો અને એક યુવાન એન્જીનીયર મળવા માટે આવી પહોંચ્યો. એ મારો વાચક હશે એથી અત્યન્ત વીનયપુર્વક એણે પ્રશ્ન પુછયો: ‘સર ! હું કૃષ્ણભક્ત છું અને તમને પણ વાંચું છું. મારે જીવનમાં કૃષ્ણમય બનવા માટે શું કરવું જોઈએ ?’ આવો વજનદાર પ્રશ્ન સાંભળીને હું ઝટ કશુંય બોલી ન શક્યો.

કદાચ ત્યારે મારો મુડ સાવ જુદો હતો. મેં એ યુવાનને કહ્યું: ‘ગીતા વાંચવાનું બન્ધ કરી દેવું જોઈએ.’ મારી આ વાત સાંભળીને એ યુવાન ભારે નીરાશ થયો. એણે કહ્યું: ‘સર ! હું તમારી પાસે બહુ ઉંચી અપેક્ષા સાથે આવ્યો હતો. તમે મને નીરાશ કર્યો છે.’ એ યુવાન જવાની તૈયારીમાં હતો ત્યારે મેં એને મારા જવાબનો મર્મ સમજાવ્યો.

મે કહ્યું: ‘દોસ્ત ! તું એક કામ કર. આવતા છ મહીના સુધી ગીતા બાજુએ મુકી દે. તારી ઑફીસમાં પાંચ મીનીટ વહેલો પહોંચી જજે અને સમય પુરો થાય પછી પાંચ મીનીટ બાદ ઑફીસ છોડજે. ખુરસી પર બેઠો હોય ત્યારે દુરથી કોઈ ગામડીયો વીજળીની મુશ્કેલી અંગે તારી પાસે કામ લઈને આવે ત્યારે તું એનું વાજબી કામ એવી રીતે કરી આપજે, જાણે એ ગામડીયો ગોકુળથી આવેલો કૃષ્ણ જ હોય ! તું આ વાતનો અમલ છ મહીના માટે કર પછી ફરીથી મને મળવા આવજે. તને જરુર સમજાશે કે ગીતા વાંચવાની જરુર નથી. જો તું આ પ્રમાણે ન કરે તો ગીતા વાંચવાનો કોઈ જ અર્થ નથી.’ વર્ષો વીતી ગયાં તોય એ યુવાન હજી મને મળવા આવ્યો નથી.

આ જગતમાં બે ગીતા છે. એક કાગળ પર છપાયેલી પોથીગીતા અને બીજી છે જીવનગીતા. આવું જ કુરાન માટે અને બાઈબલ માટે પણ કહી શકાય. ‘જીવનગીતા’ કે ‘જીવનકુરાન’ વીના ધર્મ પોથીમાંનું રીંગણું બની રહે છે. ધર્મ અને જીવન વચ્ચેના આવા છુટાછેડા થઈ જાય પછી જે બચે છે એ કેવળ બાહ્યાચાર છે. સાધુ ગીતા જીવે છે. ફકીર કુરાન જીવે છે. ગીતા કે કુરાન કંઠસ્થ કરવામાં મીથ્યાભીમાન રહેલું છે. ધર્મગ્રન્થોનો પોપટપાઠ માણસનો અહંકાર વધારે છે.

Top Five Regrets of Life..

People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. Never underestimate someone's capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.

When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.  This was the most common regret of all. When people realize that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people have not honored even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. It is very important to try and honor at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realize, until they no longer have it. 
2. I wish I didn't work so hard.  This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence. By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.
3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.  Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result. We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.  Often they would not truly realize the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying. It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.  This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realize until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again. When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying. Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.

10 principles for Peace of Mind..!!!

1. Do Not Interfere In Others' Business Unless Asked:  Most of us create our own problems by interfering too often in others' affairs. We do so because somehow we have convinced ourselves that our way is the best way, our logic is the perfect logic and those who do not conform to our thinking must be criticized and steered to the right direction, our direction. This thinking denies the existence of individuality and consequently the existence of God. God has created each one of us in a unique way. No two human beings can think or act in exactly the same way. All men or women act the way they do because God within them prompts them that way. Mind your own business and you will keep your peace.
2. Forgive And Forget:  This is the most powerful aid to peace of mind. We often develop ill feelings inside our heart for the person who insults us or harms us. We nurture grievances. This in turn results in loss of sleep, development of stomach ulcers, and high blood pressure. This insult or injury was done once, but nourishing of grievance goes on forever by constantly remembering it. Get over this bad habit. Life is too short to waste in such trifles. Forgive & Forget, and march on. Love flourishes in giving and forgiving.
3. Do Not Crave For Recognition:  This world is full of selfish people. They seldom praise anybody without selfish motives. They may praise you today because you are in power, but no sooner than you are powerless, they will forget your achievement and will start finding faults in you. Why do you wish to kill yours lf in striving for their recognition? Their recognition is not worth the aggravation. Do your duties ethically and sincerely.
4. Do Not Be Jealous:  We all have experienced how jealousy can disturb our peace of mind. You know that you work harder than your colleagues in the office, but sometimes they get promotions; you do not. You started a business several years ago, but you are not as successful as your neighbor whose business is only one year old. There are several examples like these in everyday life. Should you be jealous? No. Remember everybody's life is shaped by his/her destiny, which has now become his/her reality. If you are destined to be rich, nothing in the world can stop you. If you are not so destined, no one can help you either. Nothing will be gained by blaming others for your misfortune. Jealousy will not get you anywhere; it will only take away your peace of mind.
5. Change Yourself According To The Environment:  If you try to change the environment single-handedly, the chances are you will fail. Instead, change yourself to suit your environment. As you do this, even the environment, which has been unfriendly to you, will mysteriously change and seem congenial and harmonious.
6. Endure What Cannot Be Cured:  This is the best way to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Every day we face numerous inconveniences, ailments, irritations, and accidents that are beyond our control... If we cannot control them or change them, we must learn to put up with these things. We must learn to endure them cheerfully. Believe in yourself and you will gain in terms of patience, inner strength and will power.
7. Do Not Bite Off More Than You Can Chew:  This maxim needs to be remembered constantly. We often tend to take more responsibilities than we are capable of carrying out. This is done to satisfy our ego. Know your limitations. . Why take on additional loads that may create more worries? You cannot gain peace of mind by expanding your external activities. Reduce your material engagements and spend time in prayer, introspection and meditation. This will reduce those thoughts in your mind that make you restless. Uncluttered mind will produce greater peace of mind.
8. Meditate Regularly:  Meditation calms the mind and gets rid of disturbing thoughts. This is the highest state of peace of mind. Try and experience it yourself. If you meditate earnestly for half an hour everyday, your mind will tend to become peaceful during the remaining twenty-three and half-hours. Your mind will not be easily disturbed as it was before. You would benefit by gradually increasing the period of daily meditation. You may think that this will interfere with your daily work. On the contrary, this will increase your efficiency and you will be able to produce better results in less time.
9. Never Leave The Mind Vacant:  An empty mind is the devil's workshop. All evil actions start in the vacant mind. Keep your mind occupied in something positive, something worthwhile . Actively follow a hobby. Do something that holds your interest. You must decide what you value more: money or peace of mind. Your hobby, like social work or religious work, may not always earn you more money, but you will have a sense of fulfillment and achievement. Even when you are resting physically, occupy yourself in healthy reading or mental chanting of God's name.
10. Do Not Procrastinate And Never Regret:  Do not waste time in protracted wondering " Should I or shouldn't I?" Days, weeks, months, and years may be wasted in that futile mental debating. You can never plan enough because you can never anticipate all future happenings. Value your time and do the things that need to be done. It does not matter if you fail the first time. You can learn from your mistakes and succeed the next time. Sitting back and worrying will lead to nothing. Learn from your mistakes, but do not brood over the past. DO NOT REGRET. Whatever happened was destined to happen only that way. Why cry over spilt milk?

The True Value of Life..

A king once got separated from his kinsmen while chasing a deer. He wandered alone in the forest. As dusk fell, he knocked at the door of a tiny cottage in the jungle. It was opened by a poor woodcutter who gave the 'stranger' a warm welcome. He offered him his own bed to sleep along with some simple but tasty food.

In the morning, while taking leave of the wood cutter, the king disclosed his real identity and asked him, what he could give in return for his hospitality. The wood cutter being a simpleton asked, "Can you give me a place where I can cut trees and sell them?"

The king took him far away to the edge of another jungle and said, "This is yours from today. Do what you like with it."

The wood cutter would cut trees and burn them to make coal, because they were too heavy for him to carry to the market place. Several months passed. The woodcutter was very happy.

When the monsoon season started, there was heavy rainfall and the wood became wet. The ground was full of slush, so it was impossible to burn the wood to make coal. He had no choice but to carry the wet logs of wood to the market to sell it. When he showed the wood to the buyer, the buyer offered a sum that was a hundred times more than he was paying earlier.

The wood cutter was confused! Earlier he was supplying coal whereas now it was wood and that too, wet wood! Where was the catch? The buyer told him that the wood that he had brought was no ordinary wood, it was real Sandalwood! The wood cutter realized what a fool he had been. He had cut and burnt hundreds of Sandalwood trees to make coal, little realizing the value of this precious wood. Had he known, by now he could have been a very, very rich man.

We also need to understand the value of this precious human body awarded to us by Supreme Lord. Without realizing its importance and proper utility we are burning it at both ends in the fire of our worldly desires. Most of our energies are burnt in doing futile things that eventually have neither value nor meaning.

But, by the time we realize that we are wasting our lives, it is perhaps too late. The whole life burnt in hoarding wealth, making friends and getting material pleasures, brings us to a miserable state at the end of life. At that time when nobody cares, we turn our face towards God, but where is the energy to do any devotion.

The sooner we realize the better chance we shall have. Let's not waste our precious human birth like that as foolish woodcutter.

A Friend..

Sometimes, with luck, we find the kind of true friend, male or female, that appears only two or three times in a lucky lifetime, one that will winter us and summer us, grieve, rejoice, and travel with us.

Read it even if you don't want to ...

Let me explain how the results in your life are rooted in one single factor - your choices

Like it or not, good or bad, your accumulated choices have added up to your current waistline, business success, relationship strength and bank balance.

Your choices created your problems and the only way out of them is to start, and stick to, making new choices.

But then you ask, How do I know what the right choices are?

Here's a simple formula:

When in doubt, choose the harder task or what you don't want to do-that's usually exactly what you should do. Take the path of MOST resistance.

Put it this way: If you are disappointed in any area of your life, whatever choices you have been making aren't working.

Here is the force you are fighting: You and your brain are creatures of habit. You simply talk yourself into taking the easy, low resistance and comfortable route. Like the pull of a rushing river, your unconscious habits continue to take you downstream in the wrong direction. To change your direction you will need to swim upstream, against the resistance of the rushing river, against your habitual tendency.

Low Resistance:

• Going along with the gossip
• Surrendering to peer pressure
• Saying yes to needless obligations
• Submitting to the crying demands of your children
• Starting your new program on "Monday" (instead of today)
• Reacting in anger
• Holding a grudge
• Giving the 'silent treatment'

High Resistance:

• Going to the gym when you don't feel like it
• Forgiving someone who wronged you
• Feeling the fear and doing it anyway
• Admitting you were wrong and apologizing
• Ordering the salad when you want the burger
• Saying no to (yet another) shot of tequila
• Calling that big, scary big prospect (again and again)

If you want to finally obtain what's missing from your life, you need to stop always doing what you feel like doing and start doing the things that make you uncomfortable, the stuff you avoid, and the things that you think are hard.

If you dedicate yourself to only doing the things you don't want to do, all day long, your results would shock and amaze you and everyone around you.

Make a list of the things you avoid, postpone and hate doing, but you know you should. If you attack those today, your life will change. What's uncomfortable is good. It only feels wrong at the start because you have an automatic bias toward the easy. Fight that tendency. Swim upstream.

Take the path of most resistance.  

Thanks for your Time..

A young man learns what's most important in life from the guy next door.

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man. College, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams.

There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future, and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, "Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday." Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days.

"Jack, did you hear me?"

"Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It's been so long since I thought of him. I'm sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago," Jack said.

"Well, he didn't forget you. Every time I saw him he'd ask how you were doing. He'd reminisce about the many days you spent over 'his side of the fence' as he put it," Mom told him.

"I loved that old house he lived in," Jack said.

"You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man's influence in your life," she said

"He's the one who taught me carpentry," he said. "I wouldn't be in this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important... Mom, I'll be there for the funeral," Jack said.

As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser's funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time.

Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture... .Jack stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked.

"The box is gone," he said

"What box?" Mom asked.

"There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it.

"Now I'll never know what was so valuable to him," Jack said. "I better get some sleep. I have an early flight home, Mom."

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. "Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days," the note read.

Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. "Mr. Harold Belser" it read. Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack's hands shook as he read the note inside.

"Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It's the thing I valued most in my life." A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch.

Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved:

"Jack, Thanks for your time! -Harold Belser."

"The thing he valued most was...my time"

Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days. "Why?" Janet, his assistant asked.

"I need some time to spend with my son," he said.

"Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time!"

A Thought for the Day!

Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place,

But Far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee...

You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up; She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, 'Tell me what you see.'

'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft. The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst,you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy..

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.

Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
 
May we all be COFFEE!!!!!!!