Dreams!!!!

Dreams are weird sometimes. You sleep in the night only to find out later that you are sweating out of fear or anxiety. It happened with me many times in the recent. Well those were dreadful...
But I will tell you a funny dream...

In my dream... I was in some other country.... like malaysia or australia... i went to a antique shop. I liked many things there. But one lady was after me showing beautiful handbags. I never saw such a beautiful design anywhere till now. I was very impressed by that bag... I asked the lady to show all the separations. She has shown me that and told me the price as $2000.
I was SHOCKED!!!!! WAT THE.... how can a bag be so costly!!!!!!!!!!!
I could imagine my mom and sister shouting at me for thinking of buying such a costly bag!!!!!!!
The next moment I woke up and saw my mom standing beside me.
I had a very strange feeling at that moment... how come my mom is standing beside when i was just scared of her in my dream!!!!!!!

Our imagination is great sometimes... I tried to draw the picture of that bag... but couldnt draw it good. The image is still in my mind :)

ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN?

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 if as soon as one problem was solved a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen.

The mother filled three pots with water.

In the first, she placed carrots.
In the second she placed eggs.
And the last she placed ground coffee beans.

She let them sit and boil without saying a word. About twenty minutes later, 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 said, "Tell me what you see."

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied. (You known the tone of voice.)

She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did, and noted that they felt soft.

She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg inside.

Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.

The daughter then asked, "So, what's the point, mother?" (Remember the tone of voice.)

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity - boiling water - but 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 center. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its insides had become 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 outer shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water - the very circumstances that bring the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor of the bean. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you instead of letting it change you.

When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to another level?

How do you handle Adversity?

ARE YOU A CARROT, AN EGG, OR A COFFEE BEAN?

PS: this is a nice article. I found in a magazine and thought of sharing with my frens.

Little Women

I got a splendid opportunity to read this beautiful novel "LITTLE WOMEN".
I couldnt drop the novel untill i read it completely. Its awesome. Its a story about 4 young gals... Meg,Jo,Beth and Amy. It shows how they live their life having very little money and abundance of love,happiness and mirth.
I love the character of Jo in this book. She is very sweet, got high temper and cools down very easily. Jo and Laurie pair is awesome. Btw this is one of the children's classic. I came to know about this book from "The Hindu" newspaper. A lady wrote about her life and told how important this book is in her life. Now it became a dearie to me. I plan to keep this book on my bedside all through my life. And turn pages whenever i get lost with my temper/arrogance.
I didnt get a chance to read this book when i was in teens. But I am glad I read this book now.
I could get lot to learn from this book.

Unaccustomed Earth - Jhumpa Lahari

On a cloudy day while going home, I saw a road side book seller. I saw this book and got the pirated version of it. This book is a collection of stories mostly about Indians living in USA. This is an awesome book. One is just spell bound by the stories.

They just make you live by them. I could visualise myself somewhere connected to all the stories. They are touching also. At the end of the story you are left with nothing but to think and wonder why this such a heartbreak ending!!! At the end of few stories tears were just rolling down my eyes, unable to control my emotions. God gave her such great talent of writing stories.

Ppl... plz read this book... and one can understand the realities of life and their intricacies.

The other book I have read from the same author is "Interpreter of Maladies". It also runs on the same lines as this. But there is little variation of level of emotions written and feelings put in that.

" Ducks Quack , Eagles Soar" !!

" No one can make you serve customers well. That's because great service is a choice. Harvey Mackay, tells a wonderful story about a cab driver that proved this point.

He was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing Harvey noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for Harvey.

He handed my friend a laminated card and said -'I'm Wally, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk I'd like you to read my mission statement.' Taken aback, Harvey read the card.

It said,"Wally's Mission Statement - To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment."

This blew Harvey away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean!As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, 'Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf.' My friend said jokingly, 'No, I'd prefer a soft drink.’ Wally smiled and said, 'No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice.’ Almost stuttering, Harvey said, 'I'll take a Diet Coke.’ Handing him his drink, Wally said, 'If you'd like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today.'

As they were pulling away, Wally handed my friend another laminated card. 'These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio.' And as if that weren't enough, Wally told Harvey that he had the air-conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then he advised Harvey of the best route to his destination for that time of day. He also let him know that he'd be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights or, if Harvey preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts.

'Tell me, Wally,' my amazed friend asked the driver, 'have you always served customers like this?'

Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. 'No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard the personal growth guru, Wayne Dyer, on the radio one day. He had just written a book called 'You'll See It When You Believe It'. Dyer said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.'

'That hit me right between the eyes,' said Wally. 'Dyer was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more.'


'I take it that has paid off for you,' Harvey said. 'It sure has,' Wally replied. 'My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don't sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can't pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabbie friend to do it and I take a piece of the action.'

Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab. I've probably told that story to more than fifty cab drivers over the years, and only two took the idea and ran with it. Whenever I go to their cities, I give them a call. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and told me all the reasons they couldn't do any of what I was suggesting.

Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles. How about us? Smile, and the whole world smiles with you. As they say 'The ball is in our hands'! "

This is one of the best stories I have read. Sent by my friend Sudha. Thanks Dear.