Something special for the loved ones

One day a teacher asked her students to list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.

Then she told them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down.

It took the remainder of the class period to finish their assignment,and as the students left the room, each one handed in the papers.

That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone else had said about that individual.

On Monday she gave each student his or her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling. "Really?" she heard whispered. "I never knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked me so much,"were most of the comments.

No one ever mentioned those papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class or with their parents, but it didn'tmatter. The exercise had accomplished its purpose. The students were happy with themselves and one another. That group of students moved on.

Several years later, one of the students was killed inVietNam

And his teacher attended the funeral of that special student.She had never seen a serviceman in a military coffin before. He looked so handsome, so mature.

The church was packed with his friends. One by one those who loved him took a last walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin.

As she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came upto her. "Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked. She nodded: "yes."Then he said: "Mark talked about you a lot."

After the funeral, most of Mark's former classmates went together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there, obviously waiting to speak with his teacher.

"We want to show you something," his father said, taking a wallet out of his pocket "They found this on Mark when he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."

Opening the billfold, he carefully removed two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded and refolded many times. The teacher knew without looking that the papers were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark's classmates had said about him.

"Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's mother said. "As you can see,Mark treasured it."

All of Mark's former classmates started to gather around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home.

Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put his in our wedding album

"I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's in my diary"

Then Vicki, another classmate, reached into her pocketbook, took out her wallet and showed her worn and frazzled list to the group. "I carry this with me at all times," Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she continued: "I think we all saved our lists"

That's when the teacher finally sat down and cried. She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see him again.

The density of people in society is so thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when that one day will be.

So please, tell the people you love and care for, that they are special and important. Tell them, before it is too late.

Remember, you reap what you sow. What you put into the lives of others comes back into your own.

Which's better, the former or the latter???

Dad used to give us Rs. 20/- per month
in that we were not only able to eat stomachs fill, but we were able to save too!!! Now we earn a sum of 20K, we have no idea where it goes, let alone saving it!!
Which's better, the former or the latter???

6 subjects per year, 6 different teachers!

One project since we joined and just one manager!!

Which's better, the former or the latter???

We used to make notes; we used to study for ranks!! Now we scan thru our mails; we struggle for our ratings!!!

Which's better, the former or the latter???

We have still not forgotten the people in the next section!!!

Now we don't even know who sits in the next cubicle!!!

Which's better, the former or the latter???

After getting back from a tiring play, we used to do our home work!!

Now who knows/cares about home; all we do is just work!!!

Which's better, the former or the latter???

We knew our history and economics!! Now let alone reading books, we don't even catch up with the daily news!!!

Which's better, the former or the latter???

We had an aim in life; behind our backs we had our teachers!! Now we have no idea about the future nor do we find any one who would tell us anything!!! Now just ask yourself,

Which's better, the former or the latter??

Dad and Daughter -- Lovely Story

This is a lovely story .

The story goes that some time ago, a man punished his

5-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of expensive gold wrapping paper.

Money was tight, and he became even more upset

when the child pasted the gold paper

so as to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree.

Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift box to her father the next morning and said,

"This is for you, Daddy."

The father was embarrassed by his earlier over reaction,

but his anger flared again when he found the box was empty.

He spoke to her in a harsh manner,

"Don't you know, young lady, when you give someone a present

there's supposed to be something inside the package?

The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said,

"Daddy, it's not empty. I blew kisses into it until it was full."

The father was crushed....

He fell on his knees and put his arms around his little girl,

and he begged her to forgive him for his unnecessary anger.

An accident took the life of the child only a short time later,

and it is told that the father kept that gold box by his bed for all the years of his life.

And whenever he was discouraged or faced difficult problems,

he would open the box

and take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child

who had put it there.

In a very real sense,

each of us as human beings have been given a golden box

filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family and friends.

There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.

The woman in your life...very well expressed...

This is a beautiful article:

The woman in your life...very well expressed...

Tomorrow you may get a working woman,

but you should marry with these facts as well.

Here is a girl, who is as much educated as you are;

Who is earning almost as much as you do;

One, who has dreams and aspirations

just as you have because she is as human as you are;

One, who has never entered the kitchen in her life just like you or your

Sister haven't, as she was busy in studies and competing in a system

that gives no special concession to girls for their culinary achievements

One, who has lived and loved her parents & brothers & sisters, almost as

much as you do for 20-25 years of her life;

One, who has bravely agreed to leave behind all that, her home, people who love her,

to adopt your home, your family, your ways and even your family ,name

One, who is somehow expected to be a master-chef from day #1, while you sleep

oblivious to her predicament in her new circumstances, environment and that kitchen

One, who is expected to make the tea, first thing in the morning and cook

food at the end of the day, even if she is as tired as you are, maybe more,

and yet never ever expected to complain; to be a servant, a cook, a mother,

a wife, even if she doesn't want to; and is learning just like you are as

to what you want from her; and is clumsy and sloppy at times and knows that you

won't like it if she is too demanding, or if she learns faster than you;

One, who has her own set of friends, and that includes boys and even men at her workplace

too, those, who she knows from school days and yet is willing to put all that on the back-

burners to avoid your irrational jealousy, unnecessary competition and your inherent

insecurities;

Yes, she can drink and dance just as well as you can, but won't, simply

because you won't like it, even though you say otherwiseOne,

who can be late from work once in a while

when deadlines, just like yours, are to be met;

One, who is doing her level best and wants to make this most important

relationship in her entire life a grand success, if you just help her some

and trust her;

One, who just wants one thing from you, as you are the only one she knows in your entire

house - your unstained support, your sensitivities and most importantly - your

understanding, or love, if you may call it.

But not many guys understand this.......

Please appreciate "HER"

Amazing Love Story...really sweet.. :)

An amazing Love Story

He met her on a party.

She was so outstanding,

many guys chasing after her,

while he so normal, nobody paid attention to him.

At the end of the party,

he invited her to have coffee with him,

she was surprised,

but due to being polite,

she promised.

They sat in a nice coffee shop,

he was too nervous to say anything,

she felt uncomfortable,

she thought,

please,let me go home....

suddenly he asked the waiter.

"would you please give me some salt?

I'd like to put it in my coffee."

Everybody stared at him, so strange!

His face turned red,

but still, he put the salt in his coffee and drank it.

She asked him curiously;

why you have this hobby? He replied:

"when I was a little boy,

I was living near the sea,

I like playing in the sea,

I could feel the taste of the sea,

just like the taste of the salty coffee.

Now every time I have the salty coffee,

I always think of my childhood,

think of my hometown,

I miss my hometown so much,

I miss my parents who are still living there".

While saying that tears filled his eyes.

She was deeply touched.

That's his true feeling, from the bottom of his heart.

A man who can tell out his homesickness,

he must be a man who loves home,

cares about home,

has responsibility of home.

Then she also started to speak,

spoke about her faraway hometown, her childhood, her family.

That was a really nice talk, also a beautiful beginning of their story.

They continued to date.

She found that actually he was a man who meets all her demands;

he had tolerance,

was kind hearted, warm, careful.

He was such a good person but she almost missed him!

Thanks to his salty coffee!

Then the story was just like every beautiful love story ,

the princess married to the prince,

then they were living the happy life... And,

every time she made coffee for him,

she put some salt in the coffee,

as she knew that's the way he liked it.

After 40 years, he passed away, left her a letter which said:

"My dearest,please forgive me, forgive my whole life lie.

This was the only lie I said to you---

the salty coffee. Remember the first time we dated?

I was so nervous at that time,

actually I wanted some sugar,

but I said salt

It was hard for me to change so I just went ahead.

I never thought that could be the start of our communication!

I tried to tell you the truth many times in my life,

but I was too afraid to do that,

as I have promised not to lie to you for anything..

Now I'm dying, I afraid of nothing so I tell you the truth:

I don't like the salty coffee, what a strange bad taste.

But I have had the salty coffee for my whole life!

Since I knew you, I never feel sorry for anything I do for you.

Having you with me is my biggest happiness for my whole life.

If I can live for the second time, still want to know you

and

have you for my whole life,

even though I have to drink the salty coffee again".

Her tears made the letter totally wet.

Someday, someone asked her:

what's the taste of salty coffee?

It's sweet. She replied...

Love is not 2 forget but 2 forgive,

not 2 c but 2 understand,

not 2 hear but 2 listen,

not 2 let go but 2 HOLD ON !!!!

Don't ever leave the one you love for the one you like,

because the one you like will leave you for the one they love.

Find a guy, who calls you beautiful instead of hot.

Who calls you back when you hang up on him.

Who will stay awake just to watch you sleep.

Wait for the guy who kisses your forehead.

Who wants to show you off to the world when you are in your sweats.

Who holds your hand in front of his friends.

Wait for the one who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares about you and how lucky he is to have you.

Wait for the one who turns to his friends and says, "...that's her."

FINDING AND KEEPING A LIFE PARTNER

Golden rules for finding your life partner by Dov Heller, M.A.

When it comes to making the decision about choosing a life partner, no one wants to make a mistake. Yet, with a divorce rate of close to 50%,

it appears that many are making serious mistakes in their approach to finding Mr./Miss. Right! If you ask most couples who are engaged why they're getting married,

they'll say: "We're in love"; I believe this is the #1 mistake people make when they date.

Choosing a life partner should never be based on love.

Though this may sound "not politically correct", there's a profound truth here.

Love is not the basis for getting married. Rather, love is the result of a good marriage.

When the other ingredients are right, then the love will come. Let me say it again: "You can't build a lifetime relationship on love alone"; You need a lot more!!!

Here are five questions you must ask yourself if you're serious about finding and keeping a life partner.

QUESTION ..1: Do we share a common life purpose?

Why is this so important? Let me put it this way: If you're married for 20 or 30 years, that's a long time to live with someone. What do you plan to do with each other all that time? Travel, eat and jog together? You need to share something deeper and more meaningful. You need a common life purpose.

Two things can happen in a marriage:

(1) You can grow together, or

(2)you can grow apart. 50% of the people out there are growing apart. To make a marriage work, you need to know what you want out of life!

Bottom line; marry someone who wants the same thing.

QUESTION ..2: Do I feel safe expressing my feelings and thoughts with this person?

This question goes to the core of the quality of your relationship. Feeling safe means you can communicate openly with this person.

The basis of having good communication is trust - i.e. trust that I won't get "punished"; or hurt for expressing my honest thoughts and feelings. A colleague of mine defines an abusive person as someone with whom you feel afraid to express your thoughts and feelings. Be honest with yourself on this one. Make sure you feel emotionally safe with the person you plan to marry.

QUESTION ..3: Is he/she a mensch?

A mensch is someone who is a refined and sensitive person. How can you test? Here are some suggestions. Do they work on personal growth on a regular basis?

Are they serious about improving themselves? A teacher of mine defines a good person as "someone who is always striving to be good and do the right ";. So ask about your significant other: What do they do with their time? Is this person materialistic? Usually a materialistic person is not someone whose top priority is character refinement. There are essentially two types of people in the world:

(1) People who are dedicated to personal growth and

(2) people who are dedicated to seeking comfort.

Someone whose goal in life is to be comfortable will put personal comfort ahead of doing the right thing. You need to know that before walking down the aisle.

QUESTION ..4: How does he/she treat other people?

The one most important thing that makes any relationship work is the ability to give. By giving, we mean the ability to give another person pleasure.

Ask: Is this someone who enjoys giving pleasure to others or are they wrapped up in themselves and self- absorbed? To measure this, think about the following: How do they treat people whom they do not have to be nice to, such as waiters, bus boys, taxi drivers, etc.. How do they treat their parents and siblings? Do they have gratitude and appreciation? If they don't have gratitude for the people who have given them everything; can you do nearly as much for them? You can be sure that someone, who treats others poorly, will eventually treat you poorly as well.

QUESTION ..5: Is there anything I'm hoping to change about this person after we're married?

Too many people make the mistake of marrying someone with the intention of trying to "improve"; them after they're married. As a colleague of mine puts it: "You can probably expect someone to change after marriage for the worse" If you cannot fully accept this person the way they are now, then you are not ready to marry them. In conclusion, dating doesn't have to be difficult and treacherous. The key is to try leading a little more with your head and less with your heart. It pays to be as objective as possible when you are dating; to be sure to ask questions that will help you get to the key issues. Falling in love is a great feeling, but when you wake up with a ring on your finger, you don't want to find yourself trouble because you didn't do your homework. Another perspective... There are some people in your life that need to be loved from a distance.. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you let go of or at least minimize your time with draining, negative, incompatible, not-going anywhere relationships. Observe the relationships around you.

Pay attention...Which ones lift and which ones lean? Which ones encourage and which ones discourage? Which ones are on a path of growth uphill and which ones are going downhill? When you leave certain people do you feel better or feel worse? Which ones always have drama or don't really understand, know, or appreciate you?

The more you seek quality, respect, growth, peace of mind, love and truth around you...the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the front row and who should be moved to the balcony of your life.

An African proverb states,

"Before you get married, keep both eyes open, and after you marry, close one eye";

Before you get involved and make a commitment to someone, don't let lust, desperation, immaturity, ignorance, pressure from others or a low self-esteem make you blind to warning signs. Keep your eyes open, and don't fool yourself that you can change someone or that what you see as faults aren't really that important.

Do you bring out the best in each other?

Do you compliment and compromise with each other, or do you compete, compare and control? àWhat do you bring to the relationship?

Do you bring past relationships, past hurt, past mistrust, past pain?

You can't take someone to the altar to alter them. You can't make someone love you or make someone stay.

If you develop self-esteem, spiritual discernment, and "a life"; you won't find yourself making someone else responsible for your happiness or responsible for your pain. Seeking status, sex, and security are the wrong reasons to be in a relationship.

WHAT KEEPS A RELATIONSHIP STRONG IS:

1. TRUST

2. COMMUNICATION

3. INTIMACY

4. A SENSE OF HUMOR

5. SHARING TASKS

6. SOME GETAWAY TIME WITHOUT BUSINESS OR CHILDREN

7. DAILY EXCHANGES (meal, shared activity, hug, call, touch, notes, etc.)

8. SHARING COMMON GOALS AND INTERESTS

9. GIVING EACH OTHER SPACE TO GROW WITHOUT FEELING INSECURE 1

0. GIVING EACH OTHER A SENSE OF BELONGING AND ASSURANCES OF COMMITMENT

If these qualities are missing, the relationship will erode as resentment withdrawal, abuse, neglect, and dishonesty; and pain will replace.

Wrong Number - a heart touching story

It was the day of my son's XII results and I was so tensed. I sat beside him while he logged on the website with his registration no.

"Maa", he screamed in excitement," I scored 1191, with centum in 4 subjects.I cant believe it.

" I kinda became numb in my excitement.My eyes became wet.I kissed him on his forehead and smiled."

Soon we realized that he stood first in the state.Oh, my joy knew no bounds when Reporters and media persons soon swamped my house for

interviews and photos. I was so honored to join him in the snaps.

I wanted to call my "wrong-number-friend to tell him the news......I was so excited. He was someone whom I have known for more

than 20 years.

I still do not remember when we became friends, but certainly cannot forget the first day he called me when I blasted him for giving me so

many wrong calls.....after that he had called up a week later asking apology, for he had now got the right no of his friend whom he wanted to

talk to .We spoke for an hour that day...even without knowing each other's names. Though he kept pestering me to reveal my name I never did

and so he kept a name...Sweety. I used to get so shy whenever he called me 'Sweety'. I was doing first year of BSc. Maths then, and he was a

Computer Engineering student.

From then he used to call me very often . We almost discussed everything ...

By the final year of my college, we probably we were in love, but I had been cautious. I was in a dilemma whether to tell him. But what if he

was of a different religion? Do I have the courage to talk to my parents about it? ........all these questions ran through my mind.

I decided I'll not talk to him thereafter. When he called next time I lied to him I that I was going to Delhi for my post graduation. He gave

me his office number and asked me to ring him up once I reach there. I never called .......

A couple of months later my marriage got fixed with a guy of my parent's choice. I was not happy but I did not complain; rather accepted it as

an obedient daughter. At times I felt I missed my wrong-number-friend.......

My hubby was a moody person; I have hardly spent any good time with him-but he was genuine indeed and never bothered my personal space.

After 2 years we had a boy...Yet,I was not very happy with my married life...One day I happened to browse through my diary and found I

still had my old friend's office phone no that he had given me. I dialed it and spoke with him. He said he was married and got a kid too. I was

happy for him though in the bottom of the heart I felt bad that I could not marry him.

From then I used to occasionally call him on that number. I never gave him mine as I felt that would put me in trouble...And till today I

almost shared everything with him including my relationship with my hubby.....today I was so happy and I wanted to call him.

Just then I got a call. "Your husband met with an accident and died on the spot"

I banged the phone down. I broke. I did not call my friend.....I somehow started feeling guilty. I have never tried to talk to him properly when

he was alive or moved close with him.... I felt I had been a bad wife........

A couple of years passed and one day my son brought home a Bengali girl and said they wanted to get married. I got them married as I did not

want my son to go through what I did.

I decided to give my son his father's room and started clearing it.There was a phone book. I gently opened it to find, "

Wrong no Sweety
-26579785"