Two Tigers

An old man said to his grandson,
“Boy, I have two tigers caged within me. One is love and compassion. The other is fear and anger.” The young boy asked, “Which one will win, grandfather?” The old man replied, “The one I feed.”
-Indian tale.

Tea cup

Your teacup is full (Empty your cup)

The teacup story is around in different versions, here are two of them.

Once, a long time ago, there was a wise Zen master. People from far and near would seek his counsel and ask for his wisdom. Many would come and ask him to teach them, enlighten them in the way of Zen. He seldom turned any away.

One day an important man, a man used to command and obedience came to visit the master. “I have come today to ask you to teach me about Zen. Open my mind to enlightenment.” The tone of the important man’s voice was one used to getting his own way.

The Zen master smiled and said that they should discuss the matter over a cup of tea. When the tea was served the master poured his visitor a cup. He poured and he poured and the tea rose to the rim and began to spill over the table and finally onto the robes of the wealthy man. Finally the visitor shouted, “Enough. You are spilling the tea all over. Can’t you see the cup is full?”

The master stopped pouring and smiled at his guest. “You are like this tea cup, so full that nothing more can be added. Come back to me when the cup is empty. Come back to me with an empty mind.”

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era, received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring. The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. “It is overfull. No more will go in!”

Like this cup, Nan-in said, you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?

the leader

Leader, leader where are you? Are you still sleeping?

In the history of mankind, the success and fall of a nation lies upon the leader.
In the present time, you can seldom find a true and a dedicated leader doing their job well in the service of mankind. Many leaders nowadays are sad to say, but majority of them were just only after for money, power, as well as recognition. IT HURTS, IT HURTS YOU KNOW! But it's really true - our world suffers because of some selfish leaders!

To become an effective and great leader is one of the most painstaking kinds of job. That's why I have arisen with this question, WHAT MAKES A LEADER?

In this short article, I will share to you, dear readers of what I've learned through my personal readings from the profiles as well as the writings of the great men of excellence and valor. To give you some tips enable you to become also a man of excellence, a man of honor, a man of dignity as well as a man of power!

Now, read carefully the following tips below and apply it to yourself. Dear readers, a great teacher once says, "Teach me and I will forget, show me and I will remember; allow me to do it and I will learn."
The above wise teachings mean, you must apply the tips below and put it into action. Remember, action speaks louder than words! A true effective leader, they are doer; not a talker!

1. Character. Character is one of the best assets in the leadership. If you want to become a good as well as effective leader, encourage yourself to nurture your character, for your character will cover and protect your reputation!

James Legget once says, "Reputation is made in a moment. Character is built in a lifetime."

2. Affirmation. Leader should and must understand that their members has an innate need to be treat like a human being, to be special, to be valued most. Tomas Carlyle reminds you "A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little men."

3. Avoid Criticizing. A true effective leader has no time in criticizing, mocking as well as insulting the individuals for their mistakes and failures. They are busy in improving themselves and helping the lowly ones.

4. Learn to control his temper. A true great leader knows how to manage his temper as well as his tongue in times of volcanic eruption period. Always remember this; people will lost their honor and respect if you are a hot - headed individual!

5. Team Work. It is one of the essence as well as best ingredients in leadership. Dale Carnegie, the author of the book How to Win Friends and Influenced People asserted "It marks a big step in your development when you come to realize that other people can help you do a better job than you could do alone."

6. Mentoring. A leader cannot be qualified to be called leader without followers. To enable you to become a true, great effective leader, you should learn to become a follower too! Encourage, motivate, nurture and train your flocks to become a good great leader in the future. Always remember this, people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did...but people will never forget how you made them feel!

7. Vision. To become an effective leader you should have always a vision for your group or members. The Word of God exclaims "Without vision people will perish." So remember, the true effective leaders are visionary!

8. Risk. The true great effective leaders are not afraid to take a risk. Stan Toler commended "Leaders are willing to pay a price. They're prepared to barter what they have for what they might gain. They're motivated more by the prospect of success than by the fear of failure. They're adventurers. They're not willing to stay on the porch."

9. Motivation. True great leaders were busy in motivating as well as inspiring people. Stan Toler argued, "The best leaders are those who can inspire others to reach for something greater than themselves."

10. Selfless. True great leaders were not selfish. They are ready and wide open handed in helping his flocks in time of needs. Remember this dear readers, you shall pass through this world but once, any good therefore that you can do or any kindness you can show to any human being let you do it now. Let you not defer or neglect it, for you shall not pass this way again!

11. Build a better you. True great leaders are busy in continuous improvement of their attitude, character, talent, skills as well as relationship with other people. They're not wasting their time for idleness. Every minute are important for them.

Finally, before we depart with each other, I would like to leave a special message for you, dear readers.

Sufi Bayazi says this about himself: "I was a revolutionary when I was young, and all my prayer to God was ... "Lord, give me the energy to change the world."

As I approached middle age and realized that half my life was gone without changing a single soul, I changed my prayer to... "Lord, give me the grace to change all those who came contact with me. Just my family and friends, I shall be content."

Now that I am an old man and my days are remembered, my one prayer is "Lord, give me the grace to change MYSELF."

Had I prayed for this right from the start, I should not have wasted my life.

Wish you many blessings to come and God Bless!

Moises P. Reconalla

About the Author:

Moises P. Reconalla is the School Guidance Counselor at North Davao College, Panabo City, Philippines. He has taught several courses at the college including: Guidance and Counseling, General Psychology, Philippine History: Roots and Development, General Anthropology and Sociology, and Dr. Jose Rizal: Life, Works & Writings.

I will laugh at the world.

No living creature can laugh except man. Trees may bleed when they are wounded, and beasts in the field will cry in pain and hunger, yet I have the gift of laughter and it is mine to use whenever I choose. Henceforth I will cultivate the habit of laughter.

I will smile and my digestion will improve; I will chuckle and my burdens will be lightened; I will laugh and my fife will be lengthened for this is the secret of long life and now it is mine.
I will laugh at the world.

And most of all, I will laugh at myself for man is most comical when he takes himself too seriously. Never will I fall into this trap of the mind. For though I be nature's greatest miracle am I not still a mere gram tossed about by the winds of time? Do I truly know whence I came or whither I am bound? Will my concern for this day not seem foolish ten years hence? Why should I permit the petty happenings of today to disturb me? What can take place before the sun sets which will not seem insignificant in the river of centuries?

Source: Og Mandino, "The Greatest Secret In The World", P. 97-98

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift.

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift.

Imagine there is a bank account that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day.
Every evening the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do Draw out every cent, of course
Each of us has such a bank. It's name is TIME.
Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds.
Every night it writes off as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to a good purpose.
It carries over no balance. It allows no over draft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day.
If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no drawing against "tomorrow."
You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success!
The clock is running!! Make the most of today.

To realise the value of one year, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realise the value of one month, ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.
To realise the value of one week, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
To realise the value of one hour, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
To realise the value of one minute, ask a person who just missed a train.
To realise the value of one second, ask someone who just avoided an accident.
To realise the value of one millisecond, ask the person who won a silver medal at the olympics.

Treasure every moment that you have! And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time with. And remember time waits for no one.
Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift. That's why its called the present.

I did realize the importance of the time when i failed in my 3rd B.D.S ( clinicals - General medicine and General Surgery - in spite of getting university highest in theory ). I is not one time realization but remembrance and implication in the day to day life, is very important. -Ravi YS

a small touching story

I am including this story because it happened to me once, :
a small touching story mainly for professionals. ..
A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door. SON: "Daddy, may I ask you a question?"
DAD: "Yeah sure, what is it?" replied the man.
SON: "Daddy, how much do you make an hour?"
DAD: "That's none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?" the man said angrily.
SON: "I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?"
DAD: "If you must know, I make 100 bucks an hour."
SON: "Oh," the little boy replied, with his head down.
SON: "Daddy, may I please borrow 50 bucks?" The father was furious, "If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then
you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. I work hard everyday for such this childish behavior."
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door.
The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy's questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?
After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think: Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that 50 bucks and he really didn't ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door. "Are you asleep, son?" He asked.
"No daddy, I'm awake," replied the boy.
"I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier" said the man.
"It's been a long day and I took out my aggravation on you.. Here's the 50 bucks you asked for."
The little boy sat straight up, smiling. "Oh, thank you daddy!" He yelled.
Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.
The man saw that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, and then looked up
at his father.
"Why do you want more money if you already have some?" the father grumbled.
"Because I didn't have enough, but now I do," the little boy replied.
"Daddy, I have 100 bucks now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you."
The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little son, and he begged for his forgiveness.
It's just a short reminder to all of you working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts.

PART ( Perception, Appreciation, Recognition of talent )

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousand of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule. A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk. A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work. The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on. In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats averaging $100.
This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:
- If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?