From "Learning to Dance in the Rain...The Power of Gratitude" - By Mac Anderson & BJ Gallagher
So Inspirational, it made my hands and legs twitter!! Balaji
The date was July 16, 2008. It was late in the afternoon and I was sitting in my hotel room in Louisville, Kentucky. I was scheduled to speak that evening for the Kentucky Association of School Administrators (KASA). I was a little "down in the dumps." I hadn't gotten to exercise lately because of my travelling schedule and recently I'd experienced some mild bouts of vertigo (that inner ear condition that can cause the room to start spinning.) You got it...speaking and "spinning" are not good partners!
My keynote presentation was scheduled for 7:00 PM, but I had been invited to show up at 6:00 to see a performance they said I'd enjoy. Little did I know that I was about to see something I would never forget.
They introduced the young musician. Welcome...Mr. Patrick Henry Hughes. He was rolled onto the stage in his wheelchair, and began to play the piano. His fingers danced across the keys as he made beautiful music.He then began to sing as he played, and it was even more beautiful.
For some reason, however, I knew that I was seeing something special. There was this aura about him that I really can't explain and the smile...his smile was magic!
About ten minutes into Patrick's performance, someone came on the stage and said..."I'd like to share a 7-minute video titled, The Patrick Henry Hughes story." And the lights went dim.
Patrick Henry Hughes was born with no eyes, and a tightening of the joints which left him crippled for life. However, as a child, he was fitted with artificial eyes and placed in a wheelchair. Before his first birthday, he discovered the piano. His mom said, "I could hit any note on the piano, and within one or two tries, he'd get it." By his second birthday, he was playing requests
(You Are My Sunshine, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star). His father was ecstatic. "We might not play baseball, but we can play music together."
Today, Patrick is a junior at the University of Louisville. His father attends classes with him and he's made nearly all A's, with the exception of 3 B's He's also a part of the 214 member marching band. You read it right...the marching band! He's a blind, wheelchair-bound trumpet player; and he and his father do it together. They attend all the band practices and the half-time performance in front of thousands. His father rolls and rotates his son around the field to the cheers of Patrick's fans. In order to attend Patrick's classes and every band practice, his father works the graveyard shift at UPS. Patrick said..."My dad's my hero."
But even more than his unbelievable musical talent, it was Patrick's "attitude of gratitude" that touched my soul. On stage, between songs, he would talk to the audience about his life and about how blessed he was. He said, "God made me blind and unable to walk. BIG DEAL! He gave me the ability...the musical gifts I have...the great opportunity to meet new people."
When his performance was over, Patrick and his father were on the stage together. The crowd rose to their feet and cheered for over five minutes. It gave me giant goose bumps!
My life was ready to meet Patrick Henry Hughes. I needed a hero, and I found one for the ages. If I live to be a hundred, I'll never forget that night, that smile, that music, but most importantly, that wonderful "attitude of gratitude."
"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...
it's about learning how to dance in the rain!"
I thought...that's it! We all face adversity in our life. However, it's not the adversity, but how we react to it that will determine the joy and happiness in our life. During tough times, do we spend too much time feeling sorry for ourselves, or, can we, with gratitude...learn how to dance in the rain?
It almost sounds too simple to feel important, but one word...
gratitude, can change your attitude,
thus, your life, forever. Sarah Breathnack said it best...
"When we choose not to focus on what is missing from our lives but are grateful for the
abundance that's present....we experience heaven on earth."
Relationships - Why do we shout in anger? - B/f Prabhakar
A saint asked his disciples, 'Why do we shout in anger? Why do people shout at each other when
they are upset?'Disciples thought for a while, one of them said, 'Because we lose our calm, we shout for that.'
'But, why to shout when the other person is just next to you?' asked the saint. 'Isn't it possible to speak to him or her with a soft voice? Why do you shout at a person when you're angry?'
Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the saint.
Finally he explained, 'When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other through that great distance.'
Then the saint asked, 'What happens when two people fall in love? They don't shout at each other but talk softly, why? Because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is very small...'
The saint continued, 'When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other and that's all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.'MORAL: When you argue do not let your hearts get distant, do not say words that distance each other more, else there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return.
Good is expected, Bad is...
Hi Friends, As individuals, we keep receive various type of services – either in the hotels, daily transport (trains, buses), when we make utility payments(EB, water tax, etc.)
Some of us are even in the service industry – Directly or indirectly providing services to various customers
If the service is bad, we do tend to try and give feedback – definitely we need to do this to ensure that the services improve and the overall system is benefited.
However if the Service is good, we just finish the transaction and move on…
In this context, came across a really interesting article..How true !! Ain’t
From Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, where Mark Antony says "The evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones."
Good is 'expected'Bad is 'exposed'
When you do a good job, the customer accepts it at most with a smile. He/She may not go the extra mile of writing a testimonial or tweeting about it
but when you make a slip, however minuscule it may be, swords are drawn in split second.
Of course with the media growing in stature given the access that is there these days, often there be some free "Publicity"
Laughter the Best medicine
One day in the third class, my daughter acted up and got in trouble. When she told me about it that evening, I suggested she write a note of apology to her teacher. Moaning and groaning, she
scribbled a half-hearted apology.The next day my daughter was pleasantly surprised: Her teacher told her how proud she was that my daughte had accepted responsibility for her bad behaviour.
My daughter asked her teacher for some more paper, went to her desk and diligently scribbled on four sheets.
When she finished, she went up to her teacher's desk and handed them to her. "What's this?" her teacher asked.
Proudly, my daughter replied, "It's four more apology letters, and when you run out, let me know."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Did you like this edition?
please do drop an e-mail on your feedback, sharing, thoughts to balajineela@gmail.com
Disclaimer: The publisher believes that the contents of this blog do not violate any existing copyright / intellectual property of others in any manner whatsoever. However, in the event the author has been unable to track any source and if any copyright has been inadvertently infringed, please notify the publisher in writing for corrective action.
You MAY share or publish any of the articles on the web or in print without written permission of the publisher.
I practice zero tolerance - I take extreme care to avoid publishing any material that may offend any religion, caste, sex, etc., however if you notice anything that might offend anyone or group of people, please do let me know, and I will remove that material after review.
