The Little Boy and His Ice Cream

A ten-year old boy went to an ice-cream parlour. While sitting at the table, he asked the waitress, “How much does a Sundae cost?” “50 cents,” she replied.
The boy took out his money from the pocket and began counting it.

“Well, how much does a simple ice-cream cost?".
There were other people waiting to be served, so the waitress began to get a little impatient.
"35 cents!" she replied abruptly. The boy counted his money again and said: “Please get me a simple ice-cream!"

The waitress served him the ice-cream and his bill. The boy ate his ice-cream, paid his bill at the cash counter and left.
When the waitress went to clean the table she began to cry… for there, in the corner of the plate, were 15 cents… her tip.
The boy took a simple ice-cream instead of a Sundae so he could leave a tip for her.

A Hymn for Tough Times-Abide With Me

This is another beautiful melody that takes us closer to GOD! The power and meaning delivers a message. This Hymn was written by Henry Francis Lyte in 1847, Lyte wrote Abide With me bedridden due to TB and he died soon after writing it..

Home, Sweet Home - Henry R. Bishop, Sung by Norma Proctor

One of the timeless classics..Use your headphones to listen..

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam
Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home
A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there
Which, seek thro' the world, is ne'er met with elsewhere
Home, home, sweet, sweet, home!
There's no place like home, there's no place like home

An exile from home, spendor dazzles in vain
O give me my lowly thatched cottage again
The birds singing gaily that came at my call
And give me the peace of mind, dearer than all
Home, home, sweet, sweet, home!
There's no place like home, there's no place like home

Almaz by Randy Crawford

She only smiles
He only tells her
that she's the flowers, the wind and spring
In all her splendor sweetly surrendering
The love that innocence brings

**
Almaz, pure and simple
Born in a world where love survives
Now men will want her
'Cause life don't haunt her
Almaz, You lucky lucky thing

Now I watch closely
And I watch wholly
I can't imagine love so rare
She's young and tender
But will life bend her
I look around is she everywhere

** repeat

He throws her kisses
She shares his wishes
I'm sure he's keen without a doubt
With love so captive
So solely captive
I ask if I could play the part

** repeat

Almaz, You lucky lucky thing
Almaz, You lucky lucky thing

A Man's Life..Read it till the very end...

God created the donkey and said to him.
"You will be a donkey. You will work untiringly from sunrise to sunset
carrying burdens on your back. You will eat grass,
you will have no intelligence and you will live 50 years.
The donkey answered:**
"I will be a donkey, but to live 50 years is much. Give me only 20
years"
God granted his wish.
-------------------------
God created the dog and said to him:
"You will guard the house of man. You will be his best Friend.
You will eat the scraps that he gives you and you will live **30** **years.
You will be a dog. "
The dog answered:
"Sir, to live 30 years is too much,give me only** **15** **years.
" God granted his wish.
God created the monkey and said to him:
"You will be a monkey. You will swing from branch to branch doing tricks.
You will be amusing and you will live **
20 years.
The monkey answered:
"To live 20 years is too much, give me only 10 years."
God granted his wish.
--------------------------------
Finally God created man and said to him:
"You will be man, the only rational creature on the face of the earth.
You will use your intelligence to become master over all the animals.
You will dominate the world and you will live 20 years."
Man responded:**
"Sir, I will be a man but to live only 20 years is very little,
give me the 30 years that the donkey refused,
the 15 years that the dog did not want and
the 10 years the monkey refused.
" God granted man's wish

And since then, man lives 20 years as a man marries and spends** **
30 years like a donkey,
working and carrying all the burdens on his back.

Then when his children are grown,
he lives 15 years like a dog taking care of the house
and eating whatever is given to him,so that when he is old,
he can retire and live 10 years like a monkey,
going from house to house and from one son or
daughter to another doing tricks to amuse his grandchildren.

Bananarama-Cruel Summer 1982

Life is a Riddle- A Good Song from the Tamil Movie Muthu.

Friend never remained a friend..From the Movie Sangam

Dost dost na raha, pyaar pyaar na raha

Friend never remained a friend, love never remained love

Zindagi hamein tera aitbaar na raha

life i no longer believe in you

Aitbaar na raha

no longer believe in u

Amaanatein main pyaar ki gaya tha jisko saunpkar

belongings of love whom i hand overed and gone

Voh mere dost tumhi the, tumhi to the

that friend of mine was u

Jo zindagi ki raah mein bane the mere hamsafar

in the path of life those who became my fellow traveller

Voh mere dost tumhi the, tumhi to the

that friend of mine was u

Saare bhed khul gaye, raazdaar na raha

all the secrets are exposed, the trusted one is not there

Zindagi hamein tera aitbaar na raha

Aitbaar na raha

Gale lagi sahem sahem bhare gale se bolti

embracing me out of fear she would tell me

Voh tum na thi to kaun tha, tumhi to thi

if she was not u , who was she, she was you

Safar ke waqt mein palak pe motiyon ko tolti

in the time of travel, on her eyelash she use to weigh pearls

Voh tum na thi to kaun tha, tumhi to thi Nashe ki raat dhal gayi, ab khumaar na raha

the intoxicated nite is gone, now i am not in my senses

Zindagi hamein tera aitbaar na raha

Aitbaar na raha

Dost dost na raha, pyaar pyaar na raha Zindagi hamein tera aitbaar na raha Aitbaar na raha

USA for Africa- We are the World

There comes a time when we heed a certain call
When the world must come together as one.
There are people dying and it's time to lend a hand
To life - the greatest gift of all.
We can't go on pretending day by day
That someone somewhere will soon make a change.
We are all a part of God's great big family
And the truth
you know
love is all we need.
We are the world
we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
so let's start giving.
There's a choice we're making
we're saving our own lives.
It's true
well make a better day
just you and me.
Well
send them your heart
so they'll know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free.
As God has shown us by turning stones to bread
And so we all must lend a helping hand.
We are the world
We are the children
. . .
We are the world
We are the children
. . .
We are the world
We are the children
. . .
We are the world
We are the children
. . .
We are the world
We are the children

Do what you Do by Jermaine Jackson

Another song from another age..the early 1980s..stirs old memories where music videos were original and very human with no fancy computer graphics..a great song.

I want to Live-John Denver

There are children raised in sorrow
On a scorched and barren plain
There are children raised beneath a golden sun
There are children of the water
Children of the sand
And they cry out through the universe
Their voices raised as one

I want to live I want to grow
I want to see I want to know
I want to share what I can give
I want to be I want to live

Have you gazed out on the ocean
Seen the breaching of a whale?
Have you watched the dolphins frolic in the foam?
Have you heard the song the humpback hears five hundred miles away
Telling tales of ancient history of passages and home?

I want to live I want to grow
I want to see I want to know
I want to share what I can give
I want to be I want to live

For the worker and the warrior the lover and the liar
For the native and the wanderer in kind
For the maker and the user and the mother and her son
I am looking for my family and all of you are mine

We are standing all together
Face to face and arm in arm
We are standing on the threshold of a dream
No more hunger no more killing
No more wasting life away
It is simply an idea
And I know its time has come

I want to live I want to grow
I want to see I want to know
I want to share what I can give
I want to be I want to live

Ahh meditation by Dattatreya SivaBaba

Check this..very interesting

A Flock of Sheep..

Took this picture a while back..what better way to top it with a small poem by William Wordsworth

"A flock of sheep that leisurely pass by,
One after one; the sound of rain, and bees
Murmuring; the fall of rivers, winds and seas,
Smooth fields, white sheets of water, and pure sky;
I have thought of all by turns, and yet do lie
Sleepless!”

Refugee Blues by W.H.Auden

A beautiful poetry by W.H.Auden....

Say this city has ten million souls,
Some are living in mansions, some are living in holes:
Yet there's no place for us, my dear, yet there's no place for us.

Once we had a country and we thought it fair,
Look in the atlas and you'll find it there:
We cannot go there now, my dear, we cannot go there now.

In the village churchyard there grows an old yew,
Every spring it blossoms anew:
Old passports can't do that, my dear, old passports can't do that.

The consul banged the table and said,
"If you've got no passport you're officially dead":
But we are still alive, my dear, but we are still alive.

Went to a committee; they offered me a chair;
Asked me politely to return next year:
But where shall we go to-day, my dear, but where shall we go to-day?

Came to a public meeting; the speaker got up and said;
"If we let them in, they will steal our daily bread":
He was talking of you and me, my dear, he was talking of you and me.

Thought I heard the thunder rumbling in the sky;
It was Hitler over Europe, saying, "They must die":
O we were in his mind, my dear, O we were in his mind.

Saw a poodle in a jacket fastened with a pin,
Saw a door opened and a cat let in:
But they weren't German Jews, my dear, but they weren't German Jews.

Went down the harbour and stood upon the quay,
Saw the fish swimming as if they were free:
Only ten feet away, my dear, only ten feet away.

Walked through a wood, saw the birds in the trees;
They had no politicians and sang at their ease:
They weren't the human race, my dear, they weren't the human race.

Dreamed I saw a building with a thousand floors,
A thousand windows and a thousand doors:
Not one of them was ours, my dear, not one of them was ours.

Stood on a great plain in the falling snow;
Ten thousand soldiers marched to and fro:
Looking for you and me, my dear, looking for you and me.

Bang Bang-Nancy Sinatra..

A Little Peace by Nicole..Going back in Time

Many do not know Nicole. She is a beautiful German singer ( 1980s) with a voice of an angel ( have not seen an angel yet, so I guess an angel's voice will be sounding like this). She sung this German song- 'Ein Bisschen Frieden' meaning a "Little Peace". This song was awarded the best in the Eurovision song of the year award in 1982. She was just 17 when she performed it..its so beautiful and haunting..a must listen..

English Lyrics of this song:

Just like a flower when winter begins
Just Like a candle blown out in the wind
Just like a bird that can no longer fly
I'm feeling that way sometimes

But then there's a farthing way down by the lake
I picture a light at the end of the road
I'm closing my eyes I can see through the dark
A dream that is in my heart

CHORUS
A little lovin
A Little givin
To Build a dream for the world we live in
A little patience and understanding
For all tomorrow
A little peace

A little sunshine
A sea of gladness
To wash away all the tears of sadness
A little hoping
A little praying
For all tomorrow

A little peace I feel I'm a leaf in the November snow
I fell to the ground there was no-one below
So now I am helpless alone with my song
Just wishing the storm was done

CHORUS x2

We Are feathers on the breeze
Sing With me my song of peace
We are feathers on the breeze
Sing with me my song of peace

The Secret to You..A Gift From The Secret Scrolls: Courtesy-Secret.tv

Why Bad Things Happen to Good People....

7P ( Passion,Purpose,Planning, Pursuit, Progress, Power and Peace), blog run by a guy named Al. Here is one of his posts called- "Why Bad things happen to Good people'- I think most of us might have asked this many times..some insights on this from Al..hope you all find it interesting..read till the very end..

Why Bad Things Happen to Good People by Al

Sometimes asking the right questions is as important as being brutally honest with the answers. They tell us that if you pray to God that you will eventually get what you pray for. Others tell us that there is some unseen flow called karma that ensures doing good will cause good to return, and that bad will lead to bad. It’s very easy to want to believe such things.

However, some have questioned how a God could allow tragic events to happen to good people. Personally, I know of enough bad things happening to good people to question this thing called karma. If the rules of the game are not fair, then why would you want to stick to the rules? I’ve been struggling with this question for years, and now I think I’ve seen enough to take on an honest attempt to answer this question.

Life’s Not Fair
At one time I was an extreme optimist, but Life has battered me down enough times to temper this optimism down a bit. I try to balance being an optimist with being a realist, but sometimes I find myself being quite pessimistic. The more that I live and see what Life can do to people and what it already has done, sometimes I question the notion of God, of karma, or simply question the goodness in people.

For example, I heard about a story of this one girl from a poor family that had an alcoholic and abusive father. The mother died when this girl was eight, and two years later the father abandoned the two children. Shortly after the two kids were sent to a foster home, her brother passed away. And on top of all that, earlier at the age of three, the girl was having vision problems which eventually became worse in spite of multiple surgeries trying to save her sight. Her vision became so bad that they had to send her to the school for the blind. What kind of God would let this happen to an innocent girl?

What about that story of the black eight year-old girl, also from a poor family, who was molested and raped by her mother’s boyfriend, which psychologically traumatized the girl and became mute? Turns out that years later when she was 17, she became a single mother and had to work as a shake dancer to make ends meet. What kind of karma could she have gotten as a little girl to deserve all this?

Consequences When Bad Things Happen

I have seen many people who were once good individuals, but the unfairness of life has jaded them and influenced them to be the kind of people that they are now. I do sincerely believe that we all have some inherent good in us, but sometimes it’s difficult to keep that good in us when bad things happen. Sometimes there are events that happen to us that we don’t deserve and can’t control, but we can control how we respond to them.

The orphan girl that was becoming blind did not lose her vision completely, and she eventually became the valedictorian of her class. Anne Sullivan became a tutor and mentor for the blind, and her life experiences helped her to connect to this one particularly difficult blind, deaf, and mute student named Helen Keller.

The mute girl that became a single mother is not a mute anymore and eventually moved on into theater, music, and poetry. Her words have been credited to heal and inspire many generations of people. She has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. She has been on two presidential committees and even read one of her own poems for a presidential inauguration. Maya Angelou touched many people’s lives, including mine.

Why do bad things happen to good people? Because it helps them to see how to make this world a better place. Because that’s what separates the truly good people from those who only think they are good people. Bad things happen to good people because it is a necessary part of making a good person great.

(ends)

Boy Gives life to three..

Last week the news papers here in Chennai carried a heart-breaking news on the first page. A 16 year old boy takes his father's motorbike and crashes to death. By the time he reaches the hospital, he is declared brain dead. His bereaved parents took a brave decision to donate his organs..and today the boy lives in multiple lives..a young girl got a new lease of life with his heart..so does patients who got his kidneys, liver and the eyes...

God's ways of taking and giving life..no body can comprehend..

Seeing is Believing....

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held
up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few
coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some
words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the
new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the
blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?"


The man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a
different way."
What he had written was: "Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it."

Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same
thing?

Of course both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign
simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so
lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second
sign was more effective?

Moral of the Story: Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be
innovative. Think differently and positively.

Invite others towards good with wisdom. Live life with no excuse and love
with no regrets. When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that
you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the
faith and drop the fear.


Great men say, "Life has to be an incessant process of repair and
reconstruction, of discarding evil and developing goodness.... In the
journey of life, if you want to travel without fear, you must have the
ticket of a good conscience."

The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling...
And even more beautiful is, knowing that you are the reason behind it!!!

In Tune with Nature

Still Life