Between you and God

People are often unreasonable and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are honest, people may cheat you. Be honest anyway.
If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough. Give your best anyway.
For you see, in the end, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

-Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa (26 August 1910 - 5 September 1997), born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, was a Catholic nun of Albanian ethnicity and Indian citizenship, who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India in 1950. For over 45 years she ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying, while guiding the Missionaries of Charity's expansion, first throughout India and then in other countries. Following her death she was beatified by Pope John Paul II and given the title Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.
-Courtesy: "Quote of the day" in a newsletter

On Willingness

An old man lived alone in his farm house. He wanted to spade his potato garden, but it was very hard work.
His only son, who would have helped him, was in prison.
The old man wrote a letter to his son and mentioned his situation.

Dear Son,
I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my potato garden this year. I hate to miss doing the garden, because your mother always loved planting time. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me, if you weren't in prison.
Love, Dad

Shortly, the old man received this telegram:
"For Heaven's sake, Dad, don't dig up the garden!! That's where I buried the GUNS!!"

At 4 a.m. the next morning, a dozen FBI agents and local police officers showed up and dug up the entire garden! without finding any guns. Confused, the old man wrote another note to his son telling him what happened,
and asked him what to do next.

His son's reply was: " Go ahead and plant your potatoes, Dad. It's the best I could do for you from here."

Moral: No matter where you are in the world, if you have decided to do something deep from your heart you can do it. It is the thought that matters not where you are or where the person is.

Courtesy: An article contributed by a co-worker in my department’s weekly newsletter

On Snap Judgements

A woman was waiting at the airport one night, with several long hours before her flight. She hunted for a book in the airport shop, Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop. She was engrossed in her book, but happened to see, That the man beside her, as bold as could be, Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag between, Which she tried to ignore, to avoid a scene. She read, munched cookies, and watched the clock, As the gutsy “cookie thief” diminished her stock. She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by, Thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I’d blackened his eye!”With each cookie she took, he took one too. When only one was left, she wondered what he’d do. With a smile on his face and a nervous laugh, He took the last cookie and broke it in half. He offered her half, as he ate the other. She snatched it from him and thought, “Oh brother, This guy has some nerve, and he’s also rude, Why, he didn’t even show any gratitude!”She had never known when she had been so galled, And sighed with relief when her flight was called. She gathered her belongings and headed for the gate, refusing to look back at the “thieving ingrate.”
She boarded the plane and sank in her seat, then sought her book, which was almost complete. As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise. There was her bag of cookies in front of her eyes!“If mine are here,” she moaned with despair, “Then the others were his and he tried to share!”Too late to apologize, she realized with grief, that she was the rude one…the ingrate…the thief!

Moral: We sometimes misjudge others and fail to examine ourselves first. We should not judge people for being bad or worse till we outweigh our judgment. Most of time we have the impression that we are right when we are totally in the wrong. We should, therefore, not harry up in passing our judgment on people.

Courtesy: An article contributed by a co-worker in my department’s weekly newsletter

Never Quit

Abraham Lincoln served as the 16^th President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserved the Union, and ended slavery. Reared in a poor family on the western frontier, he was mostly self-educated. He became a country lawyer, an Illinois state legislator, and a one-term member of the United States House of representatives. Born into poverty, Lincoln was faced with defeat throughout his life. He lost eight elections, twice failed in business and suffered a nervous breakdown.
Here is a sketch of Lincoln’s road to the White House:

• 1816 - His family was forced out of their home. He had to work to support them.
• 1818 - His mother died.
• 1831 - Failed in business.
• 1832 - Ran for state legislature – lost.
• 1832 - Also lost his job – wanted to go to law school but couldn’t get in.
• 1833 - Borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business and by the end of the year he was bankrupt. He spent the next 17 years of his life paying off this debt.
• 1834 - Ran for state legislature again – won.
• 1835 - Was engaged to be married, sweetheart died and his heart was broken.
• 1836 - Had a total nervous breakdown and was in bed for six months.
• 1838 - Sought to become speaker of the state legislature – defeated.
• 1840 - Sought to become elector – defeated.
• 1843 - Ran for Congress – lost.
• 1846 - Ran for Congress again – this time he won.
• 1848 - Ran for re-election to Congress – lost.
• 1849 - Sought the job of land officer in his home state – rejected.
• 1854 - Ran for Senate of the United States – lost.
• 1856 - Sought the Vice-Presidential nomination at his party’s national convention – got less than 100 votes.
• 1858 - Ran for U.S. Senate again – again he lost.
• 1860 - Elected president of the United States.

He could have quit many times – but he didn’t and because he didn’t quit, he became one of the greatest presidents in the United States history.
Moral: Success consists of getting up just one more time than you fall. So try and fail but don’t fail to try.
(courtesy - An article shared by a colleague in a company newsletter)