The meaning of A Pencil

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First quality, a pencil reminds you if you can do great things in life. Just like a pencil when it’s writing, you should never forget that there’s a hand that is always guiding you to step in this life. We call it ‘the hand of God’, he will lead us according to his will.

Second quality, grandma sometimes stops and uses a sharpener to sharpen the pencil several times. This sharpener will definitely make the pencil suffer. But after it finish sharpened, the pencil will get the sharpness back. So you are, in this life you should dare to accept suffering and distress because they will make you a better person.

Third quality, the pencil always gives us the opportunity to use the eraser, to delete the wrong words. Therefore, fixing our fault in this life, is not a bad thing. It can help us to remain on the right path.

Fourth quality, the most important part of a pencil is not the outer but charcoal inside pencil. Therefore, always carefully and realize things in you.

Fifth quality, the pencil is always leaves marks or scratches. As you, you should be aware that whatever you do in this life will leave the impression.

Don't Judge Book by Its Cover

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Once upon a day, an old man and a 25 year old girl are sitting in the train opposite with a man and a young lady. When the train is running the girl is very happy, like a child who thrills to ride train for the first time. “Dad dad.. Look! Those trees walked back toward us,” said the girl.

That phenomenon of course is a common thing when we are in vehicle. But that girl is very enthusiastic, acting like a child. “Dad dad, look!” She said while pointing the clouds, “The clouds are following us.” The old man is smiling look his daughter.

It’s different with the couple who sat in front of them. They both stared at the girl with a strange look. They think the girl acted strange.  25 years old but acts like a child. “Why you didn’t bring your daughter to the doctor?” Ask one of couple. She’s looking at her with a pity gaze. They think the young girl has abnormal behavior or abnormal psychological.

The old man smiled. “I have brought my daughter to the doctor, shortly after she was born. The doctor told me that she was blind”, said the old man, “Not long ago my daughter had eyes surgery and succeed. It is her first time see the world through her eyes.”

It’s easy for us to judge someone looks strange, stupid, impolite brash and other. But is it makes you better than them? Not really. Because everyone has their own life story. Sometimes they also had wound. It would be wise if you do not judge other without unknowing the story behind it.

Who Is the Most Stupid?

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One day, a man is cutting his hair on the barber shop which located not far from his office. He and the barber see a 10 year old boy is running and jumping in front of them.

The barber said, “That is Ben, he is the most stupid boy that I’ve ever know!” “Really”, replied the man.

The barber call the boy then he takes his $2 and $1 out from his pocket then asked Ben to choose, “Ben, you may choose and take one of this money. It’s up to you which one you would choose.” Ben looked the barber’s hands and quickly takes $1 from him.

With a pride sense, the barber saw and turned into the man and said, “See what I said earlier. Ben is the most stupid boy I’ve ever know!” There is countless time I tested him like that and he always takes the $1 which is less value than $2.”

After the man finished, in a way back to office, he met Ben. Feeling curious with what he had seen before, he called Ben and asked, “Ben, I saw when a barber offers you $2 and $1, why you didn’t take the $2? That is twice more value than $1?” Ben chuckled and replied, “I will not get $1 every day because that barber always wonders why I take $1. If I took $2, the game is over and I will get no more $1 every day.”

There are a lot of people who feel smarter than others, so they often underestimate others. Only GOD knows how smart each person is. It would be wise if we do not consider themselves than others.

An Entrepreneur's Email

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An unemployment man is applying for the Office Boy position in Microsoft. The HR Manager interviewed him and tested him to clean the floor. “You hired. Give me your email address, I will send you the application form to be filled also your work start date”, said HR Manager.

That man replied, “But I don’t have computer even email”. “I’m sorry, if you don’t have email then you will never be hired here,” add HR Manager.

That man is hopeless and don’t know what to do. With only $10 left in pocket, he decided to go to supermarket and buy 10kg tomatoes. Then he sells those tomatoes from door to door. Less in 2 hours, all the tomatoes sold and he got his money double.

He repeated his sales until three times and go home with $60. He realized that he could survive by selling tomatoes and start selling tomatoes every day and come home late at night.

He got 3 times profit in a day and repeat day by day. In short time, he bought car, truck then has his own delivery vehicle.

5 years later, he became one of biggest food retailer in United States. He starts to plan his family future and decided to have life insurance.

He call insurance broker and choose protection plan. When in conversation, the broker asked him his email which will be used for insurance purposes.

He answered, “I don’t have email”. That broker shock and wondering, “You don’t have email but already successfully built the imperium company business. Can you imagine what could be happen if you have email?” That man thought for a moment then replied, “Yes. I would be an office boy in Microsoft!”

When one door closed, another door opens. But sometimes we see and regret the closed door too long so we couldn’t see the other door which is open. Never stop trying and do not give up because of a failure.

5 Most Regrets in Life

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A nurse reveals the 5 most regret of her almost die patients, those are:

I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.

I wish I didn’t work so hard.

I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.

I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.

I wish that I had let myself be happier.

Buy a Miracle

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Sally was just 8 years old coincidentally she heard her parents talking about her younger brother, Georgi, has several ill. Only a very expensive surgery could save his life but they don’t have money.

She heard her father said, “Only MIRACLE can save him.” Then Sally opened her piggy bank, she took all the money out and count it.

By bringing money, Sally sneaks out and go to the pharmacy. “What do you need?” asked the pharmacist. “I want to help my brother, he is sick and I want to buy miracle,” replied Sally. “What?” the pharmacist a bit confused. “My father said only a miracle can save him. So how much the miracle is?”

“We do not sell miracle, little girl,” replied the pharmacist. “But I have money. Just tell me how much the miracle?”

A well-dressed man that heard Sally and pharmacist’s conversation ask Sally, “What kind of miracle that needed by your brother?”

“I don’t know”, said Sally. Tears began dropping on her cheek, “I just know that my brother is sick and my father said he needs to be operated on. My parents don’t have money to pay it but I have this money”.

“How much money you have?” asked him again. “One dollar, eleven cents”, said Sally confidently.

“What a coincidence!” the man said and smiling, “One dollar and eleven cents, the right price to buy a miracle, which can help your brother!” that man take Sally’s money then hold her hand. “Bring me to your brother, I want to meet him and your parents”.

That man is Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a famous expert surgeon. Surgery does without cost and no need a long time for Georgi back home in good health. Her parents are very happy. Sally smile.. She knows exactly how much a miracle. One dollar and eleven cents! Add with confidence and believe.

When you think that there’s no miracle, you’re wrong! Keep your faith and keep praying!

Five Life Balls

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Brian Dyson, the former executive of Coca Cola, once said an interesting speech, “Imagine, life is like as acrobat with five balls in the air. You can each name the balls: Work – Family – Health – Friends and Spirit. You have to keep the balls in the air and protect it to not fall.

Even if the situation requires you to release one among five balls, release the ‘Work’ ball because that is a RUBBER BALL. When you drop it, one day it will bounce back to you, but the other balls are the GLASS BALL. If you drop it, you may cause fatal.”

Brian Dyson tries to suggest us to live balanced manner. In fact, we are too protective keep the Work which is a rubber ball, we even sacrifice Family, Health, Friends and Spirit for saving the rubber ball.

For the sake of money or work, we ignore the family. For the sake of success in work, we are being a workaholic and not pay attention to Health. Even for the sake money or work, we are willing to destroy our relationship with Friends that we built for years.

It doesn’t mean that work is not important but don’t make work or money be our GOD in our life.

Remember, even if we lose money, we can still find it again but if Family already sold, where we buy it again? Lost money can still sought but can we buy a friend? Lost money can still sought but can we recuperate our health normally if we are critical illness?

Take care your life priority to remain balance..

Don’t Give Up

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One day, there are two frogs plunged into a shallow wells, soon their friends come and gather while screaming to do this and do that, though the friends think that there’s no hope for the 2 frogs. They suggested to both frog to give up and just wait until they die.

First frog received his fate and didn’t do anything. Second frog continued jump and jump. His friend outside shouted and gave sign for him to stop and give up. But in order to give up, the second frog jump higher and finally get out from the wells. The excitement burst. His friends asked him why he continued to jump when they cried out to give up. The second frog replied, “I couldn’t hear you but I saw you seem to cheer me.”

In life, sometimes we need to close our ears from who talks around us. We need to focus working on what we believe that we will be successful and then silence their mouth with success that we have achieved.

A Perfect One for Perfect Other

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A young man who live in Jakarta in the age when he felt need to find a spouse. So he was looking for a girl perfect across the country to marry.

After days, weeks search, he met with the girl who is very pretty, the type of the girl who can be a woman magazine cover model even without makeup or cosmetics. But even though she looks perfect, the young man cannot marry her because that girl cannot cook. So, the young man went. That girl is not quite perfect for him.

Then the young man looking for more, for weeks and for months. Until he found a girl who even more beautiful than the first one this time her cuisine is extraordinary delicious. Better than that you can get in the best restaurant in Indonesia, even better than that you can get from family restaurant. This girl even run business her own restaurant!

But the young man cannot marry her anyway because the girl is stupid. She cannot establish a conversation at all, she’s not smart. She has not been completed her education, everything she knew just cook! So the young man went. This girl is not quite perfect for him.

Then he was looking for weeks, many months until he finally found girl on this one! She is so pretty, cooking exceeds five star restaurant, even she has her own restaurant: Indonesian style, Japanese style and Italian style. She is also smart, she had two doctoral degrees, her knowledge is so broad, can establish a conversation so great, so nice and so compassionate. She was perfect! But this young man cannot marry her because this girl looking for a perfect guy!

So.. Do not looking for perfection but complete yourself first what has been there on ourselves.

Conditioning Life

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An elephant can lift objects that weigh more than a ton only with its trunk. But strangely, an elephant can also be conditioned to dwell somewhere, tied to a peg attached to his front leg with only a small rope. No chains and no cage, of course the elephant was able to free himself from the bonds at any time, but in fact why the elephant was not able to?

This is because when the elephant was a baby and much smaller, the elephant was tied to a large tree with strong chains. That baby elephant was still weak while the chain and the tree are sturdy.  It is not unusual the baby elephant tied, so he kept yanking and pulling at the chain but it was in vain.

One day he realized that all the traction it’s no use, he gave up. Thought that he would never be able to free himself from the shackles of bondage. The baby elephant was stopped trying and quiet.

After the baby elephant grew into a large adult, he tied on a small peg with the fragile threads. Actually the elephant can free himself only with a jerk but the elephant quiets because he has CONDITIONED to believe that he cannot be separated from the bond.

The moral of the elephant story is we are born with extraordinary powerful ability but if the life is conditioning us to be a fragile human. Would we be like the elephant above?

Sad Love Story

A Gentle Man

Try Different Ways

                                                          Pic source: shutterstock.com

One day, a kid goes outside home and forgot to close the door house. Then there is a fly rush into that house. The fly straight to a table which filled with delicious food and eating with gusto.

After full, the fly rush want to get out of the house and flew toward the door when he entered. But it turns out the glass door has been closed.

The fly was flying around the glass, occasionally jumping and crashing the glass, with relentless the fly trying to get out of the glass door. That fly crept around the glass from up to down, from left to right, and keep on repeatedly. The day darker, the fly was exhausted and starving. The next morning, that fly hung limp and collapsed on the floor.

Not far from that place, a group of red ants appear to go hand in hand out of the nest to find food. When the ants encounter the helpless fly, they gathered around and bite the fly’s body to death. That herd of ants was transporting the poor fly carcasses to their nests.

On the way, a little ant asked his older companion, “What’s wrong with this fly? Why is he dying?” The older replied, “Oh, it’s often that there are flies that died in vain like this. Actually he have been tried, he really has struggled trying to get out of the glass door. But when it did not find a way out, he was frustrated and tired until finally fell dying and becoming our dinner.”

But the little ant still curious and asked again,” I still not understand, instead that fly had tried hard? Why it didn’t work?” Still walking and carrying the fly carcass, the old ants replied, “That fly relentless and have tried repeatedly. It’s just that he did so repeatedly in the same way.”

The old ant was order his friends paused as he went on to say, but this time with more serious expression and tone, “Remember boy, if you do things the same way but expecting different results, then your fate will be like this fly.”

Life like a Hedgehog

                                                         Pic source: petinfoclub.com

In an area, living similar group of hedgehog. Because the extreme cold, they decided to stay in groups in a cave to keep warm. They are closer to each other. But when it started to close together, their thorns hurt their next friends.

After a while, they decided to keep their distance from each other. As a result, they begin to feel freezing, cold and finally threatened with death. So they have decided: accept others thorns or die!

Wisely they decide to get back together. They also learn to live with minor injury result of a great distance companions in order to close to feel   the warmth. A way that makes them ultimately survives.

Message in the story is, best relationship is not a relationship that brings perfect people in group. But when each person learn to live with others imperfection, also able to “appreciate” all the warmth that given by others.

That what makes our lives become more “alive” (meaning) and “enduring” the situation or extreme environments.

The Snail and the Frog

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There is a snail that always looks cynical to a frog. One day, the frog who lost his patience finally ask the snail, “Hey snail, did a make a very bad mistake so you hate me?” Snail replied, “you frog has four legs and can jump back and forth, but I have to bring this shell. This is heavy, crawling on the ground, so I feel very sad,” the frog replied,“ Every life has each misery respectively, except that you only see my excitement, but you do not see our suffer.”

Immediately, there was a big eagle flying towards them. Snail quickly covers his put in his body into the shell, while the frog ate by eagle.

Enjoy your life, do not need to be compared with others. Jealousy of our hearts toward others will bring more suffer. It’s better to think about what we have. It will bring more gratitude and happiness for us.

The Perfect Girl

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A very handsome and perfect man thins that God must also have created a very beautiful and perfect woman who matches with as his foul mate.

So he went around finding her soul mate. Then he arrived in a village. He met a farmer who had three daughters and all of them are very beautiful.

The man met the farmer and says that he wants to marry one of his children but confused which is the most perfect. The farmer suggested for dating them one by one and the man agreed.

The first day he went with his first daughter. When they returned, he said to the farmer, “the first daughter has a small flaw. Her left leg thumb is smaller than her right thumb”.

The next day he went with farmer’s second daughter and on his return he said, “The second daughter also had a very small flaw that she has rather squint eyes”.

Eventually he went down with the third daughter. He returned very happy and said to the farmer, “This is what I looking for. She was absolutely perfect.” Than the man marry with the farmer’s third daughter.

Nine months later, the wife was giving birth. With full of happiness, the man witnessed the birth of his first child. When the child is born, he was so shocked and disappointed because he is ugly. He met the farmer and asked, “Why can happen like this, sir? Your daughter is beautiful and I’m handsome, why my child could be so ugly?” The farmer replied, “My third daughter is not perfect. She has small invisible flaw. She was pregnant when she’s marrying you.”

Sometimes when we look for perfection, we could get disappointment instead. But when we ready with the shortage, then everything will feel special.

A Philosopher and a Sailor

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There was a philosopher who boarded a small boat somewhere. Feeling tired in the boat, and then he was looking for a sailor to discuss. Philosophers as the sailor, “Do you understand the philosophy?” “Do not understand”, replied the sailor. “Hmm unfortunately, you have lost half of your life”, said the philosopher.

The philosopher asked again, “Do you understand the math?” “Do not get it either”, replied the sailor. The philosopher shook his head and said, “Unfortunately, even you do not understand the math. That means you’ve lost another half of your life.”

Suddenly there are large waves, making that boat adrift. The boat has the water in and will sink. The philosopher is fear. Instantly the sailor asked the philosopher, ”Sir, can you swim?” Philosopher quickly shook his head and said, “I can’t, help me quick”. Sailor laughed at him and said, “You can’t swim, what is the meaning of your life? It means that you will lose all your life.”

Everyone actually has advantages and disadvantages of each. Proud of the ability was only natural, but do not make you become arrogant and conceited. Remember, there’s always people who smarter than us. We also still need to learn from the others ability.

The Snake and the Saw

                                                             Pic source: zazzle.com

One day, there was a snake entering the carpenter’s warehouse with some work equipment are still scattered and not tidy. When the snake was slithering around in the shed, he accidentally crept above the saw. The sharp blade, causing snake’s stomach wounded. But the snake assumes the chainsaw attacked. He responded with a chainsaw, peck it many times. The attack caused severe injuries in the mouth. Angry and desperate, the snake tried to defeat his enemy. He twisted the saw strongly. Then his body was injured very badly and he finally died.

Sometimes, when we are angry, we want to hurt others. But in fact unwittingly, it wounded us. Why? Because our words and actions when we angry is the deeds that we regret later. Come, we both learned to not get angry or at least able to relieve anger against the bad situation we may experience.

Mother Answers

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There was a boy who asked his mother, “Mom, my friend told me that his mother always let his own hand to bitten by a mosquito until filled with blood so the mosquito will not bite my friends’ hand. Would you do the same like his mom?” The mother laughed and answers frankly, “No. But I will repel the mosquito all night so it did not bite you and our family.” Hearing the answer, the boy smiled and went back to playing activities.

Not long after, the boy turned back to his mother. It turned out that he suddenly remembered something. “Mom, I’ve heard a tory that there was a mother who would not eat so her children can eat well. It she was you, what are you going to do?” the boy asked the almost same question. This time his mother replied with more assertive voice, “I will work hard so that we can all eat and were filled. So, you don’t have to be difficult to swallow because I saw your mother starve”.

The boy smile and then embrace her lovingly, “Thanks, Mom. I can always rely on you”. She rubbed her son’s hair and replied, “No, son! But I will educate you to be able to stand firmly on your own feet, so you will not fall down when I’m no longer on your side. Because I’m not going to always on your side.”

How many of parents who often to feel willing to sacrifice themselves for the sake of her children? Don’t we realize that such attitudes could blunt the child’s mentally braveness? So, it is wise to all parents to not only made themselves a resting-place for their children but also makes that backrest is no longer needed in the future. It is wise if the parents form their children to be independent as a person when the parents can no longer accompany the children in the world.

Looking for Perfection

                                                    Pic source: cottagegardening.com

One day, Kahlil Gibran dialogues with his teacher.

Gibran: “O teacher, how do we get the most perfect thing in Life?”. The teacher mused then replied, “go straight to the flower garden, pluck the most beautiful flower and never turn back!”. After a walk and reached the end of flower garden, Gibran returned empty-handed. Then the teacher asked, “Why you do not get any interest?” Gibran replied, “Actually I got it. I didn’t pluck it because I thought it might be a more beautiful flower in the front. But when I’ve reached the end, I realized that what I saw that was the most beautiful and I could not turn back again.”

The teacher is smiling and said, “Yes.. That’s life. The more we seek perfection, the more we will never get it, because the true is, there is no absolute perfection. There is only our sincerity of our hearts to receive the existing shortcomings. So do not look for perfection but complete what is in us.”