The mouse who was afraid

There is a legend which says that there was a mouse who was very afraid of cats. She wished she could become a cat, her wish came true and she turned into a cat. Then she saw a dog and became afraid again and wished she were a dog. Her wish was granted and she turned into a dog. Then she saw a lion and she was terrified by his power and strength and wished she could become a lion so that she would not have to be terrified of the lion. Her wish was granted and she became a lion. Then she saw a man with a gun about to shoot her with his gun. You can imagine what happened next. She wished she could become a human and she did. But when she was sitting in her house she saw a mouse and she was scared of the mouse. The little mouse frightened her.

Death was walking toward a city

Death was walking toward a city one morning and a man asked, “What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to take 100 people,” Death replied.

“That’s horrible!” the man said.

“That’s the way it is,” Death said. “That’s what I do.”

The man hurried to warn everyone he could about Death’s plan.

As evening fell, he met Death again. “You told me you were going to take 100 people,” the man said. “Why did 1,000 die?”

“I kept my word,” Death responded. “I only took 100 people. Worry took the others.”

This interesting tale portrays so well what the US National Mental Health Committee reported a few years ago - half of all the people in America’s hospital beds are constant worriers. Mental distress can lead to migraine headaches, arthritis, heart trouble, cystitis, colitis, backaches, ulcers, depression, digestive disorders and yes, even death. the mental fatigue of nights without sleep and days without peace, then we get a glimpse of the havoc worry plays in destroying the quality and quantity of life.

Worry is, and always will be, a fatal disease of the heart, for its beginning signals the end of faith.

Release the regrets of yesterday, refuse the fears of tomorrow and receive instead, the peace of today.

FREE YOUR MIND, YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID.

Barefoot

When G-d first revealed Himself to Moses from the Burning Bush, He said to him,
“Remove your shoes from your feet.” With this command, G-d impressed an
important point on Moses.
That point was that when you walk down the road in shoes, you stroll easily. The
shoes that you wear protect you from feeling the little stones and the sharp pebbles
on the road.
However, when you walk down the road barefoot, you feel every little stone and
every sharp pebble that you step on.
As Moses was being appointed to lead Israel, he was commanded to remove his
shoes. This hinted to the fact that he had to walk through life “barefoot”, so that he
could feel and understand every little pain and every little sorrow which was the
lot of his people.
The true Jewish leader cannot isolate himself from the plight of his people. He
cannot put on the figurative shoes of indifference, caring for himself, at the cost of
feeling the distress of his flock.
Similarly, each of us should take off the shoes of apathy, and be sensitive to the even
the smallest opportunities for kindness. We never know which minor gestures on
our part could make a difference in people’s lives.

Can you teach us how to survive?

Years ago, Eli Weezell (? ) was asked by the Dalai Lama if he could see
him. He wanted to talk to Eli Rizell.  During their meeting, Weezell said
to him, ?With all due respect, Mr. Lama? (I don?t think he really called
him that) ? Why was it so important for you to see me??  The Dalai Lama
answered him, ?Mr. Weezell, your people have suffered a lot and you went
into exile 2000 years ago, but amazingly you?re still here. My people just
left our homeland. We are in exile. Can you teach us how to survive? How?
How have you done it? How do the Jews continue to do it??

When you thought I wasn?t looking

?When you thought I wasn?t looking, I saw you hang my first painting on the
refrigerator and I immediately wanted to paint another one. When you
thought I wasn?t looking, I saw you feed a stray cat and I learned that it
was good to be kind to animals. When you thought I wasn?t looking, I saw
you make my favorite cake for me and I learned that little things can be
very special in life. When you thought I wasn?t looking, I heard you say a
prayer to G-d and I learned that there was a G-d that I could always talk
to and I learned to trust in G-d. When you thought I wasn?t looking, I saw
you make a meal and take it to a friend who was ill and I learned that we
all need to help to take care of each other. When you thought I wasn?t
looking, I saw you give your time and money to people who had nothing and I
learned that those who have something, should give to those who don?t.
When  you thought I wasn?t looking, I felt you kiss me goodnight and I felt
loved and safe.  When you thought I wasn?t looking, I saw tears come from
your eyes and I learned that sometimes things hurt and that it?s alright to
cry. When you thought I wasn?t looking, I saw how you handled your
responsibilities even when you didn?t feel well and I learned that I would
need to be responsible when I grow up. When you thought I wasn?t looking, I
was looking at you and I wanted to say, Thank you for all the things I saw
when you thought I wasn?t looking.?

My friends, they?re always looking.   Our children are looking and learning
from every thing we do and every thing we don?t do. Like Isaac who walked
alongside his father, if we set the right example, our children will be
right there in step with us when G-d calls for us to meet him alone on the
top of a mountain. If we role model properly for them, than they will have
the knowledge, the courage, the inner strength with which to climb the
mountain they will encounter later in life and they will encounter
mountains. This is the hope and the continuity of our nation and for all
civilization.

Story: The Tip

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy
entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of
water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream sundae, he asked" "Fifty
cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his
pocket and studied the number of coins in it. "How much is a dish of plain
ice cream?" he inquired. Some people were now waiting for a table and the
waitress was a bit impatient. "Thirty-five cents," she said brusquely. The
little boy again counted the coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he
said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked
away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and departed. When
the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed
hard at what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two
nickels and five pennies - her tip.

Joke: choose between wealth, honor and wisdom

A joke is told of a genie that appeared at a meeting of the faculty at a
prestigious university. She approached the president and told him that due
to his scholarship, diligence and devotion he was entitled to one of three
blessings. He must choose between wealth, honor and wisdom. Without
hesitation the president chose wisdom and the genie granted his wish and
disappeared.

Awed by the moment the faculty waited silently for the first pearls of
wisdom to flow from the president?s mouth. Awash in a halo of light, the
president quietly murmured, ?I should have taken the money.?