We Can Make It

We are all like one-winged angels. It’s only when we help each other that we can fly.

- Luciano deCrescenzo

Bob Butler lost his legs in a 1965 land mine explosion in Vietnam. He returned home a war hero. Twenty years later, he proved once again that heroism comes from the heart.

Butler was working in his garage in a small town in Arizona on a hot summer day when he heard a woman’s screams coming from a nearby house. He rolled his wheel-chair toward the house, but the dense shrubbery wouldn’t allow him access to the back door. So the veteran got out of his chair and crawled through the dirt and bushes.

“I had to get there”, he says. “It didn’t matter how much it hurt”.

When Butler arrived at the house, he traced the screams to the pool, where a three-year-old girl was lying at the bottom. She had been born without arms and had fallen in the water and couldn’t swim. Her mother stood over her baby screaming frantically. Butler dove to the bottom of the pool and brought little Stephanie up to the deck. Her face was blue, she had no pulse and she was not breathing.

Butler immediately went to work, performing Cardio Pulmonary Recovery (CPR) to revive her while Stephanie’s mother telephoned the fire department. She was told that the paramedics were already out on a call. Helplessly, she sobbed and hugged Butler’s shoulder.

As Butler continued with his CPR, he calmly reassured Stephanie’s mother. “Don’t worry,” he said. “I was her arms to get out of the pool. It’ll be okay. I’m now her lungs. Together we can make it.”

Seconds later the little girl coughed, regained consciousness and began to cry. As they hugged and rejoiced together, the mother asked Butler how he knew it would be okay.

“When my legs were blown off in the war, I was all alone in a field”, he told her. “No one was there to help except a little Vietnamese girl. As she struggled to drag me into her village, she whispered in broken English, “It okay. You can live. I be your legs. Together we make it’.

“This was my chance,” he told Stephanie’s mom, ‘to return the favour’.

- Dan Clark 

The cheerful day

At the beginning of my 8:00 a.m. class one Monday at University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), I cheerfully asked my students how their weekend had been. One young man said that his weekend had not been very good. He’d had his wisdom teeth extracted.

The young man then proceeded to ask me why I always seemed to be so cheerful. His question reminded me of something I'd read somewhere before: “Every morning when you get up, you have a choice about how you want to approach life that day” I said to the young man. “I choose to be cheerful". “Let me give you an example,” I continued.  

The other sixty students in the class ceased their chatter and began to listen to our conversation. “In addition to teaching here, I also teach out at the community college in Henderson, about seventeen miles down the freeway from where I live.

One day a few weeks ago I drove those seventeen miles to Henderson. I exited the freeway and turned onto College Drive. I only had to drive another quarter-mile down the road to the college. But just then my car died. I tried to start it again, but the engine wouldn’t turn over. So I put my flashers on, grabbed my books and marched down the road to the college.

The cheerful day 

“As soon as I got there, I called AAA and asked them to send a tow truck. The secretary in the Provost's office asked me what had happened. ‘This is my lucky day,’ I replied, smiling. “‘Your car breaks down and today is your lucky day?’ She was puzzled. ‘What do you mean?’

“I live seventeen miles from here I replied. ‘My car could have broken down anywhere along the freeway. It didn't. Instead, it broke down in the perfect place off the freeway, within walking distance of here. I'm still able to teach my class and I've been able to arrange for the tow truck to meet me after class.

If my car was meant to break down today, it couldn't have been arranged in a more convenient fashion. “The secretary's eyes opened wide and then she smiled. I smiled back and headed for class”. So I ended my story to the students in my economics class.

I scanned the sixty faces in the lecture hall. Despite the early hour, no one seemed to be asleep. Somehow, my story had touched them or maybe it wasn't the story at all. In fact, it had all started with a student's observation that I was cheerful. A wise man once said, “Who you are speaks louder to me than anything you can say.” I suppose it must be so.

Author: Lee Ryan Miller - story from his book "Teaching Amidst the Neon Palm Trees".

'Curiosity' the Powerful Thing

A woman approached Dr. Louis Agassiz, a distinguished American naturalist, after a lecture he gave in London. She complained that she had never really had a chance to learn because of her lot in life. She and her sister ran a boarding house and she simply didn't have time for anything else. After listening to the woman's story, Dr. Agassiz responded, "Do you say madam, you never had a chance? What do you do?" She replied, "I skin potatoes and chop onions."

He then inquired, "Madam, where do you sit during these interesting but Homely duties?”

"On the bottom step of the kitchen stairs."

"Where do your feet rest?"

"On the glazed brick."

"What is glazed brick?"

"I don't know, sir."

"How long have you been sitting there?"

"Fifteen years."

Dr. Agassiz then handed her his business card saying, "Madam, here is my personal card. Would you kindly write me a letter concerning the nature of a glazed brick?" An odd request indeed especially from someone so highly esteemed in the scientific world. The woman took the request seriously.

She looked up “brick” in the dictionary which stated that it was a piece of baked clay. This definition was far too simple to send to a famous scientist, so she continued her search moving on to the encyclopedia. She visited museums and libraries to obtain more in-depth articles. She even visited a local brickyard. When she felt her studies were complete on the matter, she sat down and wrote Dr. Agassiz a 36-page letter on the subject of glazed brick and tile.

In time, a reply came from Dr. Agassiz in which he informed her that it was the best article he had ever seen on the subject and then said, “I will have it published and pay you for it.” Soon a letter was received by the spinster containing $250 quite a large sum in that day.

Accompanying the payment was another question, "What is under those bricks?" She looked under the bricks and discovered ants. Thus she began an in-depth study of ants. She found there were as many as 2,500 different kinds. In order to understand the ant family she needed to study other subjects as well.

After extensive reading and careful study, she wrote 360 pages on the subject to Dr. Agassiz. This time he published it as a book and sent her a large sum of money which she used to travel and visit all the lands of her dreams.

There is no lack of opportunity, only a lack of curiosity!

Life is a do-it-yourself project.

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer - contractor of his plans to leave the house building business to live a more leisurely life with his wife and enjoy his extended family. He would miss the paycheck each week, but he wanted to retire. They could get by.

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but over time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.

Life is a do-it-yourself project.

When the carpenter finished his work his employer came to inspect the house. Then he handed the front-door key to the carpenter and said, “This is your house… my gift to you.”

The carpenter was shocked!

What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house he would have done it all so differently.

So it is with us. We build our lives a day at a time often putting less than our best into the building. Then with a shock we realize we have to live in the house what we have built. If we could do it over we would do it much differently. But, you cannot go back. 

You are the carpenter of your life and every day you hammer a nail, place a board or erect a wall called life. Someone once said, “Life is a do-it-yourself project.” 

Your attitudes and the choices you make today it help to build the “house” you will live in tomorrow. Therefore build wisely - starting now!.

Footprint

One night a man had a dream that he was walking along the beach with the LORD. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One is belonging to him and the other to the LORD.

Footprint

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life. This really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it.

"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I needed you most you would leave me."

The LORD replied:

"My son, my precious child! I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."

Right leader and Cherish moments

“Let me tell you about my experience. In 1973 I became the project director of India's satellite launch vehicle program, commonly called the SLV-3. Our goal was to put India's "Rohini" satellite into orbit by 1980. I was given funds and human resources, but was told clearly that by 1980 we had to launch the satellite into space. Thousands of people worked together in scientific and technical teams towards that goal.

By 1979, I think the month was August we thought we were ready. As the project director, I went to the control center for the launch. At four minutes before the satellite launch, the computer began to go through the checklist of items that needed to be checked. One minute later, the computer program put the launch on hold; the display showed that some control components were not in order.

My experts I had four or five of them told me not to worry; they had done their calculations and there was enough reserve fuel. So I bypassed the computer, switched to manual mode and launched The Rocket. In the first stage, everything worked fine. In the second Stage, a problem developed. Instead of the satellite going into orbit, the whole rocket system plunged into the Bay of Bengal.  It was a big Failure. 

That day, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, Prof. Satish Dhawan, had called a press conference. The launch was at 7:00 am, journalists from around the world were present was at 7:45 am at ISRO's satellite launch range in Sriharikota [in Andhra Pradesh in southern India]. Prof. Dhawan, the leader of the organization, conducted the press conference himself. "We failed! But I have a very good trust in my team that next time we will be succeeding for sure". 

Prof. Dhawan took responsibility for the failure he said that the team had worked very hard, but that it needed more technological support. He assured the media that in another year, the team would definitely succeed. Now, I was the project director and it was my failure, but instead, he took responsibility for the failure as chairman of the Organization.

The next year, in July 1980, we tried again to launch the satellite and this time we succeeded. The whole nation was jubilant and cheering for the success of the launch. Again, there was a press conference Prof. Dhawan called me aside and told me now “You conduct the press conference today.”

Well, this sum up what Leadership is all about! Leadership is not just about 'leading' someone to achieve a task but it is about 'empowering' someone to achieve far Greater deeds. One needs no bigger support than a Leader like Prof. Satish Dhawan to achieve things that have never been achieved before. The 'Trust' that Prof. Dhawan had in his team and the willingness to take responsibility when they fail, is something everyone should look upto and learn in order to become a True Leader.

Dr. Abdul Kalam cherished this experience as one of the high moments in his journey. Right way never change the goal… Try to be a master… be a role model… And be a leader… There is lot of wants here!

Determination and Persistence

A tribute to Civil Engineer, this is a real life story of engineer John Roebling building the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, USA back in 1870. The bridge was completed in 1883, after 13 years.

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.

Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer that the bridge in fact could be built.

Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.

The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was also injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to talk or walk.

“We told those so”, “Crazy men and their crazy dreams”, “It’s foolish to chase wild visions.” Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since Roebling were the only one who knew how the bridge could be built.

In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever. He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task.

As he lay on his bed in his hospital room with the sunlight streaming through the windows. A gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment.

It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.

He touched his wife’s arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again. For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife’s arm, until the bridge was finally completed.

Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man’s indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their teamwork and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.

Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal. Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realized with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.

Your Biggest Cheerleader

Of all the communication you do, none is more important than how you talk to yourself. Your internal dialogue has more to do with your success in life than any other factor.

Every minute you are awake, you engage in 800 to 1,200 words of self-dialogue. In these conversations, you solve problems (or create them), make decisions (or avoid them), judge, praise, or disparage yourself. You can dwell on past mistakes or plan future achievements.

Obviously, the more positive and forward-looking your talk, the stronger and better prepared you become.

In the computer world, the word GIGO means "garbage in, garbage out." Your mind works the same way.  What you talk to yourself about directly affects how you live your life.

Encouraging Words:

Whenever you catch yourself engaging in negative self-talk, take a deep breath and break the cycle.

1. Choose one thing you are grateful for and talk to yourself about it for thirty seconds. This blocks out your negative self-talk.

2. Choose one thing you like about yourself, Describe it, How does it enhance the things you do?  How does it advance and enrich others?  What is its impact on your community, your industry, and the world?

3. What are you most proud of?  Make a strong mental picture of it and tell yourself all about it.

4. What future event are you most looking forward to? Describe it to yourself in vivid detail.  Elaborate, expand, expound. Add Technicolor and stereo. Live it.

5. Keep an upbeat book or tape handy to reinforce your positive self-talk and use them whenever you feel negative. (When you are moving around, listen to the tape. When you are settled in one place read the words).

Being your own biggest booster doesn't mean you're immodest. How can others be motivated to promote you and give you a hand up if you're not positive about yourself?

Remember: five years from now, you'll be the same person you are today - except for the people and situations you've encountered and the thoughts you've thought. Keep your thoughts positive, upbeat and future-oriented. 

No one else is in a better position to be your biggest cheerleader than YOU.

Want to install LOVE?

Customer Service: Can you install Love?

Customer: I can do that. I’m not very technical, but I think I’m ready to install now. What do I do first?

Service: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart?

Customer: Yes, I have, but there are several programs running right now. Is it? Okay to install while they are running?

Service: What programs are running?

Customer: Let me see. I have Pasthurt.exe, Lowesteem.exe, Grudge.exe and Resentment.com running right now.

Service: No problem. Love will automatically erase Pasthurt.exe from your current Operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory, but it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually overwrite Lowesteem.exe with a module of its own, Called Highesteem.exe. However, you have to completely turn off Grudge.exe and Resentment.com. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off?

Customer: I don’t know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?

Service: My pleasure. Go to your Start menu and invoke Forgiveness.exe. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge.exe and Resentment.com will be get erased.

Customer: Okay, I’m done. Love has started installing itself automatically. Is that normal?

Service: Yes it is. You should receive a message that says it will reinstall for the life of your Heart. Do you see that message?

Customer: Yes I do. Is it completely installed? 

Service: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Hearts to get the upgrades.

Customer: Oops!! I have an error message already. What should I do?

Service: What does the message say?

Customer: It says, Error 412 Program not run on internal components. What does that mean?

Service: Don’t worry, that’s a common problem. It means that the Love program is set up to run on external hearts but has not yet been running on your heart. It is one of those complicated programming things, but in non- technical terms it means that you have to love your own machine before it can love others.

Customer: So what should I do?

Service: Can you find the directory called Self-acceptance?

Customer: Yes, I have it.

Service: Excellent, you are getting good at this.

Customer: Thank you. 

Service: You’re welcome. Click on the following files and then copy them to my heart directory  Forgiveself.doc, Selfesteem.txt, Realizeworth.txt and Goodness.doc.

The system will overwrite conflicting files and begin patching any faulty programming. Also, you need to delete Self-criticize.exe from all directories and then empty your recycle bin afterwards to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back.

Customer: Got it! Wow! My heart is filling up with really neat files. Smile.mpg is playing on my monitor right now and it shows that Warmth.com, Peace.exe and Contentment.com are copying themselves all Over my Heart!  

Service: Then Love is installed and running. You should be able to handle it from here. One more thing before I go?

Customer: Yes?

Service: Love is freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everybody you are meeting. They will in turn share it with other people and they will return some really neat modules back to you.

Customer: I will. Thank you for your help.

Service: You’re very welcome.

The Mountain Lesson

"A son and his father were walking on the mountains.
Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: "AAAhhhhhhh!!!"

To his surprise, he hears the voice repeating somewhere in the mountain: "AAAhhhhhh!!!"

Curious, he yells: "Who are you?"
He receives the answer: "Who are you?"

And then he screams to the mountain: "I admire you!"
The voice answers: "I admire you!"

Angered at the response, he screams: "Coward!"
He receives the answer: "Coward!"

He looks to his father and asks: "What's going on?"

The father smiles and says: "My son, pay attention"
Again the man screams: "You are a champion!"
The voice answers: "You are a champion!"

The boy is surprised! But does not understand.
Then the father explains: "People call this ECHO, but really this is LIFE.

It gives you back everything you say or do.
Our life is simply a reflection of our actions.

If you want more love in the world, create more love in your heart.
If you want more competence in your team, improve your competence.
This relationship applies to everything, in all aspects of life;
Life will give you back everything you have given to it."

YOUR LIFE IS NOT A COINCIDENCE. IT'S A REFLECTION OF YOU!"

Should I Get Involved?

I was walking down a dimly lit street one evening when I heard muffled screams coming from behind a clump of bushes. Alarmed, I slowed down to listen and panicked when I realized that what I was hearing were the unmistakable sounds of a struggle: heavy grunting, frantic scuffling, and tearing of fabric.

Only yards from where I stood, a woman was being attacked. Should I get involved? I was frightened for my own safety and berated myself for having suddenly decided to take a new route home that night. What if I became another statistic? Shouldn’t I just run to the nearest phone and call the police?

Although it seemed an eternity, the deliberations in my head had only taken seconds, but already the girl’s cries were growing weaker. I knew I had to act fast. How could I walk away from this?  No, I finally resolved, I could not turn my back on the fate of this unknown woman, even if it meant risking my own life.

I am not a brave man nor am I athletic. I don’t know where I found the moral, courage and physical strength. But once I had finally resolved to help the girl I became strangely transformed.

I ran behind the bushes and pulled the assailant off the woman. Grappling, we fell to the ground, where we wrestled for a few minutes until the attacker jumped up and escaped.

Panting hard, I scrambled upright and approached the girl who was crouched behind a tree sobbing. In the darkness, I could barely see her outline, but I could certainly sense her trembling shock. Not wanting to frighten her any further. I at first spoke to her from a distance “it’s okay, the man ran away, you’re safe now” I said soothingly. There was a long pause and then I heard the words uttered in wonder in amazement “Dad, is that you?” and then, from behind the tree stepped my youngest daughter Katherine.

It’s dreadful to think what the man would have done if he hadn’t acted.  He chose to act, his efforts guided by values and directed towards what is right than what would have been convenient.  He got the reward of a lifetime.

If we go through the pain of discipline,

We can save ourselves from the pain of regret.

I Knew You Would Come

There were two childhood buddies who went through school, college and even joined the army together. War broke out and they were fighting in the same unit.

One night they were ambushed. Bullets were flying all over and out of the darkness came a voice, "Harry, please come and help me." Harry immediately recognized the voice of his childhood buddy, Bill. He asked the captain if he could go. The captain said, "No, I can't let you go, I am already short-handed and I cannot afford to lose one more person.

Besides, the way Bill sounds he is not going to make it."Harry kept quiet. Again the voice came, "Harry, please come and help me." Harry sat quietly because the captain had refused earlier. Again and again the voice came. Harry couldn't contain himself any longer and told the captain, "Captain, this is my childhood buddy. I have to go and help." The captain reluctantly let him go.

Harry crawled through the darkness and dragged Bill back into the trench. They found that Bill was dead. Now the captain got angry and shouted at Harry, "Didn't I tell you he was not going to make it? He is dead, you could have been killed and I could have lost a hand. That was a mistake." Harry replied, "Captain, I did the right thing. When I reached Bill he was still alive and his last words were 'Harry, I knew you would come.

Good relationships are hard to find and once developed should be nurtured. We are often told: Live your dream. But you cannot live your dream at the expense of others. People who do so are unscrupulous. We need to make personal sacrifices for our family, friends and those we care about and who depend on us.

Weakness can become our strength

A 10-year-old boy decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why after three months of training the master had taught him only one move.

"Sensei,"(Teacher in Japanese) the boy finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?"

"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the sensei replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training. Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament.

Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out.

He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened. "No," the sensei insisted, "Let him continue." Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament.

He was the champion. On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.

"Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"

"You won for two reasons," the sensei answered. "First you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo and second the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm."

The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.

Moral of the Story:

Sometimes we feel that we have certain weaknesses and we blame God, the circumstances or ourselves for it but we never know that our weaknesses can become our strengths one day.

Each of us is special and important, so never think you have any weakness, never think of pride or pain, just live your life to its fullest and extract the best out of it!

Face difficulties positively

This parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer’s well. The farmer heard the mule praying or whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together, told them what had happened, and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery. 

Initially the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, HE WOULD SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP!

This he did, blow after blow. “Shake it off and step up… shake it off and step up…shake it off and step up!” He repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or how distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought panic and just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP!

It wasn’t long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the wall of that well! What seemed like it would bury him actually helped him... all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.

THAT’S LIFE! “If we face our problems and respond to them positively and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity we will spring up from any depth.” All that’s required is a decision to fight back and give our 100%; the Universe takes care of the rest!

AS THEY SAY, WHEN WE ARE COMMITTED THE PROVIDENCE MOVES!

The Zen master and Beautiful girl

After completing the daily discourses, a Zen master was walking along the forest with a student. On reaching the river, they found a beautiful girl waiting on the banks. 

On seeing the Zen master, the girl walked up to him and said, “Sir, I don’t know how to swim. Can you carry me across the waters?” The Zen master smiled and hoisted her upon his shoulders and began walking across the shallow waters of the river.

The student was mighty confused by the master’s act of touching a beautiful girl. Not just that but carrying the damsel on his shoulders.

On reaching the shores, the master put her down. The girl thanked the master and left. The master smiled and began his journey as if nothing had happened. One hour passed by. The master and student were walking along silently.

Unable to contain his thoughts, the young student asked, “Master, you said we should not be touched by worldly pleasures a few hours ago. But you just touched, lifted and carried a beautiful girl. Were your thoughts not stained by this act?”

The Zen master smiled,” Son, you see I carried her on my shoulders and dropped her on the banks long ago.

But you’re still carrying her in your head.”

The boy was silent; he realized and thinks her as she only.