February 28, 2008 at 1:07 pm (All Blogs, All Stories)
Tags: All Blogs, All Stories, ethics, great stories, honesty, inspiration, life, loba blogs, morals, stories
An emperor in the Far East was growing old and knew it was time to choose his successor. Instead of choosing one of his assistants or his children, he decided something different.
He called the young people in his kingdom together one day. He said, “It is time for me to step down and choose the next emperor. I have decided to choose one of you.”
The kids were shocked! But the emperor continued. “I am going to give each one of you a seed today. One very special seed. I want you to plant the seed, water it and come back here after one year from today with what you have grown from this one seed. I will then judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be the next emperor!”
One boy named Ling was there that day and he, like the others, received a seed. He went home and excitedly told his mother the story. She helped him get a pot and planting soil, and he planted the seed and watered it carefully. Every day he would water it and watch to see if it had grown. After about three weeks, some of the other youths began to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.
Ling kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew. 3 weeks, 4 weeks, 5 weeks went by. Still nothing. By now, others were talking about their plants but Ling didn’t have a plant, and he felt like a failure. Six months went by, still nothing in Ling’s pot. He just knew he had killed his seed.
Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but he had nothing. Ling didn’t say anything to his friends, however. He just kept waiting for his seed to grow.
A year finally went by and all the youths of the kingdom brought their plants to the emperor for inspection. He took his empty pot to the palace. When Ling arrived, he was amazed at the variety of plants grown by the other youths.
They were beautiful in all shapes and sizes. Ling put his empty pot on the floor and many of the other kinds laughed at him. A few felt sorry for him and just said, “Hey nice try.”
When the emperor arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted the young people. Ling just tried to hide in the back. “What great plants, trees and flowers you have grown,” said the emperor. “Today, one of you will be appointed the next emperor!”
All of a sudden, the emperor spotted Ling at the back of the room with his empty pot. He ordered his guards to bring him to the front. Ling was terrified. “The emperor knows I’m a failure! Maybe he will have me killed!”
When Ling got to the front, the Emperor asked his name. “My name is Ling,” he replied. All the kids were laughing and making fun of him. The emperor asked everyone to quiet down. He looked at Ling, and then announced to the crowd, “Behold your new emperor! His name is Ling!” Ling couldn’t believe it. Ling couldn’t even grow his seed. How could he be the new emperor?
Then the emperor said, “One year ago today, I gave everyone here a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it, and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds, which would not grow. All of you, except Ling, have brought me trees and plants and flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Ling was the only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new emperor!”
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January 22, 2008 at 11:53 pm (All Blogs, All Quotes)
Tags: Adlai E. Stevenson, Alexander Cockburn, All Blogs, All Quotes, Allan Bloom, Ambrose Bierce, Anatole France, best quote, best quotes, Bhagwan Shree, bias, biased opinions, blog, Dale Carnegie, discriminating people, discrimination, discrimination and prejudice, Duchess de Abrantes, Elbert Hubbard, faith, Famous People Quotes, famous quotes, famous sayings, friends, God, good acts, gratitude, happiness, hate, hatred, inspiration, Inspirations, inspiring, inspiring quotes, John Wesley, learn from quotes, Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy, life, life quotes, life sayings, loba blogs, Mark Twain, misery, prejudice, quote, quote of the day, racism, racism and discrimination, racist, random, read quotes, Religion, Robert Green, Robert Hall, Sri Sathya Sai Baba, thought, thoughts, truth, unhappiness, violence, Voltaire, wisdom, writing
“I have no race prejudice. I think I have no color prejudices or caste prejudices nor creed prejudices. Indeed, I know it. I can stand any society. All that I care to know is that a man is a human being — that is enough for me; he can’t be any worse.” – Mark Twain
“We must remember that we have to make judges out of men, and that by being made judges their prejudices are not diminished and their intelligence is not increased.” – Robert Green
“He flattered himself on being a man without any prejudices; and this pretension itself is a very great prejudice.” – Anatole France
“Prejudice is the reason of fools.” – Voltaire
“Reason transformed into prejudice is the worst form of prejudice, because reason is the only instrument for liberation from prejudice.” – Allan Bloom
“Before we can study the central issues of life today, we must destroy the prejudices and fallacies born of previous centuries.” – Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy
“Logic: an instrument used for bolstering a prejudice.” – Elbert Hubbard
“The First Law of Journalism: to confirm existing prejudice, rather than contradict it.” – Alexander Cockburn
“Prejudice squints when it looks, and lies when it talks.” – Duchess de Abrantes
“When dealing with people, remember you are not dealing with creatures of logic, but with creatures of emotion, creatures bristling with prejudice, and motivated by pride and vanity.” – Dale Carnegie
“Ignorance gives a sort of eternity to prejudice, and perpetuity to error.” – Robert Hall
“Passion and prejudice govern the world; only under the name of reason.” – John Wesley
“Hypocrisy: prejudice with a halo.” – Ambrose Bierce
“Ignorance is stubborn and prejudice is hard.” – Adlai E. Stevenson
“Where prejudice exists it always discolors our thoughts.” – Mark Twain
“Opinions founded on prejudice are always sustained with the greatest violence.” – Hebrew Proverb
“I conceive of a world without poverty, without classes, without nations, without religions, without any kind of discrimination. I conceive of a world which is one, a humanity which is one, a humanity which shares everything — outer and inner — a deep spiritual brotherhood.” – Bhagwan Shree
“When calamity approaches, discrimination departs.” – Sri Sathya Sai Baba
“The sun showers light to one and all without any discrimination. Similarly, humans should also engage himself in doing works for the benefit of the society.” – Atharva Veda
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January 4, 2008 at 6:59 pm (All Blogs, All Quotes)
Tags: All Blogs, writing, blogging, inspiration, inspirational quotes, famous sayings, famous quotes, quote of the day, loba blogs, Wisdom Shared, quote, blogs, great quotes, Blaise Pascal, sayings, best quotes, learn from quotes, Heinrich Heine, celebrity quotes, quotation, quotations, inspirational, inspirational sayings, Joseph Addison, Elegance and Eloquence, Elegance, Eloquence, David Lloyd George, Francois Duc de la Rochefoucauld, Marshall McLuhan, Christian Lacroix, Coco Chanel, Marcel Proust, William Ellery Channing, Yves Saint Laurent, Diana Vreeland, Oliver Wendell Holmes, quotes of the day, read a quote, William R. Alger, Juan Ruiz
“Eloquence resides as much in the tone of voice, in the eyes, and in the expression of the face, as in the choice of words.” – Francois Duc de la Rochefoucauld
“The finest eloquence is that which gets things done; the worst is that which delays them.” – David Lloyd George
“For me, elegance is not to pass unnoticed but to get to the very soul of what one is.” – Christian Lacroix
“We must never confuse elegance with snobbery.” – Yves Saint Laurent
“Elegance does not consist in putting on a new dress.” – Coco Chanel
“Teach us that wealth is not elegance, that profusion is not magnificence, that splendor is not beauty.” – Benjamin Disraeli
“Love makes a subtle man out of a crude one, it gives eloquence to the mute, it gives courage the cowardly and makes the idle quick and sharp.” – Juan Ruiz
“If you would be well spoken of, learn to be well-spoken; and having learnt to be well- spoken, strive also to be well-doing; so shall you succeed in being well spoken of.” – Epictetus
“Even the wisest woman you talk to is ignorant of something you may know, but an elegant woman never forgets her elegance.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes
“Today it is not the classroom nor the classics which are the repositories of models of eloquence, but the ad agencies.” – Marshall McLuhan
“If only for the sake of elegance, I try to remain morally pure.” – Marcel Proust
“To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not, rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common – this is my symphony.” – William Ellery Channing
“The only real elegance is in the mind; if you’ve got that, the rest really comes from it.” – Diana Vreeland
“Eloquence is a painting of the thoughts.” – Blaise Pascal
“True eloquence consists in saying all that should be said, and that only.” – Francois Duc de la Rochefoucauld
“False eloquence is exaggeration; true eloquence is emphasis.” – William R. Alger
“Elegance is innate. It has nothing to do with being well dressed. Elegance is refusal.” – Diana Vreeland
“Eloquence is the power to translate a truth into language perfectly intelligible to the person to whom you speak.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Isn’t elegance forgetting what one is wearing?” – Yves Saint Laurent
“Talking and eloquence are not the same: to speak and to speak well are two things. A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks.” – Heinrich Heine
“A just and reasonable modesty does not only recommend eloquence, but sets off every great talent which a man can be possessed of.” – Joseph Addison
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December 31, 2007 at 11:43 pm (All Blogs, All Personals)
Tags: 2008, All Blogs, ambitions, balance sheet of life, Benjamin Franklin, Benjamin Franklin quotes, best quotes, blessings, blogging, blogs, celebrity quotes, faith, famous quotes, finance, goals, God, great quotes, inspiration, inspirational, inspirational sayings, life, life quotes, Money and Purpose, money conscious, new year, new year resolution, Oprah, Oprah quotes, Oprah Winfrey, Oprah Winfrey quotes, personal, quotations, random, resolutions, Saving Money, saving money tips, thought, writing
“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” – Oprah Winfrey
I have come to the realization that no matter how much we try to be humble and appreciative of life and God’s many blessings, there’s always much room for improvement.
There are many ways to be appreciative and one great way would be to not be wasteful and rather resourceful. Sure, all of us try to save money here and there but I believe that we can all try a bit harder and put the money saved towards good use.
I have always tried to be conscious about my spending habits, yet like most I am quite aware the moments that I have slipped in the past and possibly splurged when not necessary.
I certainly don’t believe in dramatic changes in lifestyle as all that will do is crash and burn just like a bad diet. So my plans to improve will be on much smoother scale, which will still have a high impact.
In the following posts, I will express my sincere plans to analyze my lifestyle, spending habits and further improve everything and put the saved dollars to greater use. I will then research great ways to save money and be more resourceful and share them.
As this train of thought has coincided with the last day of the year 2007, I am quite grateful for the enlightenment and will be happy to call it a resolution. After all, just because we have been blessed with money doesn’t mean we should be wasteful. Whether for retirement or even a noble cause, there’s much that can be saved and used towards greater purposes.
Loba
“Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man.” – Benjamin Franklin
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December 28, 2007 at 7:47 pm (All Blogs, All Personals)
Tags: advertising, All Blogs, best quotes, blog, blogging, blogroll, budgets, Business, call for action, charitable organizations, charity, Compassion, decency, donate, donations, environment, faith, family, famous quotations, famous quotes, famous sayings, feed a family, fight against illiteracy, fundraising, gift of vision, giving, God, Goodwill, grace, great quotes, help, help charities, Help Humanity First, humanity first, inspiration, inspirational quotes, kindness, learn a skill, Letter, life, life quotes, life sayings, loba blogs, love, marketing, Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King Jr, Martin Luther King quote, Martin Luther King quotes, Mother Teresa, Mother Teresa quote, Mother Teresa quotes, new year, nonprofit, orphan care, put humanity first, quotations, quote, quotes, random, Religion, sponsor child, support humanity first, sweet quotes, thought, thoughts, volunteer, volunteer based organization, waste of resources, water for humanity, Wisdom Shared, world vision, world vision marketing, writing, year 2008
“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” – Martin Luther King Jr
I truly believe that when you find a good cause, and see their positive contribution to society, then you should do all you can to help. That is why I’ve decided to show my full support to Humanity First. They are a “humanitarian relief organization, established to provide help and assistance to the less fortunate fellow human beings around the globe and also to improve the quality of life in under- privileged countries”. Humanity First has many branches in various countries and is a disaster relief and human development organization with one very big difference.
Humanity First is a non-profit charitable and 100% volunteer based. “Every one working for Humanity First – aid workers, fund raisers, administrators and the board of directors are unpaid volunteers. All personal expenses are met by the volunteers to maximize the use of funds raised and donated for those in need.” While just the presidents of other “charitable organizations” live in luxuries of having over $400,000 in salary, Humanity First strives to run on volunteers! This is in fact amazing!
So how can you help Humanity First and show your support? For one thing, pass the word around and pass their flyer. Next time you hear of someone wanting to sponsor a child, suggest Humanity First instead. Pin a poster at your work bulletin. Participate in their events, and ask your friends to join you. Volunteer for them if you can. If you can make a one-time donation or a monthly one, then don’t hesitate and look at the various ways you can help. The programs include fight against illiteracy, orphan care, gift of vision, feed a family, water for humanity and learn a skill. Check out the programs and downloads sections of their websites for more details.
Having been a child sponsor with World Vision and through my earlier post and many more to come, I can honestly say that although they do alot of good, they waste alot of money! Unfortunately the money wasted doesn’t amount to thousands, rather millions of dollars which can be put to really good use. Humanity First is different and that difference will in fact make a great impact on the world if they get more and more support everyday.
Even if you won’t show your support today, please still check out their website and learn a bit about them. An organization that is volunteer driven, has an international scope and a non-religious agenda is hard to find and deserves all the respect. As for me, I have become attached to my sponsor child and will continue my support to her until I can find another way to help her family. I will make one time donations to Humanity First anytime I can, help spread the word and volunteer at their events and God willing, someday in the near future, I will begin to contribute monthly to Orphan Care and other programs with Humanity First.
So what are you willing to do to put Humanity first?
Loba
Humanity First Canada
Humanity First USA
Humanity First UK
Humanity First Germany
“If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one.” – Mother Teresa
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December 27, 2007 at 10:02 am (All Blogs, All Quotes)
Tags: actions, Albert Einstein, Albert Einstein quote, Albert Einstein quotes, Albert Schweitzer, All Blogs, All Quotes, Beauty of life, Benjamin Disraeli, best quotes, blessings, blog, blogging, blogs, common courtesy, common sense, Compassion, earth, ethics, faith, family, Famous People Quotes, famous quotes, famous sayings, feed your mind, Gandhi, God, good acts, Goodwill, Goodwill and Humanity, great quotes, human nature, humanity, inspiration, inspirational quotes, inspiring quotes, interesting quotes, James A. Garfield, Jean Paul Richter, JFK, John F Kennedy, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, learn from quotes, Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy, life, Life envisioned, life quotes, life sayings, living, loba blogs, Mahatma Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi quotes, Marie Curie, Martin Luther King, Martin Luther King quotes, Michel de Montaigne, morals, must read, must reads, Oscar Wilde, Oscar Wilde quote, Oscar Wilde quotes, quotation, quotations, quote, quote for the day, quote of the day, quotes, quotes best, random, read quotes, Religion, Ryunosuke Satoro, sin, sincerity, sins, society, Stephan Grellet, sweet quotes, thought, thoughts, Tolstoy, truth, Unknown, unknown quote, unknown quotes, Wangari Maathai, wisdom, Wisdom Shared, world, writing
“It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” – Albert Einstein
“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” – Ryunosuke Satoro
“Peace on earth, the quiet wish of every heart, the focus of each prayer, is that this season be the start of goodwill everywhere.” – Unknown
“All humanity is one undivided and indivisible family, and each one of us is responsible for the misdeeds of all the others. I cannot detach myself from the wickedest soul.” – Mahatma Gandhi
“Humanity is never so beautiful as when praying for forgiveness, or else forgiving another.” – Jean Paul Richter
“There is, nevertheless, a certain respect and a general duty of humanity that ties us, not only to beasts that have life and sense, but even to trees and plants.” – Michel de Montaigne
“We can work together for a better world with men and women of goodwill, those who radiate the intrinsic goodness of humankind.” – Wangari Maathai
“Fear makes us feel our humanity.” Benjamin Disraeli
“Nothing that I can do will change the structure of the universe. But maybe, by raising my voice I can help the greatest of all causes – goodwill among men and peace on earth.” – Albert Einstein
“Justice and goodwill will outlast passion.” James A. Garfield
“A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at, for it leaves out the one country at which Humanity is always landing.” – Oscar Wilde
“Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.” John Fitzgerald Kennedy
“The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity.” – Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy
“You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end, each of us must work for our own improvement and, at the same time, share a general responsibility for all humanity…” – Marie Curie
“We cannot despair of humanity, since we are ourselves human beings.” – Albert Einstein
“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
“The earth is the general and equal possession of all humanity and therefore cannot be the property of individuals.” – Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy
“We must never permit the voice of humanity within us to be silenced. It is man’s sympathy with all creatures that first makes him truly a man.” – Albert Schweitzer
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December 26, 2007 at 9:44 pm (All Blogs, All Quotes)
Tags: Alice Abrams, All Quotes, Ashleigh Brilliant, best quotes, Blaise Pascal, blessings, blog, blogging, blogs, common courtesy, common sense, Compassion, confucius, Dalai Lama, Denis Waitley, Edward Everett Hale, ethics, faith, family, Famous People Quotes, famous quotes, famous sayings, God, great quotes, henry wadsworth longfellow, human nature, humanity, inspiration, inspirational quotes, inspiring quotes, interesting quotes, Jackie Windspear, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Kahlil Gibran, Karl Barth, Lao Tzu, learn from quotes, Leo F. Buscaglia, life, life quotes, life sayings, living, loba blogs, Mark Twain, Martin Luther King, morals, Mother Teresa, Og Mandino, Plato, quotations, quote, quote of the day, quotes, quotes best, Ralph Waldo Emerson, random, Religion, Sarah Ban Breathnach, Seneca, Stephan Grellet, sweet quotes, thoughts, truth, unknown quotes, Wisdom Shared, writing
“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children…to leave the world a better place…to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.” – Stephan Grellet
“Spread love everywhere you go: First of all in your own house… let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness.” – Mother Teresa
“Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you’re beyond the need of God’s grace.” – Unknown
“I am only one, but I am one. I can’t do everything, but I can do something. The something I ought to do, I can do. And by the grace of God, I will.” – Edward Everett Hale
“Whether one believes in a religion or not, and whether one believes in rebirth or not, there isn’t anyone who doesn’t appreciate kindness and compassion.” – Dalai Lama
“Be generous with kindly words, especially about those who are absent.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
“Kind hearts are the gardens, Kind thoughts are the roots, Kind words are the flowers, Kind deeds are the fruits, Take care of your garden And keep out the weeds, Fill it with sunshine Kind words and kind deeds.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
“Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair but manifestations of strength and resolution.” – Kahlil Gibran
“Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile.” – Mother Teresa
“Grace isn’t a little prayer you chant before receiving a meal. It’s a way to live.” – Jackie Windspear
“Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.” – Confucius
“Each day offers us the gift of being a special occasion if we can simply learn that as well as giving, it is blessed to receive with grace and a grateful heart.” – Sarah Ban Breathnach
“In life as in dance: Grace glides on blistered feet.” – Alice Abrams
“Grace must find expression in life, otherwise it is not grace.” – Karl Barth
“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the and the blind can see.” – Mark Twain
“Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” – Leo F. Buscaglia
“Count your blessings. Once you realize how valuable you are and how much you have going for you, the smiles will return, the sun will break out, the music will play, and you will finally be able to move forward the life that God intended for you with grace, strength, courage, and confidence.” – Og Mandino
“Be kind to unkind people – they need it the most.” – Ashleigh Brilliant
“Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.” – Seneca
“This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.” – Dalai Lama
“Kindness is more than deeds. It is an attitude, an expression, a look, a touch. It is anything that lifts another person.” – Unknown
“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” – Denis Waitley
“The will of God will never take you to where the grace of God will not protect you.” – Unknown
“Faith is a living and unshakable confidence, a belief in the grace of God so assured that a man would die a thousand deaths for its sake.” – Martin Luther
“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.” – Plato
“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” – Lao Tzu
“Kind words do not cost much. Yet they accomplish much.” – Blaise Pascal
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