Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Painting on the wall

There was a king who was a great admirer of art. He encouraged artists from all over his country and gave them valuable gifts.

One day an artist came and said to the king, "Oh King! Give me a blank wall in your palace and let me paint a picture on it. It will be more beautiful than anything you have ever seen before. I promise you shall not be disappointed. "

Now, the king happened to be constructing a big hall at the rear end of the palace. So he said, "All right you may work on one of the walls in the new hall." So the artist was given the job and he was very pleased indeed.

Just then, another young man said, "Oh King! Please allow me to work on the opposite wall. I too am an artist." The king said, "What would you like to make?"

The man said, "My Lord, I shall make exactly what that man will make on the opposite wall. Moreover, I shall do so, without looking at his work. I would even request you to have a thick curtain put up between the two walls so that either of us cannot see the other."

Now, that was a tall statement. Everyone in the king's court, including the king and the first artist were intrigued. But the King loved surprises and he decided to give the young fellow a chance.

The following day a thick curtain was put into place and both the artists got to work.

The first artist brought in a regular supply of paint, oil, water etc. The second one would come with a cloth and a bucket of water every day.

After a month the first artist told the king that his work was complete and he would like to show it to the king. The king sent for the second artist and asked him, "Young man, when would your work be ready? I am coming to see the first wall this evening." The man said, "My Lord, my wall is ready too!"

The king went to see the first artist's wall. He was very, very impressed with the painting and gave a hefty sum as a reward to the artist. He then asked for the curtain to be opened up. The same painting was to be seen on the opposite wall too! Amazing! But true! Each line, each minor detail was exactly as it was on the first wall. But this man had not been seeing what was going on, on the other side of the curtain. So how had he done it?

The king wanted to know the secret. He gave a double reward to the fellow. Then he said, "Young man, I am indeed very happy with your work. But you must tell me; how did you do it?"

The man said simply, "It's very easy! I just polished the wall every day! It was a wall made of white marble! The fellow polished it till it shone like a mirror. The reflection of the painting across the room, showed up in it! "

That is what it means to polish yourself, for when we polish our hearts and souls, we see God's reflection within. Whatever you are, the world will seem to be that too. If you are sad, jealous, dejected, angry, restless... that is what the world will seem to be! If you are happy, the world will seem to be paradise -- it is you who decide how you want your world to look.

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The coldest winter

It was autumn, and the tribals asked their new chief if the winter was going to be cold or mild.

But since he was a chief in a modern society, he had not much wisdom to predict what the weather was going to be unlike his wise ancestors. So to be on the safe side, he replied to his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect wood to be prepared.

But also being a practical leader, after several days he got an idea.

He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked 'Is the coming winter going to be cold?'

'It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold indeed,' the weather man responded. So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more wood. A week later, he called the National Weather Service again.

'Is it going to be a very cold winter?'

'Yes,' the man at National Weather Service again replied, 'It's definitely going to be a very cold winter.'

The chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect every scrap of wood they could find.

Two weeks later, he called the National Weather Service again.

'Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?'

'Absolutely,' the man replied, 'It's going to be one of the coldest winters ever.'

'How can you be so sure?' the chief asked.

The weatherman replied, 'The tribals are collecting wood like crazy!'

A lot of phenomena happens like this in real world as well, and the lesson in this story should teach us one simple thing: It is good to believe the trends, consult 'experts', but in the end.. there's no subsitute for the wise man sitting inside of you.

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