Great Sayings!

Hey,

A Very Happy New Year to you! This time I didn't want to write a message by myself. Rather, I wanted to take help from others to message you as well :-) Here are those ...

Inspirational Messages

"You are what you repeatedly do. Excellence is not an event - it is a habit."- Aristotle

Keep your face to the sunshine and you can never see the shadow."- Helen Keller

"Fear does not have any special power unless you empower it by submitting to it."- Les Brown

'A man may fulfill the object of his existence by asking aquestion he cannot answer, and attempting a task he cannotachieve.'- Oliver Wendell Holmes

"Give yourself an even greater challenge than the one you are trying to master and you will develop the powers necessary to overcome the original difficulty." - William J. Bennett

"One of the tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon - instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today."- Dale Carnegie

"Most great men and women are not perfectly rounded in their personalities, but are instead people whose one driving enthusiasm is so great it makes their faults seem insignificant."- Charles A. Cerami

Kindness and Love

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."- Plato

"It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself."- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost."- G.K. Chesterton

"Life is short. Be swift to love! Make haste to be kind!"- Henri F. Amiel

A Nice Prayer!

'God, grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot change; the courage to change the one I can; And the wisdom to know the person in me.'

Cheers!

_Mani

Taxation as explained by an economics professor

I got this as a forward from one of my friends. Worth and Interesting, a read!

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Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.
So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until on day, the owner threw them a curve. "Since you are all such good customers," he said, "I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20."Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:
The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33%savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28%savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20,"declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man," but he got $10!" "Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got TEN times more than I!" "That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!" "Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!" The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

David R. Kamerschen,
Ph.D. Professor of Economics
University of Georgia

ThalaCauvery in Coorg - My Lingering Moments ...

I had been to many trips in the year 2006 around Karnataka. It had all been memorable experience for me. One place I keep thinking again and again is about my trip to Coorg. We went to Coorg in the month of Nov '06, the right season when one should be there!

Full of mist and fog, the place looked so serene and calm. For a person like me who likes to be within myself and leave my thoughts go around the world, it is really a heaven on earth. Quite a few places we saw in coorg but, the one that lingers in my memory is the ThalaCauvery.

I never thought it to be a great place until I saw it. I thought water will be gushing out from a mountain top and we will be seeing it at a distance, is what I imagined about this place. The moment I stepped near this wonderful place, I saw peace outside and within. Being winter, the day was very cold and not more than 10 people were there next to me. I somehow really felt that Mother Nature is caressing me with her gentle breeze.

I saw the origin of Cauvery River as some 'clear water' in a place that is just some 2 square-foot in area. Next to this place was a pool with lucid water where people took dip in! I never imagined the water to be so clear. I saw a priest doing his reverence to this water worshiping it as the God. I was not able to believe that this water which originates in this small place is going through different states and dams in South India.

I and friend were imagining to go to this place in midnight to see what happens there. Something supernatural might be observed at that time, is what I still believe in. I always had the feeling that any source of nature is where God resides. This being the source of a natural resource, I felt God should be there in this place. I somehow felt that I am standing next to God or lying directly in Her lap being in that place.

There were some 300 odd steps that I had to climb and see the top view of coorg. It is a view point which most people don't climb to see the beauty. We climbed to see this as well. I could see nothing but just the mist. It rained for 30 seconds as we climbed up the steps, which was nothing more than the melted mist most probably. Felt really refreshed. My mind can still feel cold and calm thinking of that place. Some snaps for you ...

Thala Cauvery - Coorg

I drew my so-called portrait!

It was actually in the year 2005, I went to sydney through IBM. I went there to migrate one J2EE application from IBM-Australia to IBM-India and take ownership of the same. I had heavy work one day till 9 p.m. and wanted to relax for sometime in home. Being alone in my apartment I was not knowing what to do. I usually hear lot of music and cook something to kill time. That day all my usual divertions put me to boredom. To change my mind, I suddenly thought why not to draw something. I didn't have a pencil or eraser but started roughly with a Ball Point Pen. I started to draw myself seeing one of my photos!

Before you look at the photo, I would like to say few things about it:

• Believe it or not, I drew this seeing my photo only [Whether the portrait looks like me or not] :-)


• It was drawn using a BLACK BALL-POINT pen and there is no way I can erase and correct the mistakes. So it is drawn in one shot.


• I took just above an hour to draw this. From 10:05p till 11:10p
  

Here is the photo!

Cheers!

_Mani

'Walking with God' By John Eldredge - My Suggestion!

I was not fascinated initially with the 'Google Ads' section I had put in my blog. I used it to the level of tracing how many visisted my blog on day-to-day basis and nothing more than that.

For my blog "The purpose of life" I got a 'Google Ad' saying "Heard from God lately?". I clicked it with a least attention. To my surprise it was too good!

The author John Eldredge's book on "Walking with God" seems good to me. I saw his welcome video in the homepage of this site http://www.walkingwithgod.net/. It made me inquisitive to read something more. I am still reading the sample chapter he has offered in this site.

A glimpse on the first few pages gave me these beautiful rationales. Wanting to be secular here, I would like to replace "Jesus" with "God" in my explanations.

Believing and Following are quite different. Following is the prescribed way as we always realize God is leading us. I inferred more from this. If you believe on something, you do it and you attribute the success on you. It might lead to self-pride or a kind of vanity, which can't be the path to realize God. To hear God we will have to listen to him. To listen to him he have to follow his path. So Following is preferred than believing!

He says we have our life from some source that is God. Bible compares God to the Vine [the stem] of a tree and His followers to the branches. Stem gives life to the branches. Branches can't widen beyond certain width though it gets life from the stem. It has to produce its fruits for others! Inferring more, I should say that God has given us the life to live for others than to live for ourself ?

Read more from the PDF and you may understand the book more differently than what I comprehend. Go to http://www.walkingwithgod.net/TheBook.aspx and in the "Sub Navigation" menu, click "Try it". The "Summer" chapter is available in PDF format for reading.

Love,
_Mani

God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called

This was a forward in my inbox. But, I found it pleasing to have in my blog. Crisp one with a good message ...

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Wishing to encourage her young son's progress on the piano, a mother took the small boy to a concert featuring a renowned pianist. After they were seated, the mother spotted a friend in the audience and walked down the aisle to greet her.

Seizing the opportunity to explore the wonders of the concert hall, the little boy rose and eventually explored his way through a door marked "NO ADMITTANCE." When the house lights dimmed and the concert was about to begin, the mother returned to her seat and discovered that her son was missing.

The curtains parted and spotlights focused on the impressive grand piano on stage. In horror, the mother saw her little boy sitting at the keyboard, innocently picking out "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." At that moment, the great piano master made his entrance, quickly moved to the piano, and whispered in the boy's ear, "Don't quit. Keep playing."

Then, leaning over, the great pianist reached down with his left hand and began filling in a bass part. Soon his right arm reached around to the other side of the child and he added a running obligato. Together, the old master and the young novice transformed a frightening situation into a wonderfully creative experience. The audience was mesmerized.

That's the way it is with God. What we can accomplish on our own is hardly noteworthy. We try our best, but the results aren't exactly graceful flowing music. But with the hand of the Master, our life's work truly can be beautiful. Next time you set out to accomplish great feats, listen carefully. You can hear the voice of the Master whispering in your ear, "Don't quit. Keep playing." Feel His loving arms around you. Know that His strong hands are playing the concerto of your life.

Remember, God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called. He'll always be there to love and guide you on to great things. Keep the faith, and keep playing. Together, you and the Master will make beautiful music.