I Appreciate All That I Have
If you understand what our older generations have gone through, you will learn to appreciate everything that you have now. My mother's life experience has taught me this valuable lesson.
One day, everything that my mom had known, changed. Her whole life was turned upside down when she and her family had to flee from Vietnam because of communism. My mom, her parents, and two brothers secretly boarded on a fishing boat along with approximately 400 other refugees. The boat had a capacity of only 200 people, and had no food and only a little amount of water each day. For four days she was stranded on the boat, not knowing where she was, where she was going or what her future entailed.
It was 26 years ago when my mom first stepped foot in America. She had to start a new life with nothing except the clothes on her back. She and her family had to adapt to their new life in America. Learning a new language, finding a new home and being accepted by the American people were some of the obstacles that my mom had to go through. Luckily, she had her education. Apart from her new life, education has allowed her to succeed in the new world. She, along with her brothers, had applied her education to go to college and build their futures. They all graduated from college and currently hold good careers.
Today, my mother is a successful realtor and a financial planner. She teaches and helps people who were in the same position she was in. She helps them find a home and teaches them about how to save their money. She will never forget what had happened because it reminds her of how far she has come and never to take what she has for granted. She teaches me to work hard for what I want, and to always remember that a lot of work has been done for my lifestyle to be the way that it is today. Because everything that I have had has been handed to me, it was hard for me to understand life in a different place.
My mother had also taught me always to appreciate everything that I own. She teaches me how far a dollar can go. She reminds me that I cannot always have what I want. "We have to think about others who are less fortunate than we are," informs my mother. She tells me that we have to be smart with our money. My mother has taught me to see every positive aspect that can help build my future. I need to appreciate my education and my value in society.
I constantly ask my mother to tell me the story of how she came from Vietnam because every time I hear it, I am reminded of what I am most grateful for in my life. I appreciate all that I have. A lesson is learned from every experience, and my mom's experience has taught me everything I need to know to be happy in this world.
I am aware that not everyone has had the privilege to have parents akin to mine. We all can, however, we all can ask our older generations to tell us about their own struggles. Everyone has a story to tell; we can learn from what they tell us, in order to understand what it took for our lives to be as great as they are now. We can then appreciate everything that we have in our lives today.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
Attitude
A long time ago in China , a girl named Li-Li got married & went to live with her husband and mother-in-law. In a very short time, Li-Li found that she couldn't get along with her mother-in-law at all.
Their personalities were very different, and Li-Li was angered by many of her mother-in-law's habits. In addition, she criticized Li-Li constantly.
Days passed, and weeks passed. Li-Li and her mother-in-law never stopped arguing and fighting.
But what made the situation even worse was that, according to ancient Chinese tradition, Li-Li had to bow to her mother-in-law and obey her every wish. All the anger and unhappiness in the house was causing Li-Li's poor husband! d great distress.
Finally, Li-Li could not stand her mother-in-! law's bad temper and dictatorship any longer, and she decided to do something about it! Li-Li went to see her father's good friend, Mr. Huang, who sold herbs.
She told him the situation and asked if he would give her some poison so that she could solve the problem once and for all.
Mr. Huang thought for awhile, and finally said, "Li-Li, I will help you solve your problem, but you must listen to me and obey what I tell you."
Li-Li said, "Yes, Mr. Huang, I will do whatever you tell me to do."Mr. Huang went into the back room, and returned in a few minutes with a package of herbs. He told Li-Li, "You can't use a quick-acting poison to get rid of your mother-in-law, because that would cause people to become suspicious Therefore, I have given you a number of herbs that will slowly build up poison in her body. Every other day prepare some delicious meal and put a little of these herbs in her serving.
Now, in order to make sure that nobody suspect you, when she dies, you must be very careful to act very friendly towards her. "Don't argue with her, obey her every wish, and treat her like a queen." Li-Li was so happy.
She thanked Mr. Huang and hurried home to start her plot of murdering her mother-in-law.
Weeks went by, and months went by, and every other day, Li-Li served the specially treated food to her mother-in-law. She remembered what Mr. Huang had said about avoiding suspicion, so she controlled her temper!r, obeyed her mother-in-law, and treated her like her own mother.
After six months had passed, the whole household had changed. Li-Li had practiced controlling her temper so much that she found that she almost never got mad or upset. She hadn't had an argument with her mother-in-law in six months because she now seemed much kinder and easier to get along with.
The mother-in-law's attitude toward Li-Li changed, and she began to love Li-Li like her own daughter. She kept telling friends and relatives that Li-Li was the best daughter-in- law one could ever find. Li-Li and her mother-in-law were now treating each other like a real mother and daughter.
Li-Li's husband was very happy to see what was happening. One day, Li-Li came to see Mr. Huang and asked for his help again She said, "Dear Mr. Huang, please help me to keep the poison from killing my mother-in-law. She's changed into such a nice woman, and I love her like my own mother. I do not want her to die because of the poison I gave her."
Mr. Huang smiled and nodded his head. "Li-Li, there's nothing to worry about. I never gave you any poison. The herbs I gave you were vitamins to improve her health. The only poison was in your mind and your attitude toward her, but that has been all washed away by the love which you gave to her."
Their personalities were very different, and Li-Li was angered by many of her mother-in-law's habits. In addition, she criticized Li-Li constantly.
Days passed, and weeks passed. Li-Li and her mother-in-law never stopped arguing and fighting.
But what made the situation even worse was that, according to ancient Chinese tradition, Li-Li had to bow to her mother-in-law and obey her every wish. All the anger and unhappiness in the house was causing Li-Li's poor husband! d great distress.
Finally, Li-Li could not stand her mother-in-! law's bad temper and dictatorship any longer, and she decided to do something about it! Li-Li went to see her father's good friend, Mr. Huang, who sold herbs.
She told him the situation and asked if he would give her some poison so that she could solve the problem once and for all.
Mr. Huang thought for awhile, and finally said, "Li-Li, I will help you solve your problem, but you must listen to me and obey what I tell you."
Li-Li said, "Yes, Mr. Huang, I will do whatever you tell me to do."Mr. Huang went into the back room, and returned in a few minutes with a package of herbs. He told Li-Li, "You can't use a quick-acting poison to get rid of your mother-in-law, because that would cause people to become suspicious Therefore, I have given you a number of herbs that will slowly build up poison in her body. Every other day prepare some delicious meal and put a little of these herbs in her serving.
Now, in order to make sure that nobody suspect you, when she dies, you must be very careful to act very friendly towards her. "Don't argue with her, obey her every wish, and treat her like a queen." Li-Li was so happy.
She thanked Mr. Huang and hurried home to start her plot of murdering her mother-in-law.
Weeks went by, and months went by, and every other day, Li-Li served the specially treated food to her mother-in-law. She remembered what Mr. Huang had said about avoiding suspicion, so she controlled her temper!r, obeyed her mother-in-law, and treated her like her own mother.
After six months had passed, the whole household had changed. Li-Li had practiced controlling her temper so much that she found that she almost never got mad or upset. She hadn't had an argument with her mother-in-law in six months because she now seemed much kinder and easier to get along with.
The mother-in-law's attitude toward Li-Li changed, and she began to love Li-Li like her own daughter. She kept telling friends and relatives that Li-Li was the best daughter-in- law one could ever find. Li-Li and her mother-in-law were now treating each other like a real mother and daughter.
Li-Li's husband was very happy to see what was happening. One day, Li-Li came to see Mr. Huang and asked for his help again She said, "Dear Mr. Huang, please help me to keep the poison from killing my mother-in-law. She's changed into such a nice woman, and I love her like my own mother. I do not want her to die because of the poison I gave her."
Mr. Huang smiled and nodded his head. "Li-Li, there's nothing to worry about. I never gave you any poison. The herbs I gave you were vitamins to improve her health. The only poison was in your mind and your attitude toward her, but that has been all washed away by the love which you gave to her."
Perfect Person
A man and his girlfriend were married. It was a large celebration. All
of their friends and family came to see the lovely ceremony and to
partake of the festivities and celebrations. A wonderful time was had
by all.
The bride was gorgeous in her white wedding gown and the groom was
very dashing in his black tuxedo. Everyone could tell that the love
they had for each other was true.
A few months later, the wife comes to the husband with a proposal: "I
read in a magazine, a while ago, about how we can strengthen our
marriage." she offered.
"Each of us will write a list of the things that we find a bit
annoying with the other person. Then, we can talk about how we can fix
them together and make our lives happier together."
The husband agreed. So each of them went to a separate room in the
house and thought of the things that annoyed them about the other.
They thought about this question for the rest of the day and wrote
down what they came up with. The next morning, at the breakfast table,
they decided that they would go over their lists. "I'll start,"
offered the wife. She took out her list. It had many items on it.
Enough to fill 3 pages, in fact. As she started reading the list of
the little annoyances, she noticed that tears were starting to appear
in her husbands eyes.
"What's wrong?" she asked. "Nothing" the husband replied, "keep
reading your list."
The wife continued to read until she had read all three pages to her
husband. She neatly placed her list on the table and folded her hands
over top of it.
"Now, you read your list and then we'll talk about the things on both
of our lists." She said happily.
Quietly the husband stated, "I don't have anything on my list. I
think that you are perfect the way that you are. I don't want you to
change anything for me. You are lovely and wonderful and I wouldn't
want to try and change anything about you."
The wife, touched by his honesty and the depth of his love for her
and his acceptance of her, turned her head and wept.
IN LIFE, there are enough times when we are disappointed, depressed
and annoyed. We don't really have to go looking for them.
We have a wonderful world that is full of beauty, light and promise.
Why waste time in this world looking for the bad, disappointing or
annoying when we can look around us, and see the wondrous things
before us?
I believe that WE ARE HAPPIEST WHEN we see and praise the good and
try our best to forget the bad. Nobody's perfect but we can find
perfectness in them to change the way we see them.
of their friends and family came to see the lovely ceremony and to
partake of the festivities and celebrations. A wonderful time was had
by all.
The bride was gorgeous in her white wedding gown and the groom was
very dashing in his black tuxedo. Everyone could tell that the love
they had for each other was true.
A few months later, the wife comes to the husband with a proposal: "I
read in a magazine, a while ago, about how we can strengthen our
marriage." she offered.
"Each of us will write a list of the things that we find a bit
annoying with the other person. Then, we can talk about how we can fix
them together and make our lives happier together."
The husband agreed. So each of them went to a separate room in the
house and thought of the things that annoyed them about the other.
They thought about this question for the rest of the day and wrote
down what they came up with. The next morning, at the breakfast table,
they decided that they would go over their lists. "I'll start,"
offered the wife. She took out her list. It had many items on it.
Enough to fill 3 pages, in fact. As she started reading the list of
the little annoyances, she noticed that tears were starting to appear
in her husbands eyes.
"What's wrong?" she asked. "Nothing" the husband replied, "keep
reading your list."
The wife continued to read until she had read all three pages to her
husband. She neatly placed her list on the table and folded her hands
over top of it.
"Now, you read your list and then we'll talk about the things on both
of our lists." She said happily.
Quietly the husband stated, "I don't have anything on my list. I
think that you are perfect the way that you are. I don't want you to
change anything for me. You are lovely and wonderful and I wouldn't
want to try and change anything about you."
The wife, touched by his honesty and the depth of his love for her
and his acceptance of her, turned her head and wept.
IN LIFE, there are enough times when we are disappointed, depressed
and annoyed. We don't really have to go looking for them.
We have a wonderful world that is full of beauty, light and promise.
Why waste time in this world looking for the bad, disappointing or
annoying when we can look around us, and see the wondrous things
before us?
I believe that WE ARE HAPPIEST WHEN we see and praise the good and
try our best to forget the bad. Nobody's perfect but we can find
perfectness in them to change the way we see them.
Shipwreck !!!
A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agree that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.
The first thing they prayed for was food.
The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren.
After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a
wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, there was nothing!
Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him.
However, the second man still had nothing.
Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island. The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive Allah's blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered.
As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"
"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything."
"You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings." "Tell me," the first man asked the voice,! "what did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"
"He prayed that all your prayers be answered."
For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone,but those of another praying for us.
The first thing they prayed for was food.
The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren.
After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a
wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, there was nothing!
Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him.
However, the second man still had nothing.
Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island. The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive Allah's blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered.
As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"
"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything."
"You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings." "Tell me," the first man asked the voice,! "what did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"
"He prayed that all your prayers be answered."
For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone,but those of another praying for us.
The True Peace!
There once was a King who offered a prize to the artist who would
paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The King looked
at all the pictures but there were only two that he really liked and
he had to choose between them.
One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for
peaceful towering mountains were all around it. Overhead was a blue
skywith fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought it was a
perfect picture of peace.
The other picture had mountains. But these were rugged and bare. Above
was an angry sky from which rain fell, and in which lightening played.
Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did
not look peaceful at all. But when the King looked, he saw behind the
waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a
mother bird had built her nest. There in the midst of the rush of
angry water, sat the mother bird
on her nest.
The King chose the second picture as the winner. "Because", explained
the King, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no
noise, trouble or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all
those things and still be calm in heart."
"That is the real meaning of peace."
paint the best picture of peace. Many artists tried. The King looked
at all the pictures but there were only two that he really liked and
he had to choose between them.
One picture was of a calm lake. The lake was a perfect mirror for
peaceful towering mountains were all around it. Overhead was a blue
skywith fluffy white clouds. All who saw this picture thought it was a
perfect picture of peace.
The other picture had mountains. But these were rugged and bare. Above
was an angry sky from which rain fell, and in which lightening played.
Down the side of the mountain tumbled a foaming waterfall. This did
not look peaceful at all. But when the King looked, he saw behind the
waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a
mother bird had built her nest. There in the midst of the rush of
angry water, sat the mother bird
on her nest.
The King chose the second picture as the winner. "Because", explained
the King, "peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no
noise, trouble or hard work. Peace means to be in the midst of all
those things and still be calm in heart."
"That is the real meaning of peace."
The Beautiful Heart
The Most Beautiful Heart
One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming
that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley.
A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was
perfect.
There was not a mark or a flaw in it. Yes, they all agreed it truly
was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen. The young man was
very proud and boasted more loudly about his beautiful heart.
Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said, "Why
your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine." The crowd and the
young man looked at the old man's heart. It was beating strongly, but
full of scars ,it had places where pieces had been removed and other
pieces put in, but they didn't fit quite right and there were several
jagged edges. In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where
whole pieces were missing.
The people stared "How can he say his heart is more beautiful?" they
thought. The young man looked at the old man's heart and saw its state
and laughed.
"You must be joking," he said. "Compare your heart with mine, mine is
perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears."
"Yes," said the old man, "Yours is perfect looking but I would never
trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom have
given my love - I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them,
and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the
empty place in my heart, but because the pieces aren't exact, I have
some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love
we shared."
"Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person
hasn't returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges
- giving love is taking a chance. Although these gouges are painful,
they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too,
and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting.
So now do you see what true beauty is?"
The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks.
He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and
beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man
with trembling hands. The old man took his offering, placed it in his
heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it
in the wound in the young man's heart. It fit, but not perfectly, as
there were some jagged edges.
The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more
beautiful than ever, since love from the old man's heart flowed into his.
They embraced and walked away side by side.
One day a young man was standing in the middle of the town proclaiming
that he had the most beautiful heart in the whole valley.
A large crowd gathered and they all admired his heart for it was
perfect.
There was not a mark or a flaw in it. Yes, they all agreed it truly
was the most beautiful heart they had ever seen. The young man was
very proud and boasted more loudly about his beautiful heart.
Suddenly, an old man appeared at the front of the crowd and said, "Why
your heart is not nearly as beautiful as mine." The crowd and the
young man looked at the old man's heart. It was beating strongly, but
full of scars ,it had places where pieces had been removed and other
pieces put in, but they didn't fit quite right and there were several
jagged edges. In fact, in some places there were deep gouges where
whole pieces were missing.
The people stared "How can he say his heart is more beautiful?" they
thought. The young man looked at the old man's heart and saw its state
and laughed.
"You must be joking," he said. "Compare your heart with mine, mine is
perfect and yours is a mess of scars and tears."
"Yes," said the old man, "Yours is perfect looking but I would never
trade with you. You see, every scar represents a person to whom have
given my love - I tear out a piece of my heart and give it to them,
and often they give me a piece of their heart which fits into the
empty place in my heart, but because the pieces aren't exact, I have
some rough edges, which I cherish, because they remind me of the love
we shared."
"Sometimes I have given pieces of my heart away, and the other person
hasn't returned a piece of his heart to me. These are the empty gouges
- giving love is taking a chance. Although these gouges are painful,
they stay open, reminding me of the love I have for these people too,
and I hope someday they may return and fill the space I have waiting.
So now do you see what true beauty is?"
The young man stood silently with tears running down his cheeks.
He walked up to the old man, reached into his perfect young and
beautiful heart, and ripped a piece out. He offered it to the old man
with trembling hands. The old man took his offering, placed it in his
heart and then took a piece from his old scarred heart and placed it
in the wound in the young man's heart. It fit, but not perfectly, as
there were some jagged edges.
The young man looked at his heart, not perfect anymore but more
beautiful than ever, since love from the old man's heart flowed into his.
They embraced and walked away side by side.
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