treasure map

A man was strolling along the beach one day when he spotted a bottle washed up on the shore. He went over and picked it up, and noticed a message in the bottle. He popped the cork out and inside was a weathered treasure map indicating that there was buried treasure to be found in the shallow waters below. But the man thought it was a hoax, so he slipped the map back in and threw the bottle back into the ocean...

A little later, another man was walking along the beach and the bottle had washed upon the shore. He too picked up the bottle, popped out the cork, and found the treasure map.

his man, however, was curious enough to wade into the water and hoped it was buried shallow enough to find. But once the cold ocean waters reached up to his thighs, he decided to quit. "This is not worth it!" he thought to himself. So he scrambled back to shore and chucked the bottle back into the ocean.... A third man was walking by the beach and noticed the bottle washed upon the shore.

He went over, opened the bottle and found the map. The map looked authentic enough, and promised great treasure... So he got himself a small raft and set out into the ocean to claim the treasure..he rowed out far enough into the ocean where the "X" on the map was and to his surprise, he saw the glint of something shining in the waters below..he dove into the ocean and swam towards the shining object below.. He could see that there was something that looked like a treasure chest, but he couldn't quite reach it and the deeper he went, the greater the cold and pressure on his body and his mind..," I am about to lose my breath, and the longer I take, my raft might be swept away!", he thought. So the man decided to give up the hunt so he would ensure his own life and safety..when he reached the shore once more, he took the bottle from the raft and tossed it back into the ocean...

Finally, one more man was walking along the beach. He noticed the bottle, went over, popped it open, and was excited to find a map promising great treasure. He noticed someone had left a raft by the water's edge, so he took it and paddled out.

He too, got far enough to where the "X" marks the spot, and squinted into the waters and saw the shadow and glint of the treasure below. He took a deep breath and plunged into the waters. Like the man before him, the cold, darkness and pressure upon his senses increased as he got closer. He also realized that if he kept swimming, that he might lose his breath, the raft, and even his own life! But this treasure could be worth all the risk and he persisted. Just as he was about to give up, he grabbed the long chain that was binding the chest and pulled it up along with himself back to the surface. He broke the surface of the water gasping and exhausted but with the treasure chest safely in his grasp. He paddled back to the shore, opened up the treasure chest and found what the map had promised--

gold, and precious diamonds and jewels that would make him secure for the rest of his life.

Dont Judge to Quickly!

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judgethings too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look atapear tree that was a great distance away.
The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summerand the fourth son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe whatthey had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent and twisted.

The second son said, no, that it was covered with green buds and full ofpromise.

The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled sosweet and looked so beautiful. It was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.The last son disagreed with all of them. He said it was ripe and drooping withfruit - full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they hadeach seen but only one season in the tree's life

.He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person by only one season, andthat the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that comes fromthat life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

SAYING PRAYERS

Last week, I took my children to a restaurant.

My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace.

As we bowed our heads he said, "God is good, God is great. Thank you for thefood, and I would even thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert.And Liberty and justice for all! Amen!"

Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby, I heard a womanremark, "That's what's wrong with this country. Kids today don't even knowhow to pray. Asking God for ice cream! Why, I never!"

Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, "Did I do it wrong? IsGod mad at me?"

As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job, and God wascertainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table.

He winked at my son and said, "I happen to know that God thought that was agreat prayer."

"Really?" my son asked.

"Cross my heart," the man replied.

Then, in a theatrical whisper, he added (indicating the woman whose remarkhad started this whole thing), "Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. Alittle ice cream is good for the soul sometimes."

Naturally, I bought my kids ice cream at the end of the meal. My son staredat his for a moment, and then did something I will remember the rest of mylife.

He picked up his sundae and, without a word, walked over and placed it infront of the woman. With a big smile he told her, "Here, this is for you. Icecream is good for the soul sometimes; and my soul is good already."The End

MUST READ FOR ALL MARRIED COUPLES

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner,I held her hand and said, I've got something to tellyou. She sat down and ate quietly.Again I observed the hurt in her eyes. Suddenly Ididn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let herknow what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly.
She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead sheasked me softly, why? I avoided her question. Thismade her angry. She threw away the chopsticks andshouted at me, you are not a man! That night, wedidn¢t talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew shewanted to find out what had happened to our marriage.But I could h ardly give her a satisfactory answer; shehad lost my heart to a lovely girl called Dew. Idid'nt love her anymore.I just pitied her!
With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorceagreement which stated that she could own our house,our car, and 30% stake of my company.She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. Thewoman who had spent ten years of her life with me hadbecome a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time,resources and energy but I could not take back what Ihad said for I loved Dew so dearly. Finally she criedloudly in front of me, which was what I had expectedto see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release.The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for severalweeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.
The next day, I came back home very late and found herwriting something at the table. I did'nt have supperbut went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fastbecause I was tired after an eventful day with Dew.When I woke up, she was still there at the tablewriting. I just did not care so I turned over and wasasleep again.
The next day, I came back home very late and found herwriting something at the table. I did'nt have supperbut went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fastbecause I was tired after an eventful day with Dew.When I woke up, she was still there at the tablewriting. I just did not care so I turned over and wasasleep again.
This was agreeable to me. But she had something more,she asked me to recall how I had carried her into outbridal room on our wedding day.She requested that everyday for the month's duration Icarry her out of our bedroom to the front door evermorning. I thought she was going crazy. Just tomake our last days together bearable I accepted herodd request.
I told Dew ab out my wife s divorce conditions. Shelaughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matterwhat tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce,she said scornfully.
My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since mydivorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when Icarried her out on the first day, we both appearedclumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holdingmummy in his arms. His words brought me a sense ofpain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then tothe door, I walked over ten meters with her in myarms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don¢t tellour son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhatupset. I put her down outside the door. She went towait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.
On the second day, both of us acted much more easily.She leaned on my chest. I could smell her fragrance.I realized that I hadn¢t looked at thiswoman carefully for a long time. I realised she wasnot young any more. There were fine wrinkles on herface, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken itstoll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had doneto her.
On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt asense of intimacy returning. This was the woman whohad given ten years of her life to me. On the fifthand sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacywas growing again. I didn't tell Dew about this. Itbecame easier to carry her as the month slipped by.Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.
She was choosing what to wear one morning. She triedon quite a few dresses but could not find a suitableone. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grownbigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown sothin, that was the reason why I could carry her moreeasily.Suddenly it hit me. She had buried so much pain andbitter ness in her heart.Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.
Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's timeto carry mum out. To him, seeing his father carryinghis mother out had become an essential part of hislife. My wife gestured to our son to come closer andhugged him tightly. I turned my face away because Iwas afraid I might change my mind at this last minute.I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom,through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her handsurrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held herbody tightly, it was just like our wedding day.But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the lastday, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move astep. Our son had gone to school.I held her tightly and said, I had'nt noticed that ourlife lacked intimacy.
I drove to office... jumped out of the car swiftlywithout locking the door. I was afra id any delay wouldmake me change my mind... I walked upstairs. Dewopened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Dew, I donot want the divorce anymore.
She looked at me, astonished. Then touched myforehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved herhand off my head. Sorry, Dew, I said, I won'tdivorce. My marriage life was boring probably becauseshe and I didn't value the details of our lives, notbecause we didn't love each other any more. Now Irealise that since I carried her into my home on ourwedding day I am supposed to hold her until death dous apart. Dew seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave mea loud slap and then slammed the door and burst intotears. I walked downstairs and drove away.
At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet offlowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what towrite on the card. I smiled andwrote, (**Henceforth**)I'll carry you out every morninguntil death do us apart. (mmuvms)
The small details of your lives are what really matterin a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car,property , the money in the bank, blah..blah.. blah.These create an environment conducive for happinessbut cannot give happiness in themselves. So find timeto be your spouse's friend and do those little thingsfor each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!

Never loose an opportunity

A Young man wished to marry the Farmer's Beautiful Daughter.
He went to the Farmer to ask his permission.
The Farmer looked him over and said, "Son, Go stand out in that field.I'm going to release three bulls, one at a time. If you can catch the tail ofany one of the three bulls,you can marry my daughter."
The young man stood in the pasture awaiting the first bull. The barn dooropened and out ran the biggest,meanest-looking bull he had ever seen.
He decided that one of the next bulls had to be a better choice than this one,so he ran over to the side and let t he bull pass through the pasture out theback gate.
The barn door opened again. Unbelievable. He had never seen anything so bigand fierce in his life.
It stood pawing the ground, grunting, slinging slobber as it eyed him.Whatever the next bull was like,it had to be a better choice than this one. He ran to the fence and let thebull pass throughthe pasture, out the back gate.
The door opened a third time. a smile came a cross his face. This was theWeakest, scrawniestlittle bull he had ever seen. This one was his bull. As the bull came runningby, he positioned himselfjust right and jumped at just the exact moment.
He Grabbed...
But The Bull Had No Tail!

Moral Of the story:
Life Is Full Of Opportunities.
Some Will Be Easy To Take Advantage Of,
Some Will Be Difficult.
But Once We Let Them Pass (Often In Hopes Of Something Better),
Those Opportunities May Never Again Be Available.
So Always Grab The First Opportunity . . ..

Insurance Salesman

Peter walks into an insurance office and asks for a job."We don't need anyone" they replied."You can't afford not to hire me.
I can sell anyone, anytime, anything!""Well we have two prospects that No One has been able to sell.
If you can sell just one, you have a job."He was gone about two hours, and returned and handed them two checks, one for$25,000.00 and another for $50,000.00."How in the world did you do that ?" they asked."I told you I'm the worlds best salesman, I can sell anyone, anywhere, anytime!"

"Did you get a urine sample?" they asked him.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Well, if you sell a policy over $20,000.00 the company requires a urine sample.Take these two bottles and go back and get urine samples."

Peter was gone about 6 hours and they were fixing to close when he walks in withtwo five gallon buckets, one in each hand. He sets the buckets down, andreaches in his shirt pocket and produces two bottles of urine, and sets them onthe desk and says, "Here's Mr. George's and this one is Mr. Robert's."

"Thats good" they said, "but what's in those two buckets?"

"Well, I passed by the Holiday Inn and they were having a teachers convention,so I stopped and sold them a group policy!"

Know ur Value....!

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a Rupee 500 note.

In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this Rupee 500 note?" Hands started going up.

He said, "I am going to give this note to one of you but first let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the note up.

He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air. "Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe.

He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air. "My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth Rupee 500/-.

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. You are special. Don't ever forget it! Never let yesterday's disappointments overshadow tomorrow's dreams.

"VALUE HAS A VALUE ONLY IF ITS VALUE IS VALUED”

Life

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 Hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar . . . and the coffee.

A professor stood before his Philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full.

They agreed that it was.

The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full.

They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full.

The students responded with an unanimous "yes."

The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life.

"The golf balls are the important things - your God, family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite passions - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

"The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your car.

"The sand is everything else--the small stuff. "If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.

"The same goes for life. "If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

"Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. "Take time to get medical checkups. "Take your partner out to dinner. "Play another 18.

"There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. "Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. "Set your priorities. "The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. "It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem,there's always room for a cup of coffee with a friend."

Please share this with someone you care about. I JUST DID. . .

How to treat others ! -

Five (5) lessons to make you think about the way we treat people.

1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.
During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read the last one:

"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello." I've never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabamahighway trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car.

A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 60s. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab.

She seemed t o be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached.

It read: "Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away âEUR¦ God

bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."
Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those who serve.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.

"Fifty cents," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled is hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.

"Thirty-five cents," she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins.

"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies..

You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

4 - Fourth Important ! Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock Some of the king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts...

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare &serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save her."

As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away". Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.