"The Native American and the cricket"
A Native American and his friend were in downtown New York City, walking near Times Square in Manhattan. It was during the noon lunch hour and the streets were filled with people. Cars were honking their horns, taxicabs were squealing around corners, sirens were wailing, and the sounds of the city were almost deafening. Suddenly, the Native American said, “I hear a cricket.” His friend said, “What? You must be crazy. You couldn’t possibly hear a cricket in all of this noise!” “No, I’m sure of it,” the Native American said. “I heard a cricket.” “That’s crazy,” said the friend. The Native American listened carefully for a moment and then walked across the street to a big cement planter where some shrubs were growing. He looked into the bushes, beneath the branches, and sure enough, he located a small cricket. His friend was utterly amazed. “That’s incredible,” said his friend. “You must have superhuman ears!” “No,” said the Native American. “My ears are no different from yours. It all depends on what you’re listening for.” “But that can’t be!” said the friend. “I could never hear a cricket in this noise.” “Yes, it’s true,” came the reply. “It depends on what is really important to you. Here, let me show you.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out a few coins and discreetly dropped them on the sidewalk. And then, with the noise of the crowded street still blaring in their ears, they noticed every head within twenty feet turn and look to see if the money that tinkled on the pavement was theirs. “See what I mean?” asked the Native American. “It all depends on what’s important to you.”
“The Hungry Boy”
One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?” “You don’t owe me anything” she replied. “Mother has taught us never to accept pay for kindness.” “Then I thank you from my heart,” he said. As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was renewed. He had been ready to give up and quit. Many years later that same young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. he recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day on he gave special attention to her case. And after a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, wrote something on the edge and the bill was then sent to the woman’s room. She was afraid to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She read these words, “Paid in full with one glass of milk, Dr. Howard Kelly.” Tears of joy flooded her eyes as her happy heart prayed: “Thank you, God, that your love has spread abroad through human hearts and hands.”
Elizabeth Kubler Ross- “Unfinished business”
You remember when I insisted we go to the beach and you said, “No. It’s going to rain”? And I absolutely insisted and you said, “It’s going to be a horrible day,” and didn’t want to go? But I insisted and we went and it was a horrible day and it rained all day and I thought you were really going to give me hell for it
But you didn’t.
Remember when I tried to make you jealous and I went out with another boy? I thought this time you’re really going to drop me.
But you didn’t.
Remember when I demanded that we go to this dance and you didn’t want to come but I demanded it? I also forgot to tell you that it was formal? And you came in jeans? I thought “You’re gonna kill me!”
But you didn’t.
I wanted to tell you all these things when you came home from Vietnam.
But you didn’t.
"The wise woman’s stone"
A wise woman who was travelling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But, a few days later, he came back to return the stone to the woman. “I’ve been thinking,” he said. “I know how valuable this stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Please give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me this stone.”
A Sioux Myth
The Creator gathered all of Creation and said, "I want to hide something from the humans until they are ready for it. It is the realisation that they create their own reality." The eagle said, "Give it to me, i will take it to the moon." The Creator said, "No. One day they will go there and find it." The salmon said, "I will bury it on the bottom of the ocean." "No. They will go there, too." The buffalo said, "I will bury it on the Great Plains." The Creator said, "They will cut into the skin of the Earth and find it even there." Grandmother Mole, who lives in the breast of Mother Earth, and who has no physical eyes but sees with spiritual eyes, said, "Put it inside of them." And the Creator said, "It is done."
