Many years ago in a small Indian village,
A farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender.
The Moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful Daughter. So he proposed a bargain.
He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his Daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the Proposal. So the cunning moneylender suggested that they let providence decide the matter.
He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.
1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.
2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.
3) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into Jail.
They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.
Now, imagine that you were standing in the field.
* What would you have done if you were the girl?
* If you had to advise her, what would you have told her?
Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:
1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.
2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag and expose the moneylender as a cheat.
3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order to save her father from his debt and imprisonment.
Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with the hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral and logical thinking.
The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses the above logical answers.
* What would you recommend to the Girl to do?
Well, here is what she did ..........................
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. Given up - Ok here you are
The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.
"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked."
Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had picked the white one. And since the moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty. The girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.
I am sure that you would have had various other answers and not this one - but THINK, it was only when we are pushed to think, we would but most of us still would like to come up with the easy way i.e. Option 2, just tell the providences that the moneylender was cheating and close the matter - who knows situation would have worsened. Here the thought was very witty and creative.
We all have that great mind - we need to give time to thinking creatively.
Thus the MORAL of the story is:
Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't attempt to think.
Cheers,
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Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Lets Change
Dear Friends,
Stories does excite and moves us but how many of us také that as learning. I always believed, every story has a moral behind.
This story definitely leaves an impact in the mind and makes us think.
Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn't know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed.
Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with
water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he
placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot and ground coffee beans in the third pot.
He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The
daughter, moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup.
Turning to her, he asked. "Daughter, what do you see?"
"Potatoes, eggs, and coffee," she hastily replied.
"Look closer", he said, "and touch the potatoes." She did and noted that
they were soft.
He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.
"Father, what does this mean?" she asked.
He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each
faced the same adversity - the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently.
The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it
became soft and weak. The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.
"Which one are you," he asked his daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean?"
Which one are you? When problems come (and they will) how will we react?
Will they make us weak, hard hearted or will they cause us to change into
something worthwhile?
Think about it...
In life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us.
"Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be."
There is so much learning in life but we as individuals see only that we WANT to see. Lets start looking at life differently and positively. I am sure that you guys do agree with me.
Cheers,
B
Stories does excite and moves us but how many of us také that as learning. I always believed, every story has a moral behind.
This story definitely leaves an impact in the mind and makes us think.
Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn't know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed.
Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with
water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he
placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot and ground coffee beans in the third pot.
He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The
daughter, moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup.
Turning to her, he asked. "Daughter, what do you see?"
"Potatoes, eggs, and coffee," she hastily replied.
"Look closer", he said, "and touch the potatoes." She did and noted that
they were soft.
He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.
Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.
"Father, what does this mean?" she asked.
He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs and coffee beans had each
faced the same adversity - the boiling water. However, each one reacted differently.
The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it
became soft and weak. The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard. However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.
"Which one are you," he asked his daughter. "When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean?"
Which one are you? When problems come (and they will) how will we react?
Will they make us weak, hard hearted or will they cause us to change into
something worthwhile?
Think about it...
In life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us.
"Life is what we make it, always has been, always will be."
There is so much learning in life but we as individuals see only that we WANT to see. Lets start looking at life differently and positively. I am sure that you guys do agree with me.
Cheers,
B
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