When I needed you most

Few months back, I was hospitalized for many days. In the last days of my illness, I had lost hope of recovering. In that difficult time, this short story helped me to sail through.

A pious man had deep faith in God. Unfortunately, he was going through a rough phase. He had to fight on all fronts of life. Every morning, he would pray to God, and then do all his duties sincerely. Days passed by, but the struggle was not ending. Ultimately, he got sick and tired and started losing faith. That night, he met God—in his dream!

He found himself standing on a beautiful beach. It was early morning and the sun was rising over the sea. Its rays were sparkling the sand like silver. He saw some footprints in the sand coming from far towards him. Suddenly, he saw a flash of light. God was standing in front of him! God said, "My son, it's your lifeline. The footprints that you see are ours!"

"Oh yeah, there are two sets of footprints. That means you were walking with me all the way!" exclaimed the man joyfully. But he also noticed something else. There was only one set of footprints at some places. "What is that?" he asked. "It's the difficult time in your life," told God.

"That means you abandoned me when I needed you most!" said the man sadly. "No my dear, they are my footprints" said God with a soothing smile. "When you were in trouble, I lifted you in my hands!"

 

Quest for happiness

We all are in quest of happiness. We try to find it in different forms: money, fame, food, work, and so on. The more we run after it, the difficult it becomes to attain. Here is a short story that describes the very nature of happiness.

In a small village, there lived a dog and his little puppy. One day, while the puppy was playing with his father, he heard two men talking about happiness. He was very curious. So he asked to his father, "Daddy, where can I get happiness from?" The papa dog smiled and said, "Look, it's in your tail. Go get it!"

The puppy started running around himself to catch his own tail. He went round and round, but could not catch his tail. At last, he was tired, and then he came back to his father. "Daddy, the more I'm trying to catch happiness, the farther it is going. It's impossible to get happiness!" said the puppy sadly.

The papa dog said, "Kid, don't run after happiness. Just walk straight on your path. Happiness will automatically follow you!"

Whatever happens...!

Life is full of surprises. It often astonishes us with its highs and lows. However, if we take it in our stride, miracles happen! The only requirement is to put faith and let go. I have experienced it many times in my life! There is a popular story of Akbar & Birbal, which very well describes this eternal truth.

Birbal had a nasty habit. He would often say, "Whatever happens, happens for the best!" Whenever Akbar asked its meaning, Birbal would only smile.

One day Akbar was practicing sword fighting. Accidentally, he got a cut in his arm. He started bleeding profusely. As always, Birbal said, "Whatever happens..." As soon as he uttered these words, Akbar got very angry and ordered to arrest Birbal. To his astonishment, Birbal said again, "Whatever happens...!"

Few days passed and Akbar went for hunting. Birbal was enjoying his stay in the jail. While hunting, Akbar was lost in the jungle. He was alone with no food and water. Suddenly some tribesmen caught him. They were happy to get a royal man for offering to their deity.

Akbar was frightened, but there was no way he could escape. The tribesmen decided to bathe him before being sacrificed. As soon as they removed his clothes, they found a scar in his arm. They immediately released him, because they needed a flawless person for their deity.

A thought suddenly flashed into Akbar's mind, Birbal was correct! If he were not wounded, he would certainly have been killed. He was very happy and decided to honor Birbal upon returning. One question was still haunting him—why did Birbal say the same thing when he himself was arrested!

As soon as Akbar returned, he released Birbal and asked him this question. Birbal (again!) smiled and said, "If I were not imprisoned, I'd be with you and they would certainly have sacrificed me (instead of you)! Whatever happens, happens for the best!"