Ability Forum

THOMASJACOB · Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 2:05 pm Post subject: Inspirational Corner

Dear Team

It would be good if we have an inspirational corner on our website.

The corner - should contain inspiring articles of ONLY Indian men and women who have overcome their disabilities.

Also it is suggested that, the matter may be forwarded to the team along with a snap, and the team after due eveluation of the same may post it on the website.

Testimonies are another good way of encouraging other people with disabilities.

Would love to hear your opinions on this.

Thomas

Adverts

AccessAbility · Posted: Thu Jun 21, 2007 4:02 pm Post subject:

Hello,

We already have a column on our website where we encourage people to submit their articles. Please feel free to submit your articles as described in the link 'Articles by Site Visitors' and we shall be pleased to upload them on the website.

Regards,

_________________
Website Administrator

AccessAbility

Shivani · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 2:15 pm Post subject:

An inspirational story i read

The first day of school our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder.
I turned round to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that lit up her entire being.

She said, "Hi handsome. My name is Rose.
I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?"
I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze.

"Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked.
She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, and have a couple of kids..."
"No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age.
"I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.

After class we walked to the student union building and shared a chocolate milkshake.
We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went.
She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up.

At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet.
I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor.
Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began, "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing.

There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die.
We have so many people walking around who are dead and don't even know it!

There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up.
If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight.

Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding opportunity in change. Have no regrets.
The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets."

She concluded her speech by courageously singing "The Rose."
She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives.
At the year's end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago

One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep.
Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

REMEMBER, GROWING OLDER IS MANDATORY. GROWING UP IS OPTIONAL.

THOMASJACOB · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 2:28 pm Post subject:

Thats a nice one .............You know my parents are senior citizens, and I still tell them at this age to go to college and do some course, start learning driving etc........but they say now at this moment it is impossible.............glad atleast that old lady had the will...........Thank God and Shivani too for coming out with this, I am gonna to take a print out and show them off, just last week I read about a 90+ woman who took her graduation..............Really speaking these are the most ambitious and people of great faith isn't it???

I have one desire - one day before I leave this planet I should be able to complete my Doctorate..........I dont know - what - where - when - how - But I ask GOD to bless me as he blssed Mrs Rose..................that I may one day see my dreams come true. Shivani i think you too are gonna to join me in this - Our desire to acquire a Doctorate

The only thing we need to have to see our dreams fulfillyed is - To Have Bones of Iron and Nerves of Steel

Shivani · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 2:56 pm Post subject:

wow that's amazing Thomas. How do you know that some day I want to do a PhD. But its quite distant for me for now as I am still struggling to finish my dissertation

THOMASJACOB · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 3:04 pm Post subject:

Yes, I am sure you are gonna to, can read a lot from your always smiling face,

had seen you at NASSCOM in January. But then Vicky told he was also there, but I never met him. Too sad ..........

_________________
Warm Regards
Thomas Jacob

Shivani · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 3:31 pm Post subject:

not vicky but sachin was there

THOMASJACOB · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 3:46 pm Post subject:

OK, that may be a mistake then, I might have heard or interpreted it wrongly.

_________________
Warm Regards
Thomas Jacob

Sachin · Posted: Mon Sep 03, 2007 11:26 pm Post subject:

Hey Guys,

The story really is inspiring and I also admire Thomas for his determination and spirit. There's only one thing that i'd wanna add, "if the two of you (thomas and shivani) are gonna do your doctorate, I'd be your compounder.....

Doctor sahib's ke liye ! I know silly joke...

cheers

sachin

THOMASJACOB · Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 11:05 am Post subject:

Hey Sachin as you said its a silly joke but then its funny too - Medical Doctors have compounders not Doctorate holders, so there is no question of me and Shivani hiring you - you will have to search for a compounders job elsewhere..............

.................really kidding yaar........

_________________
Warm Regards
Thomas Jacob

Kr_iyer · Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 11:46 am Post subject: hi

THE MAYONNAISE JAR AND COFFEE

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.

So 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 a 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 couple of cups of coffee with a friend."

_________________
If they answer not to thy call walk alone,
If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall,
O thou unlucky one,
open thy mind and speak out alone.
RABINDRANATH TAGORE

Kr_iyer

Once upon a time there was a bunch of baby frogs....



… participating in a

competition.

The target was to get to the top of a high tower.

A crowd of people had gathered to observe the race and encourage the participants. ....

The start shot rang out.......

Quite honestly:

None of the onlookers believed that the baby frogs could actually accomplish getting to the top of the tower.

Words like:

"Åh, it's too difficult!!!

They'll never reach the top."

or:

"Not a chance... the tower is too high!"

One by one some of the baby frogs fell off…

...Except those who fastly climbed higher and higher..



The crowd kept on yelling:

"It's too difficult. Nobody is going to make it!"



More baby frogs became tired and gave up...

...But one kept going higher and higher.....

He was not about giving up!

At the end everybody had given up, except the one determined to reach the top!

All the other participants naturally wanted to know how he had managed to do what none of the others had been able to do!

One competitor asked the winner, what was his secret?

The truth was.......

The winner was deaf!!!!

The lesson to be learned:

Don't ever listen to people who are negative and pessimistic. ..

…they will deprive you of your loveliest dreams and wishes you carry in your heart!

Always be aware of the power of words, as everything you hear and read will interfere with your actions!

Therefore:

Always stay…



POSITIVE!

And most of all:

Turn a deaf ear when people tell you, that you cannot achieve your dreams!

_________________
If they answer not to thy call walk alone,
If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall,
O thou unlucky one,
open thy mind and speak out alone.
RABINDRANATH TAGORE

Kr_iyer · Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2007 1:27 pm Post subject: Lessons from A Tea Cup

Once there was a young man, rather immature in his life, but ready to learn.
He had a strong liking for antique things and was happy to visit different antique stores in all European countries he went to for holidays. Over time he developed a strong interest in antique pottery and especially in teacups. He felt - they all had their unique stories to tell.
Once while he was in an old fortress in Serbia, which had been partially transformed into a museum, he spotted an exceptional teacup in a dusty antique store, which clearly had Turkish influences. He asked the bespectacled seller: "May I see that exceptionally beautiful tea cup over there? It seems to come from Turkey..." As the man handed him the teacup our young man   suddenly heard the teacup speak up: "You don't understand," it said, "I have not always been a tea cup. There was a time when I had no idea what service meant. I was just a dumb lump of red clay.
Let me tell you my story, you will learn from it. I've lived for many, many thousands of years. I've witnessed wars and peace coming and going. Whole civilizations rolled over me as I sat there waiting... for what I don't know."
"Then one day my master came. He took me, brought me home, rolled and pounded me on a wooden table. Again and again, he poked his fingers into me until finally I yelled out, "don't do that!' Imagine someone would take you like this. Leave me alone!" But he only smiled and gently said "Not yet!"
The teacup became more and more alive as he spoke to the shocked young man:
"Then, whoommmm! I was placed on a spinning wheel and suddenly spun around and around and around until I lost all my sense of direction. 'Stop it, don't you see that I'm getting sick? Quickly, take me from the spinning wheel!' But the master only nodded in understanding and quietly said 'Not yet!' He only bent me in and out of shape to suit his plan with me and then  ... Then he placed me carefully into an oven. I never felt such heat. I yelled and knocked and pounded at the door, 'It is hotter than hell - I'm burning to ashes. Please get me out of here before it is too late.' I could see him through a tiny hole. I could only read his lips as he shook his head from side to side and silently pronounced, 'Not yet!' When I thought I could not bear the heat for another minute, the door opened. He carefully took me out and put me on a shelf where I began to cool. It felt so good to be left alone."
"But more was going to come. After I had cooled down he carefully picked me up, looked at me and brushed some dust away. Then ... he brought the colours! and something transparent - the glaze. The fumes were horrible! I thought I would gag! 'Please,... you have no mercy! Don't you understand my misery? Please, please give up on me! Please! Stop it!' But he only shook his head and said, 'Not yet, you're not yet ready!' Then unexpectedly and very quickly he put me back into the oven. Only it was about twice or thrice as hot as the first time - this was the most intense. From the beginning I felt... this is my death... I begged... I pleaded ... I threatened ... I screamed ...  Finally, I cried without tears. Not even hot tears .was convinced I would never make it. I was ready to give up."
"Just then - in the last second as I was slowly fainting, the door opened and he took me out. And again placed me on the shelf - where I cooled and waited... and waited ... and waited. "What was going to be next? An hour or later he came back and placed a mirror before me and said, 'Look at yourself!' And I did. What I saw, amazed me. It is what you see now. 'That's not me!' I said. 'That cannot be me... It is too beautiful, too..."
"With a very compassionate voice he spoke, 'This is what you are meant to be.', and then he explained, 'I know it hurt you when I rolled and kneaded you on the table. But if I had not gotten the air out of you, you would have broken. I knew you must have lost all your sense of orientation when I was spinning you. But without this you would never have come into this form. I know the fumes of the colours in the glaze were intolerable when I painted you all over. But if I had not done that, you would not have had any colour in your life and you would not have hardened. And when I placed you in the second oven I knew that this would be the most severe part. But without it you would have broken very easily when the realities of life would have come. Believe me.,  all I did was for your good. Now you are what I had in mind when I first saw you on the ground. Now you are a finished product."
With this the teacup stopped speaking - but there was a tear of gratefulness coming from its beautiful rim. The young man purchased the teacup and only used it when he offered something to God. He never forgot the lesson he received from it. And whenever he himself was in a difficult situation and he felt like calling out, 'Stop it! Leave me alone!', he remembered the words of the tea cup maker: 'Not yet...!' However, he also became grateful - for he knew that everything that happened was designed by the Lord to make him what he was meant to become:  pleasing servant and he had trust.
God knows what He is doing for each of us. He is the potter and we are the clay. He will mold us and make us ready. And He will expose us to just enough pressures of just the right kinds that we will become a perfect piece of His liking.

_________________
If they answer not to thy call walk alone,
If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall,
O thou unlucky one,
open thy mind and speak out alone.
RABINDRANATH TAGORE

Kr_iyer · Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2007 2:31 pm Post subject: How important shoulder is!!!!

How important shoulder is [

My mother used to ask me what is the most important part of the body. Through the years I would take a guess at what I thought was the correct answer.
When I was younger, I thought sound was very important to us as humans, so I said, "My ears, Mommy." She said, "No Many people are deaf. But you keep thinking about it and I will ask you again soon." Several years passed before she asked me again.
Since making my first attempt, I had contemplated the correct answer. So this time I told her, "Mommy, sight is very important to everybody, so it must be our eyes." She looked at me and told me, "You are learning fast,but the answer is not correct because there are many people who are blind."
Stumped again, I continued my quest for knowledge and over the years, Mother asked me a couple more times and always her answer was, "No. But you are getting smarter every year, my child." Then last year, my grandpa died.
Everybody was hurt. Everybody was crying. Even my father cried. I remember that especially because it was only the second time I saw him cry. My Mom looked at me when it was our turn to say our final good-bye to Grandpa.
She asked me, "Do you know the most important body part yet, my dear?" I was shocked when she asked me this now. I always thought this was a game between her and me.
She saw the confusion on my face and told me, "This question is very important. It shows that you have really lived in your life. For every body part you gave me in the past, I have told you was wrong and I have given you an example why. But today is the day you need to learn this important lesson."
She looked down at me as only a mother can. I saw her eyes well up with tears. She said, "My dear, the most important body part is your shoulder."
I asked, "Is it because it holds up my head?" She replied, "No, it is because it can hold the head of a friend or a loved one when they cry.
Everybody needs a shoulder to cry on sometime in life, my dear. I only hope that you have enough love and friends that you will always have a shoulder to cry on when you need it."
Then and there I knew the most important body part is not a selfish one.It is sympathetic to the pain of Others. People will forget what you said

... People will forget what you did.............

But people will NEVER forget how you made them FEEL."

_________________
If they answer not to thy call walk alone,
If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall,
O thou unlucky one,
open thy mind and speak out alone.
RABINDRANATH TAGORE

Kr_iyer · Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2007 10:20 am Post subject: Rich and the poor

One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, 'How was the trip?'

'It was great, Dad.'

'Did you see how poor people live?' the father asked.

'Oh yeah,' said the son.

'So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?' asked the father.

The son answered:

'I saw that we have one dog and they had four.

We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.

We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.

Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.

We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.

We buy our food, but they grow theirs.

We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.'

The boy's father was speechless.

Then his son added, 'Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.'

Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't have.

Appreciate every single thing you have, especially your friends!

Pass this on to family, friends and acquaintances and help them refresh their perspective and appreciation.

'Life is too short and friends are too few.'

_________________
If they answer not to thy call walk alone,
If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall,
O thou unlucky one,
open thy mind and speak out alone.
RABINDRANATH TAGORE