Moral Stories - Cockroache and Waiter

A beautiful speech by Sundar Pichai - an IIT-MIT Alumnus:

The cockroach theory for self development
At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and
sat on a lady.
She started screaming out of fear.

With a panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started
jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the
cockroach.

Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group also got
panicky.

The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but ...it
landed on another lady in the group.

Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue
the drama.

The waiter rushed forward to their rescue.

In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter.

The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the
behavior of the cockroach on his shirt.

When he was confident enough, he grabbed it with his fingers and
threw it out of the restaurant.

Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of
my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was
the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behavior?

If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed?

He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos.

It is not the cockroach, but the inability of those people to handle
the disturbance caused by the cockroach, that disturbed the
ladies.

I realized that, it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or
my wife that disturbs me, but it's my inability to handle the
disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me.

It's not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my
inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that
disturbs me.

More than the problem, it's my reaction to the problem that
creates chaos in my life.

Lessons learnt from the story:

I understood, I should not react in life.

I should always respond.
The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.

Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always
well thought of.

- Sundar Pichai

Moral Stories - Life OF THE PENCIL

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.
“There are 5 things you need to know,” he told the pencil, “Before I send you out into the world.
Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be.”
One: “You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in 
someone’s hand.”
Two: “You will experience a painful
sharpening from time to time, but you’ll need it to become a better  pencil.”
Three: “You will be able to correct  any mistakes you might make.”
Four: “The most important part of you will always be what's inside.”
And
Five: “On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the 
condition, you must continue to write.”
The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.
Now replacing the place of the pencil with you. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.
One: “You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God’s hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.”
Two: “You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various 
problems in life, but you’ll need it to become a stronger person.”
Three: “You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.”
Four: “The most important part of you will always be what’s on the inside.”
And
Five: “On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter what the 
situation, you must continue to do your duties.”
Allow this parable on the pencil to encourage you to know that you are a special person and only
you can fulfill the purpose to which you were born to accomplish.