World of difference

This story was told to me by a good friend to make me realize what difference every small deed could do whenever I said "What difference does it make?"
This story has done its rounds as a forward in most of our mail boxes but I would still like to narrate it here. Because to someone, it might make a world of difference.

World of difference

It was a beautiful morning and the sun was just beginning to show at the horizon. The sky looked beautiful with tinges of orange and yellow with white cottony clouds floating aimlessly. The sea gushed towards the shore in a hurry as if trying to get the secret out of its system that it had held too long in its stomach.It was the best weather for a stroll along the beach.

A middle aged man walked along the beach taking in all the marvelous treasures that nature offered his vision this morning. As he walked along the beach, he saw a girl picking something from the shore and throwing it back to the waves. It was as if she was sending back something back to the middle of the sea. Surprised by the girl's behavior, the man strode faster to get a closer look at what she was doing.

The girl continued her work unperturbed by the morning joggers and walkers flocking the beach. As he approached, he saw that the girl was doing what she was doing earlier at almost twice the speed. As he walked closer, he saw what she was doing. She was throwing closed clam shells that were brought to the shore back to the sea. This astonished the man as he saw thousands of such closed clam shells lying around and a hundred being washed to the shore with each wave.

Unable to hold himself, he walked closer to the girl and asked " There are thousands of such shells lying on the beach. What difference does it make?"

The girl continued her work and did not look up. She threw another shell back at the waves that were returning back to the heart of the sea and said "It may make no difference to anyone but it makes a world of difference to that one."

United we stand, Divided we fall

This, again, is not a forgotten tale. This story appears in the Aesop's Fables and is a very popular tale narrated to children to make them understand the importance of Unity. I am sure you have heard this earlier. Read it again and cherish your childhood memories ;)

United we stand, Divided we fall

A long time ago, there lived a farmer in a faraway village. He had seven sons. The sons neither engaged themselves in studies nor helped the old father with his work. They would quarrel with each other for no reason. 

The farmer realized that his sons could not live a peaceful life after his time. He felt that his life was about to move from dusk, further towards night and before the darkness encroached his life, he wanted his sons to understand the importance of unity.

Hence,one day, he decided to teach them a lesson. He collected seven strong sticks and tied them together with a rope. He called all his sons and said thus-"Dear sons, here you see a bundle of sticks. I want these sticks broken without the rope being untied. Whoever breaks it, will receive a special prize from me."

The sons looked at the bundle and at each other. They thought it would be an easy task and that they could easily take away the prize their father had just mentioned.

One after the other, each son tried to break the sticks in the bundle. They tried and tried and were unable to break it. The father observed this silently. When all the sons had tried and failed, they came to their father and told him it was impossible to break the sticks.

The father then told the sons to untie the bundle and asked each son to break a stick. The sons quickly untied the bundle and were able to break the sticks within seconds, with not much effort. They rushed to their father to claim the prize.The old farmer smiled at his sons and said-"These sticks are like you. If you stand united, like the bundle of sticks tied with a rope, nobody can ever break you. But if you quarrel among yourselves and stand divided, each one of you can be easily destroyed. This is the lesson each one of you has to learn and this knowledge is your biggest prize."

The sons understood the message and it is believed that they stayed united all their lives and prospered through out.