The Cloud and the Sand Dune

'As everyone knows, the life of a cloud is very busy and very short,' writes Bruno Ferrero. And here's a related story.

A young cloud was born in the midst of a great storm over the Mediterranean Sea, but he did not even have time to grow up there, for a strong wind pushed all the clouds over towards Africa.

As soon as the clouds reached the continent, the climate changed. A bright sun was shining in the sky and stretched out beneath them, lay the golden sands of the Sahara. Since it almost never rains in the desert, the wind continued pushing the clouds towards the forests in the south.

Meanwhile, as happens with young humans too, the young cloud decided to leave his parents and his older friends in order to discover the world.

'What are you doing?' cried the wind. 'The desert's the same all over. Rejoin the other clouds, and we'll go to Central Africa where there are amazing mountains and tress!'

But the young cloud, a natural rebel, refused to obey, and, gradually, he dropped down until he found a gentle, generous breeze that allowed him to hover over the golden sands. After much toing and froing, he noticed that one of the dunes was smiling at him.

He saw that the dune was also young, newly formed by the wind that has just passed over. He fell in love with her golden hair right there and then.

'Good morning,' he said. 'What's life like down there?'

'I have the company of the other dunes, of the sun and the wind, and of the caravans that occasionally pass through here. Sometimes it's really hot, but it's still bearable. What's life up there?

'We have the sun and wind too, but the good thing is that i can travel across the sky and see more things.'

'For me,' said the dune, 'life is short. When the wind returns from the forests, i will disappear.'

'And does that make you sad?'

'It makes me feel that i have no purpose in life.'

'I feel the same. As soon as another wind comes along, I'll go south and be transformed into rain; but that is my destiny.'

The dune hesitated for a moment, and then said: 'Did you know that here in the desert, we call the rain paradise?'

'I had no idea i could ever be that important,' said the cloud proudly.

'I've heard other older dunes tell stories about the rain. They say that, after the rain, we are all covered with grass and flowers. But i'll never experience that, because in the desert it rains so rarely.'

It was the cloud's turn to hestitate now. Then he smiled broadly and said: 'If you like, i could rain on you now. I know i've only just got here, but i love you, and i'd like to stay here for ever.'

'when i first saw you up in the sky, i fell in love with you too,' said the dune. 'but if you transform your lovely white hair into rain, you will die.'

'Love never dies,' said the dune. 'it is transformed and, besides, I want to show you what paradise is like.'

And he began to caress the dune with little drops of rain, so that they could stay together for longer, until a rainbow appeared.

The following day, the little dune was covered in flowers. Other clouds that passed over, heading for Africa, thought that it must be part of the forest they were looking for and scattered more rain. Twenty years later, the dune had been transformed into an oasis that refreshed travellers with the shade of its trees.

And all because, one day, a cloud fell in love, and was not afriad to give his life for that love.

~ Paulo Coelho

The Story of the Pencil

A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point, he asked: 'Are you writing a story about what we've done? Is it a story about me?'

His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson: 'I am writing about you, actually more important than the words is the pencil i'm using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.'

Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn't seem very special.

'But it's just like any other pencil I've ever seen!'

'That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on to them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.

'First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.

'Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpener. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he's much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.

'Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.

'Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.

'Finally, the pencil's fifth quality: it always leave a mark. In just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action.'

Empathy

- Feeling what someone else feels, even though that person hurt you

- Seeing the problem from another's point of view, even though you are certain that other point of view is wrong

- Standing in someone else's shoes, even though those shoes are currently walking all over you

It always feels as if it was against you because, after all, it hurt you. But hurting you was not necessarily the motivation.

Something interesting..

Dormitory, when you rearrange it,
Dirty Room.

Presbyterian, when you rearrange it,
Best In Prayer.

Astronomer, when you rearrange it,
Moon Starer.

Desperation, when you rearrange it,
A Rope Ends It

The Eyes, when you rearrange it,
They See.

George Bush, when you rearrange it,
He Bugs Gore.

The Morse Code, when you rearrange it,
Here Come Dots.

Slot Machines, when you rearrange it,
Cash Lost In Me.

Animosity, when you rearrange it,
Is No Amity.

Election results, when you rearrange it,
Lies- Let's Recount.

Mother In Law, when you rearrange it,
Woman Hitler.

Snooze Alarms, when you rearrange it,
Alas! No More Z's.

A Decimal Point, when you rearrange it,
Im A Dot In Place.

The Earthquakes, when you rearrange it,
That Queer Shake.

Eleven Plus Two, when you rearrange it,
Twelve Plus One.

-found in Playpark Forums.

Interesting animation!

Animator vs. Animation by *alanbecker on deviantART


Animator vs. Animation II by *alanbecker on deviantART

Interesting maple videos..
Maple Olympic Games


Maple Power Puff Girls


Enjoy! ^^

Right

"Nothing in the world is ever completely wrong, my dear," said her father, looking at the clock. "Even a stopped clock is right twice a day."

The Kite Runner

there is a way to be good again...

Family

You have one family. For good or bad. You have one family. You can't trade them in. You can't lie to them. You can't run two at once, substituting back and forth.

Sticking with your family is what makes it a family.

I also believe that parents, if they love you, will hold you up safely, above the swirling waters, and sometimes that means you'll never know what they endured, and you may treat them unkindly, in a way you otherwise wouldn't.

~ For one more day