Nadia spent the autumn preparing her garden, but nature had other plans. This short, gentle parable reminds us that the uninvited moments in our lives are often deeply rooted in the beauty…
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True importance
When confronted with hostility or unfair criticism, reacting with anger often gives away our peace of mind to the opinions of others. Real self-worth comes from an inner sense of dignity that…
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“Are you going to help me?”
When catastrophe strikes, the bond between a parent and child can turn quiet promises into extraordinary acts of devotion. True resilience lies not merely in surviving adversity, but in refusing to yield…
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The girl and the apple
Even in the darkest corners of human history, small acts of compassion had the extraordinary capacity to sustain the human spirit. This evocative narrative explores the profound impact of empathy, connection and…
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Christmas tale: The pine tree in St. Martin
A village boy sets out to buy a standard holiday tree, but ends up emptying his pockets to help a string of desperate strangers on Christmas Eve. Though he returns home with…
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If I had only one year to live, how would I live differently?
Anthony Burgess was 40 when he learned that he had only one year to live. He had a brain tumor that would kill him within a year. He knew he had a…
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We are already God
Rabiya (also Rabia) , a great Sufi mystic, was passing…. It was the street she used to pass every day on her way to the marketplace, because in the marketplace she would…
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A heap of skulls
This is a story about Bayazid, a Sufi mystic. Once, he was passing through a cemetery and he came upon a heap of skulls. Out of curiosity he took one skull. He…
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Identification is misery
Junaid, a famous mystic, was going through the market-place of the town with his disciples. And it was his way to take any situation and use it. A man was dragging his…
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People are just the way you are
A man was sitting at the gate of a town, an old man. A rider stopped, a horse-rider, and asked him, “What are the people of this town like?” The old man…
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Scissors or needle?
It is reported in the life of a great Sufi mystic, Farid, that once a king came to see him. He brought a present for him: a beautiful pair of scissors, golden,…
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Couple buys a piece of rain-forest and transforms it into a paradise
Pamela Malhotra and her husband Anil have found a special calling in life: together they run the Sai Sanctuary, the only private wildlife reserve and conservation area in India. When they bought the piece of…