Parables about life and the meaning of life. Wise and short parables Beautiful parables about life

When Beatles co-founder John Lennon was little, his mother told him that happiness is the most important thing in life. In elementary school, children were given the task of telling what they wanted to be when they grew up. John wrote "Happy." The teachers said: “You don’t understand the task!” The future great musician replied: “You don’t understand life!”

And he was right. Every person's dream is to be happy. But what kind of feeling is this, and how to feel and preserve it?

Let's try to find answers to questions using parables about happiness. After all, these short and wise stories answer the most important questions in life. And parables can also explain what happiness is.

Parables about happiness

The best selection of life stories.

Bring me happiness

God molded a man from clay, and he was left with an unused piece.
- What else do you need to make? - asked God.
“Make me happy,” the man asked.
God did not answer anything, and only placed the remaining piece of clay in the man’s palm.

Happiness in a hole

Happiness wandered around the world, and granted wishes to everyone who met on its way. One day, Happiness carelessly fell into a hole and could not get out of there. People came to the pit and made their wishes, and Happiness fulfilled them. No one was in a hurry to help Happiness get up.
And then a young guy approached the pit. He looked at Happiness, but did not demand anything, but asked: “What do you want, Happiness?”
“Get out of here,” answered Happiness.
The guy helped him get out and went his way. And Happiness... Happiness ran after him.

Can you buy happiness?

One day a woman had a dream that the Lord God was standing behind the store counter.
- God! It's you? - she exclaimed with joy.
“Yes, it’s me,” God answered.
- What can I buy from you? - the woman asked.
“You can buy everything from me,” came the answer.
- In that case, please give me happiness.
God smiled benevolently and went into the utility room to get the ordered goods. After a while he returned with a small paper box.
- And it's all?! - exclaimed the surprised and disappointed woman.
“Yes, that’s all,” God answered. “Didn’t you know that my store only sells seeds?”

A parable about the science of being happy

Once a sage was walking along the road, admiring the beauty of the world and enjoying life. Suddenly he noticed an unfortunate man hunched over under an unbearable burden.
- Why do you condemn yourself to such suffering? - asked the sage.
“I suffer for the happiness of my children and grandchildren,” the man answered. - My great-grandfather suffered all his life for the happiness of my grandfather, my grandfather suffered for the happiness of my father, my father suffered for my happiness, and I will suffer all my life, only so that my children and grandchildren become happy.
- Was anyone happy in your family? - asked the sage.
- No, but my children and grandchildren will definitely be happy! - answered the unhappy man.
- An illiterate person cannot teach you to read, and a mole cannot raise an eagle! - said the sage. - First learn to be happy yourself, then you will understand how to make your children and grandchildren happy!

Three ideas about happiness

Once upon a time there lived three friends in this world, and each dreamed of his own happiness. But they imagined happiness differently. The first thought that happiness was wealth, the second thought talent was happiness, and the third believed that happiness was family.
Whether long or short, they all achieved their happiness. However, everything has an end. Before the hour of death, friends gathered to take stock. The first one said:
- I was rich, but I didn’t experience happiness. I am dying a miser and a misanthrope.
The second one said:
- I was talented, but I didn’t experience happiness. I am leaving this life tormented by loneliness.
The third said:
- And I learned what happiness is. I leave, treated kindly by my loved ones, and leave the most valuable thing to the earth - new people.

Parable about hidden happiness

One day the gods gathered and decided to have some fun. One of them said:
- Let's take something away from people?
After much thought, another exclaimed:
- I know! Let's take away their happiness! The only problem is where to hide it so that they don’t find it.
The first one said:
- Let's hide it at the top of the highest mountain in the world!
“No, remember that they have a lot of strength, someone will be able to climb and find, and if one finds, everyone else will immediately know where happiness is,” answered the other.
Then someone came up with a new proposal:
- Let's hide it at the bottom of the sea!
They answered him:
- No, don’t forget that they are curious, someone will be able to design a device for underwater diving, and then they will definitely find happiness.
“Let’s hide it on another planet, away from Earth,” someone else suggested.
“No,” they rejected his proposal, “remember that we gave them enough intelligence, someday they will come up with a ship to travel around the worlds, and discover this planet, and then everyone will find happiness.” The oldest god, who remained silent throughout the conversation and only listened attentively to the speakers, said:
“I think I know where to hide happiness so that they never find it.”
Everyone turned to him, intrigued, and asked:
- Where?
“We’ll hide it inside them, they’ll be so busy looking for it outside that it won’t even occur to them to look for it inside themselves.”
All the gods agreed, and since then people spend their whole lives in search of happiness, not knowing that it is hidden in themselves.

Parable about happy people

Once upon a time, a group of former study comrades, and now highly qualified professionals, successful, respected and rich people, gathered to visit their old favorite professor. They came to his house, and very soon the conversation turned to the incessant stress that is provoked by work, the modern world, and life in general.
The professor offered coffee to all his students and, having received consent, retired to the kitchen. He returned with a large coffee pot, next to which there were surprisingly different coffee cups on a tray. The cups were multi-colored and of different sizes. Among this company there were expensive porcelain, and ordinary ceramic, and simply clay, and glass, and plastic. They differed in shape, decor, comfort of handles... The professor placed a coffee pot in the middle of the table and suggested that everyone choose the cup they liked and fill it with freshly brewed coffee. When the cups were sorted and the coffee was poured, the professor cleared his throat a little and quietly, with incredible warm goodwill, addressed his guests:
– Did you notice that the most beautiful and expensive cups were sold out first? Are the simplest and cheapest ones left? This is normal, because everyone wants the best for themselves. In fact, this is in most cases the cause of the stress you mentioned. Let me continue: the cup did not add to the taste or quality of the coffee. The cup only masks or hides what we are drinking. You wanted coffee, not a cup, but instinctively you looked for the better one.
Life is coffee. Work, money, social status are just cups that give shape and shelter something in life. And the type of cup does not determine or change the quality of the life we ​​lead. On the contrary, if we concentrate only on the cup, we stop enjoying coffee. Enjoy your coffee!
The happiest people are not those who have the best, but those who do the best with what they have. Remember.

A parable about happiness and unhappiness

One Chinese peasant lived his whole life in labor, did not gain any wealth, but gained wisdom. He worked the land with his son from morning to night. One day the son said to his father:
“Father, we have a misfortune, our horse has gone away.”
- Why do you call it misfortune? - asked the father. - Let's see what time will tell.
A few days later the horse returned and brought a horse with it.
- Father, what happiness! Our horse returned and brought a horse with him to boot.
- Why do you call it happiness? - asked the father, - Let's see what time will show.
After some time, the young man wanted to saddle the horse. The horse, not accustomed to carrying a rider, reared up and threw off its rider. The young man broke his leg.
- Father, what a misfortune! I broke my leg.
- Why do you call it misfortune? – the father asked calmly. - Let's see what time will tell.
The young man did not share his father’s philosophy, and therefore politely remained silent and jumped on one leg towards the bed.
A few days later, the emperor's messengers arrived in the village with an order to take all capable young people to war. They came to the house of an old peasant, saw that his son could not move, and left the house.
Only then did the young man understand that one can never be absolutely sure of what is happiness and what is unhappiness.
You always have to wait and see what time says about what is good and what is bad.
Life works like this: what seemed bad turns into good and vice versa. It is best not to rush to conclusions, but to give time the opportunity to call things by their proper names. It's better to wait at least until tomorrow. In any case, everything that happens to us carries a positive beginning for our life experience.

Happiness is the way

We expect life to get better when we turn 18, when we get married, when we get a better job, when we have a child, a second...
Then we feel tired because our children are growing slowly, and we think that when they grow up, we will feel happy. When they become more independent and go through adolescence, we complain that they are hard to get along with, and once they get through this period, it will become easier.
Then we say that our life will be better when we finally buy a bigger house and a better car, we can go on vacation, we retire...
The truth is that there is no better moment to feel happy. If not now, then when?
It seems that life is about to begin, real life! But there is always one problem along the way, one unfinished business, one outstanding debt that needs to be addressed first; and after this life will begin. And if we look closely, we will see that these problems are endless. Of these, in fact, life consists.
This helps us see that there is no path to happiness, happiness is the path. We must cherish every moment, especially when we share it with someone dear, and remember that time waits for no one.
Don't wait until school ends or college starts, when you lose five pounds, when you have children, when children go to school, get married, get divorced, New Year, spring, autumn or winter, next Friday, Saturday or Sunday, or the moment you die to be happy.
Happiness is a path, not a destiny.
Work like you don't need money, love like you've never been hurt, dance like no one is watching.

A parable about the search for happiness

It was a long time ago when the Lord created the earth, trees, animals and people. Man became the ruler over them all, but when he was expelled from paradise and became unhappy, he asked the animals to bring him happiness.
“Okay,” said the animals, accustomed to obeying humans. And they went around the world in search of human happiness. They searched for a long time, but never found his happiness, because they didn’t even know what it looked like. And so they decided to bring what made them happy. The fish brought fins, tail, gills and scales. Tiger - strong paws, claws, fangs and nose. Eagle - wings, feathers, a strong beak and a sharp eye. But none of this made the person happy. And then the animals told him that he should go seek his own happiness.
Since then, every person walks the earth and seeks his own happiness, but few people think of looking for it in themselves.

The big dog, seeing the puppy chasing its tail, asked:
- Why are you chasing your tail like that?
“I studied philosophy,” answered the puppy, “I solved the problems of the universe that no dog had solved before me; I learned that the best thing for a dog is happiness and that my happiness is in the tail, so I chase him, and when I catch him, he will be mine.
“Son,” said the dog, “I was also interested in world problems and formed my own opinion about it.” I also realized that happiness is wonderful for a dog and that my happiness is in the tail, but I noticed that wherever I go, no matter what I do, he follows me.

Parables have been created since ancient times and by a wide variety of peoples. But the life wisdom embedded in them has not lost its relevance over the years. Thanks to short parables about life, we can understand the principles that are always and everywhere important.

We have selected short parables about life with morals, the meaning of which will answer some of your questions.

A parable about a life lesson

Father and son walked through the mountains. The boy tripped over a stone, fell, hit himself painfully and shouted:
- Aaaaaaay!!!
And then he heard a voice from somewhere behind the mountain that repeated after him:
- Aaaaaaay!!!
Curiosity prevailed over fear, and the boy shouted:
- Who is here?
And I received the answer:
- Who is here?
Angry, he shouted:
- Coward!
And I heard:
- Coward!
The boy looked at his father and asked:
- Dad, what is this?
The man, smiling, shouted:
- Son, I love you!
And the voice answered:
- Son, I love you!
The man shouted:
- You are the best!
And the voice answered:
- You are the best!
The child was surprised and did not understand anything. Then his father explained to him:
“People call it an echo, but in reality it is life. Returns to you everything you say and do.
Morality:
Our life is simply a reflection of our actions. If you want more love from the world, give more love to those around you. If you wish happiness, give happiness to those around you. If you want a smile from the heart, smile from the heart to those you know. This applies to all aspects of life: it returns to us everything that we gave it. Our lives are not coincidences, but a reflection of ourselves.

One famous artist painted his next painting. On the day of its presentation to the public, many journalists, photographers, and famous people gathered. When the time came, the artist threw off the covering cloth from the painting. An explosion of applause followed.
The painting showed the figure of Jesus knocking lightly on the door of a house. Jesus seemed alive. He leaned his ear to the door, as if he wanted to hear if someone inside the house was answering him.
Everyone admired the beautiful work of art. One curious visitor found an error in the painting. The door had neither a lock nor a handle. He turned to the artist:
- But this door seems to be locked from the inside, it has no handle, how can you enter it?
“It is so,” answered the author of the painting. – This is the door of a person’s heart. It can only open from the inside.
Morality:
We all expect Love, Joy, Compassion, Happiness, Success in our lives. But in order for them to appear in our lives, we cannot sit idly by. Action needs to be taken. At least just open the door...

Parable about friendship

There were two neighbors. The first one bought a rabbit for his children. The children of another neighbor asked to buy some kind of pet for them too. Their father bought them a German Shepherd puppy.
Then the first said to the second:
- But he will eat my rabbit!
- No, think about it, my shepherd is a puppy, and your rabbit is still a child. They will grow up together and become friends. There won't be any problems.
And it looked like the dog's owner was right. They grew up together and became friends. It was normal to see a rabbit in a dog's yard and vice versa. The children were happy.
One day, the rabbit's owner and his family went away for the weekend, and the rabbit was left alone. It was Friday. On Sunday evening, the dog's owner and his family were drinking tea on the veranda when their huge dog walked in. In his teeth he held a rabbit: battered, dirty with blood and dirt, and, worst of all, dead. The owners attacked their dog and almost killed the dog.
- The neighbor was right. What now? We just needed this. They will return in a few hours. What to do?
Everyone looked at each other. The poor dog whined and cried, licking his wounds.
– Can you imagine what will happen to their children?
One of the children came up with an idea:
- Let's give him a good bath, dry him with a hairdryer and put him in his house in the yard.
Since the rabbit was not torn, they did so. The rabbit was put in his house, his head was laid on his paws, it seemed that he was sleeping. And then they heard that the neighbors were returning. The dog's owners rushed into their house and closed the doors. A few minutes later they heard children screaming. Found! A couple of minutes later there was a knock on their door. The rabbit's owner stood pale and frightened on the threshold. It seemed as if he had met a ghost.
- What's happened? What happened to you? – asked the dog’s owner.
- Rabbit... rabbit...
- Died? And this afternoon he seemed so cheerful!
– He died on Friday!
- On Friday?
“Before we left, the children buried him at the end of the garden!” And now he lies in his house again!
The dog, who had been searching for his missing childhood friend since Friday, finally found him and dug him up to save him. And he took it to his owners so that they could help.
Morality:
You should never judge in advance, without checking what actually happened.

One day, a butterfly pupa fell into the hands of a man. He took her and looked at her for several hours, seeing how she struggled to squeeze her body out of the small hole in the cocoon. Time passed, she kept trying to get out of the cocoon, but there was no progress. It seemed that she was completely exhausted and could no longer do it... Then the man decided to help the butterfly. He took the scissors and cut the cocoon all the way. The butterfly came out of it easily, but its body was somewhat atrophied, small, and its wings were folded and compressed. The man continued to watch her, he expected that at any moment she would open her wings and fly.
But that did not happen. Until the end of its days, the butterfly was left with a deformed body and glued wings. She could never spread her wings and fly.
The man did not know that the hard cocoon and the incredible efforts made by the butterfly to exit the small hole were necessary for the body to take the correct shape and for forces to enter the wings through the strong body and be ready to fly as soon as it was freed from the cocoon.
Morality:
Don't help if you don't know how or if you're not sure that your help will really be useful. Don't interfere with the nature of things you didn't create. Otherwise, you might just do some harm.

The Parable of the Nail Marks

One boy had a very bad character. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he offended someone, he should hammer one nail into the fence.
On the first day the boy hammered thirty-seven nails. In the following days, as he began to learn to control his anger, he began to hammer in fewer and fewer nails. He made the discovery that it was easier to restrain himself than to hammer a nail in later. The day came when he was able to completely control his temper during that day. His father said that now for every day that he managed to restrain himself, let him pull out one nail from the fence.
Days passed, and then one day there was not a single nail left in the door. The father took his son by the hand, led him to the fence and said: “It’s clear, son, that you worked hard, but look how many holes are left in the tree. It will never be the same again.”
Morality:
Every time you hurt someone, it leaves scars. You can say something bad to someone and then take it back, but the scars will remain forever. Let us be careful when we say anything.

1. Tactics

Epigraph.
- I work from morning to evening!
- When do you think?
(Dialogue between the young physicist and the brilliant Rutherford)

You may have seen it on television, heard about it on the radio or in the newspapers, but this time the annual world championship was held in British Columbia. The finalists were a Canadian and a Norwegian.

This was their task. Each of them was assigned a certain area of ​​the forest. The winner was the one who could cut down the most trees between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

At eight o'clock in the morning the whistle sounded and two lumberjacks took up their positions. They cut down tree after tree until the Canadian heard the Norwegian stop. Realizing that this was his chance, the Canadian redoubled his efforts.

At nine o'clock the Canadian heard that the Norwegian had gone back to work. And again they worked almost synchronously, when suddenly at ten minutes to ten the Canadian heard that the Norwegian had stopped again. And again the Canadian set to work, wanting to take advantage of the enemy’s weakness.

At ten o'clock the Norwegian got back to work. Until ten minutes to eleven he stopped briefly. With an ever-increasing sense of jubilation, the Canadian continued to work in the same rhythm, already feeling the smell of victory.

And this went on all day. Every hour the Norwegian stopped for ten minutes, and the Canadian continued working. When the signal for the end of the competition rang, at exactly four o'clock in the afternoon, the Canadian was absolutely sure that the prize was in his pocket.

You can imagine how surprised he was when he learned that he had lost.
- How did it happen? - he asked the Norwegian. “Every hour I heard you stop working for ten minutes.” How the hell did you manage to chop more wood than me? This is impossible.

“It’s actually very simple,” the Norwegian answered directly. — Every hour I stopped for ten minutes. And while you continued to cut down the forest, I sharpened my ax.

2.Parable of two wolves

Once upon a time, an old Indian revealed one vital truth to his grandson.
There is a struggle in every person, very similar to the struggle of two wolves. One wolf represents evil - envy, jealousy, regret, selfishness, ambition, lies... The other wolf represents good - peace, love, hope, truth, kindness, loyalty...
The little Indian, touched to the depths of his soul by his grandfather’s words, thought for a few moments, and then asked: “Which wolf wins in the end?”
The old Indian smiled faintly and replied:
“The wolf you feed always wins.”

3. Find out the reason

A traveler walking along the river heard desperate children's cries. Running to the shore, he saw drowning children in the river and rushed to save them. Noticing a man passing by, he called him for help. He began to help those who were still afloat. Seeing the third traveler, they called him for help, but he, not paying attention to the calls, quickened his steps. “Are you indifferent to the fate of your children?” - the rescuers asked.
The third traveler answered them: “I see that you two are coping so far. I’ll run to the bend, find out why children fall into the river, and try to prevent it.”

4.Two friends

One day they argued and one of them slapped the other. The latter, feeling the pain but saying nothing, wrote in the sand:
— Today my best friend slapped me in the face.
They continued walking and found an oasis where they decided to swim. The one who received the slap almost drowned, and his friend saved him. When he came to his senses, he wrote on the stone: “Today my best friend saved my life.”
The one who slapped and who saved the life of his friend asked him:
“When I offended you, you wrote in the sand, and now you write on the stone.” Why?
The friend replied:
“When someone offends us, we must write it in the sand so that the winds can erase it.” But when someone does something good, we must engrave it in stone so that no wind can erase it.

5. Pig and cow

The pig complained to the cow that she was being treated badly:
— People always talk about your kindness and gentle eyes. Of course, you give them milk and butter, but I give them more: sausages, hams and chops, skin and stubble, even my legs are cooked! And still no one loves me. Why is this so?
The cow thought for a while and answered:
- Maybe because I give everything while I’m still alive?

6.Parable of Heaven and Hell

The faithful came to the prophet Elijah with a request to show Heaven and Hell.
They came to a large hall, where a lot of people were crowded around a large cauldron of boiling soup. Each of them held in their hands a huge metal spoon the size of a man, scalding hot, and only the very end of the handle was wooden. Thin, greedy, hungry people greedily shoved spoons into the cauldron, with difficulty removing the soup from there and trying to reach the cup with their mouths. At the same time, they got burned, swore, and fought.
The Prophet said: “This is Hell,” and led him to another room.
It was quiet there, the same pot, the same spoons. but almost everyone was full. Because they split into pairs and took turns feeding each other. The Prophet said: “This is Paradise.”

7. Five simple rules to be happy.

One day, a farmer's donkey fell into a well. He screamed terribly, calling for help. The farmer came running and clasped his hands: “How can we get him out of there?”

Then the donkey’s owner reasoned like this: “My donkey is old. He doesn't have long left. I was going to get a new young donkey anyway. But the well is still almost dry. I have long been planning to bury it and dig a new well in another place. So why not do it now? At the same time, I’ll bury the donkey so that the smell of decomposition won’t be heard.”

He invited all his neighbors to help him bury the well. Everyone took up shovels and began throwing earth into the well. The donkey immediately realized what was going on and began to make a terrible squeal. And suddenly, to everyone’s surprise, he became silent. After throwing some dirt around, the farmer decided to see what was down there.

He was amazed at what he saw there. The donkey shook off every piece of earth that fell on its back and crushed it with its feet. Very soon, to everyone's amazement, the donkey appeared at the top - and jumped out of the well!

...In life you will encounter a lot of all kinds of dirt, and each time life will send you more and more new portions. Whenever a lump of earth falls, shake it off and go up, and that’s the only way you can get out of the well.

Each problem that arises is like a stone to cross a stream. If you don’t stop and don’t give up, you can get out of any deep well.

Shake yourself up and go upstairs. To be happy, remember five simple rules:

1. Free your heart from hatred - forgive.
2. Free your heart from worries - most of them do not come true.
3. Live a simple life and appreciate what you have.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

8. Nothing that would be untrue...

One day, a blind man was sitting on the steps of a building with a hat near his feet and a sign that said, “I am blind, please help!”
One man walked by and stopped. He saw a disabled man who only had a few coins in his hat. He threw him a couple of coins and wrote new words on the sign without his permission. He left it to the blind man and left.
In the afternoon he returned and saw that the hat was full of coins and money. The blind man recognized him by his steps and asked if he was the man who copied the tablet. He also wanted to know what exactly he had written.
He replied: “Nothing that would be untrue. I just wrote it a little differently." He smiled and left.
The new sign read: “It’s spring, but I can’t see it.”

9. The choice is yours

"This is impossible!" - said Reason.
"This is recklessness!" - Experience noted.
"It's useless!" - Pride snapped.
“Try...” whispered Dream.

10. Jar of Life

...Students had already filled the auditorium and were waiting for the lecture to begin. The teacher appeared and put a large glass jar on the table, which surprised many:
-Today I would like to talk to you about life, what can you say about this jar?
“Well, it’s empty,” someone said.
“Exactly,” the teacher confirmed, then he took out a bag of large stones from under the table and began putting them in a jar until they filled it to the very top. “Now what can you say about this jar?”
-Well, now the jar is full! - one of the students said again.
The teacher took out another bag of peas and began to pour it into the jar. Peas began to fill the space between the stones:
-And now?
-Now the jar is full!!! - the students began to echo. Then the teacher took out a bag of sand and began to pour it into the jar; after some time there was no free space left in the jar.
“Well, now the jar is definitely full,” the students began to shout. Then the teacher, smiling slyly, pulled out two bottles of beer and poured them into a jar:
- But now the jar is full! - he said. - And now I will explain to you what just happened. The jar is our life, the stones are the most important things in our life, this is our family, these are our children, our loved ones, everything that is of great importance to us; peas are those things that are not so significant for us, it could be an expensive suit or car, etc.; and sand is all the smallest and most insignificant things in our lives, all those small problems that accompany us throughout our entire lives; So, if I first poured sand into the jar, then it would no longer be possible to place either peas or stones in it, so never allow various kinds of little things to fill your life, closing your eyes to more important things. I'm done, the lecture is over.
“Professor,” one of the students asked, “what do beer bottles mean???!!!”

The professor smiled slyly again:
- They mean that, despite any problems, there is always time to relax and drink a couple of bottles of beer!

For many years I have been collecting wise, beautiful, instructive stories. Surprisingly, the authors of most of these masterpieces are unknown. It is likely that the depth and inner beauty of these miniatures turns them into modern folklore, passed on from mouth to mouth. I bring to your attention ten of the best parables about the meaning of life and that important thing that allows you to compare life guidelines, distinguish true greatness and spiritual wealth from the limited world of everyday vanity, although at times it looks solemn and magnificent. I chose it to my taste, of course.

Full jar.

Most valuable

One person in childhood was very friendly with an old neighbor.
But time passed, college and hobbies appeared, then work and personal life. The young man was busy every minute, and he had no time to remember the past, or even to be with his loved ones.
One day he found out that his neighbor had died - and suddenly remembered: the old man taught him a lot, trying to replace the boy’s dead father. Feeling guilty, he came to the funeral.
In the evening, after the burial, the man entered the empty house of the deceased. Everything was the same as many years ago...
But the small golden box, in which, according to the old man, the most valuable thing for him was kept, disappeared from the table. Thinking that one of her few relatives had taken her, the man left the house.
However, two weeks later he received the package. Seeing his neighbor's name on it, the man shuddered and opened the box.
Inside was the same golden box. It contained a gold pocket watch with an engraving: “Thank you for the time you spent with me.”
And he realized that the most valuable thing for the old man was the time spent with his little friend.
Since then, the man tried to devote as much time as possible to his wife and son.

Life is not measured by the number of breaths. It is measured by the number of moments that make us hold our breath.Time is running away from us every second. And it needs to be spent right now.

Footprints in the sand(Christian parable).

One day a man had a dream. He dreamed that he was walking along a sandy shore, and next to him was the Lord. Pictures from his life flashed in the sky, and after each of them he noticed two chains of footprints in the sand: one from his feet, the other from the feet of the Lord.
When the last picture of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand. And he saw that often along his life’s path there was only one chain of traces. He also noted that these were the most difficult and unhappy times in his life.
He became very sad and began to ask the Lord:
“Didn’t You tell me: if I follow Your path, You will not leave me?” But I noticed that during the most difficult times of my life, only one chain of footprints stretched across the sand. Why did You abandon me when I needed You most?The Lord answered:
- My dear, dear child. I love you and will never leave you. When there were sorrows and trials in your life, only one chain of footprints stretched along the road. Because in those days I carried you in my arms.

Dream.

While flying the plane on one of the routes, the pilot turned to his friend and partner:
- Look down at this beautiful lake. I was born not far from him, my village is over there.
He pointed to a small village, which, as if on a roost, was located on the hills not far from the lake, and remarked:
- I was born there. As a child, I often sat by the lake and fished. Fishing was my favorite pastime. But when I was a child fishing in the lake, there were always airplanes flying in the sky. They flew over my head, and I dreamed of the day when I could become a pilot myself and fly an airplane. This was my only dream. Now it has come true.
And now every time I look down at that lake I dream of the time when I will retire and go fishing again. After all, my lake is so beautiful...

Lame kitten.

The seller of one small store posted a “Kittens for sale” sign at the entrance. This inscription attracted the attention of the children, and within minutes a boy entered the store. Having greeted the seller, he timidly asked about the price of the kittens.
“From 30 to 50 rubles,” answered the seller.
Sighing, the child reached into his pocket, took out his wallet and began to count the change.
“I only have 20 rubles now,” he said sadly. “Please, can I at least take a look at them,” he asked the seller hopefully.
The seller smiled and took the kittens out of the large box.
Once free, the kittens meowed contentedly and began to run. Only one of them, for some reason, clearly lagged behind everyone else. And somehow strangely he pulled up his back leg.
- Tell me, what’s wrong with this kitten? - asked the boy.
The seller replied that this kitten has a congenital defect of the paw. “It’s for life, that’s what the vet said.” - the man added.
Then for some reason the boy became very worried.
- This is what I would like to buy.
- What, boy, are you laughing? This is a defective animal. Why do you need it? However, if you are so merciful, then take it for free, I will give it to you anyway,” said the seller.
Here, to the seller’s surprise, the boy’s face lengthened.
“No, I don’t want to take it for nothing,” the child said in a tense voice.
- This kitten costs exactly the same as the others. And I'm ready to pay full price. I'll bring it to you money “,” he added firmly.
Looking at the child in amazement, the seller’s heart trembled.
- Son, you just don’t understand everything. This poor thing will never be able to run, play and jump like other kittens.
At these words, the boy began to roll up the leg of his left leg. And then the amazed seller saw that the boy’s leg was terribly twisted and supported by metal hoops.
The child looked at the seller.
- I, too, will never be able to run and jump. And this kitten needs someone who would understand how hard it is for him, and who would support him,” the boy said in a trembling voice.
The man behind the counter began to bite his lips. Tears filled his eyes... After a short silence, he forced himself to smile.
- Son, I will pray that all kittens will have such wonderful, warm-hearted owners like you.

... In reality, WHO you are is not as important as the fact that there is SOMEONE who will truly appreciate you for who you are, who will accept and love you without any reservations. After all, the one who comes to you, at that time how the whole world leaves AWAY from you, and there is a true Friend.

Cups of coffee.

A group of graduates of a prestigious university, successful ones who have made a wonderful career, came to visit their old professor. During the visit, the conversation turned to work: graduates complained about numerous difficulties and life problems.
Having offered his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a coffee pot and a tray filled with a variety of cups: porcelain, glass, plastic, crystal. Some were simple, others expensive.
When the graduates took apart the cups, the professor said:
— Please note that all the beautiful cups were taken apart, while the simple and cheap ones remained. And although it is normal for you to want only the best for yourself, this is the source of your problems and stress. Understand that the cup itself does not make the coffee better. Most often it is simply more expensive, but sometimes it even hides what we drink. In reality, all you wanted was just coffee, not a cup. But you deliberately chose the best cups, and then looked at who got which cup.
Now think: life is coffee, and work, money, position, society are cups. These are just tools for maintaining and maintaining Life. What kind of cup we have does not determine or change the quality of our Life. Sometimes, when we focus only on the cup, we forget to enjoy the taste of the coffee itself.

The happiest people are not those who have everything best, but those who make the best of what they have.

Your cross(Christian parable).

One person thought that his life was very difficult. And one day he went to God, told about his misfortunes and asked him:
- Can I choose a different cross for myself?
God looked at the man with a smile, led him into the storage room where there were crosses, and said:
- Choose.
A man entered the storage room, looked and was surprised: “There are so many crosses here - small, large, medium, heavy, and light.” The man walked around the storehouse for a long time, looking for the smallest and lightest cross, and finally found a small, small, light, light cross, approached God and said:
- God, can I have this one?
“It’s possible,” God answered. - This is your own.

Glass in outstretched hand.

The professor began his lesson by taking a glass with a small amount of water in his hand. He held it up so that everyone could see it and asked the students:
- How much do you think this glass weighs?
“50 grams, 100 grams, 125 grams,” answered the students.
“I really won’t know until I weigh it,” said the professor, “but my question is this: what would happen if I held it like this for a few minutes?”
“Nothing,” said the students.
- Okay, what would happen if I held it like this for an hour? - asked the professor.
“Your arm would start to hurt,” said one of the students.
“You’re right, but what would happen if I held it all day?”
“Your arm would go numb, you would have severe muscle breakdown and paralysis, and you would have to go to the hospital just in case.”
- Very good. But while we were discussing here, has the weight of the glass changed? - asked the professor.
- No.
- What makes your hand hurt and causes muscle disorder?
The students were puzzled.
- What do I need to do to fix all this? - the professor asked again.
“Put down the glass,” said one of the students.
- Exactly! - said the professor. “It’s always like that with life’s problems.” Just think about them for a few minutes and they will be with you. Think about them any longer and they start to itch. If you think any longer, they will paralyze you. There's nothing you can do.
It is important to think about problems in life, but even more important is to be able to put them off: at the end of the working day, the next day. This way you don’t get tired, you wake up fresh and strong every day. And you can manage any problem, any kind of challenge that comes your way.

All in your hands(eastern parable)

A long time ago, in an ancient city there lived a Master, surrounded by disciples. The most capable of them once thought: “Is there a question that our Master could not answer?” He went to a flowering meadow, caught the most beautiful butterfly and hid it between his palms. The butterfly clung to his hands with its paws, and the student was ticklish. Smiling, he approached the Master and asked:
- Tell me, what kind of butterfly is in my hands: alive or dead?
He held the butterfly tightly in his closed palms and was ready at any moment to squeeze them for the sake of his truth.
Without looking at the student’s hands, the Master answered:
- All in your hands.

Fragile gifts(parable from M. Shirochkina).

Once upon a time, an old wise man came to one village and stayed to live. He loved children and spent a lot of time with them. He also loved to give them gifts, but only gave them fragile things. No matter how hard the children tried to be careful, their new toys often broke. The children were upset and cried bitterly. Some time passed, the sage again gave them toys, but even more fragile.
One day his parents couldn’t stand it anymore and came to him:
“You are wise and wish only the best for our children.” But why do you give them such gifts? They try their best, but the toys still break and the children cry. But the toys are so beautiful that it’s impossible not to play with them.
“Very few years will pass,” the elder smiled, “and someone will give them his heart.” Maybe this will teach them to handle this priceless gift a little more carefully?