This reminds me of a story - Wisdom, sleeping..

You find things where they are

12/7/2020

Some rare people find new meanings for old things. Others give old explanations to new things. This is sad but so normal; for the man with the hammer, everything looks like a nail. This reminds me of a story:

It was a dark autumn night. The Mullah, down on his elbows and knees, was searching assiduously in the dust, under the street light.

A belated neighbour asked him:
"What are you doing Hoca?"
"I am looking for my key."

The helpful neighbour got down on his knees to give a hand. They searched at length, without result.

Tired, the man finally asked:
"Tell me Hoca, are you certain that you lost your keys here?"
"Of course not," replied Nasrudin, "I lost them in my cellar."
"Then why on earth do you look for them in the street?"
"For there is more light here."

Early bird catches de worm?

12/7/2020

The false wisdom that working long and hard is all you need for success was invented to make the many toil for the few. As for the few, they know that arriving at the right time to the right place will take you much further.

This reminds me of a story:

Nasreddin used to sleep late. His neighbours woke up at the first break of morning. One day, at sunrise, one of them was lucky enough to find a gold coin in the dust of the road. That evening he gave a lesson to the lazy mullah.

“Look at this Hoca! Allah provides reward for the early bird. Yesterday evening I was heading home tired on the empty road and I promise you, there was nothing in the dust. But rising early was rewarded in full. I was paid with this shining coin. Meanwhile, the late sleepers find nothing. There is some justice in the world.”

“You are silly” answered Nasreddin, “What justice? The one who’s mourning that coin was on the road earliest, even before you. And he lost his money. And I found it”

Duck soup

12/7/2020

When you need to talk with many, don’t forget that your words get thinner as they pass from person to person, until there is nothing left. Likewise, when you give to everybody do not expect much from individuals.

This reminds me of a story:

They say that Mullah Nasreddin, the shameless thief of wisdom and jester of the kings, was, once upon a time, a poor but hospitable man, humble teacher in the town of Aksehir.

One afternoon a man from Horto - one of his several native villages - paid visit to him and brought a fat duck as a present. The Mullah was exceedingly happy. Without delay he plucked the duck and prepared a delicious soup, which he shared with his guest.

The day after, another man came to see the Hodja. He brought no present but he explained: "I am the brother of the man who offered you the duck."

"Be welcome" said Nasreddin and invited him to share dinner.

Another day passed and another empty-handed visitor knocked at the door. "May you only know youth, prosperity and good health" he said, "I am the cousin of the brother of the man who brought you the duck." The Hodja asked him in and offered him hospitality.

Now it happens that one week after that, yet another man came to say: "Be blessed Hodja, I am the neighbour of the cousin of the brother of the man who brought you the duck, and I bring you more greetings".

Nasreddin sat him at the guest table and they had a pleasant chat while dinner was prepared. Then, he carried to the table a big pot of boiling water from which he served a large bowl for the visitor.

"What is this, Hodja?" exclaimed the man.
"This, my friend, is the soup of the soup, of the soup, of the soup, of the duck."

The right place for halwa

12/7/2020

Do not deny yourself the little pleasures you can afford now. Let life test your abstinence with the many desires you cannot fulfil. Is it not true that having a strong will means obtaining what you want rather than abstaining from what you want? This reminds me of a story:

Hodja’s wife bought some halwa. As it was the holy month of Ramadan, Nasreddin only had some of it, his preferred sweet, after sundown. The evening was too short to swallow it all. Quite a lot remained on the plate.

They went to sleep but the Hodja couldn’t close an eye, half of the night. The remaining halwa, in the kitchen, spoiled his sleep.

“There is halwa left” moaned he after a while.

“Don’t worry, it’s safe in the kitchen, covered with a napkin, the flies won’t touch it” said Khadija.

Soon Nasreddin started again,

“I didn’t finish the halwa!”

“Never mind, you’ll have it tomorrow night”

After another while Hodja jumped out of the bed and run to the kitchen. He ate the whole lot, to the last crumb and went back to bed with a full belly and comforted at last.

“Why this gluttony” said Khadija “the halwa was all yours, safe in the kitchen”

“No, woman, it was in my head. The right resting place for halwa is not in the head, but in the stomach where it belongs.”

Sharing is good

12/7/2020

Agreed, those who have should give to those who don’t. To do this freely is charity and goodness. But who has right to receive, to take what, from whom, is a conversation that overthrew empires. Tread with care!

This reminds me of a story:

It so happens that one autumn Nasreddin was appointed qadi of Aksehir. With the eagerness of the new broom, the fresh judge was impatient to clean the town of all the wrongs.

Khadija, his wife came from the market and told him,

“This morning I saw a man in rags falling down in a faint by the melon stall. So meagre he was! This is not right. The poor get poorer every day and the rich get richer.

"Why let some people hungry and angry with envy while their neighbours lie sick with fatness? And what good is heaping up coins on top of other coins? You must go and tell everybody to share like real brethren and true believers."

Hodja loved the idea. He was out the whole next day to talk with people, man to man, one by one, house by house, market, bath and caravanserai, not forgetting the mosque. He explained the moral duty of sharing, to everyone, until his throat got sore.

Late evening Nasreddin returned home exhausted but satisfied.

“Woman," he said, "half of the work is done. In only one day I convinced all the poor of the town, without exception, that all riches must be shared."

"Now there only remains, for tomorrow, to do the other half, and to convince the rich.”

Seven monkeys

12/7/2020

They cannot cheat everybody, all of the time. They can only deceive some of the people, some of the time. And that is sufficient for staying in business.

This reminds me of a story:

The Hodja had seven monkeys. One morning he told them:
"I will give each of you three figs in the morning and four in the evening. That will feed you for the day and there is no more."

The angry monkeys started to scream.

"All right", he said, "I will give you four figs in the morning and three in the evening."

With this, the monkeys were appeased.

How many sparrows are we worth?

12/7/2020

If you have a gift of doing things with words, learn to keep your mouth shut. When you feel witty remember that a good joke never won over an enemy but often lost a friend. The right word can save a life but a bright one can put it on the line. Treasure then the clever word and use it sparingly, at the time of need.

This reminds me of a story:

Nasreddin was at one time a hermit high on the mountain, where no tree endures, where his peace of mind was preserved from renown by the sharp wind and the rolling stones. In silence, he understood everything, and his wisdom grew so vast that he even knew that which he did not know.

Two young princes thought to mock this notorious sage.

"Let's go to him and try him. When we get there, you will hide a sparrow in your hands, behind your back. We will ask him what we brought. He will guess, maybe. But then we will ask, "Does it live?" If he says yes, you wring its neck. If he says no, we show it alive.""

As they said, they did.

They travelled for a long while and tired often and almost renounced. At last they arrived. When he saw them panting at the entrance of the cave the old man greeted them with a pleasant smile:

"Welcome young blue-blooded princes! So you came with the sparrow.“

The two pranksters blushed angrily.

"Yes, yes, but does it live?"

Nasreddin, suddenly worried, looked at each of them in turn, humbly, scratched his head, then smiled with that deep, unbearable sympathy for all sentient beings and whispered very, very carefully:

"It's in your hands! it's in your hands!".

Point of view

12/7/2020

You gain great freedom in the mind when you multiply your points of view. Most people are slaves of only one, their own - and proud of it. Poor creatures, little do they know that you are a host today and a stranger tomorrow, and then the world, the same world will look quite different. You may need to find a simple way to make people understand that they are not the navel of the Universe.

This reminds me of a story:

Hoca was sitting by the river, enjoying a small pot of halwa, when a horde of mounted archers thundered onto the other bank in a cloud of dust.

It was led by one of Timur's captains, who shouted across the waters:

"Ho! Stranger! How do I get to the other side?"

To this Nasreddin - who felt no hurry to get in touch - hollered back promptly:

"Why bother? You are already on the other side!"

...

As he hastened away, out of arrow’s shooting distance he added:

"Besides, I m no stranger, I live here!"

Time, sitting by the river

12/7/2020

“We learn from history that people learn nothing from history” finds one philosopher. “Those who don’t learn from history are doomed to live it again” adds another. Try at least to learn this: The change of kings is the joy of fools...

This reminds me of a story:

The Mullah was sitting as usual, in his favourite spot by the watercourse under the old weeping willow, meditating deeply to the curious difficulty of bathing more than once in the same river.

As he sat, a busy fox slipped into the water.

A whirlpool almost drowned her.

Then the currents tired her.

Exhausted and drenched to the bone the poor beast was lucky enough to grab a hanging weed with her teeth. She kept afloat waiting to gather strength, enough to climb out the riverside. But she was really too weak to rise.

This is when a bunch of leeches found the occasion good to stick unto the fox and feast merrily of her blood.

Witness of such misfortune our good Mullah wished to help.

The wet fox was too heavy and too mad to pull out of the water with only one hand. Hoca was also afraid that he could slip over the muddy edge.

The best he could do was to pull the awful leaches and appease the misery of the poor fox.

Now what do you think?

Through her clenched teeth the fox yelped:

"Stop doing this, fool!"

"Why?" asked Nasruddin, "I'm trying to lessen your ache"

"Why! Why! Don't you see that the leeches on my back are already full? If you take these away, new, hungry ones will come to tax me and suck my blood with fresh appetite, all over again."

Word of a donkey!

12/7/2020

When nothing else works, get offended. Indignation, if you keep calm, can be useful in lack of better arguments. You look stiff but dignified. You may get away with it.

This reminds me of a story:

Reposing peacefully under his porch, Nasreddin sipped warm sweet tea, with delight. Hassan, the neighbour, chose this moment to come and ask for a small favour.

“Please Hoça, lend me your donkey. I need to carry my wood for this winter. I’ll bring it back, healthy and well fed, after tomorrow.”

“I am so sorry," replied Hodja, "unfortunately I already lent him to my mother in law. He's away for a week to carry her water.”

As Nasreddin finished saying this, the darn beast could find nothing better to do than to bray loudly from the stable.

Hassan exclaimed: “Aaa! As I hear, Hoça, the animal is denying in his own voice what you just said.”

At this Hodja turned red with anger and yelled:

“Away with you, boor! If you take my ass's word over mine, we have no business talking to each other! Go and ask the donkey to lend me!"