A Leader without soldiers

   welcome to a new smile of hope.The story of today is from Alsharqia which is one of Egypt’s governorates. This story is a symbolic one which requires concentration. There’s a man from Alsharqia called Hussein, and he has a niece named Dalia. One day he brought her a present which was a ball. He hid it behind his back, than he put his hand on his mouth, and told her “I ate your present”. She told him: “you ate it? I will call my other uncle. He then put his hand on his mouth and told her “I ate your other uncle”. She told him “I will call you my mother” , after which he replied “I will also eat your mother”. She then continued by saying “I will call my aunt”, to which off course he replied “I shall eat your aunt as well”. As he kept on joking with her, she kept on telling him that she will keep calling members of her family, to which he replied “I will eat them all”. She than finally told him that she would hit him with a stick. To which he replied that he would eat it as well. The girl than innocently said “If you keep doing this, you will end up alone”.

  What I want to say you, whoever keeps standing alone and keeps ignoring others around them, will inevitably be alone and they will not find anyone who will want to be around them. There is a type of culture of tending to show up alone, ahead of all others around you. To excel in life nobody has to decrease the importance, but to show up together and succeed together we can be strong. A question you should and would want to ask yourself is: why do we as humans always tend to shine alone, while hiding the shine of others? As I heard this I was very touched with the little girl’s innocence. Especially when she told him this, “But this way you will remain alone uncle. Will you be happy if you live alone?”

  Once, when I was young I read a book entitled “A Leader without soldiers” it tells a story of a leader who killed all of his soldiers and remained alone. The questions that came to mind where (what’s your value as a leader if you stay without soldiers?). A leader cannot call himself one if he doesn’t have men to lead and direct.

  My Lesson to you is that you should not neglect the value of others. It’s the total opposite, give the people around you an opportunity to shine, and don’t allow yourself to feel jealousy. If you stay alone without people you won’t feel happy. Let people guide you and in return you guide them.

  At the end of day, only the good will remain, and he who stands alone will perish. Let others shine so that you can shine with them, and when we all shine together, we will all have a smile of hope.  

Thank you.

Think about your mistakes before others

   Welcome in a new smile of hope. The smile of hope of today is about very funny story. The idea of this story is that, we sometimes think that others have a problem, but in fact the problem is ours. Sometimes we think others are rude or bad without looking into ourselves to realize our rudeness, our abnormality. You think that your son is miss-conducting, your wife is unsupportable and in fact it is you who have such problems. I dedicate this story to anyone who thinks that those who are around him have problem, forgetting that he is himself the problem; thus, he remains stressed, annoys people and himself.

  The story is about a man who felt that his wife did not hear well and she was about to lose her hearing. He decided to take her to a physician specialist in ear. He could not communicate with her because he thought that she didn't hear well. Before consulting a specialist, he went to one of his relative who was physician, searching an advice. His relative showed him how to measure the degree of hearing to apply it upon his wife before consulting a specialist and paying money. He told him to stay about 40 feet from his wife and speak to her with a normal tone, greeting her, showing her he cared about her, asking her if she heard him, inquiring about chickens she put in the oven, etc. He said to him if his wife heard him from 40 feet away there was no problem; if she didn't hear him he had to speak to her from 30 feet away, then 20 feet, then 10 feet and continued as such till his wife heard him.

  When that man returned home at night, he found his wife busy in preparing dinner inside the kitchen. He thought the opportunity was good to apply the advice of his relative. He stood in the hall about 40 feet away from her and said to her "My beloved, what have you prepared to us for dinner this night?" His wife didn't replay. He approached and spoke to her from about 30 feet, repeating the same words, then from 20 feet, then 10 feet in vain; finally he entered inside the kitchen, stood before her and said to her: "My dear, what have you prepared to us for dinner this night?" she said to him that she replied for the fifth times to tell him that the chickens were in the oven.

  Do you understand the idea? At the end it appeared that it is the husband who had a hearing problem, because he didn't realize that her wife was answering his question five times, repeating the same thing. So it is he who has the problem not her. Sometimes we think that others are mistaken, but it is us; often we think that others are bad but it is our problem; sometimes we quarrel with others and in the same time they were patient with us. You, boys and girls, sometimes you think that your father, your mother are mistaken, but in fact it is you who are in error.

  For drawing a smile of hope on you, your family, your wife and your children, think firstly in yourself in your errors before the mistakes of the rest of the family.

Thank you.

Being human

   Welcome everyone with a new episode from a smile of hope. Today episode is about being human, how to treat others when life is hard on them with huge kindness and humanity, especially the closest persons to you, your wife.

  I will tell you a story; this story happened a long time ago, it says that there was a man who got married to a very beautiful woman, and he lived with her for a very long time, she was treated him with tenderness and was always kind to him, for many years he enjoyed her kindness & beauty, but then he woman was infected with a disease in her face, unfortunately ugly pimples began to appear on her face, which made looking to this pretty face unpleasant any more. The woman began to feel huge pain as she thought her husband who used to love her & contemplate her beauty wouldn’t do this anymore. She began to be tough, hard in her nature, and anxious…as if she doesn’t want to live with him anymore out of her huge love for her husband. Surprisingly the husband got blind…you’d tell me “what a somber story!!” I’d tell you bear with me until the end.

  When the man got blind, the woman began to calm down…do you know why? It’s a psychological thing; she began to feel secure that her image in his bind will remain the same, when she began to calm down they continued their life together, for 10-15 years, and love was always there, at the end the wife died, and it was time to bury her, everyone was then surprised that the husband was burying her by himself. Oh God! Hadn’t you been blind? Haven’t you lost your sight? The big surprise was that he never lost his sight!! He only pretended in front of his wife so as not to make her feel embarrassed when her face began to change. She was an excellent wife, and he felt she would be highly embarrassed if she saw him, so he prevented to be blind for many years.

  You may tell me “This is one imaginary idealist story” you are true might be…but at least could you be kind with people you loved and were kind to you, can you revise you position, how many times were people kind to you & you ignored them afterwards? How many times were persons graceful to you and when life got hard on them you left them? How many times did you stop asking about a person just because their position was changed?

  By the way, I am not sure if the story is true or not…but this man is truly kind and human. Are you that kind generally? Are you that kind with your wife? Your agedly father? Your father began to change & his flexibility began to change, did you too change? Do you say “off the grown up man isn’t moving like before” alas! Did you reach the point? Are you that in human?

 Be kind and human

  This man that I told you his story is very kind. I swear to God my fellows the true smile of hope is being loyal to people who were kind to you no matter how their life changed, especially if these people were your wife, your father or your mother.

A smile of hope

Thank you.

Win Win

   Welcome in a new smile of hope. Our smile of hope of today is about a peasant who grows sorgos (corn). The story is from Iraq. In the village of this peasant an annual contest called the Sorgos contest was organized. The activity of the people of the region of that peasant was planting sorgos. The best producer won the contest and received a prize from the government. The surprise was the peasant won annually the prize. A journalist believed that there was a secret with that peasant who won continuously the prize.

  The journalist made an interview with the peasant and asked him about the secret of his winning the sorgos prize every year. The peasant replied the journalist that simply he won because every year he distributed the good seeds among all his neighbors. The journalist understood nothing and asked the peasant why he did so. The peasant told the journalist that he selected the best seeds with him, went to the neighboring peasants and give them those seeds as gift, telling them that they were good seeds. Their neighbors used those seeds. The journalist asked the peasant whether for that reason he wanted to tell him he was the best peasant. The peasant replied positively. The journalist asked the peasant that if he gave his neighbors the best seeds they would compete with him, so why he was the only one and the same winner of the contest every year. The humble peasant gave the grand educated journalist a very important lesson. He said to the journalist: “My dear sir, you don’t know that when wind blows, it takes the seeds from field to field and scattered them there?”  The journalist replied positively and asked the peasant what was after? The peasant said “That is why I give my neighbors good seeds. If I give them bad seeds or if they use bad seeds, the wind will take those bad seeds and bring them to may farm; thus my harvest will be weak. Therefore, my harvest is good because I give my neighbors the best seeds; wind brings me always good seeds and of course good harvest, because all people around me have good harvest”.

  The idea becomes clear: the success of others is part of your success. So don’t think that for your success others have to fail. This method is wrong there is something called “Win Win”, that is to say win and leave others win, thus all people win. The method based on: “I win and others lose” is wrong because it does bring neither smile of hope nor success in life. There is no need to put off the candles of others in order to light yours. Your light and theirs will make life brighter, isn’t it?

  I want to say why do we apply the idea of the seeds of the peasant? Do you see in Ramses square somebody laugh while all passers grimace? He could not smile in such environment. All people have to be happy. Human being’s happiness is part of the group happiness. Learn to apply this methodology as style of life, because it of course brings the smile of hope.

Thank you.

Don’t rule people quickly

   Welcome in a new smile of hope. Once upon a time there was a king who had four sons. He wanted to give them a lesson that they would not forget throughout their life so that they didn’t rule people with quickly and take into consideration people situation.

  The king regrouped his sons and said to them that there was a peach tree which was 100 miles away; he wanted each one of them to go to that tree and describe it to him in details; but they would not go all at the same time to that tree; he would fix the time to each one of them to do so. He made a very good idea; he sent the first one in spring season, the second one in summer, the tired in autumn and the fourth in winter; he divided their mission among the four seasons of the year. They didn’t understand the idea of their father which seemed to them idiot.

  When all of them finished their missions, the king regrouped his four sons and demanded to each one of them to describe in details what he had seen and noted. The first one who went in spring said to him that the tree was green, with beautiful color, formidable, large and brilliant. The one who went in winter said the tree was very bad, it had not any green color; it was bent, somber and unsupportable. The first said to him that he was a liar because that was not the real description of the tree. The king then turned to his son who went in summer and asked him to give his description to the tree; he said that the tree was very beautiful, full of flowers with nice smell. The first ones said to him that he was a liar because that the tree had no any flower. The king asked the last one who went in autumn to give his description; he said that there were peach in the tree but it smelt nothing, it hadn’t flowers, there were only peaches. The four sons began to quarrel with each other while the king was looking to the scene and laughing. Each one said to the other you were a liar you didn’t go to the tree mentioned by my father.

  Have you understood the idea? I want to say finally that all the four sons have right in their description to the tree; the tree had the four descriptions given by them, because it had four different seasons. Do not take a decision about a human being from one season of his life, or from one position. Do not rule somebody from one situation remarked at a specific moment. You can say this man is bad, but in fact you decide from one given situation because that shot is taken to him within his winter time. The same man is good in his spring or summer season. You may say that this young man is good; I will accept that he marries with my daughter. A quick decision like this may render your daughter’s life hell.

  I say this story for girls who decide quickly to marry with somebody and their parents accept before inquiring about the future husband of their daughter. Do not rule people quickly; if we do so we will lose our smile of hope in the future. You see the tree takes different forms depending on spring, summer, autumn or winter. Of course human being’s psychology is more complicated and more changeable, depending on the situation. Smile of hope wants you not to rule people quickly.

Thank you.