Story Time : The touchstone

The Touchstone story

The story goes to the time when the great library of Alexandria burned. One of the books which was saved, was not a very valuable one. So a poor man, who could read a little, bought it for a few coppers.

The book wasn't very interesting. However, between its pages was a secret : The secret of the touchstone !

The touchstone was a small pebble which when brought in contact with any metal, would turn the metal to GOLD.

The secret said that the touchstone was lying under thousands and thousands of pebbles, that looked exactly like it, near the shore of the Mediterranean. The secret to recognize the touchstone was : the real stone would feel warm, while the other ordinary pebbles were cold.

So the man sold his few belongings, bought some simple supplies, camped on the seashore, and began testing pebbles.

He knew that if he picked up ordinary pebbles and threw them down again because they were cold, he might pick up the same pebble hundreds of times. So, when he felt one that was cold, he threw it into the sea. He spent a whole day doing this but none of them was the touchstone. Yet he went on and on this way. Pick up a pebble. Cold - throw it into the sea. Pick up another. Throw it into the sea.

The days stretched into weeks and the weeks into months. One day, however, about mid afternoon, he picked up a pebble and it was warm. He threw it into the sea before he realized what he had done. He had formed such a strong habit of throwing each pebble into the sea that when the one he wanted came along, he still threw it away.

So it is with opportunity. Unless we are vigilant, it's easy to fail to recognize an opportunity when it is in hand and it's just as easy to throw it away.

We must learn to be open and alert. When an opportunity knocks at our door, we must grab it and make the full use of it. We must also try to create our own opportunities. Its possible. With the realization of your purpose, faith and confidence in your dreams, you can create opportunities for yourself. Believe me, then there will be no looking back...

Wherever we are, in whatever profession, lets realize our dreams, lets give it our best, the ultimate, the utmost passion, perseverance and determination.... remember

"When work is your purpose, hard work is not an option, its a necessity."

Movie Review : October SKy

October Sky

This weekend, I had nothing much to do.
Finally free from office work and traveling, I decided to spend some time with myself.

Decided to catch up some movie, when I came across this movie which was lying saved in my laptop since more than 1 year.

This movie was made in 1999; some 9 years back...however, I loved the movie. Though it is late, yet, I wanted to share my thoughts, views and learning about the film.

The movie strengthened my belief: Follow your dream... With passion and dedication…..
Believe in your dream and yourself.

In life we need to choose our path, we need to find out just one thing: “What do we really want?"

When we know the answer, that answers becomes our purpose.... Our focus...The thing that drives us… it’s a pulsating passion beating deep within us; a part of our blood, so much a part of our real self.

Friends, when we are driven by such a passion, the “IMPOSSIBLE” becomes “POSSIBLE”. A dead end transforms and becomes a new path towards the achievement of that objective, that mission.

Quoting from the novel “The Alchemist”:

"When a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help that person realize his dream”,

The movie strongly supports this.

It’s the story of a young boy, Homer, living in Coalwood, West Virginia. In the town the coal mine is the town's largest employer and almost every male living there works, or will work, in the mines.

John Hickam, the mine superintendent, loves his job -- despite its headaches and inherent dangers -- and hopes that his boys, Jim and Homer, will one day join him working there.

As the townspeople gather outside one starry October night, they see the Soviet satellite Sputnik race across the sky. Homer watches with admiration and wonder. At the same time, the dream to build a rocket shapes in his mind.

His life moves through various twists and turns, circumstances when he is forced to give up his dreams, however the purpose finds him back.

With his group of friends and support from his teacher Miss Riley, they try a number of tests and experiments; some of which prove to be disastrous and produce adverse effects.

Wading through all obstacles, Homer and his pals set out to prove that they can build a rocket that will soar unimpeded into the sky, proving that they have what it takes to leave the confines of their predetermined, coal miner lives.

The movie also brings forth the fact that sometimes, your loved ones, may not believe in you and what you want to do. However, if you have the focus, the clarity and the determination, the inexhaustible passion, things will change for the better sooner or latter : “Everything will fall in place".

The movie is based on true story. "October Sky" is an anagram of "Rocket Boys", the title of the book on which the movie is based.

Friends, don’t you find the movie very close to what we have been discussing in various other posts of this blog: Beliefs, The Giant within us, and the confidence map.

No doubt, I felt the movie so very close to my heart.