Tag: #stories

A Turtle That Couldn’t Swim…

~ Joyce Mary J ~ 12 Comments

My 7 year old daughter told me a story recently. She is really good in making up stories and comes up with something new very often. Now this one was about a turtle which couldn’t swim. The story goes like this…..

Once, there lived a turtle on a rock near to the pond. He used to cry everyday looking at the water. One day, a crow saw him crying and asked the reason. He said that he is a turtle but cannot swim. This makes him sad and that is why he is crying. Then the crow said, “I can only teach you fly, sorry.” After saying that the crow flew away.

After a few days, one of the fishes in the pond saw him crying. Fish asked him about the reason for being so sad. He said, “I’m a turtle but I cannot swim.” Fish said, “You cannot swim because you are not trying enough. You just sit on the rock and cry all day. That is not going to make you swim. You need to try harder.” Listening to that, he became sadder and started to cry louder.

Then, one day, he saw a happy tortoise walking slowly near the pond nibbling flowers and leaves. At that moment, he realised that he couldn’t swim because he was not a turtle, he was a tortoise!

The story is short and simple. But, it has a huge lesson to give us. It’s about self awareness. We will be crying all our lives thinking about all the things that we cannot do or we don’t have if we don’t know exactly who we are just like that tortoise who thought it was a turtle. With self awareness, we learn our own strengths and weaknesses which in turn helps in our own development.

This story, also teaches us that unless we help ourselves no-one can help us in understanding the real us. Our family, friends, neighbours and colleagues can only give their own views and perceptions about us which may not be true. The act of gaining self awareness may take time and energy as you will have to go through a lot of reflection and introspection but it is worth it for all good reasons.

I don’t know how a 7 year old can come up with something like this, but, she surprises me everyday. And I’m, just a proud mom.

-JMJ

The Egg And The Enemy

~ Joyce Mary J ~ 17 Comments

She saw herself in a castle surrounded by all the courtiers. In the mirror, which was placed right in the centre of her bedroom, she found out that she was the princess. They asked her to leave the place as it was too risky to stay there. It was a fight or flight situation and she was a fighter. She would never leave anyone behind.

Knowing her very well, one of her advisor handed her an egg. She gave him a perplexed look. What was this all about? He told her that the enemies had already reached the gate and she should protect that egg from any harm. That was her duty towards the kingdom.

So,she ran as fast as she could keeping that egg safely in one hand and holding the sword in another. While running, she developed an attachment towards that egg as if it was something which belonged to her. It gave her a purpose to live and fight with the enemies with all her courage and strength.

In that dark night, where the moon also forgot to show herself, princess ran towards the battlement to reach the tower. She tripped on something and the egg fell from her hand. She screamed out of fear and pain. While falling from the height, the egg cracked and she saw a beautiful baby. A human baby from an egg!!!

It was quarter to four in the morning. When I had woken up from the sleep all panicked and worried, I found myself all wet in my sweat after a terrible fight in the dream. Correction… Nightmare!

I still don’t understand why on the earth I was protecting an egg and why would a human baby hatch from it!! Any explanation or suggestions are welcomed.

Please leave your comments on the post as I would really love to read them.

The Heartbreak

~ Joyce Mary J ~ 8 Comments 
You will be that pain in my heart that never gets old,
As your lies were taking chances one by one to unfold,
A scar in my heart that will always be new,
While you are partying with someone I knew.
Time heals everything they say,
Hoping that it won't be a lifetime and that's what I pray,
How could one can understand another's soul so deeply,
Yet can't see their betrayals
and be blind completely?
                   -JMJ





I wrote this poem while I was watching Grace and Frankie. It was actually Frankie who inspired me as she loved Sol and knew each and every minute details about him but didn’t realize that he was cheating on her for about two decades. Irony is that they were like soulmates.

			

	


				
					


	

		
A Regret In My Life…
	

				

			 ~ Joyce Mary J			 ~ 16 Comments					

				

		






Have you ever had an incident in your life which has affected you a lot later? Something, which is still fresh in your mind even if it had happened a long time ago. A face that you cannot forget.





I have a story to tell you which has been haunting me since several years. I still remember the day when I was going to church with my mother and my little brother. I think I was twelve or thirteen years old. While walking, I saw a middle aged  man,  walking towards us. From a distance itself I had a feeling of uneasiness. When he came nearer I gave him a glance and I took my mother’s hand to hold in shock.





You must be thinking that he might have done something. Then, you are wrong. In this story, I’m the villainess. My behavior was totally based on his physical feature, his facial disfigurement. It was like he didn’t have a nose or mouth and those organs were all joined together to appear like a big mass on his face. I had never seen anyone like that before. The way I reacted after I saw him was so rude and unkind that he quickly walked past us bowing his head. But before he did that I saw disappointment and sadness on his face. 





That night, I couldn’t sleep because I got scared of him. It didn’t occur to me at that time that I’m the one who had hurt him. Only thing that bothered me was his face. It took a few years and a nursing degree course to make me realize what was the cause for his disfigured face. What I did was so wrong even though it was unintentional.





I still remember his face but the feelings are not the same. Regret has taken the place of fear. That was the first and the last time I saw him. I never got the chance to say sorry to him in person.This post is a confession and I would like to take this chance to say, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry that I was so ignorant and unkind that I behaved like that. I’m sorry that I judged you  based on your face without knowing you in person. I’m sorry that I hurt your feelings when I looked away because I wanted to avoid you. I’m deeply sorry for what I have done.” So if you read this, I hope that you do, please take it as an apology from my heart.

			

	


				
					


	

		
Forever…..
	

				

			 ~ Joyce Mary J			 ~ 12 Comments					

				

		






Saw pure love in their eyes,
When they were gazing each other's eyes,
A half a century of life together,
Still they love to have moments together.
Finding a person to love is a blessing,
But to be loved in the same way needs more blessings,
Their love and care for each other made my heart warm,
When I saw him tucking her to keep her body warm.
When they said forever in their vows,
They meant each and every word of their vows,
To be there for each other is not overrated,
Forever is not at all overrated.
                      -JMJ

			

	


				
					


	

		
The Volcano
	

				

			 ~ Joyce Mary J			 ~ 11 Comments					

				

		






Once there was a beautiful place with lots of trees, plants, animals and birds. A place like heaven where the day started with the blooming flowers and chirping of birds and ended with an amazing view of sunset and the nights were so serene. A volcano too lived among them. She loved to see lives around her and was proud of the place where she was situated.





One day, the volcano was tagged as an extinct one as she had not erupted for a long time and scientists could not find any activity within her. So, people started to come to this beautiful place  to see the volcano as well as to make some business out of it. Many of them who came, were not that gentle towards her or to the place which she loved. They exploited it so much that place started to ruin it’s beauty. As people thought that the volcano was extinct, they used to go nearer to her and threw stones at her. People love to tease and attack something which they think that can’t react, don’t they? It continued for a long time and what happened was unexplainable. The volcano erupted with a maximum intensity and she started to spit fire balls along with the lava and poisonous gas. The whole place was turned to ash and the lava engulfed everything, people, animals, birds, trees and plants. Nothing survived. 





Now, the volcano was tagged as active. People were afraid not even to go nearer to volcano but to the place. She waited patiently because she knew that the place will be beautiful and she will be happy. After a few years, she was proud of the place again where she was situated and she lied dormant once again watching the beautiful sight around her hoping that she won’t be tagged as extinct again.





I have tried to make my point using a parable here. I hope that you will like it. Please leave your comments on the topic as I would really love to read them.

			

	


				
					


	

		
Honesty is still the best policy….
	

				

			 ~ Joyce Mary J			 ~ 9 Comments					

				

		






Nowadays, we find a lot of people around us who love to twist the truth for their own benefits. They don’t mind even if it tarnishes the character of a person or hurts a person to an extent that it can cause mental imbalance. Only thing that these kind of people care, is their own safety and reputation.





Let me tell you a story about two nurses, a staff nurse and a senior nurse. One day, it was noticed during the pharmacy check that some of the drugs of a patient were missing as there was no record of it being given to the patient. It came to the notice of the ward manager that those two members of the staff were working on the day when the patient was discharged. Both of them were summoned. The staff nurse knew that it was her senior who discharged the patient but as it happened a while ago, she could not recollect what really happened. So, she told the ward manager that she really doesn’t remember. The senior staff member blamed the junior one for the incident, even though she knew that it was her mistake. The pharmacist found out later that the medicines were given to the patient but the problem was in the documentation. If only, the senior staff could have told the truth that she forgot to sign, the junior one didn’t have to go through all the tension and insult.





Who do you think that you feel like giving respect, the staff nurse or the senior nurse? Does the position or status of a person is more valuable than the virtues of another? Do you think that you will benefit more with dishonesty and lies and also that those profits are really profits? Do you think that accepting our mistakes can make us less honored?





One of the virtues that I really value is honesty and I really think that if a person can’t be honest then he or she cannot be trusted. I also think that if a person can’t own up their mistakes, then they have a weak character. To lie and to put our fault on someone else’s head is a grave mistake than the one originally committed. It not only causes problems to an innocent person but also takes the chance to correct our mistakes and to make things right. Being honest can be difficult, but in the long run that will give us the true happiness and success in the life.





If you do not tell the truth about yourself you cannot tell it about other people.
Virginia Woolf





It’s discouraging to think how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.
Noël Coward





Whoever is careless with the truth in small matters cannot be trusted with important matters.
Albert Einstein





Honesty is the first chapter of the book wisdom.
Thomas Jefferson





It takes strength and courage to admit the truth.
Rick Riordan





You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.
Abraham Lincoln





Please leave your comments on the topic as I would really love to read them.

			

	


				
					


				
					


	

		
Stalkers!
	

				

			 ~ Joyce Mary J			 ~ 12 Comments					

				

		






What a beautiful day! I’m so happy that we brought the kids with us today.










That’s enough for today. Come on kids… Let’s go..










Mum, we are so hungry after swimming lessons.. Can we eat some snacks?










Do you see that? They have been following us for so long.










Yes, I can. I have been trying to ignore them. Come here little one. Don’t go near to strangers.










Okay.. that’s it, you stalkers!




 Continue reading “Stalkers!” →			

	


				
					


	

		
An Eerie Night..
	

				

			 ~ Joyce Mary J			 ~ 9 Comments					

				

		

Those eyes pierced through my soul…










One evening, I was walking back to home from my work place. It was a pleasant and beautiful day in the village. The sun was setting and the darkness was creeping on. Behind the bushes, I saw two big twinkling eyes. I had never seen something like that before and they were staring at me.





I started to tremble when it started to move. So many questions came to my mind. What is it? Why is it coming towards me? Did I do anything wrong? What does it want? It took me a minute to gather myself and take control of my thought process. Yes… I know what it is. It’s a tiger!





Run Joyce, run!!! Run as fast as you can, my brain told to me. I started running leaving behind my bag and taking just my life in my hand. “I have to find a place to hide. I cannot outrun a tiger. It will catch me soon.” My brain advised me again. After a few minutes, I saw a building. I went inside the house and to my surprise, I saw all of my family members there including my daughter. “No, it cannot be true. They can’t be here. The tiger is going to hunt us all. Where am I going to hide my child? Oh God, help me.” I could hear myself sobbing. Suddenly I said, tiger…tiger…run and hide. I took my daughter in my hand and started running again searching for a safe place to hide. I went inside a house and locked all the windows and doors. But, I could hear something thumping on the roof. I started to cry holding my child and then I shouted at the beast, “Leave us alone”.





I can’t breathe and move… Why can’t I move? Why am I sweating? I wanted to raise my hands and to open my eyes. I tried to figure out what is happening? Where am I now? I’m in the room. But, where is my child? I slowly tried to move my arm to reach my daughter. Yes.. I can feel her leg. Is she alive? Yes.. she is. Thank God.. she is breathing. 





So, where is the tiger? Did I just have a nightmare? It felt too real for that. “What’s the time now? Oh! It’s only 2:30 am. I have only four more hours to sleep. I have a shift in the morning. Go back to sleep, Joyce…”, I told to myself. Making sure that my daughter was safe and sound, I went to sleep again. While I was dozing, I just hoped with a prayer in my mind that I would never have to run with my child for our lives.





Those heart-hammering nightmares that start to lose coherence even as you’re waking up from them, but that still manage to leave their moldering fingerprints all across your day.
Mike Carey





Have you ever noticed there is never any third act to a nightmare? They bring you to a climax of terror and then leave you there. 
Max Beerbohm





I still get nightmares. In fact, I get them so often I should be used to them by now. I’m not. No one ever really gets used to nightmares.
Mark Z. Danielewski





Nightmares exist outside of logic, and there’s little fun to be had in explanations; they’re antithetical to the poetry of fear.
Stephen King





Please leave your comments on the topic as I would really love to read them.