Insipirational Short Stories To Read In 2020

Inspirational-motivational  Short Stories To Read In 2020

Never Pray For Selfish Ends

Sidney Walker, the world-famous lightweight champion, was an illiterate shoeshine boy before he rose to fame. 

He had seen both the worlds and so, was a very humble man. Once, WC Heinz came to visit him in his dressing room after his big annual fight and said, “I understand you pray before every fight. 

Tell me, what do you pray about?”

QUESTIONS

1. What did Sidney Walker answer him?

2. What is the implication of this story?

ANSWERS

1. That’s right, I pray that nobody gets hurt. Then I pray that it is a good fight and that the most deserving person wins the fight, said Sidney Walker.

2. One should never pray for selfish needs. Only when you are free from tension and stress can you pray for others. This will also show your

large-heartedness. When you are not selfish you will have a perennial flow of energy in you.

Be True To Yourself

An old woman had spent her entire life being difficult. 

One morning, the realization hit her that she had to change. She joined a charitable organization and said nice things to others. 

But to her surprise, she felt a vague resentment towards her activities. She felt forced to be good and this only doubled her guilt, for now, she felt guilty over her resentment towards doing good. 

Though confused, she intelligently reflected, “There is something dreadfully wrong. This isn’t good at all; it is self-enslaving and stage acting. True goodness must be something entirely different.” 

So, she began a search for true goodness, which she finally realized and understood after she met a sage who was famous for helping people out with their problems.

QUESTIONS

1. What did the sage tell her?

2. What is the implication of this story?

ANSWERS

1. The sage said, True goodness blooms in the absence of an unconscious self-image of being good. Abolish conditioned thoughts

about personal goodness and badness and authentic goodness flourishes.

2. There is no higher deed than just being genuine in whatever you do. Being true to oneself gives ultimate satisfaction.

Live Now, Happily And Merrily

Once, there was a clock repairer. He would go from house to house fixing up damaged clocks and watches. 

One day, as he was about to fix the pendulum of yet another damaged clock, to his surprise, he heard the clock speak. “Please Sir, leave me alone. 

It will be an act of kindness on your part. Think of the number of times I have to tick in a minute, then an hour, then the day, and in years,” the clock pleaded. But the clock repairer answered wisely. 

He said…

QUESTIONS

1. What did the clock repairer say to the clock?

2. What is the implication of this story?

ANSWERS

1. The clock repairer said, Don’t think of the future. Just do one tick at a time and you will enjoy every tick for the rest of your life. 

That is exactly what the clock decided to do, and is still ticking away merrily.

2. The present moment will never be

unbearable if you live in it fully. 

What is unbearable is to have your body here at 10 am and your mind at 6 pm. Life is living now, in the present, not regretting the past and not anticipating the future.

Realize The Genuine Love Of Your Parents

Mary Garden, the noted Opera singer earned a great deal of money with her performances. Her father often demanded huge sums of money from her and she usually thought he was being unreasonable. A few years later, she retired and stopped giving performances. Money, she thought, wasn’t a problem and so decided to invest in the stock market so as to double it up. After a few years, she lost all her money in the stock market crash. She was totally shaken up at her misfortune. At this moment of distress, she received a note from

a bank stating that her father had deposited all the money he had received from her in the bank. She heaved a great sigh of relief.

QUESTION

1. What is the implication of this story?

ANSWER

1. She had been thinking that her father was unreasonable in taking too much money from her. But he had kept all the money in the bank thinking that she might need it if she had any financial problems in

the future. This shows genuine paternal love. Children often do not realize the love of their parents once they become independent or get married.

What Makes A Deathbed Terrible?

David Warwick, a famous actor on the stage accumulated a great fortune through his acting skills. One day, he was showing his new home, garden, and all his luxuries to a very close friend. Instead of admiring his success and affluence, the friend remarked something that made David really think about his fabulous wealth.

QUESTIONS

1. What was the remark of his friend?

2. What is the implication of this story?

ANSWERS

1. His close friend commented, “Ah, David, these are the very things that make a death-bed seem so terrible.”

2. A beggar can die peacefully, but not the wealthy. A beggar has no regrets to leave when he is gone. This is not the case with the wealthy. They get frightened at death, as they have to leave behind so much of wealth that they accumulated with hard work and greed.

Only Fools And Cowards Commit Suicide

Barney Jones was a very successful businessman and lived his life constantly in the limelight, but of late, too much competition from his rivals was wearing him out, and his nerves were on edge. To add to his troubles, Barney’s wife was determined to be classed as the best-dressed lady in town and it was proving to be a drain on Barney’s purse and a load of strain on his already depressed condition. He could not sleep at night and have lost his grip on life. His health too started deteriorating. After much thinking and

worrying, he came to the conclusion that life was not worth living and decided to commit suicide. He approached his doctor for advice. He wanted to die without much pain and also didn’t want anyone to know that he had committed suicide. The doctor gave him a prescription.

QUESTIONS

1. What was the prescription given by his doctor?

2. What is the implication of this story?

ANSWERS

1. The doctor told him to run five miles a day as fast as he could. He had to do the running every day until he died. As he would be running too fast, he would drop dead one day. No one could even guess that he had committed suicide. The death would also be a painless one. Barney followed the advice of his doctor. The first day, he ran as fast as possible for five miles. As he was dog-tired at the end of this venture, he fell asleep as soon as he went to bed. For the first time, he had a sound and peaceful sleep. The same process continued for a few more days. The more he ran, the better became his health due to sound sleep. He gained more energy and enthusiasm and wanted to live a fruitful life, abandoning his thought

of committing suicide.

2. The best antidote for stress and worry is work. When we plunge into action, we forget our worries and also generate more energy.  When the energy level goes up, we become more optimistic and productive. Only fools and cowards commit suicide. There is so much to life and it should be lived every moment.

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