Hello Ladies, I received the below piece as a forward email. It made me think so much of how many of us forget what we have got in life, but start worrying about what we have not or what more we need to get. I felt it is a very thought provoking one to be shared among the beautiful group out here. So, read and then think whether you are the member of 'The 99 Club'??? Happy Reading! Lots of love, Rathi ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Once upon a time, there lived a King who, despite his luxurious lifestyle, was neither happy nor content. One day, the King came upon a servant who was singing happily while he worked. This fascinated the King; why was he, the Supreme Ruler of the Land, unhappy and gloomy, while a lowly servant had so much . The King asked the servant, "Why are you so happy?" The man replied, "Your Majesty, I am nothing but a servant, but my family and I don't need too much - just a roof over our heads and warm food to fill our tummies." The king was not satisfied with that reply. Later in the day, he sought the advice of his most trusted advisor. After hearing the King's woes and the servant's story, the advisor said, "Your Majesty, I believe that the servant has not been made part of The 99 Club." "The 99 Club? And what exactly is that?" the King inquired. The advisor replied, "Your Majesty, to truly know what The 99 Club is, place 99 Gold coins in a bag and leave it at this servant's doorstep." When the servant saw the bag, he took it into his house. When he opened the bag, he let out a great shout of joy... so many gold coins! He began to count them. After several counts, he was at last convinced that there were 99 coins. He wondered, "What could've happened to that last gold coin? Surely, no one would leave 99 coins!" He looked everywhere he could, but that final coin was elusive. Finally, exhausted, he decided that he was going to have to work harder than ever to earn that gold coin and complete his collection. From that day, the servant's life was changed. He was overworked, horribly grumpy, and castigated his family for not helping him make that 100th gold coin. He stopped singing while he worked. Witnessing this drastic transformation, the King was puzzled. When he sought his advisor's help, the advisor said, "Your Majesty, the servant has now officially joined The 99 Club." He continued, "The 99 Club is a name given to those people who have enough to be happy but are never contented, because they're always yearning and striving for that extra 1 telling to themselves: "Let me get that one final thing and then I will be happy for life." We can be happy, even with very little in our lives, but the minute we're given something bigger and better, we want even more! We lose our sleep, our happiness, we hurt the people around us; all these as a price for our growing needs and desires. That's what joining The 99 Club is all about."
Hi Rathi, It remainds me the quote `Always count your blessings, instead of your cursings`. We always forget what the good things we have. I used to stick the nice quotes around my kitchen, thereby I can count by blessings. Sometimes it is hard to follow. Our minds wander around the bad things, we have to pull back towards the good what we have. Eventhough the story is a known one, it is a good remainder. Nice post!
Vidya Arun Rathi For the last 1 month, apart from my work time, i have been too glued to Sridhar Sir's story section and really did not browse through any of the other links in IL. Well 99 club is really amazing. I did my masters in Illinois and our Psycology(Well i did not do my masters in this subject, this was my interest paper) professor always used to quote this. Human beings are never contented with what they have, when it is COLD we want it HOT and when it is HOT we want it COLD always wanting for what is not there. Your post took my memories two years back... Thanks. Love vidya
Good one Yes, the missing one mattered most! How true This one is worth forwarding to everyone. L, Kamla
