Pencil: I'm sorry.
Eraser: For what? You didn't do anything wrong.
Pencil: I'm sorry bcos you get hurt b'cos of me. Whenever I made a mistake, you're always there to erase it. But as you make my mistakes vanish, you lose a part of yourself. You get smaller & smaller each time.
Eraser: That's true but I don't really mind. You see, I was made to do this. I was made to help you whenever you do something wrong. Even though 1 day, I know I'll be gone & you'll replace me with a new 1, I'm actually happy with my job. So pl. Stop worrying. I hate seeing you sad.:)
I found this conversation between pencil&eraser very inspirational. Parents are like eraser whereas their children are pencil.They are always there for their children , cleaning up their mistakes. Sometimes along the way, they get hurt & become smaller (older&eventually pass on).
Though their children will eventually find someone new(spouse)but parents are still happy with what they do for their children &
will always hate seeing their precious ones worrying or sad.
Tuesday, 14 December 2010
Wednesday, 1 December 2010
Why Me????
ONE PARAGRAPH THAT EXPLAINS LIFE!
Arthur Ashe, the legendary Wimbledon Champion was dying of AIDS which he got from infected blood he received during a heart surgery in 1983.
From world over, he received letters from his fans, one of which conveyed: "Why does GOD have to select you for such a bad disease"?
To this Arthur Ashe replied:
"The world over, 50 million children start playing tennis, 5 million learn to play tennis, 500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to semi final, 2 to the finals & when I was holding a cup I never asked GOD 'Why me?'.
And today in pain I should not be asking GOD 'Why me?'
Arthur Ashe, the legendary Wimbledon Champion was dying of AIDS which he got from infected blood he received during a heart surgery in 1983.
From world over, he received letters from his fans, one of which conveyed: "Why does GOD have to select you for such a bad disease"?
To this Arthur Ashe replied:
"The world over, 50 million children start playing tennis, 5 million learn to play tennis, 500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to semi final, 2 to the finals & when I was holding a cup I never asked GOD 'Why me?'.
And today in pain I should not be asking GOD 'Why me?'
Monday, 29 November 2010
PUSH
A man was sleeping one night in his cabin when suddenly the room filled
with light, and God appeared. The Lord told the man He had work for him to
do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained
that the man was to Push against the rock with all his might...
So, this the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from
sun up to sundown, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface
of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might!
Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling
that his whole day had been spent in vain. Since the man was showing
discouragement, the adversary (Satan) decided to enter the picture by placing
thoughts into the weary mind: (He will do it every time)!
'You have been pushing against that rock for a long time and it
hasn't moved.' Thus, he gave the man the impression that the task was
impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and
disheartened him.
Satan said, 'Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time,
giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough.' That's what the
weary man planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of Prayer and to
take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.
'Lord,' he said, 'I have laboured long and hard in Your Service,
putting all my strength to do that which You have asked. Yet, after all this
time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong?
Why am I failing?'
The Lord responded compassionately, 'My friend, when I asked you to
serve Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the
rock with all of your strength, which you have done.
Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your
task was to Push. Now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking
that you have failed..
But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and
muscled, your back is massive and brown; your hands are callused and,
your legs have become massive and hard.
Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now
surpass that which you used to have. True, you haven't moved the rock. But your
calling was to be Obedient and to Push and to exercise your Faith and Trust
in My Wisdom. That you have done. Now my friend, I will move the rock.'
At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own
intellect to decipher what He Wants, when actually what God wants is just simple
obedience and faith in Him.
By all means, exercise the Faith that moves mountains, but know that
it is still God Who moves the Mountain.
So!
When everything seems to go wrong...............................Just P.U.S.H.
When the job gets you
down............................................Just P.U.S.H.
When people don't do as you think they should.............Just P.U.S.H.
When your money is 'gone' and the bills are due...........Just P.U.S.H.
When people don't understand you ........................Just P.U.S.H.
P = Pray
U = Until
S = Something
H = Happens
'Though no one can go back and make a brand new start,
anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending!'
with light, and God appeared. The Lord told the man He had work for him to
do, and showed him a large rock in front of his cabin. The Lord explained
that the man was to Push against the rock with all his might...
So, this the man did, day after day. For many years he toiled from
sun up to sundown, his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface
of the unmoving rock, pushing with all his might!
Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling
that his whole day had been spent in vain. Since the man was showing
discouragement, the adversary (Satan) decided to enter the picture by placing
thoughts into the weary mind: (He will do it every time)!
'You have been pushing against that rock for a long time and it
hasn't moved.' Thus, he gave the man the impression that the task was
impossible and that he was a failure. These thoughts discouraged and
disheartened him.
Satan said, 'Why kill yourself over this? Just put in your time,
giving just the minimum effort; and that will be good enough.' That's what the
weary man planned to do, but decided to make it a matter of Prayer and to
take his troubled thoughts to the Lord.
'Lord,' he said, 'I have laboured long and hard in Your Service,
putting all my strength to do that which You have asked. Yet, after all this
time, I have not even budged that rock by half a millimeter. What is wrong?
Why am I failing?'
The Lord responded compassionately, 'My friend, when I asked you to
serve Me and you accepted, I told you that your task was to push against the
rock with all of your strength, which you have done.
Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your
task was to Push. Now you come to Me with your strength spent, thinking
that you have failed..
But, is that really so? Look at yourself. Your arms are strong and
muscled, your back is massive and brown; your hands are callused and,
your legs have become massive and hard.
Through opposition you have grown much, and your abilities now
surpass that which you used to have. True, you haven't moved the rock. But your
calling was to be Obedient and to Push and to exercise your Faith and Trust
in My Wisdom. That you have done. Now my friend, I will move the rock.'
At times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own
intellect to decipher what He Wants, when actually what God wants is just simple
obedience and faith in Him.
By all means, exercise the Faith that moves mountains, but know that
it is still God Who moves the Mountain.
So!
When everything seems to go wrong...............................Just P.U.S.H.
When the job gets you
down............................................Just P.U.S.H.
When people don't do as you think they should.............Just P.U.S.H.
When your money is 'gone' and the bills are due...........Just P.U.S.H.
When people don't understand you ........................Just P.U.S.H.
P = Pray
U = Until
S = Something
H = Happens
'Though no one can go back and make a brand new start,
anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending!'
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
The story of an ant
The Ant
One morning I wasted nearly an hour watching a tiny ant carry a huge feather across my back terrace. Several times it was confronted by obstacles in its path and after a momentary pause, it would make the necessary detour.
At one point the ant had to negotiate a crack in the concrete about 10 mm wide. After brief contemplation the ant laid the feather over the crack, walked across it and picked up the feather on the other side, then continued on its way. I was fascinated by the ingenuity of this ant, one of God's smallest creatures. It served to reinforce the miracle of creation.
Here was a minute insect, lacking in size yet equipped with a brain to reason, explore, discover and overcome. But this ant, like the two-legged co-residents of this planet, also share human failings. After some time the ant finally reached its destination - a flower bed at the end of the terrace and a small hole that was the entrance to its underground home. And it was here that the ant finally met its match.
How could that large feather possibly fit down a small hole? Of course it couldn't. So the ant, after all this trouble and exercising great ingenuity, overcoming problems all along the way, just abandoned the feather and went home. The ant had not thought the problem through before it began its epic journey and in the end the feather was nothing more than a burden. Isn't life like that?!
We worry about our family, we worry about money or the lack of it, we worry about work, about where we live, about all sorts of things. These are all burdens - the things we pick up along life's path and lug them around the obstacles and over the crevasses that life will bring, only to find that at the destination they are useless and we can't take them with us..
One morning I wasted nearly an hour watching a tiny ant carry a huge feather across my back terrace. Several times it was confronted by obstacles in its path and after a momentary pause, it would make the necessary detour.
At one point the ant had to negotiate a crack in the concrete about 10 mm wide. After brief contemplation the ant laid the feather over the crack, walked across it and picked up the feather on the other side, then continued on its way. I was fascinated by the ingenuity of this ant, one of God's smallest creatures. It served to reinforce the miracle of creation.
Here was a minute insect, lacking in size yet equipped with a brain to reason, explore, discover and overcome. But this ant, like the two-legged co-residents of this planet, also share human failings. After some time the ant finally reached its destination - a flower bed at the end of the terrace and a small hole that was the entrance to its underground home. And it was here that the ant finally met its match.
How could that large feather possibly fit down a small hole? Of course it couldn't. So the ant, after all this trouble and exercising great ingenuity, overcoming problems all along the way, just abandoned the feather and went home. The ant had not thought the problem through before it began its epic journey and in the end the feather was nothing more than a burden. Isn't life like that?!
We worry about our family, we worry about money or the lack of it, we worry about work, about where we live, about all sorts of things. These are all burdens - the things we pick up along life's path and lug them around the obstacles and over the crevasses that life will bring, only to find that at the destination they are useless and we can't take them with us..
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Appreciation
Appreciation
One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company. He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview and made the last decision. The director discovered from the CV, that the youth's academic result is excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never has a year he did not score. The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarship in school?" and the youth answered "none". The director asked, " Is it your father pay for your school fees?" the youth answered, my father passed away when I was one year old, it is my mother who paid for my school fees. The director asked, " Where did your mother work?" the youth answered, my mother worked as cloth cleaner. The director requested the youth to show his hand, the youth showed a pair of hand that is smooth and perfect to the director. The director asked, " Did you ever help your mother wash the cloth before?" The youth answered, never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books, furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me. The director said, I had a request, when you go back today, go and help to clean your mother's hand, and then see me tomorrow morning.
The youth felt that its chance of landing the job is high, when he went back, he happily wanted to clean his mother's hand, his mother feel strange, happy but mixed with fear, she showed her hand to the kid. The youth cleaned his mother's hand slowly, his tear drop down as he did that. It is first time he found his mother's hand so wrinkled, and there are so many bruises in her hand. Some bruises incited pains so strong that shiver her mother's body when cleaned with water.
This is the first time the youth realized and experienced that it is this pair of hand that washed the cloth everyday to earn him the school fees, the bruises in the mother's hand is the price that the mother paid for his graduation and academic excellence and probably his future.
After finishing the cleaning of his mother hand, the youth quietly cleaned all remaining clothes for his mother. That night, mother and sons talked for a very long time.
Next morning, the youth went to the director's office The director noticed the tear in the youth's eye, asked: " Can you tell you what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?" The youth answered, " I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes. The director asked, " please tell me your feeling." The youth said, Number 1, I knew what is appreciation, without my mother, there would not the successful me today. Number 2, I knew how to work together with my mother, then only I can realize how difficult and tough to get something done. Number 3, I knew the importance and value of family relationship.
The director said, " This is what I am asking, I want to recruit a person that can appreciate the help of other, a person that knew the suffering of others to get thing done, and a person that would not put money as his only goal in life to be my manager. You are hired.
Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates, every employees worked diligently and in a team, the company's result improved tremendously.
A child who has been protected and habitually given whatever he did, he develops "entitlement mentality" and always put himself first. He is ignorant of his parent's effort. When he starts work, he assumes all people must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know how suffering his employee and always blame others. For this kind of people, they may have good result, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement, they will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parent, did we love the kid or destroy the kid? You can let your kid lived in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plate and bowl together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parent are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The most important thing is that your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learn the ability to work with others to get thing done.
One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company. He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview and made the last decision. The director discovered from the CV, that the youth's academic result is excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never has a year he did not score. The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarship in school?" and the youth answered "none". The director asked, " Is it your father pay for your school fees?" the youth answered, my father passed away when I was one year old, it is my mother who paid for my school fees. The director asked, " Where did your mother work?" the youth answered, my mother worked as cloth cleaner. The director requested the youth to show his hand, the youth showed a pair of hand that is smooth and perfect to the director. The director asked, " Did you ever help your mother wash the cloth before?" The youth answered, never, my mother always wanted me to study and read more books, furthermore, my mother can wash clothes faster than me. The director said, I had a request, when you go back today, go and help to clean your mother's hand, and then see me tomorrow morning.
The youth felt that its chance of landing the job is high, when he went back, he happily wanted to clean his mother's hand, his mother feel strange, happy but mixed with fear, she showed her hand to the kid. The youth cleaned his mother's hand slowly, his tear drop down as he did that. It is first time he found his mother's hand so wrinkled, and there are so many bruises in her hand. Some bruises incited pains so strong that shiver her mother's body when cleaned with water.
This is the first time the youth realized and experienced that it is this pair of hand that washed the cloth everyday to earn him the school fees, the bruises in the mother's hand is the price that the mother paid for his graduation and academic excellence and probably his future.
After finishing the cleaning of his mother hand, the youth quietly cleaned all remaining clothes for his mother. That night, mother and sons talked for a very long time.
Next morning, the youth went to the director's office The director noticed the tear in the youth's eye, asked: " Can you tell you what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?" The youth answered, " I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes. The director asked, " please tell me your feeling." The youth said, Number 1, I knew what is appreciation, without my mother, there would not the successful me today. Number 2, I knew how to work together with my mother, then only I can realize how difficult and tough to get something done. Number 3, I knew the importance and value of family relationship.
The director said, " This is what I am asking, I want to recruit a person that can appreciate the help of other, a person that knew the suffering of others to get thing done, and a person that would not put money as his only goal in life to be my manager. You are hired.
Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of his subordinates, every employees worked diligently and in a team, the company's result improved tremendously.
A child who has been protected and habitually given whatever he did, he develops "entitlement mentality" and always put himself first. He is ignorant of his parent's effort. When he starts work, he assumes all people must listen to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know how suffering his employee and always blame others. For this kind of people, they may have good result, may be successful for a while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement, they will grumble and be full of hatred and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parent, did we love the kid or destroy the kid? You can let your kid lived in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plate and bowl together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parent are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person. The most important thing is that your kid learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learn the ability to work with others to get thing done.
Monday, 15 November 2010
Don't Give Up
One day I decided to quit...
I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality... I wanted to quit my life.
I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.
'God', I asked, 'Can you give me one good reason not to quit?'
His answer surprised me...
'Look around', He said. 'Do you see the fern and the bamboo?'
'Yes', I replied.
'When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them.
I gave them light.
I gave them water.
The fern quickly grew from the earth.
Its brilliant green covered the floor.
Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.
In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful.
And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.
He said.
'In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed.
But I would not quit.
In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would
not quit.' He said.
'Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared
to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant...But just 6
months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall.
It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave
it what it needed to survive.
I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle.'
He asked me. 'Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been
struggling, you have actually been growing roots'.
'I would not quit on the bamboo.
I will never quit on you.'
'Don't compare yourself to others.'
He said.
'The bamboo had a different Purpose than the fern.
Yet they both make the forest beautiful.'
'Your time will come', God said to me.
'You will rise high'
'How high should I rise?'
I asked.
'How high will the bamboo rise?' He asked in return.
'As high as it can?' I questioned.
'Yes.' He said, 'Give me glory by rising as high as you can.'
I left the forest and brought back this story.
I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you.
Never, Never, Never Give up.
For the Prayer is not an option but an opportunity.
Don't tell the Lord how big the problem is,
tell the problem how Great the Lord is!
Heavens door open this morning, God asked me...
'My CHILD, what can I do for you?'
And I said, 'Father, please protect and bless the one reading this message.'
God smiled and answered, 'Request granted.'
This message is now in your hands.
What will YOU do with it?
send this to your friends so they too will have their lives in God's hands
You never know when GOD is going to bless you!! Good things happen when you
least expect them to !!!
I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality... I wanted to quit my life.
I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.
'God', I asked, 'Can you give me one good reason not to quit?'
His answer surprised me...
'Look around', He said. 'Do you see the fern and the bamboo?'
'Yes', I replied.
'When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them.
I gave them light.
I gave them water.
The fern quickly grew from the earth.
Its brilliant green covered the floor.
Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.
In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful.
And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.
He said.
'In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed.
But I would not quit.
In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would
not quit.' He said.
'Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared
to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant...But just 6
months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall.
It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave
it what it needed to survive.
I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle.'
He asked me. 'Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been
struggling, you have actually been growing roots'.
'I would not quit on the bamboo.
I will never quit on you.'
'Don't compare yourself to others.'
He said.
'The bamboo had a different Purpose than the fern.
Yet they both make the forest beautiful.'
'Your time will come', God said to me.
'You will rise high'
'How high should I rise?'
I asked.
'How high will the bamboo rise?' He asked in return.
'As high as it can?' I questioned.
'Yes.' He said, 'Give me glory by rising as high as you can.'
I left the forest and brought back this story.
I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you.
Never, Never, Never Give up.
For the Prayer is not an option but an opportunity.
Don't tell the Lord how big the problem is,
tell the problem how Great the Lord is!
Heavens door open this morning, God asked me...
'My CHILD, what can I do for you?'
And I said, 'Father, please protect and bless the one reading this message.'
God smiled and answered, 'Request granted.'
This message is now in your hands.
What will YOU do with it?
send this to your friends so they too will have their lives in God's hands
You never know when GOD is going to bless you!! Good things happen when you
least expect them to !!!
Club 99
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 joy. The King asked the Servant, "Why are you so happy?" The Servant 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."……
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 joy. The King asked the Servant, "Why are you so happy?" The Servant 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."……
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