Once upon a time, somewhere in post-war Eastern Europe, there was a great famine in which people jealously hoarded whatever food they could find, hiding it even from their friends and neighbors.

One day a wandering soldier came into a village and began asking questions as if he planned to stay for the night.

"There's not a bite to eat in the whole province," he was told. "Better keep moving on."

"Oh, I have everything I need," he said. "In fact, I was thinking of making some stone soup to share with all of you."

He pulled an iron cauldron from his wagon, filled it with water, and built a fire under it. Then, with great ceremony, he drew an ordinary-looking stone from a velvet bag and dropped it into the water.

Susan notes: I love the daily messages I get from the Daily Om. This one was a great reminder to take it easy on myself, and thus to create more positive energy in my body and mind...

One of the key components of human consciousness that most of us need to address and change is our tendency to be hard on ourselves. When we are hard on ourselves for any reason, we send our bodies the message that we are not good enough.

We do this in ways that are both overt and subtle, and half the work sometimes is recognizing that we are doing it at all.

For example, if we find it difficult to graciously accept compliments, this is probably a sign that we tend to be hard on ourselves.

Other ways in which we express this tendency include never feeling satisfied with a job well done, always wanting to be and do better, and getting mad at ourselves for getting sick.

Here’s another one from The Daily Om.

Each and every one of us has a story to tell and they are all important.

It's easy to forget sometimes that everyone has a story to tell if we take the time to listen. We are so accustomed to hearing the stories of people in the news that we sometimes lose track of the fact that the random stranger on the bus also has a fascinating story about where they came from and how they got to be where they are.

Susan notes: I came across this video on the wall of a Facebook friend of mine, and it just struck me as interesting, thoughtful and inspirational. I hope you enjoy it too...

One day, as a seamstress was sewing while sitting close to a river, her thimble fell into the water.

When she cried out, the Lord appeared and asked, "My dear child, why are you crying?"

The seamstress replied: “Dear Lord, my thimble has fallen into the river. I don’t know what to do, I need the thimble to sew and help my husband make a living for our family.”

The Lord dipped His hand into the water and pulled up a golden thimble set with sapphires.

"Is this your thimble?" the Lord asked.

"No,"  said the seamstress.

The Lord again dipped into the river, the held out a golden thimble studded with rubies.

"Is this your thimble?" the Lord asked.

Again, the seamstress replied, "No."