Lessons on Life

some new reflections again from my inbox



"There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn not to judge
things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look
at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in
summer, and the youngest son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe
what they had seen.
The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.
The second son said no it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed; he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so
sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping
with fruit, full of life and fulfillment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they
had each seen but only one season in the tree's life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season,
and that the essence of who they are and the pleasure, joy, and love that come
from that life can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it's winter, you will miss the promise of your spring,
the beauty of your summer, fulfillment of your fall."


Moral lessons:

Don't let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.

Don't judge life by one difficult season.
Persevere through the difficult patches and better times are sure to come some time or later

ONE EYE

-----unknown author-----

such a very nice reflection to share......

"my mom only had one eye. i hated her... she was such an embarressment.. my mom ran a small shop at a flea market. she collected little weeds and such to sell... anything for the money we needed she was such an embarressment.

there was this one day during elementary school.. it was field day, and my mom came. i was so embarressed. how could she do this to me? i threw her a hateful look and ran out.

the next day at school... "your mom only has one eye?!?!" ..and they taunted me. i wished that my mom would just dissappear from this world so i said to my mom, "mom.. why dont you have the other eye?! if you're only gonna make me a laughingstock, why dont you just die?!!!"

my mom did not respond.. i guess i felt a little bad, but at the same time, it felt good to think that i had said what i'd wanted to say all this time.. maybe it was because my mom hadnt punished me, but i didnt think that i had hurt her feelings very badly.

that night... i woke up, and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. my mom was crying there, so quietly, as if she was afraid that she might wake me. i took a look at her, then turned away.

because of the thing i had said to her earlier, there was something pinching at me in the corner of my heart. even so, i hated my mother who was crying out of her one eye. so i told myself that i would grow up and become successful. cause i hated my one-eyed mom and our desperate poverty.. and got accepted in the Seoul University with all the confidence i had. then, i got married. i bought a house of my own. then i had kids, too..

now i'm living happily as a successful man. i like it here because it's a place that doesnt remind me of my mom. this happiness was getting bigger and bigger,

when..

what?!

who's this?!

...it was my mother...

..still with her one eye.

it felt as if the whole sky was falling apart on me. my little girl ran away, scared of my mom's eye. and i asked her, "who are you?!" "i dont know you!!!" as if trying to make that real. i screamed at her," how dare you come to my house and scare my daughter!"

"GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!!!"

and to this, my mother quietly answered, "oh, i'm so sorry. i may have gotten the wrong address," and she dissappeared out of sight. thank good ness... she doesnt recognize me..

i was quite relieved. i told myself that i wasnt going to care, or think about this for the rest of my life. then a wave of relief came upon me...

one day, a letter regarding a school reunion came to my house. so, lying to my wife that i was going on a business trip, i went. after the reunion, i went down to the old shack, that i used to call a house...just out of curiosity there, i found my mother fallen on the cold ground. but i did not shed a single tear. she had a piece of paper in her hand.... it was a letter to me.

my son...

i think my life has been long enough now.. and... i wont visit Seoul anymore... but would it be too much to ask if i wanted you to come visit me once in a while?

i miss you so much.. and i was so glad when i heard you were coming for the reunion. but i decided not to go to the school. ...for you...

and i'm sorry that i only have one eye, and i was an embarressment for you. you see, when you were very little, you got into an accident, and lost your eye. as a mom, i couldnt stand watching you having to grow up with only one eye... so i gave you mine...

i was so proud of my son that was seeing a whole new world for me, in my place, with that eye. i was never upset at you for anything you did.. the couple times that you were angry with me,.. i thought to myself, 'it's because he loves me..'

my son... oh, my son... i dont want you to cry for me, because of my death.

please dont cry...
my son, i love you so much"

A Sad Story

This Will Make You Cry...

"Jenny was so happy about the house they had found.
For once in her life it was on the right side of town.
She unpacked her things with such great ease.
As she watched her new curtains blow in the breeze.
How wonderful it was to have her own room.
School would be starting; she'd have friends over soon.
There'd be sleep-overs, and parties; she was so happy
It's just the way she wanted her life to be.
On the first day of school, everything went great.
She made new friends and even got a date!
She thought, "I want to be popular and I'm going to be,
Because I just got a date with the star of the team!"
To be known in this school you had to have a clout,
And dating this guy would sure help her out.
There was only one problem stopping her fate.
Her parents had said she was too young to date.
"Well, I just won't tell them the entire truth.
They won't know the difference; what's there to lose?"
Jenny asked to stay with her friends that night.
Her parents frowned but said, "All right."
Excited, she got ready for the big event
But as she rushed around like she had no sense,
She began to feel guilty about all the lies,
But what's a pizza, a party, and a moonlight ride?
Well the pizza was good, and the party was great,
But the moonlight ride would have to wait.
For Jeff was half drunk by this time.
She felt someone remove her from the twisted rubble,
And heard, call an ambulance!
These kids are in trouble!
Voices she heard...a few words at best.
But she knew there were two cars involved in the wreck.
Then wondered to herself if Jeff was all right,
And if the people in the other car was alive.
She awoke in the hospital to faces so sad.
"You've been in a wreck and it looks pretty bad."
These voices echoed inside her head,
As they gently told her that Jeff was dead.
They said "Jenny, we've done all we can do.
But it looks as if we'll lose you too."
"But the people in the other car!? "Jenny cried.
"We're sorry, Jenny, they also died."
Jenny prayed, "God, forgive me for what I've done
I only wanted to have just one night of fun."
"Tell those people's family, I've made their lives dim,
And wish I could return their families to them."
"Tell Mom and Dad I'm sorry I lied,
And tha t it's my fault so many have died.
Oh, nurse, won't you please tell them that for me?"
The nurse just stood there-she never agreed.
But took Jenny's hand with tears in her eyes.
And a few moments later Jenny died.
A man asked the nurse,
"Why didn't you do your best?"
To bid that girl her one last request?"
She looked at the man with eyes so sad.
"Because the people in the other car
were her mom and dad."
This story is sad and unpleasant but true,
So young people take heed, it could have been you. "