Many
traditions use stories to teach great spiritual truths. Here, on
Sundays, some of these stories will be re-told. They can be understood
by adults & children. Where possible I will suggest a children's
picture book that teaches the same or similar story.
*** *** ***
One young man went to apply for a
managerial position in a big company. He passed the initial interview, and now
would meet the director for the final interview.
The director discovered from his
CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent. He asked, "Did
you obtain any scholarships in school?" the youth answered "no".
" Was it your father who
paid for your school fees?"
"My father passed away when
I was one year old, it was my mother who paid for my school fees.” he replied.
" Where did your mother
work?"
"My mother worked as clothes
cleaner.”
The director requested the youth
to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and
perfect.
" Have you ever helped your
mother wash the clothes before?"
"Never, my mother always
wanted me to study and read more books. Besides, my mother can wash clothes
faster than me.
The director said, "I have a
request. When you go home today, go and clean your mother's hands, and then see
me tomorrow morning.
The youth felt that his chance of
landing the job was high. When he went back home, he asked his mother to let him
clean her hands. His mother felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, she
showed her hands to her son.
The youth cleaned his mother's
hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed
that his mother's hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in her
hands. Some bruises were so painful that his mother winced when he touched it.
This was the first time the youth
realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to
enable him to pay the school fees. The bruises in the mother's hands were the
price that the mother had to pay for his education, his school activities and
his future.
After cleaning his mother hands,
the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for his mother.
That night, mother and son talked
for a very long time.
Next morning, the youth went to
the director's office.
The Director noticed the tears in
the youth's eyes, when he asked: "Can you tell me 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'
“I know now what appreciation is.
Without my mother, I would not be who I am today. By helping my mother, only
now do I realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done on your
own. And I have come to appreciate the importance and value of helping one’s
family.
The director said, "This is
what I am looking for in a manager. I want to recruit a person who can
appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to
get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in
life.”
“You are hired.”
This young person worked very
hard, and received the respect of his subordinates. Every employee worked
diligently and worked as a team. The company's performance improved
tremendously.
A child, who has been protected
and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop an "entitlement
mentality" and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his
parent's efforts. When he starts work, he assumes that every person must listen
to him, and when he becomes a manager, he would never know the sufferings of
his employees and would always blame others. For this kind of people, who may
be good academically, they may be successful for a while, but eventually they
would not feel a sense of achievement. They will grumble and be full of hatred
and fight for more. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really
showing love or are we destroying our children instead?
You can let your child live in a
big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch on a big screen TV. But when you
are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash
their plates and bowls 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
parents are, one day their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young
person. The most important thing is your child learns how to appreciate the
effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others
to get things done.
