WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 107

Children:

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters
Of life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not their thoughts.
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
Which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
And He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies,
So He also loves the bow that is stable.

Khalil Gibran

WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 106

The scorpion and the Sage

One morning, after he had finished his meditation, the old man opened his eyes and saw a scorpion floating helplessly in the water.

As the scorpion was washed closer to the tree, the old man quickly stretched himself out on one of the long roots that branched out into the river and reached out to rescue the drowning creature.

As soon as he touched it, the scorpion stung him. Instinctively the man withdrew his hand. A minute later, after he had regained his balance, he stretched himself out again on the roots to save the scorpion.

This time the scorpion stung him so badly with its poisonous tail that his hand became swollen and bloody and his face contorted with pain.

At that moment, a passerby saw the old man stretched out on the roots struggling with the scorpion and shouted: "Hey, stupid old man, what's wrong with you? Only a fool would risk his life for the sake of an ugly, evil creature. Don't you know you could kill yourself trying to save that ungrateful scorpion?"

The old man turned his head. Looking into the stranger's eyes he said calmly, "My friend, just because it is the scorpion's nature to sting, that does not change my nature to save."

WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 105

Three Hairs


There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. "Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today." So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. "Hmmm, " she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today." So she did and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. "Well," she said, "Today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head....

"YEAH!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!"

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WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 104

A Mermaid Named Veronica


There once was a mermaid named Veronica who had very long beautiful hair. All the sea creatures could see her hair coming long before she got there. They would wait to see her, greeting her with enthusiasm and joy.

"Hi, Veronica!! How are you today?" This made Veronica feel very special and loved. She would always answer back, "I'm doing very well, thank you. How are all of you?" Then they would chat for a bit and she would swim on. She became so used to this way of life that it started to become a bit of a rut. She craved something new and different, but wasn't sure what.

One day she knew what she was meant to do: cut off all her beautiful hair. She took a swordfish and cut off every bit of her prized possession. She soon became painfully aware of the fact that no one noticed or greeted her anymore as she swam by. They didn't recognise her and she was too embarrassed to say anything. She knew that they would all ask about her hair and she didn't want to explain why she had cut it. She wept. Nothing seemed to matter anymore: it was as if she had ceased to exist. At times, she desperately wanted her hair back, but deep down she knew that that wasn’t the answer. This depression lasted for many moons until one day she woke up. She looked around. All different colours, shapes and sizes were displayed among the sea life and each mermaid looked completely and totally unique. She realised in that moment that she would always be unique and special, with or without her hair. She didn't need others to notice her in order for her to feel this way. She swam off with glee, knowing she could be happy just the way she was.

Laura Cade

WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 103

The Greedy Sons

There was once a hard-working and generous farmer who had several idle and greedy sons. On his deathbed he told them that they would find his treasure if they were to dig in a certain field. As soon as the old man was dead, the sons hurried to the fields, which they dug up from one end to another, and with increasing desperation and concentration when they did not find the gold in the place indicated.

But they found no gold at all. Realising that in his generosity their father must have given his gold away during his lifetime, they abandoned their search. Finally, it occurred to them that, since the land had been prepared they might as well now sow a crop. They planted wheat, which produced an abundant yield. They sold this crop and prospered that year.

After the harvest was in, the sons thought again about the bare possibility that they might have missed the buried gold, so they again dug up the fields, with the same result. After several years they became accustomed to labour, and to the cycle of the seasons, something which they had not understood before.

Now they understood the reason for their father's method of training them, and they became honest and contented farmers. Ultimately, they found themselves possessed of sufficient wealth and no longer to wonder about the hidden hoard.

Anthony de Mello