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Life Lessons
1) See People!
A nursing student during her second
month of nursing school was presented with a strange dilemma as her
professor gave the group a pop quiz. Being a conscientious student she had
breezed through the questions, until she read the last one: "What is the
first name of the woman who cleans the school?"
Surely this was some kind of joke. She
had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark haired and in
her 50's, but how would she know the woman's name? She handed in her paper
and left the last question blank. Just before class ended one of the
students asked if the final question would count toward their grades.
"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers you will
meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and
care, even if all you do is smile and say "Hello".
2) Be generous
and care for people no matter what the circumstances!
One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African
American woman was standing on the side of the road on a dark Alabama highway
trying to endure a lashing rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she
desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next
car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in these
conflict-filled 1960's. He took her to safety, helped her get assistance
and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down
the man's address, and thanked him. Several days went by and a knock came
on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered
to his home, with a note attached. It read:
Thank you so much for assisting me on the
highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes but also my
spirits, and then you came along. Because of your kindness I was able to
make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless
you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."
Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.
3) Be Patient; allow yourself
the "TIME" for kindness!
In the days when an ice cream sundae
cost mush less, a 10 year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a
table all by himself. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him and
he asked. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" "Fifty cents, " she relied. The little boy pulled his hand out
of his pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well, how much is a plain
dish of ice cream?" he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a
table and the waitress was growing impatient. "Thirty-five cents,
"she brusquely replied." The little boy again counted his coins.
"I'll have the plain ice cream", he said.
The waitress brought the ice cream, put
the bill on the table and walked away to serve her other customers. The boy
finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came
back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly
beside the empty dish were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he
couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a
tip!
4) Obstacles:
Many years ago there lived in China a
king whom, having become disenchanted with the greed and attitudes of his
courtiers decided to test their dedication to the teachings of Confucius.
Confucianism, a popular belief of the time encouraged thoughtfulness,
dedication to country and family, while stressing the importance of
maintaining a simple nature. The king devised a simple test. Along the main
road leading into the capital city he placed a large stone. He hid himself
in the bushes beside the road and waited to see who would move the stone
from the path. It was a feast day in the community so many of the courtiers
and merchants would have to pass on their way into the city. He didn't have
long to wait. Soon a stream of wellborn citizens was approaching the stone.
All passed the stone without stopping to move it from its place in the
center of the road. Some discussing loudly the amount of tax placed on them
by the king and his apparent inability to use it wisely!
Late in the day a humble peasant
approached the stone bent under a large burden of vegetables to be sold to
the highborn at the feast day. The peasant seeing the stone in his path,
dropped his burden, and proceeded to push and pull the large stone over to
the side of the road and out of the path of those to follow. As he again
placed his burden on his shoulders he noticed a small purse was left where
the stone had been. Inside the purse were a number of gold coins and a note
from the king indicating the gold coins were for the person who removed the
stone from the roadway.
The peasant learned what many of us fail
to realize!
Obstacles present an opportunity for
growth! And can either be viewed as stones in the road or as potential bags
of gold….The decision is ours!
5) Giving is
about "Unconditional" generosity!
A former critical care nurse relates
this story, about a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and
serious disease. Her only chance for recovery appeared to be a blood
transfusion from her 5-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the
same disease and had developed the antibodies, needed to combat the
illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and
asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his
sister.
The little boy only hesitated for a
minute before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it
will save her!" As the transfusion progressed, he lay in the bed next
to his sister and smiled as the color returned to his sister's cheeks. Then
his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked at the doctor and asked
with a trembling voice. "Will I start to die right away?" Being
young, the little boy had misunderstood that his gift would not require all
his blood!
Sa Bum Nim
Jon Simonds
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