I Love the burnt toast...
When I was a kid, my Mom liked to cook food & then I remember she used to cook for us. One night in particular when she had made dinner after a long hard day’s work, Mom placed a plate of bread, jam and extremely burnt toast in front of my dad.
I was waiting to see if anyone noticed the burnt toast. But Dad just ate his toast and asked me how was my day was at school. I don’t remember what I told him that night, but I do remember I heard Mom apologizing to dad for the burnt toast.
And I’ll never forget what he said: “Honey, I love the burnt toast.” Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and I asked him if he really liked his toast burnt.
He wrapped me in his arms and said, “Your mummy put in a long hard day at work today and she was really tired. And besides… A burnt toast never hurts anyone but harsh words do!”
“You know son, life is full of imperfect things & imperfect people…. I’m not the best and am hardly good at anything. I forget birthdays and anniversaries just like everyone else. What I’ve learnt over the years is, to accept each other’s faults and choose to celebrate relationship. ”
Life is too short to wake up with regrets… Love the people who treat you right and have compassion for the ones who don’t, enjoy life now and never forget that it comes with an expiry date!
A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside. “Your son is here,” she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient’s eyes opened.
Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he... dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man’s limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.
The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the old man’s hand and offering him words of love and strength. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile. He refused.
Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients. Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.
Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited.
Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her, “Who was that man?” he asked.
The nurse was startled, “He was your father,” she answered.
“No, he wasn’t,” the Marine replied. “I never saw him before in my life.”
“Then why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?”
“I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn’t here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed. I came here tonight to find a Mr. William Grey. His Son was killed in Iraq today, and I was sent to inform him. What was this Gentleman’s Name? “
The nurse with tears in her eyes answered, “Mr. William Grey………”
The next time someone needs you … just be there.
Salt, Glass of Water and the Lake........
Once an unhappy young man came to an old master and told he had a very sad life and asked for a solution.
The old Master instructed the unhappy young man to put a handful of salt in a glass of water and then to drink it.
“How does it taste?” – the Master asked.
“Terrible.” – spat the apprentice.
The Master chuckled and then asked the young man to take another handful of salt and put it in the lake. The two walked in silence to the nearby lake and when the apprentice swirled his handful of salt into the lake.
The old man said, “Now drink from the lake.”
As the water dripped down the young man’s chin, the Master asked, “How does it taste?”
“Good!” – remarked the apprentice.
“Do you taste the salt?” – asked the Master.
“No.” – said the young man.
The Master sat beside this troubled young man, took his hands, and said, “The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains the same, exactly the same. But the amount we taste the ‘pain’ depends on the container we put it into. So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things. Stop being a glass. Become a lake.”
Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same
hospital room.
One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an
hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from
his lungs.
His bed was next to the room's only window.
The other man had to spend all his time flat on
his back.
The men talked for hours on end.
They spoke of their wives and families, their
homes, their jobs, their involvement in the
military service, where they had been on
vacation..
Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the
window could sit up, he would pass the time by
describing to his room mate all the things he could
see outside the window.
The man in the other bed began to live for those
one hour periods where his world would be
broadened and enlivened by all the activity and
colour of the world outside.
The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.Ducks and swans played on the water while
children sailed their model boats. Young lovers
walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every colour
and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen
in the distance.
As the man by the window described all this in
exquisite details, the man on the other side of
the room would close his eyes and imagine this
picturesque scene.
One warm afternoon, the man by the window
described a parade passing by.
Although the other man could not hear the band -
he could see it in his mind's eye as the
gentleman by the window portrayed it with
descriptive words.
Days, weeks and months passed.
One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring
water for their baths only to find the lifeless body
of the man by the window, who had died
peacefully in his sleep.
She was saddened and called the hospital
attendants to take the body away.
As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man
asked if he could be moved next to the window.
The nurse was happy to make the switch, and
after making sure he was comfortable, she left
him alone.
Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one
elbow to take his first look at the real world
outside.
He strained to slowly turn to look out the window
besides the bed.
It faced a blank wall.
The man asked the nurse what could have
compelled his deceased roommate who had
described such wonderful things outside this
window.
The nurse responded that the man was blind and
could not even see the wall.
She said, 'Perhaps he just wanted to encourage
you.'
Moral:
There is tremendous happiness in making others
happy, despite our own situations.
Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness
when shared, is doubled.
If you want to feel rich, just count all the things
you have that money can't buy.
'Today is a gift, that is why it is called The
Present .'
Unknown.
