Nails in the fence

[ReFur]

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

 

The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence. Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all.

 

He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.

 

The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

 

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, 'You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. But It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound will still be there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. Remember friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us.

[FrBrGr]

When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. But It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound will still be there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

 

How very, very true this is!

 

Remember friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us.

 

Except that if the wounds are too deep, they are less willing to lend an ear, share words of praise or open their hearts to the one who wounded them. I guess the thing to remember is to judge well what you say to others, especially to a friend. The wound you inflict may be too deep to heal properly; the scar may be too unsightly to regard. In the words of Edward Bulwer-Lytton, in his play, Richeleau, "The pen is mightier than the sword." Actually, the Greek poet, Euripides, was the first who expressed this idea, with, "The tongue is mightier than the blade," and it is his words that are more apropos to the moral of the story you told, Linda.

 

What one of us has not been hurt by a friend? I know I have . . .

[ReFur]

I know you have FrBrGr. It is really only the ones we love that can hurt us.

 

It is hard to understand how we can love people and yet need to disagree to the point hurt happens. I have found that no matter how upset I get with those I love, I can never forget the good, even when I try. I just hope that someday when they need to forgive me, they will remember they too have hurt and been forgiven.

 

Linda