A 30-year-old man visited his old father who
could
no longer see very well. As both of them sat
in
front of his ho use chatting, a dove flew in
and
perched on the window. The old man asked
his
son, "Is that a dove that perched on the
window?".
The son replied, "Yes dad". After a short
while, he
asked the son the same question a second
time
and got the same answer. When he asked
the
same question the third time, his son
became
angry and rebuked him saying, "This is why
I hate
visiting you, you keep repeating questions!"
The old man was silent for about 10
minutes, and
then he asked the son to go into his
bedroom and
fetch his old diary. The son did as he
requested.
Then he asked him to read page 2 of the
diary. The
words read: "My son is 3 years old today. As
we
sat in front of the house playing, a dove flew
in
and perched on the window. My son asked
me 30
times if it was a dove. I gladly replied "yes"
to
each question. I cannot explain in words
how
happy I am that my son has learned to talk.
What
a wonderful day to remember!"
The young man dropped the diary on the
ground,
then he cried and apologized to his father.
The old
man spoke again, "Enough son, one mistake
cannot make you less a man, but repeating
the
same mistake over and over again can kill
any
man. I've chosen today to teach you the final
lesson before I depart this world. The lesson
for
today is PATIENCE. Always be kind and
considerate to the less privileged, this is
how
you'll stand out in eternity.
• Be nice to everyone on your way up, you'll
definitely meet them again on your way
down!"