Nails In The Fence
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 that 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.'
YOU
ARE MY FRIEND AND I AM HONORED!
Please forgive
me if I have ever left a 'hole' in your fence
