A STORY WORTH SHARING

One young man went to apply for a managerial position in a big company. He passed the initial interview, and now would meet the director for the final interview.

The director discovered from his CV that the youth's academic achievements were excellent. He asked, "Did you obtain any scholarships in school?" the youth answered "no".  

Who paid for your school fees? 

"Parents ", he replied. 

"Where do they work?"

"They work as clothes cleaners.”

The director requested the youth to show his hands. The youth showed a pair of hands that were smooth and perfect.

"Have you ever helped your parents wash the clothes?"

"Never, my parents always wanted me to study and read more books. Besides, my parents can wash clothes faster than me.

The director said, "I have a request. When you go home today, go and clean your parents’ hands, and then see me tomorrow morning.

The youth felt dejected. When he went back home, he asked his parents to let him clean their hands. His parents felt strange, happy but with mixed feelings, they showed their hands to their son.

The youth cleaned their hands slowly. His tear fell as he did that. It was the first time he noticed that his parents’ hands were so wrinkled, and there were so many bruises in their hands. Some bruises were so painful that they winced when he touched it.

This was the first time the youth realized that it was this pair of hands that washed the clothes everyday to enable him to pay the school fees. The bruises in the hands were the price that the parents had to pay for his education, his school activities and his future.

After cleaning his parents’ hands, the youth quietly washed all the remaining clothes for them.

That night, parents and son talked for a very long time.

Next morning, the youth went to the Director's office.

The Director noticed the tears in the youth's eyes, when he asked: "Can you tell me what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"

The youth answered," I cleaned my parents hand, and also finished cleaning all the remaining clothes. I now know what appreciation is. Without my parents, I would not be who I am today. By helping my parents, only now do I realize how difficult and tough it is to get something done on your own. And I have come to appreciate the importance and value of helping one’s family.

The director said, "This is what I am looking for in a manager. I want to recruit a person who can appreciate the help of others, a person who knows the sufferings of others to get things done, and a person who would not put money as his only goal in life.”

“You are hired.”

A child, who has been protected and habitually given whatever he wanted, would develop an "entitlement mentality" and would always put himself first. He would be ignorant of his parent's efforts. If we are this kind of protective parents, are we really showing love or are we destroying our children instead?

You can let your child live in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano, watch on a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them experience it. After a meal, let them wash their plates and bowls together with their brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way. You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parents are, one day their hair will grow grey, same as the parent of that young person. The most important thing is your child learns how to appreciate the effort and experience the difficulty and learns the ability to work with others to get things done.