WRITE THE FAULTS ON SAND & GOOD DEEDS ON ROCK

Two friends (for convenience let us call them Tom and Geo) started out for a long journey …

During the journey a dispute occurred and Tom hit Geo. While crying Geo wrote on sand, “Tom, my friend hit me!”

They continued the journey. They reached an overflowing river where Geo slipped into water. Tom immediately jumped into the water and saved his friend.

Geo, after reaching the land, went near a rock, took out his chisel and started carving, “Tom, my good friend saved me from flood!”

Tom asked with astonishment, “Why, Geo, is it that when I hurt you, you wrote it on sand, whereas, when I helped you, you carved on the rock!”

The thought-provoking reply of Geo was, “Whatever that hurt me should be written in sand - even a small wind shall wipe it off. The memory of the hurt should be only for a few moments. Whereas, the help I receive is to be inscribed on the rock; for its memory is to remain forever – even after I die.”

If only the siblings who fight for the inheritance and neighbors who fight for the flimsy things followed this! If only the husbands who keep a long record of what the wives have done and the wives who ‘exceptionally’ remember the faults of husbands from the day one of marriage learned this! If only the pastors and the parish members followed this!

May I also recommend everyone to read A Spark neglected, a beautiful short story by Leo Tolstoy.