Learning from Within

My classmates often say I am good in dealing with different people… or I know how to build good human relationships with others.  Well honestly, yes.  But I was not, not until for many years now, I always read these five lessons in life.  I think these are the simplest lessons in life which are always forgotten though implicit in our being humane.  I always enjoy reading these… and also always reminding me to be a human everyday.

Life Lesson #1 – The Cleaning Lady

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was confident that I had nailed this test and breezed through the questions until I read the last one: ‘What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?’

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had passed by the cleaning woman many times.  She was short, white-haired and in her 50’s, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, and left the last question blank.  Just before class ended, someone asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

‘Absolutely,’ said the professor. ‘In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say ‘hello.’

I’ve never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Ezra.

Life Lesson #2 – Pickup in the Rain

One night, at midnight, an older African American woman was standing on the side of the highway in Alabama during a terrible rainstorm. Her car wouldn’t start and she desperately needed a ride.

Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, clearly something that didn’t happen everyday in the South during the 1960′s.  The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance for her car and put her in a taxi.

She left in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man’s door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached.

It read: “Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along. Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband’s bedside just before he passed away.  Thank you for helping me and unselfishly serving others.”

Sincerely, Mrs. Nat King Cole.

Life Lesson #3 – Serving More than Ice Cream

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

“How much is an ice cream sundae?” he asked.

“Fifty cents,” replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

“Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?” he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient.

“Thirty-five cents,” she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins.

“I’ll have the plain ice cream,” he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies.

You see, he couldn’t have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

Life Lesson #4 – The Obstacle In Our Path

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

The peasant learned what few people in the world truly understand: Within every obstacle lies a golden opportunity to improve your current situation.

Life Lesson #5 – Giving When It Really Counts

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.

The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, “Yes I’ll do it if it will save her.”

As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, “Will I start to die right away?”

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her…but he had chosen to save her anyway.

Ravenessence says:

Lesson 1

In our life, we see different people- some unnoticed, some noticeable.  But believe that all of these people are important in our lives; all of them give us different lessons everyday… all we need is to appreciate. They may be the noisy kids playing on the street, or the not-so-good tricycle drivers, the not-so-nice canteen servers, the jeep conductors who do not know how to smile, and all the people walking with, against, and along with us.  Well again, they are important.

Lesson 2

Sometime the simplest gestures count the most.  If we have the capacity to help, well help.  Do not leave people helpless.  Let them feel that they are not alone.  We do not know how important it is to them although we feel it’s nothing. Help.

Lesson 3

Do not take our friends for granted.  Even in smallest ways let them know that they are important and they will realize that we are also important to them too.

Lesson 4

                In every hardship comes a reward.  In a risk, we’ll see new opportunity.  We may not understand for now why we are given these challenges in life but soon we’ll appreciate its essence.

Lesson 5

                Give, give, give.  When each and everyone of us will care to give without counting the cause, all of us will live in a world where no one is hungry, no one is at war, no one is oppressed, and no one will die in grief.

               Most importantly……….  “Work like you don’t need the money, love like you’ve never been hurt, and dance like nobody’s watching.”