HOLES IN A WALL

"A quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough." - Bruce Lee

Holes in a Wall

There was once a little boy who was talented, and extremely bright. The kind of person everyone would normally have wanted as friend. When he got angry, he usually said and did very hurtful things. He seemed to have little regard for people around him. Even friends. So, naturally, he had few. “But,” he told himself, “that just shows how stupid most people are!”

As he grew, his parents became concerned about this personality flaw, and pondered long and hard about what they could do. Finally, the father had an idea, he struck a bargain with his son. He gave him a bag of nails, and a BIG hammer. “Whenever you lose your temper,” he told the boy, “I want you to really let it out. Just take a nail and drive it into the oak boards of that old fence out back. Hit that nail as hard as you can!” By the end of the first day, he had driven 37 nails into the fence. Gradually, over a period of weeks, the number dwindled. Holding his temper proved to be easier than driving nails into the fence! Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He felt mighty proud as he told his parents about that accomplishment.

“As a sign of your success,” his father responded, “you get to PULL OUT one nail each day you don’t lose your temper even once.” Many weeks passed. Finally one day the young boy was able to report proudly that all the nails were gone. At that point, the father asked his son to walk out back with him and take one more good look at the fence. “You have done well, my son,” he said. “But I want you to notice the holes that are left. No matter what happens from now on, this fence will never be the same. Saying or doing hurtful things in anger produces the same kind of result. There will always be a scar. It won’t matter how many times you say you’re sorry, or how many years pass, the scar will still be there. And a verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. People are much more valuable than things. They make us smile. They help us. Some will even become friends who support us through bad times. That means we need to treat everyone with love and respect. We need to prevent as many of those scars as we can.”

A reminder most of us need from time to time. Everyone gets angry occasionally. The real test is what we DO with it. If we are wise, we will spend our time building bridges rather than barriers in our relationships. Someone once said "talk when you're angry, and you'll make the best speech you'll live to regret"

Beyond being able to pull out the nails, we should try to avoid pushing the nails in in the first place. Watch your tongue when in anger and you'll later on be grateful you did after the steam is out. Have a great Wednesday ahead.