Life's Lessons - Joseph Mattappally
Is there anyone who answers all questions? I
don’t mean Tom types. A friend one day asked Tom “How can you prove the earth
is round?” Tom is said to have replied, “I can’t. Besides, I never said it was.”
It seems that Tom believed that the responsibility of proving a thing rests only
with the one who states something or agrees to something. Most of us have
little Toms within and we do not care to find answers to things that do not
directly concern us. Still, is it not interesting to find a genuine answer to
‘what is most important in life?’
It is humorously said that we learn the truth
from the guy next door. I remember the story of little Jack
and Mr. Harold. Jack used to spend much time with Mr. Harold and they were good
friends. Years passed by and there came in the news that Harold has passed
away. Jack murmured, ‘He's the one who taught me carpentry, I wouldn't be in
this business if it weren't for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things
he thought were important...’ Jack caught the next flight to his home town. Mr.
Harold’s funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and
most of his relatives had passed away. The night before he had to return home
Jack and his Mom stopped by, to see the old house next door one more time. The
house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held old memories; so was every
picture and every piece of furniture. Jack stopped suddenly. "What's
wrong, Jack?" his Mom asked. "The box is gone," he said. "What
box?” Mom asked. "There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of
his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he'd ever
tell me was 'the thing I value most,'" Jack said. It was gone. Everything
about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. "Now I'll never know what was so valuable
to him," Jack said."
It
had been about two weeks, since Mr. Harold Belser died. One day Jack received a
surprise package. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address
caught his attention. ‘Mr. Harold Belser’, it read. Jack ripped open the
package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack carefully unlocked
the box just to find a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly
over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these
words engraved: "Jack, Thanks for your time!” Harold Belser.
‘The thing he valued most...was...my time’ whispered Jack. If we have a habit
of observing and making corresponding inferences, it is easy to realize how
important other’s time in our life is. That time we spend for others, I love to
call it ‘smart time’, because it is the best of all time; also it is the most
valuable thing in another’s life.
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