Please read in the order of the main idea: 1. Misunderstanding; 2. Nails; 3. Hold your horses; 4. Leniency
1. Misunderstanding: In Alaska, USA, there was a young couple who got married and had children. After marriage, his wife died from childbirth complications, leaving behind one child. He was busy with life and taking care of the house. Since no one was available to help look after the child, he trained a dog. The dog was smart and obedient, able to take care of the baby, biting on the milk bottle to feed the child, raising the child. One day, the master went out and told it to take care of the child. He went to another village, but due to heavy snow, he couldn't return that day. He returned home on the second day. The dog immediately came out to greet its master when it heard the sound. When he opened the door, he saw blood everywhere. Looking up, he saw blood on the bed too, and the child was nowhere to be seen. The dog was by his side, with blood all over its mouth. The master, seeing this situation, thought the dog had gone berserk and eaten the child. In anger, he took a knife and split the dog's head, killing it. Afterwards, he suddenly heard the child's voice and saw him crawl out from under the bed. He picked up the child; although covered in blood, the child was unharmed. He was very confused, not knowing what exactly happened. Looking at the dog's body, he noticed that the meat on its legs was missing. Nearby, there was a wolf, still biting into the dog's flesh. The dog had saved the young master but was mistakenly killed by its master. This is truly the most astonishing misunderstanding in the world.
Note: Misunderstandings often occur when people lack understanding, rationality, patience, thinking, fail to consider the other party from multiple perspectives, fail to reflect on themselves, and act under extreme emotional impulses. Once a misunderstanding begins, people tend to only think about the countless mistakes of the other party. Therefore, misunderstandings can deepen and become uncontrollable. People can have misunderstandings even with ignorant animals like puppies, leading to such terrifying and severe consequences. Thus, the consequences of misunderstandings between people are unimaginable.
2. Nails: There was a boy with a terrible temper, so his father gave him a bag of nails and told him to hammer a nail into the fence in the backyard every time he lost his temper. On the first day, the boy hammered 37 nails. Gradually, the number of nails he hammered each day decreased. He realized it was easier to control his temper than to hammer those nails. Finally, one day, the boy no longer lost his temper, and he told his father about it. His father told him that starting now, whenever he could control his temper, he should pull out a nail. Days passed, and finally, the boy told his father that he had pulled out all the nails. His father held his hand and said to him in the backyard: "You've done well, my good child. But look at the holes in the fence; these fences will never be the same as before. The words you say when you're angry will leave scars like these nails. If you stab someone with a knife, no matter how many times you say sorry, the wound will always remain. The pain caused by words is just as unbearable as real wounds."
Note: People often cause permanent harm because of their inability to let go of certain persistences. If we all start with ourselves and begin to view others with tolerance, I believe you will receive many unexpected results... opening a window for others is also allowing yourself to see a more complete sky...
3. Hold your horses: Most colleagues were excited because a new supervisor had been transferred to the unit. It was said that he was an able person, specifically sent to reorganize the business. However, as days passed, the new supervisor did nothing. Every day, he politely entered the office and rarely went out. Those bad elements who were originally very nervous became even more rampant.
"Is he really an able person? He's just a pushover, easier to fool than the previous supervisor!"
Four months passed, and just as everyone was truly disappointed with the new supervisor's efforts, the supervisor acted decisively - dismissing all the bad elements and promoting the capable ones. His swift actions and accurate decisions contrasted sharply with his conservative behavior over the past four months, making him seem like an entirely different person.
At the year-end dinner, after having a few drinks, the new supervisor made a speech:
"I'm sure you all must be puzzled by my inaction during my early period here and my later drastic measures. Now, let me tell you a story, and you'll understand:
I have a friend who bought a house with a large yard. As soon as he moved in, he completely renovated the yard, removing all the weeds and trees and replacing them with flowers he had newly purchased.
One day, the original owner visited, and upon entering, was shocked and asked, 'Where has the most expensive peony gone?'
My friend then realized he had mistakenly taken the peony for a weed and removed it.
Later, he bought another house. Although the yard was even more chaotic, he decided to wait and observe. Indeed, plants he thought were useless trees in winter blossomed beautifully in spring; what he thought were weeds in spring turned into lush clusters in summer; and small trees that showed no signs of life for half a year turned red in autumn.
It wasn't until late autumn that he truly recognized which plants were useless, and he removed them forcefully, ensuring all precious trees and shrubs were preserved."
At this point, the supervisor raised his glass:
"Let me toast to each of you present. Because if this office is a garden, then all of you are its valuable trees. Precious trees don't bear fruit or flower all year round; they need long-term observation to recognize!"
4. Leniency: This is a story about a soldier who had just returned from the Vietnam War. He called his parents from San Francisco and told them: "Mom and Dad, I'm back, but I have an awkward request. I want to bring a friend home with me." "Of course!" they replied, "We'd be happy to meet him."
However, the son continued, "But there's something I want to tell you first. He was severely injured in the Vietnam War, losing an arm and a leg. He's currently at a dead end, and I want him to come live with us."
"Son," his father replied, "I'm sorry, but perhaps we can find him a place to stay."
The father continued, "Son, you don't know what you're saying. A person with such disabilities would be a huge burden on our lives. We have our own lives to live, and we can't let him disrupt it. I suggest you go home and forget about him; he'll find his own way."
At this point, he hung up the phone, and his parents never heard from him again.
A few days later, the parents received a call from the San Francisco police department, informing them that their beloved son had jumped off a building and died. The police believed it was a simple suicide case.
They flew to San Francisco heartbroken and were led by the police to the morgue to identify their son's body. It was indeed their son, but surprisingly, he had only one arm and one leg.
The parents in the story are just like most of us. It's easy to love people who are attractive or witty, but it's hard to love those who inconvenience or upset us. We always prefer to keep our distance from those who are less healthy, beautiful, or intelligent than us. However, thank God, some people won't be so cruel to us. They will love us without complaint, accepting us no matter how bad we are. Tonight, before you sleep, pray to God and ask Him to give you the strength to accept others, no matter who they are; ask Him to help us understand those who are different from us. Everyone's heart hides a magical thing called "friendship". You don't know exactly how or when it happens, but you know it always brings us special gifts. You will also realize that friendship is the most precious gift God gives us! Friends are like rare treasures. They bring laughter and inspire our success. They listen to our inner voices and share every compliment with us. Their hearts are always open to us. Now, tell your friends how much you care about them. Send this article to everyone you consider a friend. If this article comes back to you, you will know you have a lifelong friend.
Consider: Friend, after reading all the way through, you must have deep feelings. So, before making judgments and decisions about others, first, please consider whether this is a "misunderstanding", then please consider whether you must drive this "nail". If possible, please "hold your horses". Because, when you are lenient towards others, you are also being lenient towards yourself.