Life Lessons
1) See People!
A nursing student during her second month of nursing school was presented with a strange dilemma as her professor gave the group a pop quiz. Being a conscientious student she had breezed through the questions, until she read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the
school?"
Surely this was some kind of joke. She had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark haired and in her 50's, but how would she know the woman's name? Sh handed in her paper and left the last question blank. Just before class ended one of the students asked if the final question would count toward their grades. "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".
2) Be generous and care for people no matter what the circumstances!
One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American woman was standing on the side of the road on a dark Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing
rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in these conflict-filled 1960's. He took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down the man's address, and thanked him. Several 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, with a note 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, and then you came along. Because of your kindness I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."
Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.
3) Be Patient; allow yourself the "TIME" for kindness!
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost mush less, a 10 year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table all by himself. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him and he asked. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" "Fifty cents, " she relied. 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 to serve her other customers. 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!
4) Obstacles:
Many years ago there lived in China a king whom, having become disenchanted with the greed and attitudes of his courtiers decided to test their
dedication to the teachings of Confucius. Confucianism, a popular belief of the time encouraged thoughtfulness, dedication to country and family, while
stressing the importance of maintaining a simple nature. The king devised a simple test. Along the main road leading into the capital city he placed a large stone. He hid himself in the bushes beside the road and waited to see who would move the stone from the path. It was a feast day in the community so many of the courtiers and merchants would have to pass on their way into the city. He didn't have long to wait. Soon a stream of wellborn citizens was approaching the stone. All passed the stone without stopping to move it from its place in the center of the road. Some discussing loudly the amount of tax placed on them by the king and his apparent inability to use it wisely!
Late in the day a humble peasant approached the stone bent under a large burden of vegetables to be sold to the highborn at the feast day. The peasant seeing the stone in his path, dropped his burden, and proceeded to push and pull the large stone over to the side of the road and out of the path of those to follow. As he again placed his burden on his shoulders he noticed a small purse was left where the stone had been. Inside the purse were a number of gold coins and a note from the king indicating the gold coins were for the person who removed the stone from the roadway.
The peasant learned what many of us fail to realize!
Obstacles present an opportunity for growth! And can either be viewed as stones in the road or as potential bags of gold….The decision is ours!
5) Giving is about "Unconditional" generosity!
A former critical care nurse relates this story, about a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance for 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.
The little boy only hesitated for a minute before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save her!" As the transfusion progressed, he lay in
the bed next to his sister and smiled as the color returned to his sister's cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice. "Will I start to die right away?" Being young, the little boy had misunderstood that his gift would not require all his blood!
Sa Bum Nim Jon Simonds
A nursing student during her second month of nursing school was presented with a strange dilemma as her professor gave the group a pop quiz. Being a conscientious student she had breezed through the questions, until she read the last one: "What is the first name of the woman who cleans the
school?"
Surely this was some kind of joke. She had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark haired and in her 50's, but how would she know the woman's name? Sh handed in her paper and left the last question blank. Just before class ended one of the students asked if the final question would count toward their grades. "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".
2) Be generous and care for people no matter what the circumstances!
One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African American woman was standing on the side of the road on a dark Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing
rainstorm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride. Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in these conflict-filled 1960's. He took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab. She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down the man's address, and thanked him. Several 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, with a note 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, and then you came along. Because of your kindness I was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside just before he passed away. God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others."
Sincerely,
Mrs. Nat King Cole.
3) Be Patient; allow yourself the "TIME" for kindness!
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost mush less, a 10 year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table all by himself. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him and he asked. "How much is an ice cream sundae?" "Fifty cents, " she relied. 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 to serve her other customers. 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!
4) Obstacles:
Many years ago there lived in China a king whom, having become disenchanted with the greed and attitudes of his courtiers decided to test their
dedication to the teachings of Confucius. Confucianism, a popular belief of the time encouraged thoughtfulness, dedication to country and family, while
stressing the importance of maintaining a simple nature. The king devised a simple test. Along the main road leading into the capital city he placed a large stone. He hid himself in the bushes beside the road and waited to see who would move the stone from the path. It was a feast day in the community so many of the courtiers and merchants would have to pass on their way into the city. He didn't have long to wait. Soon a stream of wellborn citizens was approaching the stone. All passed the stone without stopping to move it from its place in the center of the road. Some discussing loudly the amount of tax placed on them by the king and his apparent inability to use it wisely!
Late in the day a humble peasant approached the stone bent under a large burden of vegetables to be sold to the highborn at the feast day. The peasant seeing the stone in his path, dropped his burden, and proceeded to push and pull the large stone over to the side of the road and out of the path of those to follow. As he again placed his burden on his shoulders he noticed a small purse was left where the stone had been. Inside the purse were a number of gold coins and a note from the king indicating the gold coins were for the person who removed the stone from the roadway.
The peasant learned what many of us fail to realize!
Obstacles present an opportunity for growth! And can either be viewed as stones in the road or as potential bags of gold….The decision is ours!
5) Giving is about "Unconditional" generosity!
A former critical care nurse relates this story, about a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance for 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.
The little boy only hesitated for a minute before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save her!" As the transfusion progressed, he lay in
the bed next to his sister and smiled as the color returned to his sister's cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice. "Will I start to die right away?" Being young, the little boy had misunderstood that his gift would not require all his blood!
Sa Bum Nim Jon Simonds