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THE
STRENGTH OF A MAN
I suggest that we also feature
a section in our Kaeskwela for beautiful, touching articles. I pasted 2
that i find so nice.
Thanks and regards to Chona
and the kids.
Nelson Ceña
1. THE STRENGTH OF A MAN
The strength of a man isn't seen in the
width of his shoulders --
It's in the width of his arms that circle
you.
The strength of a man isn't in the deep
tone of his voice --
It is in the gentle words he whispers.
The strength of a man isn't just in how
many buddies he has --
It's most admirably how good a buddy he
is with his kids.
The strength of a man isn't just in how
respected he is at work --
It's most importantly how respected he
is at home.
The strength of a man isn't in how hard
he hits --
It's in how tender he touches.
The strength of a man isn't in the hair
on his chest --
It's in the heart...that lies within his
chest.
The strength of a man isn't how many women
he's loved --
It's in his loyalty to one woman.
The strength of a man isn't in the weight
he can lift --
It is in the burdens he can carry.
2. YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE
One day a teacher asked her students to
list the names of the other students in the room on two sheets of paper,
leaving a space between each name. Then she told them to think of the nicest
thing they could say about each of their classmates and write it down.
It took the remainder of the class period
to finish their assignment, and as the students left the room, each one
handed in the papers.
That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the
name of each student on a separate sheet of paper, and listed what everyone
else had said about that individual.
On Monday she gave each student his or
her list. Before long, the entire class was smiling.
"Really?" she heard whispered. "I never
knew that I meant anything to anyone!" and, "I didn't know others liked
me so much." were most of the comments. No one ever mentioned those
papers in class again. She never knew if they discussed them after class
with their parents, but it didn't matter. The exercise had accomplished
its purpose.
The students were happy with themselves
and one another. That group of students moved on. Several years later,
one of the students was killed in Vietnam and his teacher attended the
funeral of that special student. She had never seen a serviceman in a military
coffin before. He looked so handsome, so mature. The church was packed
with his friends.
One by one those who loved him took a last
walk by the coffin. The teacher was the last one to bless the coffin. As
she stood there, one of the soldiers who acted as pallbearer came up to
her.
"Were you Mark's math teacher?" he asked.
She nodded: "yes."
Then he said: "Mark talked about you a
lot."
After the funeral, most of Mark's former
classmates went together to a luncheon. Mark's mother and father were there,
obviously waiting to speak with his teacher.
"We want to show you something," his father
said, taking a wallet out of his pocket. "They found this on Mark when
he was killed. We thought you might recognize it."
Opening the billfold, he carefully removed
two worn pieces of notebook paper that had obviously been taped, folded
and refolded many times. The teacher knew without looking that the papers
were the ones on which she had listed all the good things each of Mark's
classmates had said about him.
"Thank you so much for doing that," Mark's
mother said. "As you can see, Mark treasured it."
All of Mark's former classmates started
to gather around. Charlie smiled rather sheepishly and said, "I still have
my list. It's in the top drawer of my desk at home."
Chuck's wife said, "Chuck asked me to put
his in our wedding album."
"I have mine too," Marilyn said. "It's
in my diary."
Then Vicki, another classmate, reached
into her purse and showed her frazzled list to the group. "I carry this
with me at all times, " Vicki said and without batting an eyelash, she
continued: "I think we all saved our lists."
That's when the teacher finally sat down
and cried. She cried for Mark and for all his friends who would never see
him again.
The density of people in society is so
thick that we forget that life will end one day. And we don't know when
that one day will be.
So please, tell the people you love and
care for, that they are special and important.
Tell them, before it is too late...
MAY YOUR DAY BE BLESSED AND BE AS SPECIAL
AS YOU ARE.
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