Dear Richard,
During the Dong Han (ªFº~) dynasty, 25 A.D. to 220 A.D., there were a couple of very good and closed friends, named Guan Ning (ºÞ¹ç) and Hua Xin (µØÝõ). Very often, they studied together and liked to share sitting on a piece of bamboo mat.
One day, when they were reading, there were sounds of drums and horns from the street, celebrating a new officer reporting duty to the town. Hua Xin was distracted. He gave up his book and walked out to watch the parade. When he came back, he found the bamboo mat was cut into half. His friend, Guan Ning said, 'As you are so easily distracted, you will not be successful on anything. Now, you and I could no longer be friends. We don't have the same vision in studying. We are better separated like this bamboo mat.' Hau Xin realized his mistake and felt very bad. Since then, he paid his full attention on his work. He was very thankful to his friend, Guan Ning, for reminding him.
Richard, what have you learnt from this story? Do you have friends, like Guan Ning, who could help you to realize your mistakes?
With love, Dad