by Henrylito D. Tacio
LIFE LESSONS
“We help other people because we can, or because it makes us feel good, not because we’re counting on some future payback. There is a word for this: love.” – Eric Weiner [QUALIFY WHO HE IS, IN SHORT: Eric Weiner, popular speaker, New York Times bestselling author]
Some stories make you smile. Others bring you to tears. And there are those that inspire you to do what is right, and those as that make you ponder and think about life.
Recently, I got sent two stories from a friend, via email. What I found interesting about these tales is that they tell us about pay back.
The words of Malcom S. Forbes came to mind while I was reading them: “One can pay back the loan of gold, but one lies forever in debt to those who are kind.”
Others consider pay back as sort of a karma. Annie Besant explains, “Belief in karma ought to make life pure, strong, serene, and glad. Only our own deeds can hinder us; only our own will can fetter us. Once let men recognize this truth, and the hour of their liberation has struck. Nature cannot enslave the soul that by wisdom has gained power and uses both in love.”
Now, for the first story.
Once upon a time, Jonathan was very much in love with Alice. The romantic guy folded 1,000 pieces of paper cranes as a gift to his girl.
Although, at that time, Jonathan was just an ordinary employee in the company; his future didn’t seem too bright, but they were very happy together. Until one day, Alice told him she was going to the United States and never coming back. She also told him that she cannot visualize any future for the both of them, so they decided to go their own ways then and there. Heartbroken, Jonathan agreed.
It took Jonathan several months to regain his confidence. He worked hard, day and night, slogging his body and mind, just to make something out of himself. Finally, with all the hard work and the help of friends, Jonathan had set up his own company.
Then, one rainy day, while Jonathan was driving, he saw an elderly couple sharing an umbrella in the rain walking to some destination. Even with the umbrella, they were still drenched. It didn’t take him long to realize they were Alice’s parents.
Wanting to somehow get back at them, he drove slowly beside the couple, wanting them to spot him in his luxury sedan. He wanted them to know that he wasn’t the same anymore; he had his own company, car, condo, etc. He made it!
But what he saw next confused him: the couple was walking towards a cemetery. So he got out of his car and followed – and he saw Alice, a photograph of her smiling sweetly as ever at him from her tombstone, and he saw his paper cranes right beside her.
Alice’s parents saw him. He asked them why this had happened. They explained, “She never went to the United States at all,” the father explained. “She was ill with cancer. She had believed that you would make it someday, but she did not want to be your hindrance. So, she decided to leave you.”
Jonathan just wept.
The second story, on the other hand, happened to a poor boy who was selling goods door-to-door, to pay his way through school. One day, he found himself to have only one peso in his pocket and he was hungry.
The boy decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal, he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry, so she brought him a large glass of milk.
The boy drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?” The young woman replied, “You don’t owe me anything. My mother has taught us never to accept payment for kindness.”
He then told her: “I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
As Howard – that’s the name of the boy – left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but felt his faith in God and man was also strengthened. He had been ready to give up and quit. But the experience urged him to persevere.
Years later, that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the city, where they called in experts to study her rare disease. The specialist Dr. Kelly was called in for the consultation. When the doctor heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes.
Immediately, Dr. Kelly rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor’s gown, he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back into the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day, he gave special attention to the case. After a long struggle, the battle was won.
Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it, then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all.
Finally, she looked, and something caught her attention on the side as she read these words: “Paid in full with one glass of milk.” (Signed) Dr. Howard Kelly.
Edith Wharton said it well: “People pay for what they do, and still more, for what they have allowed themselves to become. And they pay for it simply: by the lives they lead.” – ###
