Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Words that Found Their Way into My Mind 2

The Story of the Pencil

A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point he asked:

‘Are you writing a story about what we’ve done? Is it a story about me?’

His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson:

‘I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I’m using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.’

Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn’t seem very special.

‘But it’s just like any other pencil I’ve ever seen!’

‘That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.’

‘First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.’

‘Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpner. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he’s much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.

‘Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.’

‘Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.’

‘Finally, the pencil’s fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. in just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action’

Source: Like the Flowing River by Paulo Coelho


5 comments:

  1. Well written, Shimaa.

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  2. Thanks but actually this part is copied from the book "Like the Flowing River" by Paulo Coelho
    Would you please tell me who are u?

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  3. The second quality reminds me that we need to make our heart fresh time after time, to continue this life, we need to read Quraa'n, repeat "alathkar", and to make everything could make us happy.

    while the third one reminds me about "altaoba" which erase our sins.


    Thank you, and thank to this pencil

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  4. تحفة يا شيماء فعلا :)) اسمحيلي اني اعبر عن رأيي بالعربي ..الفقرة دي كأنها بتصرخ وتقول عيدوا اكتشاف الحاجات الصغيرة اللي حاواليكو...لأنها في الحقيقة مش صغيرة ابدا ...إلا اللي عايز يشوفها صغيرة...في حالته دي هو خسر كتييير لأن دنيته صغيرة.أو بمعنى اصح هو اللي خلى دنيته صغيرة

    وانا كمان عايزة اشكرك واشكر القلم الرصاص ده :)))

    لبنى عبد الهادي

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  5. I LOVE PENCILS FROM LONG TIME BACK , BUT I NEVER KNOW WHY ? NOW I UNDERSTAND !!!
    VERY interesting SHIMO

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