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Think Again :: Do we have our Priorities
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Think Again :: Do we have our Priorities
We invest a lot of our time and energy into things that are actually only a part of our life, not our entire life. How wise are we? It takes a small child to make us ponder over this important question of our life.
A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.
SON: "Daddy, may I ask you a question?"
DAD: "Yeah sure, what is it?"
SON: "Daddy, how much do you make an hour?"
DAD: "That`s none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?" the man said angrily.
SON: "I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?"
DAD: "If you must know, I make Rs.50 an hour."
"Oh", the little boy replied, with his head down.
Looking up, he said, "Daddy, may I please borrow Rs.25?"
The father was furious, "If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. Do I work hard everyday for such a kind of childish behaviour."
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy`s questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money? After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think:
Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that Rs.25 and he really didn`t ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy`s room and opened the door.
"Are you asleep, son?" He asked.
"No daddy, I`m awake," replied the boy.
"I`ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier," said the man.
"It`s been a long day and I took out my tiredness and irritation on you. Here`s the Rs.25 you asked for."
The little boy sat straight up, smiling. "Oh, thank you daddy!" He yelled.
Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.
The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.
The little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at his father.
"Why do you want more money if you already have some?" the father grumbled.
"Because I didn`t have enough, but now I do," the little boy replied.
"Daddy, I have Rs.50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you." It is so lonely to have dinner without you!
The moral of the story Don`t work too hard
If you have really liked this story you could post me a reply. Better still you could share this story with someone you like. But even better, share Rs. 50 worth of time with someone you love. It`s just a short reminder to all of us working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts.
God forbid, if we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.
Come to honestly think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family. We even manage to fool ourselves as well as others that it is for the benefit of the family. How does an Accent benefit more than a Santro or for that matter a 4 bedroom independent house benefit more than a 2 bedroom apartment when what the child needs the most is conspicuous by the absence. An unwise investment indeed!
Rgds
Arun
A man came home from work late, tired and irritated, to find his 5-year old son waiting for him at the door.
SON: "Daddy, may I ask you a question?"
DAD: "Yeah sure, what is it?"
SON: "Daddy, how much do you make an hour?"
DAD: "That`s none of your business. Why do you ask such a thing?" the man said angrily.
SON: "I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?"
DAD: "If you must know, I make Rs.50 an hour."
"Oh", the little boy replied, with his head down.
Looking up, he said, "Daddy, may I please borrow Rs.25?"
The father was furious, "If the only reason you asked that is so you can borrow some money to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you are being so selfish. Do I work hard everyday for such a kind of childish behaviour."
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even angrier about the little boy`s questions. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money? After about an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think:
Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that Rs.25 and he really didn`t ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy`s room and opened the door.
"Are you asleep, son?" He asked.
"No daddy, I`m awake," replied the boy.
"I`ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier," said the man.
"It`s been a long day and I took out my tiredness and irritation on you. Here`s the Rs.25 you asked for."
The little boy sat straight up, smiling. "Oh, thank you daddy!" He yelled.
Then, reaching under his pillow he pulled out some crumpled up bills.
The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again.
The little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at his father.
"Why do you want more money if you already have some?" the father grumbled.
"Because I didn`t have enough, but now I do," the little boy replied.
"Daddy, I have Rs.50 now. Can I buy an hour of your time? Please come home early tomorrow. I would like to have dinner with you." It is so lonely to have dinner without you!
The moral of the story Don`t work too hard
If you have really liked this story you could post me a reply. Better still you could share this story with someone you like. But even better, share Rs. 50 worth of time with someone you love. It`s just a short reminder to all of us working so hard in life. We should not let time slip through our fingers without having spent some time with those who really matter to us, those close to our hearts.
God forbid, if we die tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family & friends we leave behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives.
Come to honestly think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than to our family. We even manage to fool ourselves as well as others that it is for the benefit of the family. How does an Accent benefit more than a Santro or for that matter a 4 bedroom independent house benefit more than a 2 bedroom apartment when what the child needs the most is conspicuous by the absence. An unwise investment indeed!
Rgds
Arun
