We spoke of the impact of the encouraging words on people’s life and how they are able to change it to the best.
Once upon a time the wind met the sun. After greeting her, the boastful wind said, ‘You know that I am the strongest and most effective of all the weather!’And the sun replied, ‘I know that people fear your gale, however I can light any place with my beams and sent warmth everywhere.’ But the stubborn wind disagreed. ‘All weather is strong,’ said the wind and challenged the sun saying, ‘Let us have a competition to prove this. The weather that makes the man remove his jacket will show that they are indeed the strongest of all.’
The sun agreed to take part in the competition and suggested that the wind should go first. And so the wind blew and blew upon the earth, creating first a light breeze, and then massive gales that swept across the lands below. The man was forced to hold tightly to his jacket so that he would not lose it in the mighty gale.
After many minutes of blowing and blowing, the wind said” I am tired. I will stop trying”
Next it was the sun’s turn. And the sun shone brightly in the clear blue sky, heating up the earth below until the man had put off his jacked to cool off”. Hence the sun told him, “Now, who is the mightiest of us?”
Kind words are the best solution. They are mightier than harsh words. One kind word can turn a mighty to a tender person. It can turn the most characters that are impossible to change.
The beam of good words makes a person put off his coat of toughness. Each one of us has a deep need to feel the love of others and to listen to soft and tender words that ease his pain through the journey of lie.
William Baker, Thomas and Ellen were playing on the green lawn in front of their mother’s door, when a lad named Henry came along the road. He saw the children enjoying themselves, opened the gate and came in. He was rather an ill-natured boy, and generally took more pleasure in teasing and annoying others, than in being happy with them. When William saw him coming in through the gate, he called to him and said, in a harsh way, “You should leave now”
But Henry did not in the least regard what William said. He joined in the sport as if Henry had not asked him to leave thrice.
His mother, who sat at the window, saw and heard all that was passing. As soon as she could catch the eye of her excited son, she beckoned him to come to her, which he promptly did.
“Try kind words on him,” she said; “you will find them more powerful than harsh words. You spoke very harshly to Henry when he came in, and I was sorry to hear it.””It won’t do any good, mother. He’s a rude, bad boy, and I wish he would stay at home. Won’t you make him go home?” “First go and speak to him in a gentler way than you did just now. Try to subdue him with kindness.”
William felt that he had been wrong in letting his angry feelings express themselves in angry words. So he left his mother and went down to him.
“Henry,” he said, cheerfully and pleasantly, “if you were fishing in the river, and I were to come and throw stones in where your line fell, and scare away all the fish, would you like it?””No, I should not,” the lad replied.”It wouldn’t be kind in me?””No, of course it wouldn’t.” “Well, now, Henry,” William tried to smile and to speak very pleasantly, “we are playing here and trying to enjoy ourselves. Is it right for you to come and interrupt us by pulling us about and pushing us down? “
“No, it is not” replied Henry. So Henry went quickly away.
“Didn’t I tell you that kind words were more powerful than harsh words, William?” said his mother, after Henry had gone away”
Not only do the Kind words an impact on children, but also grownups.
Few gentle words have turned “Tom Galson” who was a notorious killer to a quiet and positive person. When his child met him on Christmas eve wishing him merry Christmas and offering him a present from her dead brother. Kind words can change the world around us. Helen Keller said, “I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do”
My dear reader, there is always something we can do to others, something that might change their life forever. Let us offer our kind words without any hesitation, let us be gentle, merciful to one another…. To be continued
General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
