As
evening fell, the story-teller took his seat by the fire and began.
“Come my children, large and small
I’ll tell you a tale; it’s a good one for all”
“Once
upon a time there was a young boy of 9 years.
He was an honest boy, a likeable boy, and a normal boy as most boys
go. But he didn’t believe he was worth
much. He especially didn’t seem to be
able to show much initiative.
“He
spent his early years being told, ‘Get away from that. You might break it’ or ‘Leave
that alone. You don’t know nothin’ about
machinery.’
“You
see, he lived in a putdown society and he actually began to believe that he
indeed didn’t know much about anything, and perhaps, he wasn’t good enough to
try some of the things that caught his interest.
“In
his 9th grade year he took shop class. What a grand adventure that was. And our young lad proved to have some skill
at woodworking. Rumor has it that even
today the bookcase he made 50 or so years ago still stands. Or so I’m told.
“By
now you have a good sense of the kind of training our young boy received. For him, life was a series of “don’ts, “stop
that’s” and “knock it off, boy. Who do
you think you are?”
“And
life continued.
“When
he married, his memory of the good times he had in shop class revived. He began buying a few tools – you know - a
saw here, a hammer there, a few screw drivers and such. When the topic came up of him buying a
circular saw, you would have thought it was the end.
“He
was told, ‘I don’t want you to have one.
Why, you’ll cut your foot off with that thing’, and so he didn’t get one.
“Can
you imagine living life like this?
Living in fear of what might be and allowing that fear to keep one from
new adventures?
“In
spite of some of these circumstances, our hero had some reasonably good career
experiences. His confidence grew, his
sense of accomplishment grew, and he watched and learned.
“In
time, he did indeed buy a circular saw.
That was perhaps twenty years ago, and he still has both feet, both
hands, all twenty fingers and he is a careful carpenter when using power tools
such as this.
“Yet
some of these early messages lingered. He
still mostly felt like a no-good, can’t-do, better-leave-it-along kind of guy.
“As
he grew into middle age he began discovering his can-do spirit. He grew to trust himself and his sense of
good judgment.
“He
read a few books, listened to a few trusted and wise sources and grew in
knowledge and stature and understanding.”
The
story teller paused, threw two logs onto the fire and continued.
“The
story I just told you is true. I was
that young boy. The book case I mentioned
is the one inside my cabin near the back wall.
It is a most prized possession, for it taught me one of my first lessons
in self-confidence and self-worth. It
taught me that I could actually do something worthwhile with proper teaching
and coaching.
His
voice rose with a new urgency.
“Harsh
words are killers. They kill our
He
eased back in his chair. His voice was
softer now.
“Harsh
words linger long after they have been spoken, and it takes a considerable
amount of work to undo the harm they have done.
“If
I were to say one wise word to you tonight, it would be … never, ever
underestimate the power of the right words spoken at the right time. Words crush … and words elevate.
“Find
and use those words that elevate another person. Always … always … elevate your fellow man.
“That
is all I have to say for tonight.”
And
the villagers slowly left the fire and returned to their homes.
Words of Hope
Encouragement
Inspiration
One Word at a Time
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