Self help story : Sand and Stone

Self help story : Sand and Stone

Once upon a time there were two friends John and Mac. Both John and Mac were fun loving and care free. One day they planned a trip through the dessert. While travelling through the dessert they forgot the way. They were tired as the sun was beating down on their heads. They were thirsty for water and suddenly they began to argue. The argument got more and more heated and eventually John struck Mac across the face. It was really unfortunate and Mac felt hurt inside, but without anything to say, he wrote in the sand: "Today, my best friend slapped me in the face."

They kept on walking, until eventually they came across an oasis, where they decided to stop and bathe. Mac jumped in and began to wash, while John sat back and relaxed. Suddenly Mac began to scream and shout, he had developed a cramp and was having difficulty keeping his head above water and he was drowning.


John dived in after him, and brought him gently to shore. When Mac recovered from the shock, he scratched a message on a nearby stone:

"Today, my best friend saved my life"

John who had saved and slapped his best friend Mac, asked him, "Why, after I hurt you, you wrote in the sand, and now you write on a stone?"

Mac smiled and replied:

"When a friend hurts us, we should write his deeds in the sand, where the winds of forgiveness can blow it away, and when a friend does something good, we should engrave it in stone, where it shall remain for eternity."
But most of the time we are doing just opposite. We write some minor mistakes of near ones on stone and forget their good deeds and spoil our beautiful relationship with them. Remember, forgiveness is the key to happy and long lasting relationships.

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