When I was a small child, I was very selfish, always tried to grab the best for myself. Slowly, everyone left me and I had no friends. I didn’t think it was my fault. I always criticized others.
My father tried to help me understand how to succeed in life.
One day, my father cooked two bowls of noodles and put them on the table. One bowl had one egg on top and the other bowl did not have any egg on top. He said, “My child. You choose. Which bowl do you want”?
Eggs were hard to come by in those days! We only got to eat eggs during festivals. Of course, I chose the bowl with egg! As we started eating, I was congratulating myself on my wise choice – the bowl of noodles with egg on top. Then to my surprise as my father ate his noodles, there were two eggs at the bottom of his bowl beneath the noodles! I regretted so much! And scolded myself for being too hasty in my decision. My father smiled and said to me, “My child. You must remember what your eyes see may not be true. And if your intent is to take advantage of people, you will end up losing!”
The next day, my father again cooked two bowls of noodles: one bowl with an egg on top and the other bowl with no egg on top. Again, he put the two bowls on the table and said to me, “My child. You choose. Which bowl do you want?”
This time I was smarter. I chose the bowl without any egg on top.
To my surprise, As I separated the noodles on top, there was not even a single egg at the bottom of the bowl!
Again, my father smiled and said to me, “My child. You must not always rely on past experiences - because sometimes, life can cheat you or play tricks on you. But you must not get too annoyed or sad, just treat this as learning a lesson. You cannot learn this from textbooks.”
The third day, my father again cooked two bowls of noodles - again one bowl with an egg on top and the other bowl with no egg on top. He put both the bowls on the table and again said to me “My child. You choose. Which bowl do u want?”
This time, I said to my father, “Dad, you choose first. You are the head of the family and contributed the most to the family.”
My father did not decline and chose the bowl with one egg on top. As I was eating my bowl of noodles, I was sure in my heart that there is no egg hidden inside the noodles. To my surprise! There were two eggs at the bottom of the bowl.
My father smiled at me with love in his eyes and said:
“You must remember my child! When you think for the good of others, good things will naturally happen to you!”
I always remembered these three lessons my father taught me - and did my business accordingly.
True enough, my business was a roaring success.
~ Xi Jing Peng ~
My father tried to help me understand how to succeed in life.
One day, my father cooked two bowls of noodles and put them on the table. One bowl had one egg on top and the other bowl did not have any egg on top. He said, “My child. You choose. Which bowl do you want”?
Eggs were hard to come by in those days! We only got to eat eggs during festivals. Of course, I chose the bowl with egg! As we started eating, I was congratulating myself on my wise choice – the bowl of noodles with egg on top. Then to my surprise as my father ate his noodles, there were two eggs at the bottom of his bowl beneath the noodles! I regretted so much! And scolded myself for being too hasty in my decision. My father smiled and said to me, “My child. You must remember what your eyes see may not be true. And if your intent is to take advantage of people, you will end up losing!”
The next day, my father again cooked two bowls of noodles: one bowl with an egg on top and the other bowl with no egg on top. Again, he put the two bowls on the table and said to me, “My child. You choose. Which bowl do you want?”
This time I was smarter. I chose the bowl without any egg on top.
To my surprise, As I separated the noodles on top, there was not even a single egg at the bottom of the bowl!
Again, my father smiled and said to me, “My child. You must not always rely on past experiences - because sometimes, life can cheat you or play tricks on you. But you must not get too annoyed or sad, just treat this as learning a lesson. You cannot learn this from textbooks.”
The third day, my father again cooked two bowls of noodles - again one bowl with an egg on top and the other bowl with no egg on top. He put both the bowls on the table and again said to me “My child. You choose. Which bowl do u want?”
This time, I said to my father, “Dad, you choose first. You are the head of the family and contributed the most to the family.”
My father did not decline and chose the bowl with one egg on top. As I was eating my bowl of noodles, I was sure in my heart that there is no egg hidden inside the noodles. To my surprise! There were two eggs at the bottom of the bowl.
My father smiled at me with love in his eyes and said:
“You must remember my child! When you think for the good of others, good things will naturally happen to you!”
I always remembered these three lessons my father taught me - and did my business accordingly.
True enough, my business was a roaring success.
~ Xi Jing Peng ~
very simple yet deep lesson. Thank you for sharing.. it is going on my Facebook wall..
ReplyDeleteRajanji excellent example not only for young ones but all of us adults. Jumping to obvious conclusions does not always result in success. DHJ Prem
ReplyDelete๐๐ excellent example to learn for all.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rev. Rajan Sachdeva Ji - wonderful lessons
ReplyDeletePremjit
I always love "what I learned from my father" stories because My father was always full of wisdom. Some lessons were lectures, some through actions some in conversations, some in passing comments made of life.... all wonderful and full of insight. It makes me want to pass on this tradition to my kids.
ReplyDeleteExcellent ji.
ReplyDelete