There
was a boy who was always losing his temper. His father gave him a bag
full of nails and said to him, “My son, I want you to hammer a nail
into our garden fence every time you need to direct your anger against
something and you lose your temper.”
So
the son started to follow his father’s advice. On the first day he
hammered in 37 nails, but getting the nails into the fence was not
easy, so he started trying to control himself when he got angry. As the
days went by, he was hammering in less nails, and within weeks he was
able to control himself and was able to refrain from getting angry and
from hammering nails. He came to his father and told him what he had
achieved. His father was happy with his efforts and said to hi “But
now, my son, you have to take out a nail for every day that you do not
get angry
The son started to take out the nails for each day that he did not get angry, until there were no nails left in the fence.
He
came to his father and told him what he had achieved. His father took
him to the fence and said, “My son, you have done well, but look at
these holes in the fence. This fence will never be the same again.”
Then he adde “When you say things in a state of anger, they leave marks
like these holes on the hearts of others. You can stab a person and
withdraw the knife but it doesn’t matter how many times you say ‘I’m
sorry,’
because the wound will remain
كان هناك ولد عصبي وكان يفقد صوابه بشكل مستمر فأحضر له والده كيساً مملوءاً بالمسامير وقال له :
يا بني أريدك أن تدق مسماراً في سياج حديقتنا الخشبي كلما اجتاحتك موجة غضب وفقدت أعصابك
وهكذا بدأ الولد بتنفيذ نصيحة والده ....
فدق في اليوم الأول 37 مسماراً ، ولكن إدخال المسمار في السياج لم يكن سهلاً .
فبدأ
يحاول تمالك نفسه عند الغضب ، وبعدها وبعد مرور أيام كان يدق مسامير أقل ،
وفي أسابيع تمكن من ضبط نفسه ، وتوقف عن الغضب وعن دق المسامير ، فجاء
والده وأخبره بإنجازه ففرح الأب بهذا التحول ، وقال له : ولكن عليك الآن
يا بني استخراج مسمار لكل يوم يمر عليك لم تغضب فيه .
وبدأ الولد من جديد بخلع المسامير في اليوم الذي لا يغضب فيه حتى انتهى من المسامير في السياج .
فجاء
إلى والده وأخبره بإنجازه مرة أخرى ، فأخذه والده إلى السياج وقال له : يا
بني أحسنت صنعاً ، ولكن انظر الآن إلى تلك الثقوب في السياج ، هذا السياج
لن يكون كما كان أبداً ، وأضاف :
عندما تقول أشياء في حالة الغضب فإنها تترك آثاراً مثل هذه الثقوب في نفوس الآخرين .
تستطيع أن تطعن الإنسان وتُخرج السكين ولكن لا يهم كم مرة تقول : أنا آسف لأن الجرح سيظل هناك .
