About Perfection, by Kahlil Gibran: “Advance, and never halt, for advancing is perfection. Advance and do not fear the thorns in the path, for they draw only corrupt blood.”
Regards to all Lil On Jan 10, 2:43 am, "anurag barthwal" <[email protected]> wrote: > * > * > > *Perfection* > > *In Brooklyn, New York, Chush is a school that caters to learning disabled > children. Some children remain in Chush for their entire school career, > while others can be mainstreamed into conventional schools.* > > *At a Chush fund-raising dinner, the father of a Chush child delivered a > speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended.* > > *After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he cried out, "Where is > the perfection in my son Shaya? Everything God does is done with perfection. > But my child cannot understand things as other children do. My child cannot > remember facts and figures as other children do. > * > > *Where is God's perfection?"* > > *The audience was shocked by the question, pained by the father's anguish, > stilled by the piercing query.* > > *" I believe," the father answered, "that when God brings a child like this > into the world, the perfection that he seeks is in the way people react to > this child."* > > *He then told the following story about his son Shaya:* > > *One afternoon Shaya and his father walked past a park where some boys Shaya > knew were playing baseball. * > > *Shaya asked, "Do you think they will let me play?"* > > *Shaya's father knew that his son was not at all athletic and that most boys > would not want him on their team. But Shaya's father understood that if his > son was chosen to play it would give him a comfortable sense of belonging.* > > *Shaya's father approached one of the boys in the field and asked if Shaya > could play. The boy looked around for guidance from his teammates. Getting > none, he took matters into his own hands and said "We are losing by six runs > and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and > we'll try to put him up to bat in the ninth inning."* > > *Shaya's father was ecstatic as Shaya smiled broadly. Shaya was told to put > on a glove and go out to play short center field.* > > *In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shaya's team scored a few runs but was > still behind by three. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shaya's team > scored again and now with two outs and the bases loaded with the potential > winning run on base, Shaya was scheduled to be up. Would the team actually > let Shaya bat at this juncture and give away their chance to win the game? > Surpassingly, Shaya was given the bat.* > > *Everyone knew that it was all but impossible because Shaya didn't even know > how to hold the bat properly, let alone hit with it. However as Shaya > stepped up to the plate, the pitcher moved a few steps to lob the ball in > softly so Shaya should at least be able to make contact.* > > *The first pitch came in and Shaya swung clumsily and missed. One of Shaya's > teammates came up to Shaya and together the held the bat and faced the > pitcher waiting for the next pitch. The pitcher again took a few steps > forward to toss the ball softly toward Shaya. As the pitch came in, Shaya > and his teammate swung at the bat and together they hit a slow ground ball > to the pitcher.* > > *The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could easily have thrown the > ball to the first baseman. Shaya would have been out and that would have > ended the game. Instead, the pitcher took the ball and threw it on a high > arc to right field, far beyond reach of the first baseman.* > > *Everyone started yelling,"Shaya, run to first. Run to first." Never in his > life had Shaya run to first. He scampered down the baseline wide-eyed and > startled. By the time he reached first base, the right fielder had the ball. > He could have thrown the ball to the second baseman who would tag out Shaya, > who was still running. But the right fielder understood what the pitcher's > intentions were, so he threw the ball high and far over the third baseman's > head. Everyone yelled, "Run to second, run to second." Shaya ran towards > second base as the runners ahead of him deliriously circled the bases > towards home. As Shaya reached second base, the opposing short stop ran to > him, turned him in the direction of third base and shouted, "Run to third." > As Shaya rounded third, the boys from both teams ran behind him screaming, > "Shaya run home."* > > *Shaya ran home, stepped on home plate and all 18 boys lifted him on their > shoulders and made him the hero, as he had just hit a "grand slam" and won > the game for his team.* > > *"That day," said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, > "those 18 boys reached their level of God's perfection."* > > *[True*. *It's attributed to Rabbi Paysach Krohn, a popular lecturer and > best-selling author of the ArtScroll Maggid series of short stories. Rabbi > Krohn said, "Every single word in the story is accurate. I heard it from > Shaya's father himself - who is a close friend of mine" ]* > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "English Learner's Cafe" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/english_learners?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
