Editorial       

First of all, I wish to thank each and every one of you who held me in your prayers and sent cards and e-mails for a speedy recovery.

I will say that the rumors about hospitals, especially the food, is all true-well, almost, I did have a few decent meals. Then there are the nurses at Valley Hospital. I believe they should all get purple heart medals for their caring and hard work. This is definitely one field I would not enjoy. Anyway, they were a terrific group of ladies - even if they did keep waking me up!

I am going to dispense with my normal editorial. Instead I have chosen to†address the events of September 11th on page four.

In the meantime I hope you enjoy the below inspirational story that fits in so well with this issue.

Expressing Ourselves

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

So before you react in anger, stop a moment and realize that family, friends and people in general are rare jewels. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear, they share words of praise and they always want to open their hearts to us.

A Metaphysical, Spiritual, Holistic Publication   |   In Light Times   |   November, 2001