A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door!
He slammed on the brakes and drove the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car, shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?" The young boy was apologetic. "Please mister ... please, I'm sorry... I didn't know what else to do," he pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop..." With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. "It's my brother," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me." Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat.
He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay. "Thank you and may God bless you," the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the little boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar. The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message:
Don't go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention! God whispers in our souls and speaks to our hearts. Sometimes when we don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at us. It's our choice: Listen to the whisper ... or wait for the brick! What are upto?
The paradox of our time in history is that, We have taller buildings but shorter tempers; Wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more but have less; We buy more but enjoy it less. We have bigger houses and smaller families; More conveniences but less time; We have more degrees but less sense; More knowledge but less judgment; More experts but more problems; More medicine but less wellness. We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get angry too quickly, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too seldom, watch TV too much and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often. We have learned how to make a living, but not a life; We have added years to life, not life to years. We have been all the way to the moon and back but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor. We have conquered outer space but not inner space. We have done larger things but not better things. We have cleaned up the air but polluted the soul. We have split the atom but not our own prejudices. We write more but learn less, We plan more but accomplish less. We have learned to rush but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information to produce more copies than ever but have less communication. These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion; Tall men and short character; Steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the times of world peace but domestic warfare; More leisure, but less fun; More kinds of food but less nutrition. These are days of two incomes but more divorce; Of fancier houses but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throw-away morality, one-night stands, overweight bodies and pills that do everything from cheer to quiet, to kill.
Sent by Mr. Seshadri Srinivasan
deeps vasan said...
amazing words in "paradox of our time" which exactly reflects the life of modern man in present world.
we read lot but follow less
(another paradox)
but you see .... living becomes bored without some paradoxes in life.
is it not sir??
