日落时分,一个人漫步在寂静的墨西哥海滩上,正走着,他发现远处还有一个人。
走到不远处,他发现那个当地人不停地弯下腰,拾起什么东西,再扔进海里。一次又一次地,他把一些东西扔进海里。
我们的朋友走到更近处时,他发现那个当地人拾起的是被海水冲上岸的海星,那个人每次把一个海星扔回大海。
第一个人感到很诧异。他走到当地人跟前说;“晚上好!朋友,我想知道你在干什么?”那个人回答:“我在把海星扔回海里。你看,现在退潮了,这些海星被冲上了岸。如果我不把它们扔回海里去,它们会因缺氧而死。”
“我懂了,”我的朋友回答,“但海滩上有成千上万只海星,你不可能都管得了它们。这儿有太多的海星了,你没发现这个海岸的上百个海滩上都是这种情况...你难道没有看出来你不会带来什么改变吗?”
当地人笑了,弯下身,又拾起一只海星…他把它扔到海里的时候说:“这只海星有了改变。”
你会感到,你虽不能改变世界,但你可以一次改变一个生命。
Angels
Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion’s guest room. Instead the angels were given a space in the cold basement.
As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied... “Things aren‘t always what they seem”.
The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed where they could have a good night’s rest. When the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field.
The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel “how could you have let this happen!? The first man had everything, yet you helped him,” she accused. “The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let their cow die.”
“Things aren‘t always what they seem,” the older angel replied. “When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn’t find it. Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave her the cow instead. Things aren‘t always what they seem.”
Sometimes this is exactly what happens when things don’t turn out the way they should. If you have faith, you just need to trust that every outcome is always to your advantage. You might not know it until some time later.