A person visited the government matchmaker for marriage, SDU, and requested, "I am looking for a spouse. Please help me to find a suitable one."
The SDU officer said, "Your requirements, please."
"Oh, good looking, polite, humorous, sporty, knowledgeable, good in singing and dancing. Willing to accompany me the whole day at home during my leisure hour, if I don't go out. Telling me interesting stories when I need companion for conversation and be silent when I want to rest."
The officer listened carefully and replied, "I understand You need television."
***
There is a saying that a perfect match can only be found between a blind wife and a deaf husband, because the blind wife cannot see the faults of the husband and the deaf husband cannot hear the nagging of the wife. Many couples are blind and deaf at the courting stage and dream of perpetual perfect relationship. Unfortunately, when the excitement of love wears off, they wake up and discover that marriage is not a bed of roses.
The nightmare begins
NO POINTING FINGERS...
A man asked his father-in-law, "Many people praised you for a successful marriage. Could you please share with me your secret?"
The father-in-law answered in a smile, "Never criticise your wife for her shortcomings or when she does something wrong. Always bear in mind that because of her shortcomings and weaknesses, she could not find a better husband than you."
***
We all look forward to being loved and respected. Many people are afraid of losing face. Generally, when a person makes a mistake, he would look around to find a scapegoat to point the finger at.
This is the start of a war. We should always remember that when we point one finger at a person, the other four fingers are pointing at ourselves.
If we forgive others, others will ignore our mistake too.
NO OVERPOWERING...
Many relationships fail because one party tries to overpower another, or demands too much.
People in love tend to think that love will conquer all and their spouses will change the bad habits after marriage.
Actually, this is not the case. There is a Chinese saying which carries the meaning that "It is easier to reshape a mountain or a river than a person's character."
It is not easy to change. Thus, having high expectation on changing the spouse character will cause disappointment and unpleasantness.
It would be less painful to change ourselves and lower our expectations.
RIGHT SPEECH...
There is a Chinese saying which carries the meaning that "A speech will either prosper or ruin a nation."
Many relationships break off because of wrong speech.
When a couple is too close with each other, we always forget mutual respect and courtesy.
We may say anything without considering if it would hurt the other party.
***
A friend and her millionaire husband visited their construction site. A worker who wore a helmet saw her and shouted, "Hi, Emily! Remember me? We used to date in the secondary school."
On the way home, her millionaire husband teased her, "Luckily you married me. Otherwise you will be the wife of a construction worker."
She answered, "You should appreciate that you married me. Otherwise, he will be the millionaire and not you."
***
Frequently exchanging these remarks plants the seed for a bad relationship.
TRUST...
Trust is a very important factor for all relationships.
When trust is broken, it is the end of the relationship.
Lack of trust leads to suspicion, suspicion generates anger, anger causes enmity and enmity may result in separation.
***
A telephone operator told me that one day she received a phone call.
She answered, "Public Utilities Board." There was silence. She repeated,
"PUB." There was still no answer.
When she was going to cut off the line, she heard a lady's voice, "Oh, so this is PUB. Sorry, I got the number from my husband's pocket but I do not know whose number it is."
Without mutual trust, just imagine what will happen to the couple if the telephone operator answered with just "hello" instead of"PUB".
PERSONAL PERCEPTION...
Different people have different perception.
One man's meat could be another man's poison.
***
A couple bought a donkey from the market.
On the way home, a boy commented, "Very stupid. Why neither of them rides on the donkey?"
Upon hearing that, the husband let the wife ride on the donkey. He walked besides them.
Later, an old man saw it and commented, "The husband is the head of family. How can the wife ride on the donkey while the husband is on foot?" Hearing
this, the wife quickly got down and let the husband ride on the donkey.
Further on the way home, they met an old Lady. She commented, "How can the man ride on the donkey but let the wife walk. He
is no gentleman."
The husband thus quickly asked the wife to join him on the donkey.
Then, they met a young man. He commented, "Poor donkey, how can you hold up the weight of two persons. They are cruel to you."
Hearing that, the husband and wife immediately climbed down from the donkey and carried it on their shoulders.
It seems to be the only choice left.
Later, on a narrow bridge, the donkey was frightened and struggled. They lost their balance and fell into the river.
***
You can never have everyone praise you, nor will everyone condemn you. Never in the past, not at present, and never will be in the future. Thus, do not be too bothered by others words if our conscience is clear.
BE PATIENT...
***
This is a true story which happened in the States. A man came out of his home to admire his new truck. To his puzzlement, his three-year-old son was happily hammering dents into the shiny paint of the truck.
The man ran to his son, knocked him away, hammered the little boy's hands into pulp as punishment.
When the father calmed down, he rushed his son to the hospital. Although the doctor tried desperately to save the crushed bones, he finally had to amputate the fingers from both the boy's hands.
When the boy woke up from the surgery & saw his bandaged stubs, he innocently said, " Daddy, I'm sorry about your truck." Then he asked, "but when are my fingers going to grow back?"
The father went home & committed suicide.
***
Think about this story the next time someone steps on your feet or u wish to take revenge.
Think first before u lose your patience with someone u love.
Trucks can be repaired. Broken bones & hurt feelings often can't.
Too often we fail to recognise the difference between the person and the performance.
We forget that forgiveness is greater than revenge.
People make mistakes. We are allowed to make mistakes. But the actions we take while in a rage will haunt us forever.
Pause and ponder.
Think before you act.
Be patient.
Forgive & forget.
Love one and all.
If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
Showing posts with label Blind. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blind. Show all posts
Monday, August 2, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Love Calista
It rained so hard tonight. I could feel the wind piercing through my ribs. A rainy Christmas eve. It just made me feel sadder and lonelier. It had rained the day he was buried into the ground and I had cried just like now.
I was attracted to this cheerful guy when I first started helping out in the 'Home for the Disabled' three years back. He was a very special guy who was almost perfect if not for his eyes. He was blind. He became blind when he was 8. He got the high fever then and the doctors could do nothing. He lost his sight as a result. He told me he didn't really mind not being able to see because he could always touch and feel things we normal beings weren't able to.
I was really touched by his optimism. Even though he was blind, his eyes were the most soulful eyes that I had ever seen. He was extremely helpful towards others and always did his best to give others what he could. He showered his love lavishly on everyone he knew. He was like an angel. He had a kind and unselfish heart. He gave half of what he earned to charity and he would help out at the 'Home' almost everyday.
Whenever we were free from tending to the people at the 'Home', we would talk to one another for a long time. He talked about God a lot and how blessed was he to have found joy in the Lord. He didn't blame God for any misfortunes that had befallen on him. He said the Lord had his reasons for not giving him sight and he didn't blame God for the fact that his parent got killed in an accident when he was barely 12.
I felt somewhat ashamed when I heard his words since I had always blamed God for not giving me a prettier face. I bore a grudge against God for not giving this wonderful angel His fullest blessings. I thought that God was unfair to him for taking, apart from his sight, his loved ones away from him. I felt that he truly deserved more.
Luke and I were completely different from one another. He was an optimist and I was a pessimist. He could overlook flaws easily while I would always pick at others' faults. However we did have one thing in common. We both had an undying passion for astronomy. He told me he still remembered how lovely the stars had looked like before he became blind. And how his dad used to tell him about stars, black holes and space before God took him away to Heaven. One thing he didn't know was that I was silently crying for him all the time while he talked.
I knew then that I loved him more than I could ever loved anyone.
Luke and I had been together for almost two years. We could hardly bear to be away from one another for less than half a day. We spent most of our time helping out at the 'Home' and 'watching' the stars at a pasture near it. I would tell him the names and shapes of the constellations that appeared in the skies and he would listen carefully with a smile on his face. It seemed like he saw the stars that I told him, behind those soulful eyes that could never see the art of God.
Maybe God thought that Luke was too good for this world. He decided to bring him back to His side. Luke contracted leukemia that fateful 1994. He kept his illness from me and thus I didn't know anything about it at all. It was only when he started looking sick that I noticed something was wrong with him. When asked why, he would pass his paleness off as a slight flu. I didn't believe his words but I didn't say anything. It was September
1994.I was waiting at the 'Home' for Luke. "A call for you, Calista. It's from a hospital," a helper at the 'Home' passed the phone to me worriedly.
"Yes, hello? This is Calista here. Can I be of any help?" I asked, chewing my lips nervously, sensing bad vibes in my spines. "This is the Boulevard Hospital. We found your name and this number in Mr. Pietra's wallet. He had fainted on the streets just now and someone brought him in. I was hoping that you can come down to the hospital now and help us with the documents."
I hung up the phone and ran all the way in the rain to the hospital which was a mile away.
I signed whatever documents that were needed and ran to the ward that Luke was in. There he was my angel, lying almost lifeless on a bed that seemed too large for him.
"Calista, is that you?" He asked when I held his cold hand. "Yes it's me," I choked on my words. "Aww... please don't cry. Everything will be alright," he smiled. I looked at his pale face and it broke my heart. "Luke," I sobbed. "Why is God so unfair to you?" I bawled out on his chest. He stroked my hair and said softly, "God is fair, my love. He's gonna take me to a far better place called Heaven. Don't you agree?"
I didn't answer him as I was lost in my own thoughts. I really didn't know what was going to happen to me without him in my life. Moreover, I had this dreary feeling about going to hospitals ever since I was young. I felt so lost and detached from the world. Why must God take away my one and only true love?
Three months had passed ever since Luke was admitted into the hospital. It was December and Christmas was nearing. My visits to Luke had grown lesser over the three long painful months. Each time I visited Luke, we would have nothing much to talk about. There was always this awkward silence between us.
I didn't know what caused it but I guessed it had something to do with the atmosphere in the hospital. Luke had lost his cheerfulness over the months. He was always too tired to talk. At times, he would try his best to listen to me while I talked to him but the pills they fed him always put him to sleep before I could finish.
We drifted apart somehow although I still loved him a lot. I had only visited him once during December since I was busy working and the 'Home' needed helpers desperately.
It was the 24th of December. I realized that I had not visited Luke for almost three weeks! How funny time seemed to fly when you were busy. I had prepared a gift for Luke for the past two weeks. It was a piece of cardboard pasted with 3D star stickers. I called the constellation that I made up 'LoveLuke'. I hurried to the hospital with the gift in my hands.
I walked briskly to Luke's ward. On the way there, I felt a sudden fear in my heart. I didn't know why but somehow, it made me hurry my pace. To my ultimate fear and worst nightmare, Luke was not in his ward. He was gone! I ran to the counter and asked for Luke but was handed a package and a letter instead. I opened the letter with my tears flowing down like mad.
"My beloved Calista, please don't cry when you get this letter. I just want to let you know that I will be happier at the place where I'll be going soon. God and my parents are waiting impatiently for me. I'm looking forward to see them again. I know how busy you've been these past few weeks and I really missed you terribly. I know how much U dreaded coming to the hospital although U never said anything. I felt it. To tell you the
truth, I've thought of ending my life at times to end the pain and loneliness that my illness had brought me. However, I remembered that life is bestowed by the love of God and it would be a terrible mistake to kill myself just to escape misery.
"Now, I'm glad God decided to take me away earlier. I don't want to be a burden to you and I can't thank you enough for all the love and patience that you had given me through the hard times and the good times. U love me just the way I am even though I cant even do a small thing like watch a movie with you. Please don't blame God for taking me away. He does it because He loves me, just as much as He loves you.
"Don't ask why all the time. Things are planned and they are meant to be this way. Don't keep thinking that God is unfair and stop bearing grudges against him. God is a fair God. Everything that you lost today will be compensated in another way tomorrow. Just keep on believing.
"Remember err that I'll always love you even when I'm not by your side. You're the most beautiful person that I've ever 'seen' in my life, even though you are always complaining about the way you look. Beauty comes from within. Just to tell u that u will always be a part of me that I can’t lives without. Thank you once again for your sweetness and your wonderful unselfish love.
P.S. I'm sorry that I can't celebrate Christmas with you. Here's a gift I've prepared for you ever since the start of December.
Love,
Luke.E.Pietra."
I tore open the package, sobbing all the while. Inside it was a picture made up of tiny stickers of stars. On top of the black paper was written 'LoveCalista'. He too had made up a constellation for me. I knew how much effort and time he must have put in making the gift since he wasn't able to see. I cried my whole heart out that night at the hospital.
It was Christmas Day, 25th of December; 1994.Luke was laid into the ground. The rain was coming down hard. Nothing could describe my sadness. I was filled with remorse. In my busyness, I had neglected Luke. I should have spent more time with him. I didn't even get to see him for one last time before he died. I didn't really treasure him until he was gone. I missed him so much now.
I wanted so much to hug him and to tell him how much I loved him. But it was all too late. I had let time slip by and it would never come back to me. I had lost Luke forever. Forever, that word suddenly sounded as strange to me as I watched Luke's coffin being lowered into the ground. I cried for the man who taught me the ways of life.
The one person who changed my views towards many things. The angel who taught me to overlook others' flaws and to see the beauty behind imperfections. The one who told me to accept whatever cards that were dealt to me. Now this one person had left my side forever. Gone like the two pieces of pictures that carried the words 'LoveLuke' and 'LoveCalista'. They were buried together with the memory of Luke.
Treasure what you have now before it becomes regret, when it becomes too late. Time always slips us by when we least realize it. Let the people you love know what they mean to you, because you never know what might happen......life is too fragile
I was attracted to this cheerful guy when I first started helping out in the 'Home for the Disabled' three years back. He was a very special guy who was almost perfect if not for his eyes. He was blind. He became blind when he was 8. He got the high fever then and the doctors could do nothing. He lost his sight as a result. He told me he didn't really mind not being able to see because he could always touch and feel things we normal beings weren't able to.
I was really touched by his optimism. Even though he was blind, his eyes were the most soulful eyes that I had ever seen. He was extremely helpful towards others and always did his best to give others what he could. He showered his love lavishly on everyone he knew. He was like an angel. He had a kind and unselfish heart. He gave half of what he earned to charity and he would help out at the 'Home' almost everyday.
Whenever we were free from tending to the people at the 'Home', we would talk to one another for a long time. He talked about God a lot and how blessed was he to have found joy in the Lord. He didn't blame God for any misfortunes that had befallen on him. He said the Lord had his reasons for not giving him sight and he didn't blame God for the fact that his parent got killed in an accident when he was barely 12.
I felt somewhat ashamed when I heard his words since I had always blamed God for not giving me a prettier face. I bore a grudge against God for not giving this wonderful angel His fullest blessings. I thought that God was unfair to him for taking, apart from his sight, his loved ones away from him. I felt that he truly deserved more.
Luke and I were completely different from one another. He was an optimist and I was a pessimist. He could overlook flaws easily while I would always pick at others' faults. However we did have one thing in common. We both had an undying passion for astronomy. He told me he still remembered how lovely the stars had looked like before he became blind. And how his dad used to tell him about stars, black holes and space before God took him away to Heaven. One thing he didn't know was that I was silently crying for him all the time while he talked.
I knew then that I loved him more than I could ever loved anyone.
Luke and I had been together for almost two years. We could hardly bear to be away from one another for less than half a day. We spent most of our time helping out at the 'Home' and 'watching' the stars at a pasture near it. I would tell him the names and shapes of the constellations that appeared in the skies and he would listen carefully with a smile on his face. It seemed like he saw the stars that I told him, behind those soulful eyes that could never see the art of God.
Maybe God thought that Luke was too good for this world. He decided to bring him back to His side. Luke contracted leukemia that fateful 1994. He kept his illness from me and thus I didn't know anything about it at all. It was only when he started looking sick that I noticed something was wrong with him. When asked why, he would pass his paleness off as a slight flu. I didn't believe his words but I didn't say anything. It was September
1994.I was waiting at the 'Home' for Luke. "A call for you, Calista. It's from a hospital," a helper at the 'Home' passed the phone to me worriedly.
"Yes, hello? This is Calista here. Can I be of any help?" I asked, chewing my lips nervously, sensing bad vibes in my spines. "This is the Boulevard Hospital. We found your name and this number in Mr. Pietra's wallet. He had fainted on the streets just now and someone brought him in. I was hoping that you can come down to the hospital now and help us with the documents."
I hung up the phone and ran all the way in the rain to the hospital which was a mile away.
I signed whatever documents that were needed and ran to the ward that Luke was in. There he was my angel, lying almost lifeless on a bed that seemed too large for him.
"Calista, is that you?" He asked when I held his cold hand. "Yes it's me," I choked on my words. "Aww... please don't cry. Everything will be alright," he smiled. I looked at his pale face and it broke my heart. "Luke," I sobbed. "Why is God so unfair to you?" I bawled out on his chest. He stroked my hair and said softly, "God is fair, my love. He's gonna take me to a far better place called Heaven. Don't you agree?"
I didn't answer him as I was lost in my own thoughts. I really didn't know what was going to happen to me without him in my life. Moreover, I had this dreary feeling about going to hospitals ever since I was young. I felt so lost and detached from the world. Why must God take away my one and only true love?
Three months had passed ever since Luke was admitted into the hospital. It was December and Christmas was nearing. My visits to Luke had grown lesser over the three long painful months. Each time I visited Luke, we would have nothing much to talk about. There was always this awkward silence between us.
I didn't know what caused it but I guessed it had something to do with the atmosphere in the hospital. Luke had lost his cheerfulness over the months. He was always too tired to talk. At times, he would try his best to listen to me while I talked to him but the pills they fed him always put him to sleep before I could finish.
We drifted apart somehow although I still loved him a lot. I had only visited him once during December since I was busy working and the 'Home' needed helpers desperately.
It was the 24th of December. I realized that I had not visited Luke for almost three weeks! How funny time seemed to fly when you were busy. I had prepared a gift for Luke for the past two weeks. It was a piece of cardboard pasted with 3D star stickers. I called the constellation that I made up 'LoveLuke'. I hurried to the hospital with the gift in my hands.
I walked briskly to Luke's ward. On the way there, I felt a sudden fear in my heart. I didn't know why but somehow, it made me hurry my pace. To my ultimate fear and worst nightmare, Luke was not in his ward. He was gone! I ran to the counter and asked for Luke but was handed a package and a letter instead. I opened the letter with my tears flowing down like mad.
"My beloved Calista, please don't cry when you get this letter. I just want to let you know that I will be happier at the place where I'll be going soon. God and my parents are waiting impatiently for me. I'm looking forward to see them again. I know how busy you've been these past few weeks and I really missed you terribly. I know how much U dreaded coming to the hospital although U never said anything. I felt it. To tell you the
truth, I've thought of ending my life at times to end the pain and loneliness that my illness had brought me. However, I remembered that life is bestowed by the love of God and it would be a terrible mistake to kill myself just to escape misery.
"Now, I'm glad God decided to take me away earlier. I don't want to be a burden to you and I can't thank you enough for all the love and patience that you had given me through the hard times and the good times. U love me just the way I am even though I cant even do a small thing like watch a movie with you. Please don't blame God for taking me away. He does it because He loves me, just as much as He loves you.
"Don't ask why all the time. Things are planned and they are meant to be this way. Don't keep thinking that God is unfair and stop bearing grudges against him. God is a fair God. Everything that you lost today will be compensated in another way tomorrow. Just keep on believing.
"Remember err that I'll always love you even when I'm not by your side. You're the most beautiful person that I've ever 'seen' in my life, even though you are always complaining about the way you look. Beauty comes from within. Just to tell u that u will always be a part of me that I can’t lives without. Thank you once again for your sweetness and your wonderful unselfish love.
P.S. I'm sorry that I can't celebrate Christmas with you. Here's a gift I've prepared for you ever since the start of December.
Love,
Luke.E.Pietra."
I tore open the package, sobbing all the while. Inside it was a picture made up of tiny stickers of stars. On top of the black paper was written 'LoveCalista'. He too had made up a constellation for me. I knew how much effort and time he must have put in making the gift since he wasn't able to see. I cried my whole heart out that night at the hospital.
It was Christmas Day, 25th of December; 1994.Luke was laid into the ground. The rain was coming down hard. Nothing could describe my sadness. I was filled with remorse. In my busyness, I had neglected Luke. I should have spent more time with him. I didn't even get to see him for one last time before he died. I didn't really treasure him until he was gone. I missed him so much now.
I wanted so much to hug him and to tell him how much I loved him. But it was all too late. I had let time slip by and it would never come back to me. I had lost Luke forever. Forever, that word suddenly sounded as strange to me as I watched Luke's coffin being lowered into the ground. I cried for the man who taught me the ways of life.
The one person who changed my views towards many things. The angel who taught me to overlook others' flaws and to see the beauty behind imperfections. The one who told me to accept whatever cards that were dealt to me. Now this one person had left my side forever. Gone like the two pieces of pictures that carried the words 'LoveLuke' and 'LoveCalista'. They were buried together with the memory of Luke.
Treasure what you have now before it becomes regret, when it becomes too late. Time always slips us by when we least realize it. Let the people you love know what they mean to you, because you never know what might happen......life is too fragile
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