By Alfonso Elengikal
Some time ago, I read an interesting story about a senior citizen who felt that his wife, of late, isn’t hearing what he is communicating to her. He felt she possibly needed medical care. So, he quietly shared the matter with a doctor friend of his.
After listening to him, the doctor said: “Before we proceed further, let’s double check that she isn’t really hearing what you say. When she is in the kitchen, ask her something from the next room. If she is not replying to your query go closer, say about 30ft away from her, and ask her the same question. If you feel she has not heard you, go closer still and from about 10 ft away, repeat the question. If she is still not replying, you can bring her to me for a check-up, and I shall do the needful.”
The man went home deciding to act, the very next morning. His wife was as usual preparing breakfast in the kitchen. He called out to her, “Darling, what’s that you are preparing for breakfast, today? There was no reply. So, as the doctor had advised, he went nearer and asked her: “What do we have for breakfast, today?” There was still no answer! He went closer, and asked again: “Darling, what are you cooking for our breakfast?” The wife still did not reply. He was now fully convinced that she needed to be taken to the doctor friend, soon.
So, they went to meet the doctor that evening. The doctor saw the couple coming in, and he greeted them from his consulting room. “Good evening, please come in.” The wife promptly replied, “Thank you, doctor.”
As they entered his chamber, the doctor asked: “How are you doing?”
The wife quickly replied: “We are fine, doctor.” The doctor told them,”Please sit down.” The wife soon sat down while the husband remained standing, looking at his wife scornfully for being bad mannerly!
The specialist did not require much time to find out who needed treatment first. He gently convinced his reluctant friend that it is he who requires treatment, and not his wife! He wrote down on his pad “HEARING AID”, gave it to him, and saw them off.
Many of us go ahead in life with the attitude of the elderly man: the “I am OK. and you are not OK attitude” or “I do not make mistakes; he/she is the one who is at fault mentality” and so fail to make true progress in life, besides making a fool of ourselves.
A woman was waiting at the Guwahati Airport, after the security check, for her Jet Airways flight to arrive from Kolkata. She was immersed in reading when an announcement was made that the flight is delayed. So, she went and got a packet of biscuits for any further eventuality, returned to her chair and continued reading the book in hand. After a while, she turned to the other side and was surprised to see the man sitting on the next chair opening a packet of biscuits. He took out a biscuit, ate it, and kept the packet down. The lady frowned at him and continued reading.
Before long, she saw him picking up another biscuit from the packet and eating. Unable to control her anger, she snatched the packet from him and walked off, by when the flight had already landed. She soon boarded the flight, still holding the packet of biscuits in her hands. Once seated, she opened her bag to keep it in. To her shame, she saw the packet she had bought intact in her bag, and realized, though late, that she was eating the biscuits the man had bought for himself!
I vividly remember a man telling me, years ago, “I have never made a mistake over the past twenty-five years!” I retorted spontaneously, “It is time then to celebrate the silver jubilee of your not making a mistake over that many years.”
Surprisingly, there are quite a few of them around. It is regarding them that Jesus once told the following story to his listeners, about two men who went to pray: one a religious leader, and the other a tax collector (Luke 18: 9 – 15).
The religious leader went straight into the temple and prayed aloud: “I thank you, God, that I am not greedy, dishonest ….like everyone else. I am not even like that tax collector over there; I fast twice a week, and give you one tenth of my income.” But, the tax collector beat his breast, and prayed from outside, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”
The first man thought God was highly pleased with his prayer. But, Jesus told the people that it was the tax collector who went home, at peace with God.
We shall never please God or men with our “I am OK, You are not OK.” attitude, or by thinking that all mistakes are made on the other side of the fence, and that we are always on the right side. It is wiser, then, to acknowledge that we are all prone to make mistakes, and seek guidance from God and from the learned!
