Thought for today:
"There is a time to resist and a time to surrender and it is knowing the distinction between the two that will save you much vital energy and result in less heartbreak.
The most appropriate time to resist is when another is pressurising you to be unjust or to do wrong. There are also occasions when it is best to surrender and to give way. We sometimes give way to the reasoning and will of another when we know that a particular outcome is more desirous to them than it is to us. There are times in our lives when one may be called upon to recognise the inevitability of a loved one's imminent death and when that time comes, we need to allow them to let go of life when it is right for them to do so. Even the most independent among us with wills of steel and the strength of giants survive longer when they learn to bend to the forces of Nature.
There was once a pair of mighty oaks which stood side by side for centuries. Over their years of togetherness, they grew happier and more magnificent than any couple ever grew. In time they grew so close to one another that they forever held hands beneath the sky and became inseparable. One day an earthquake came and wrenched their lives asunder. After the earthquake had passed, one of the trees was left so battered and bruised that when it looked towards the place where its lifelong partner had stood alongside them for centuries, it saw its mighty mate had been felled and uprooted for all time.
For months after this disaster of Nature, the remaining Oak remained stricken in its feelings of loss. It became acutely depressed and started to wilt and die itself, until it remembered what was to be surrendered to and what should be resisted. It finally surrendered to the process of bereavement and resisted the temptation to lay down and die alongside its mate. In the years to come, it learned that no longer being crowded at its root base, it could use the additional soil nutrients which its mate no longer required and spread its roots ever wider than previously. In time, the very experience which had initially produced such sadness for the remaining Oak, paradoxically resulted in it growing stronger and ever more magnificent.
If I possessed a magic wand, I would wave it over the entire world and bid it to resist the forces of all that is evil and surrender to the force of love. For those of you who might like to read my book called, 'The Valley of the Two Tall Oaks' it can be purchased from www.smashwords.com in e-book format or from amazon and www.lulu.com in hard copy. All profits go to charity. This is the African story from which the above synopsis is taken. It is the story that the late Nelson Mandela phoned me and praised as being 'a wonderful story.' It is suitable for both young person or adult." William Forde: May 25th, 2015.
"There is a time to resist and a time to surrender and it is knowing the distinction between the two that will save you much vital energy and result in less heartbreak.
The most appropriate time to resist is when another is pressurising you to be unjust or to do wrong. There are also occasions when it is best to surrender and to give way. We sometimes give way to the reasoning and will of another when we know that a particular outcome is more desirous to them than it is to us. There are times in our lives when one may be called upon to recognise the inevitability of a loved one's imminent death and when that time comes, we need to allow them to let go of life when it is right for them to do so. Even the most independent among us with wills of steel and the strength of giants survive longer when they learn to bend to the forces of Nature.
There was once a pair of mighty oaks which stood side by side for centuries. Over their years of togetherness, they grew happier and more magnificent than any couple ever grew. In time they grew so close to one another that they forever held hands beneath the sky and became inseparable. One day an earthquake came and wrenched their lives asunder. After the earthquake had passed, one of the trees was left so battered and bruised that when it looked towards the place where its lifelong partner had stood alongside them for centuries, it saw its mighty mate had been felled and uprooted for all time.
For months after this disaster of Nature, the remaining Oak remained stricken in its feelings of loss. It became acutely depressed and started to wilt and die itself, until it remembered what was to be surrendered to and what should be resisted. It finally surrendered to the process of bereavement and resisted the temptation to lay down and die alongside its mate. In the years to come, it learned that no longer being crowded at its root base, it could use the additional soil nutrients which its mate no longer required and spread its roots ever wider than previously. In time, the very experience which had initially produced such sadness for the remaining Oak, paradoxically resulted in it growing stronger and ever more magnificent.
If I possessed a magic wand, I would wave it over the entire world and bid it to resist the forces of all that is evil and surrender to the force of love. For those of you who might like to read my book called, 'The Valley of the Two Tall Oaks' it can be purchased from www.smashwords.com in e-book format or from amazon and www.lulu.com in hard copy. All profits go to charity. This is the African story from which the above synopsis is taken. It is the story that the late Nelson Mandela phoned me and praised as being 'a wonderful story.' It is suitable for both young person or adult." William Forde: May 25th, 2015.
