Four Great Lessons

Some important things life teaches us ...

1 - An Important Question on a Test

During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one:

"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely," said the professor. "In your careers you will meet many people. All are significant and deserve your attention, even if all you do is smile and say 'hello.' "

I've never forgotten that lesson.

I also learned her name was Dorothy.

2 - Serve All With Dignity

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old Boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a Glass of water in front of him.

"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.

"50 cents," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it."Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. "35 cents," she brusquely replied. The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished his ice cream, paid the cashier and left.

When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table.

There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were 2 nickels and 5 pennies. You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

3 - Dealing with Obstacles in our Path

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king's wealthiest merchants came by and simply walked around it.

Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about moving the stone.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. On approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

He noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

The peasant learned what many others never understand.

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve one's condition.

4 - Giving When It Counts

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare and serious disease.

Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.

The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying,

Yes, I'll do it if it will save her.

As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice,

Will I start to die right away?.

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.

You see, after all, understanding and attitude, is everything.