When my children were teenagers, I bought a fridge magnet(磁铁)with what was said to be a First Nations or Native American prayer. I 1it on the door of our fridge in full view. I found the words to be thought provoking (发人深省)and hoped 2 would teach my children to have more patience and be more forgiving of others.
3 my children are adults now. I have kept the magnet on our fridge door for the past twenty-five years. During that time, I've often found that the message has helped me 4situations from a different view.
For example, a number of 5ago, I was on my way to a farewell party with several workmates. A popular department manager was retiring. As we were leaving the6, We met our other workmate, Wendy, who had previously planned to attend the event with us. I asked Wendy if she wanted us to wait for her, and she replied in a quite rude manner, 7our invitation. One of my other 8was quite annoyed.
I don't know why you even bothered to invite her," she said.
Reflecting on how tired Wendy appeared as she rushed away from us, I commented that perhaps we9 just give Wendy a break and forgive her for declining at the last minute. She was 10having a bad day, and it wasn't worth holding a grudge(怨恨) against her if we weren't aware of what caused her11behavior.
A week later, I 12that when we met Wendy, she was returning to the office from a medical appointment where she was told she had cancer. She died a year later. Wendy wasn't being 13 to us. She had just received a very horrified diagnosis(诊断). On reflection, I'm amazed she was able to reply at all.
14 it's a family member who let me down, a friend who betrayed a confidence, or a difficult workmate, the words 15my fridge guides me. It's not always easy to forgive. I've been able to shed a lot of resentment over the years by focusing on my mantra(咒语).
微信扫码预览、分享更方便
