#lifelessonslearned

[greenapple]

President Xi Jing Peng of China said:

When I was a small child , I was very selfish, always grab the best for myself. Slowly, everyone left me and I had no friends. I didn’t think it was my fault but criticize others.

My father gave me 3 sentences to help me in life.

One day, my father cooked 2 bowls of noodles  and put the 2 bowls on the table. One bowl has an egg on top and the other bowl doesnt have any egg on top. He said ”My child. Make your choice. Which bowl do you prefer”. Eggs were very hard to come by those days! Only get to eat eggs during festivals period or New Year. Of course, I chose the bowl with egg! As we started eating. I was noding and congratulating myself on my wise choice/decision and wallop up the egg. Then to my surprise as my father ate his own noodles, there were **TWO eggs** at the bottom of his bowl beneath the noodes! I regretted it so much! And scolded myself for being too hasty in making decision. My father smiled and sad to me,

> ”My child. You must remember what your eyes see may not always be true. If you intent on taking advantage of people, you will end up losing!”

The next day, my father cooked again 2 bowls of noodles: one bowl has an egg on top and the other bowl has no egg on top. Again, he put the two bowls before me on the table and said to me, ” *My child*. You choose. Which bowl do you prefer?” This time I am smarter. I chose the bowl there is no egg on top. To my surprise, as I separated the noodles on top, there was not a single egg at the bottom of the bowl! Again my father smiled and said to me,

> ”My child, you must not always rely on experiences cos sometimes, life can cheat you or play tricks on you. But you must not be too annoyed or sad, just treat this as learning a lesson in life .You cannot learn this from any textbooks.

The third day, my father cooked again  2 bowls of noodles, again one bowl has an egg on top and the other bowl with no egg on top. He put the 2 bowls before me on the table and again said to me, ”My child. You make your choice. Which bowl do you want?”. This time, I told Him, ”Dad, you choose first. You are the head of the family and you contributed the most to the family. ”My father did not decline and chose the bowl that has one egg on top. As I eat my bowl of noodles, Surely, in my heart that there is no egg inside the bowl. To my surprise! There were TWO eggs at the bottom of the bowl.

My father smiled at me with love in his eyes,

> ”My child, you must remember! When you think for the good of others, good things will always naturally happen to you!”

I always remember these 3 sentences of my father and lived and do my business accordingly. Most truely enough, my business was a roaring success .

[JLim]

The president of China learned to be smart and think about others! It's a very nice anecdote, except one very minor detail... the correct spelling of his name is Xi Jinping 

[greenapple]

A simple story

I never sat on a sofa with my father after my marriage, he had already left me. But I have edited and forward the following story, since it is almost mine:
"Many years ago, after I got married I was sitting on a couch on a hot, humid day, sipping frozen juice during a visit to my father.

As I talked about adult life, marriage, responsibilities, and obligations, my father thoughtfully stirred the ice cubes in his glass and cast a clear, sober look at me.

"Never forget your friends," he advised, "they will become more important as you get older."

"Regardless of how much you love your family and the children you happen to have, you will always need friends.

Remember to go out with them occasionally, do activities with them, call them ..."

"What strange advice!" I thought. "I just entered the married world, I am an adult and surely my wife and the family that we will start will be everything I need to make sense of my life."

Yet I obeyed him; kept in touch with my friends and annually increased their number. Over the years, I became aware that my father knew what he was talking about!

In as much as time and nature carry out their designs and mysteries on a man, friends are the bulwarks of his life.

After 50 years of life, here is what I learned:

Time passes.
Life goes on.
The distances increase
Children grow up & and become independent and although it breaks the parents heart ,but they are often separated from them.

Jobs come and go.

Illusions, desires, attractions, sex ... weaken.

People do not do what they should do.

The parents die.

Colleagues forget the favors.

The races are over.

But, true friends are always there, no matter how long or how many miles they are.

A friend is never more distant than the reach of a need, reaching out to you intervening in your favor, waiting for you with open arms or with blessings for your life.

When we started this adventure called LIFE, we did not know of the incredible joys or sorrows that were ahead.

We did not know how much we would need from one another.
Love your parents, take care of your children, but keep a group of good friends. Interact with them but do not impose your criteria.