A teacher asked her students to bring some tomatoes
in a plastic bag to school. Each tomato was to be given the name of a
person whom that child hates. So, the number of tomatoes would be equal to
the number of persons they hate.
On a pre-determined day, all the children
brought their tomatoes well addressed.
Some had two, some had three and some had five,
some even had 20 tomatoes in accordance with the number of people they
hated. The teacher then told them they had to carry the tomatoes with them
everywhere they go for two weeks.
As the days passed the children started to complain
about the decay and smell of the tomatoes. The students who had many
tomatoes, complained it was very heavy to carry and the smell was too much.
After a week, the teacher asked the students “How
did you feel this week?” The children complained of the awful smell and
heavy weight of the tomatoes, especially those who carried several
tomatoes.
The teacher said, “This is very similar to what you
carry in your heart when you don’t like some people. Hatred makes the
heart unhealthy and you carry that hatred everywhere.
If you can’t bear the smell of spoilt tomatoes for
a week, imagine the impact of bitterness on your heart as you carry it
daily.” The heart is a beautiful garden that needs regular cleaning of
unwanted weeds.
Forgive those who have angered you. This makes
room for storing good things.
Get Better, Not Bitter!
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