The Winner Takes It All

At a fund raising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: ‘When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?’

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. ‘I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.’

Then he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, ‘Do you think they’ll let me play?’ Shay’s father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

Shay’s father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, ‘We’re losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we’ll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.’

Shay struggled over to the team’s bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father’s joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay’s team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay’s team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn’t even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay’s life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman’s head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, ‘Shay, run to first! Run to first!’ Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, ‘Run to second, run to second!’ Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball … the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher’s intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman’ s head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, ‘Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay’

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, ‘Run to third! Shay, run to third!’

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, ‘Shay, run home! Run home!’ Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.

‘That day’, said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, ‘the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world’.

Shay didn’t make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her Little Hero of the Day!

Are we the slave of MONEY?!?

I left my home and my friends,
I left whom I loved,
To be successful in life,
People said I made the right choice.

I lost my friends,
I was alone in my town,
But success was waiting for me,
People said I made the right choice.

I met someone great,
I left her alone,
Because I had to make money,
People said I made the right choice.

I became guest in my family,
I missed every1 all the time,
But I made good money,
People said I made the right choice.

I coudn’t be there when needed,
I missed every moment I wanted to be there,
But my bank balance was going high,
People said I made the right choice.

I coudn’t celebrate their happiness,
I coudn’t share their sorrows,
But my salary increased,
People said I made the right choice.

I coudn’t even say good byes, to whom I loved,
I will never forgive myself for that.
But I get handsome salary every month,
People said I made the right choice.

I could never say I’ll b there for you,
I never knew where I ll be going next,
But I kept on earning good money,
People said I made the right choice.

I was forgotten by my year old child,
I had to buy gifts to hug him,
But I could afford any gift he wanted,
People said I made the right choice.

I was only thought of when money was needed,
I became disturbance in my own house,
But could give them blank cheques,
People said I made the right choice.

Soon I will die,
And wont be remembered as part of something,
But there will be still money in my bank,
People will still say… ‘I made the right choice’

The Wishing Well

On top of a hill overlooking a babbling brook stood a dilapidated stone well. The wooden frame which had once been used to raise water was broken and a discarded bucket sat on the ground nearby. The only thing that made this old well special was a small tarnished plaque that carried a three word inscription which read ‘The Wishing Well’.

One morning a young man named Richard came upon the well and read the small plaque. Richard was a cynical young man and he scoffed at the idea of a wishing well. However, he was also very greedy so he closed his eyes and wished for a large pot of gold…just in case. He opened his eyes and looked around but nothing had changed.

As he prepared to leave, Richard happened to glance down into the well and to his amazement he saw a huge pot of gold floating at the bottom of the well. He immediately tried to reach down into the well but he could not reach the gold. Next he tried to use a piece of wood to retrieve the gold but again he had no luck. After many frustrating attempts, Richard finally gave up. He cursed the wishing well and walked away. Instantly the pot of gold disappeared.

The following day a young man named William came across the well and he too read the small plaque that identified it as ‘The Wishing Well’. What William wanted more than anything else that morning was an engagement ring so that he could propose to his sweetheart Rebecca. He closed his eyes and made his wish. At first he saw nothing, but then as he glanced down into the well he saw the most beautiful diamond ring floating in an ebony box at the bottom of the well. Like Richard, William first tried to reach down into the well and then tried to use a nearby piece of wood – all to no avail.

After a great deal of frustration, he sat back and reviewed his situation. Then suddenly, in a flash of inspiration he knew what he had to do. He picked up the old bucket and walked down to the babbling brook at the base of the hill. After filling the bucket with water, he walked back up the hill and poured the water into the well. To his delight, he noticed that the level of the water in the well rose ever so slightly.

With a hint of success to spur him on, William began transferring bucket loads of water from the brook to the well. He worked steadily all day carrying buckets of water up to the wishing well. With each bucket of water he poured into the well, the ring floated closer to the surface. Finally as the sun was beginning to set, William poured in another bucket of water and the ring came within his reach. He grasped the stunning diamond ring and with a spring in his step he set off to propose to his Rebecca.

——-

The best part about this story is that the Wishing Well really does exist and is available to each and every one of us. Whenever you set a goal, your objective instantly becomes a ‘possibility’. It is as though it appears in the bottom of the wishing well. You can see it, but it is beyond your reach. Many people like Richard look for a quick and easy way to reach their goal but they inevitably get frustrated and walk away.

Those who achieve true success understand how life’s Wishing Well works. Like William, they recognise that they must put in the time and effort to fill their well before they can collect their prize.

Today I’d like to encourage you to decide what you really want from life’s wishing well and commit yourself to the process of filling your well in order to transform your dreams into reality.

Last Friends

若無其事的臉孔　去說謊
去嬉笑　我已厭倦
我只想要快樂而已

藍調說著想要卻得不到的東西
每個人都祈求安樂平靜
為了滿足卻你爭我奪
追逐著愛的影子

無聊的每天突然閃亮
從你出現的那天開始
孤獨也好　辛苦也好　我也毫不在乎
I’m just a prisoner of love
Just a prisoner of love

無論生病還是健康
無論暴風雨還是晴天也並肩同行吧

I’m gonna tell you the truth
我選擇不為人所知的崎嶇之路
你總為我打氣
只有你，我會以朋友相稱

逞強和貪婪變得沒有意義
從被你愛著的那天開始
孤獨的自由和富裕都只是空虛
I’m just a prisoner of love
Just a prisoner of love

Oh 還差一點點
Don’t you give up
Oh 不要離棄我　絕對不要

如果殘酷的現實把二人拆散的話
我們要更強烈地互相吸引
無論多強大多厲害也要加油
I’m just a prisoner of love
Just a prisoner of love

司空見慣的日常生活突然閃現光輝
從心被偷走的那天開始
孤獨也好辛苦也好我也毫不在乎
I’m just a prisoner of love
Just a prisoner of love

Stay with me, stay with me
My baby, say you love me
Stay with me, stay with me
不要讓我獨自一人

Make a GUESS?!

常常想到这个问题，如果有一天，当我离开的时候，在我的葬礼上，播放的会是什么歌？

I’ve always wondered, if I died, what song would I like to be played at my funeral?

我想，应该会是这首歌吧。

I guess this has to be it.

人都怕死，但我不怕，因为那是迟早的问题，我怕的，是没有好好地活过。

I am not that afraid of death, because it is really just a matter of time. What I do fear, is that if I never lived my life to its fullest.

” I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck up all the marrow of life To put to rout all that was not life And not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” ~ Henry David Thoreau