There once
was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and
told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the
fence. The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next
few weeks as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered
daily, gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper
than to drive those nails into the fence.
Finally the
day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about
it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day
that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy was
finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.
The father
took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said "you have done
well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the
same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one."
You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times
you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. Make sure you control your temper
the next time you are tempted to say something you will regret later.
“It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.”
― Rose Kennedy
― Rose Kennedy