Why Do You Curse Me?
Once there was a young boy who lived with his father in a cottage deep
in the forest. His father worked him hard from sunrise to sunset and
still almost every evening he would hear his father say the same thing:
"Poor me! Poor me! I will die a sad old man because you are a fool and
will never amount to anything."
But the boy was not a fool He showed a lot of wisdom for his age and
had a generous heart. One day, after helping an old widow stack some
wood, he was about to go home when she stopped him, placed her hand on
his head and said, "You are a reflection of the face of God. The world
is brighter for the joy you have given me this day. I bless you my
child!"
The boy stepped back, amazed: "What was that?"
"Why, it was a blessing my child! Haven't you ever received a blessing?"
Back at home he asked,: "Papa? Why do you curse me? Why do you not bless
me?"
"What a ridiculous question! Because it is against my nature to bless
and I will not do what feels so unnatural to me. What a ridiculous
question. Poor me! Poor me! I will die a sad old man because you are a
fool and will never amount to anything."
"Oh." said the boy, and he felt sorry for his father, but that night he
decided that no matter how uncomfortable it felt, he would become the
kind of person who blessed others. And so he did.
The boy grew to be a man, left the forest and built a home for himself
in the meadowlands. In time he had a family of his own. He was still
haunted by the curses of his father, and it would make him sad for days
at a time, but he had decided to bless, so even though he felt sad,
almost every evening, he would call one of his children to himself, lay
his hand upon their head and speak these words: "You are a reflection of
the face of God. The world is brighter for the joy you give me this day.
I bless you my child."
One night he had a dream in which he saw his father and heard him saying
over and over: "Poor me! Poor me! I will die a sad old man because you
are a fool and will never amount to anything."
It upset him so much he woke up, got out of bed, and went out into the
backyard. He stood there by the trees in the moonlight and was so angry
his hands became fists as he spoke out loud to the wind: "What's the
point in being someone who blesses? I'm still so haunted by these
curses of my father! Well, maybe I should curse as well!"
And he kicked the ground as hard as he could which shook loose a stone.
He picked it up to throw and just then the wind became very strong and
he thought he heard a voice: "Do not discard your father's heart!"
He looked at the trees and then at the rock in his hands. The voice
called again: "Do not discard your father's heart!"
"Who are you?"
"I am the Father of every son and daughter and I tell you, the stone you
hold in your hand is like the condition of your father's heart!"
He looked at the rock. He could tell it was badly misshapen, that it had
broken off from a larger rock and had many cracks and flaws.
Again the voice: "You can try to change this rock. You can press it
until your fingers bleed, but you will not succeed in changing it!
Neither will you succeed in changing the heart of your father by force
or manipulation. Hold your father's heart gently within your own and
pray for him. You have no idea what forces shaped this rock. Neither do
you know the forces that shaped the heart of your father. Hold your
father's heart gently within your own and pray for him."
"When did his heart become like this?"
"When he chose to curse instead of bless. But do not become proud...Your
heart would look just like this, if I had not blessed you as a child."
"I only remember the old woman."
"The voice was hers, but the words were mine."
"Then why didn't you bless my father when he was a child?"
"I bless every one of my children. But I never force them to bless in
return. In eternity you will have no questions. For now, it is enough
that you decide to bless and not curse."
"Father of every son and daughter, bless my father."
And as soon as he spoke these words, the wind died down and everything
became peaceful in the countryside and in the heart of the young man. He
went back inside, put the rock in a safe place, laid down and went right
to sleep. He had the best night sleep he'd had for a long time. And from
then on whenever he recalled one of the curses of his father, he
genuinely prayed a blessing on his father, and in time began to
experience true healing and a strong peace within.
One evening there was a knock on the front door and as he had raised his
children to do, they welcomed in a blind beggar, sat him down at the
kitchen table, and gave him some food to eat. The young man walked in
and immediately recognized it was his own father. But he didn't reveal
his own identity. He listened to the old man speak. And the old man
talked about how his son had abandoned him, how he had lost his
eyesight, and how he'd been forced to beg in a world where life was
hard. Just then his son spoke up: "Grandfather! You're welcome to stay
here with us!"
"But I have no money to pay you."
"Oh, we don't need any money; all we ask is that as long as you stay
with us, you speak only blessings. -- What's the matter?"
"It... it's against my nature to bless!"
"Grandfather, I can tell by your hands that you have worked your whole
life.
So, begging must be against your nature as well, but see, it has brought
you here to us!"
The old man couldn't argue this point, so he agreed to stay, but it was
weeks before he spoke a word - it was so against his nature to bless.
When he finally did, you could hardly hear him: "What's that
Grandfather?"
"I said, bless you for taking an old man in from the cold. I wish my son
had turned out like you, but he was a fool and..."
"Ah! Grandfather, only blessings!"
"Well, I wish my son had turned out like you! Bless you!"
Wasn't bad for a first blessing! And a week later he spoke another one
and it was a little smoother. And the next day he spoke two - and they
were a lot smoother. Then he began to bless every day -- many times in a
day. He really got into it! You could say that blessing became... second
nature to him.
And the more he blessed, the more he smiled. And the more he smiled the
more his face softened. And the more his face softened, the more his
heart softened and the more his heart softened, the more joy he began to
experience; a different kind of joy than he had known before.
They lived happily for years until one winter the old man fell ill and
was near death. As his breathing grew labored, his son sat on the
bedside and asked: "Grandfather, is there anything I can get for you?"
"No one can bring me what I most need at this hour."
"Please Grandfather, anything! What would you like?"
"I should like to see my own son once more to give him my blessing. As
he was growing I gave only curses. I told him it was against my nature
to bless. And, as you can see, I have learned to bless too late..."
Then his son leaned closer and whispered: "Papa! Papa it's me, your own
son... I am here! It is not too late! God has seen fit to bring us
together these last years...It's not too late! I'm here... I'm here!"
And they embraced. A moment later the old man straightened up, stretched
out a trembling hand, laid it upon his son's head, and spoke these
words: "You are a reflection of the face of God. Though I cannot see you
with my eyes, I see you with my heart and the mercy you have shown me
these past years is like a brilliant light, dispelling all shadow as I
pass from time into eternity. I will die a happy, happy old man, because
I have learned to bless and so... my son... I... bless you."
And with these words, his hand fell back down to his chest and he died
with this beautiful smile on his face. Later that night the young man
took the stone out of the place he had put it years before and he sat at
the kitchen table by candlelight. Turning it over and over in his hands,
a single tear fell onto the rock and it split in two. Inside was a
priceless stone; smooth to the touch and sparkling in beauty. Just then
the wind became very strong outside and he got up to close the shutter,
but then again he heard the ancient voice: "Eternity shines brighter for
the joy you bring me this day. And I bless you my child."
Then the wind died down and everything became peaceful in the
countryside and in the heart of the young man.
[ Author Unknown -- from 'andychaps_the-funnies' ]
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