Monday 7 July 2014

Recipe for Rightful Living: Share Your Time



The story I want to share with you today is a very common story. It is ubiquitous. I doubt if you had not seen it or read it before. What I am not sure of is whether you have taken your time to reflect on it with a view to drawing out the inherent lesson. We all seem to be too busy with one thing or the other. We hardly create quality time for our loved ones, forgetting that society springs up from that micro unit called FAMILY. No society thrives without a strong family. How much value do you place on your loved ones? Do you create time to play with them or share in their burdens? The time spent with loved ones leaves an indelible impression on their minds. And the society is better off with many happy families. You may want to quickly go through the following story and see for yourself how important it is to share time with your loved ones.
A man came home from work late again, tired and irritated, to find his 5 year old son waiting for him at the door.
'Daddy, may I ask you a question?'
'Yeah, sure, what is it?' replied the man.

'Daddy, how much money do you make an hour?'


'That's none of your business! What makes you ask such a thing?' the man said angrily. 


'I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?' pleaded the little boy. 'If you must know, I make $20.00 an hour.'


'Oh,' the little boy replied, head bowed. Looking up, he said, 'Daddy, may I borrow $10.00 please?'

The father was furious. 'If the only reason you wanted to know how much money I make is just so you can borrow some to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. Think about why you're being so selfish. I work long, hard hours everyday and don't have time for such childish games.'


The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. 


The man sat down and started to get even madder about the little boy's questioning. How dare him ask such questions only to get some money. 

After an hour or so, the man had calmed down, and started to think he may have been a little hard on his son. Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $10.00, and he really didn't ask for money very often. 

The man went to the door of the little boy's room and opened the door.

'Are you asleep son?' he asked.

'No daddy, I'm awake,' replied the boy. 


'I've been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier,' said the man.


'It's been a long day and I took my aggravation out on you. Here's that $10.00 you asked for.'


The little boy sat straight up, beaming. 'Oh, thank you daddy!' he yelled. Then, reaching under his pillow, he pulled out some more crumpled up bills.


The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at the man. 


'Why did you want more money if you already had some?' the father grumbled.


'Because I didn't have enough, but now I do,' the little boy replied. 

'Daddy, I have $20.00 now. Can I buy an hour of your time?'


Moral Lesson
No matter how busy your schedule is, endeavour to still create time to be with your loved ones


About the Author: Isaac Oluyi is a motivational teacher, entrepreneur and entrepreneurship educator. He is happily married with children. He can be reached with 08060792979 or via isaacoluyi@gmail.com

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