Ramblings of the Mind
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Clay Balls A man was exploring caves by the seashore. In one of the caves he found a canvas bag with a bunch of hardened clay balls. It was as though someone had rolled clay balls and left them out in the sun to bake. They didn't look like much, but they intrigued the man, so he took the bag out of the cave with him. As he strolled along the beach, he would throw the clay balls one at a time out into the ocean as far as he could. He thought little about it, until he dropped one of the clay balls and it cracked open on a rock. Inside was a beautiful, precious stone! Excited, the man started breaking open the remaining clay balls. Each contained a similar treasure. He found thousands of dollars worth of jewels in the 20 or so clay balls he had left. Then it struck him. He had been on the beach a long time. He had thrown maybe 50 or 60 of the clay balls with their hidden treasure into the ocean waves. Instead of thousands of dollars in treasure, he could have taken home tens of thousands, but he had just thrown it away! It's like that with people. We look at someone, maybe even ourselves, and we see the external clay vessel. It doesn't look like much from the outside. It isn't always beautiful or sparkling, so we discount it. We see that person as less important than someone more beautiful or stylish or well known or wealthy But we have not taken the time to find the treasure hidden inside that person. There is a treasure in each one of us. If we take the time to get to know that person, and if we ask God to show us that person the way He Sees them, then the clay begins to peel away and the brilliant gem begins to shine forth. May we not come to the end of our lives and find out that we have thrown away a fortune in friendships because the gems were hidden in bits of clay. May we see the people in our world as God sees them. I am so blessed by the gems of friendship I have with each of you. Thank you for looking beyond my clay vessel. Pass this on to another CLAY BALL! Ramblin' with Ed Roos |
Secretary's NoteCourtesy of Ionic Lodge #31 A.F. & A.M., Newport Masonic Temple, 112 E. Market Street, Wilmington, DE 19804Forget the hasty, unkind word: |
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Sloth makes all things difficult, but industry, all things easy. He
that rises late must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his
business at night, while laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon
overtakes him.
-- Thoughts by Benjamin Franklin from Poor Richard's Almanac |
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Learn from Others Wise men learn by others harms; fools scarcely by their own. -- Thoughts by Benjamin Franklin from Poor Richard's Almanac |
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Many a man thinks he is buying pleasure when he is really selling himself a slave to it. -- Thoughts by Benjamin Franklin from Poor Richard's Almanac |
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Who is wise? He that learns from every One. Who is powerful? He that governs his Passions. Who is rich? He that is content. Who is that? Nobody. -- Thoughts by Benjamin Franklin from Poor Richard's Almanac |
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Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far
more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting
moment. -- Thoughts by Benjamin Franklin from Poor Richard's Almanac |
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Every man is said to have his peculiar ambition.
Whether it be true or not, I can say for one that I have no other so
great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow men, by rendering
myself worthy of their esteem.
-- Abraham Lincoln |
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Friendship is a plant of slow growth and must undergo
and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the
appellation. -- George Washington |
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Tell me....And I Forget, Teach me.....And I Learn, Involve Me.....And I Remember. -- Thoughts by Benjamin Franklin from Poor Richard's Almanac |
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Socrates at his Best Keep this philosophy in mind the next time you either hear or are bout to repeat a rumor. In ancient Greece (469 - 399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom. One day the great philosopher came upon an acquaintance who ran up to him excitedly and said, "Socrates, do you know what I just heard about one of your students?" "Wait a moment," Socrates replied. "Before you tell me I'd like you to pass a little test. It's called the 'Test of Three'." "Three?" "That's right, "Socrates continued. "Before you talk to me about my student let's take a moment to test what you're going to say. The first test is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?" "No," the man said, "actually I just heard about it." "All right," said Socrates. "So you don't really know if it's true or not. "Now let's try the second test, the test of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my student something good?" "No, on the contrary..." "So," Socrates continued, "you want to tell me something bad about him even though you're not certain it's true?" The man shrugged, a little embarrassed. Socrates continued. "You may still pass though, because there is a third test - the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my student going to be useful to me?" "No, not really..." "Well," concluded Socrates, "if what you want to tell me is neither True nor Good nor even Useful, why tell it to me at all?" The man was defeated and ashamed. This is the reason Socrates was a great philosopher and held in such high esteem. Ramblin' with Ed Roos |
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The Price of a Miracle A little girl went to her bedroom and pulled a glass jelly jar from its hiding place in the closet. She poured the change out on the floor and counted it carefully. Three times, even. The total had to be exactly perfect. No chance here for mistakes. Carefully placing the coins back in the jar and twisting on the cap, she slipped out the back door and made her way 6 blocks to Rexall's Drug Store with the big red Indian Chief sign above the door. She waited patiently for the pharmacist to give her some attention, but he was too busy at this moment Tess twisted her feet to make a scuffing noise. Nothing. She cleared her throat with the most disgusting sound she could muster. No good. Finally she took a quarter from her jar and banged it on the glass counter That did it! "And what do you want?" the pharmacist asked in an annoyed tone of voice. "I'm talking to my brother from Chicago whom I haven't seen in ages," he said without waiting for a reply to his question. "Well, I want to talk to you about my brother," Tess answered back in the same annoyed tone. "He's really, really sick and I want to buy a miracle." "I beg your pardon?" said the pharmacist. "His name is Andrew and he has something bad growing inside his head and my Daddy says only a miracle can save him now. So how much does a miracle cost?" "We don't sell miracles here, little girl. I'm sorry but I can't help you," the pharmacist said, softening a little. "Listen, I have the money to pay for it. If it isn't enough, I will get the rest. Just tell me how much it costs." The pharmacist's brother was a well dressed man. He stooped down and asked the little girl, "What kind of a miracle does your brother need?" " I don't know," Tess replied with her eyes welling up. "I just know he's really sick and Mommy says he needs an operation. But my Daddy can't pay for it, so I want to use my money." "How much do you have?" asked the man from Chicago. "One dollar and eleven cents," Tess answered barely audibly. "And it's all the money I have, but I can get some m ore if I need to." "Well, what a coincidence," smiled the man "A dollar and eleven cents---the exact price of a miracle for little brothers. " He took her money in one hand and with the other hand he grasped her mitten and said "Take me to where you live. I want to see your brother and meet your parents. Let's see if I have the miracle you need." That well dressed man was Dr. Carlton Armstrong, a surgeon, specializing in neuro-surgery. The operation was completed free of charge and it wasn't long until Andrew was home again and doing well. Ramblin' with Ed Roos |
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Wisdom Lodge 202, F. & A.M. |
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Updated: 1/3/2010 |