My Children? or Yours?

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said,

Speak to us of Children.

And he said:

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of life’s longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of to-morrow, which you cannot visit,

Not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,

And He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending the archer’s hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies,

So He loves the bow that is stable.

Things You Cannot Recover

A young lady was waiting for her flight in the boarding room of a big airport. As she would need to wait many hours, she decided to buy a book to spend her time. She also bought a packet of cookies. She sat down in an armchair, in the VIP room of the airport, to rest and read in peace. Beside the armchair where the packet of cookies lay, a man sat down in the next seat, opened his magazine and started reading. When she took out the first cookie, the man took one also.

She felt irritated but said nothing. She just thought: “What a nerve! If I was in the mood I would punch him for daring!” For each cookie she took, the man took one too. This was infuriating her but she didn't want to cause a scene. When only one cookie remained, she thought: “ah... What would this abusive man do now?” Then, the man, taking the last cookie, divided it into half, giving her one half. Ah! That was too much! She was much too angry now! In a huff, she insulted the man, took her book, her things and stormed to the boarding place. When she sat down in her seat, inside the plane, she looked into her bag to take her eyeglasses, and, to her surprise, her packet of cookies was there, untouched, unopened! She felt so ashamed!! She realized that she was wrong... She had forgotten that her cookies were in her bag. The man had shared his cookies with her, without feeling angered or bitter.

...while she had been very angry, thinking that she was sharing her cookies with him.

And now there was no chance to explain herself...nor to apologize.”

There are 4 things that you cannot recover.

The cake...

...after it's eaten!

The word...

...after it?s said!

The occasion...

... after the loss!

The time...

...after it?s gone!

Funny... (a tad bit controversial?)