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Don't Curse the Darkness, Light a Candle

By Dr. Claude Shema R. (Canada)

Don't Curse the Darkness, Light a Candle
              (As told by Wayne Dyer)

     A fifth grade teacher began her first day with a new class.  All the students were neat and well-behaved, except for Jack, a boy in the front row, who was slumped in his chair and seemed to need a bath.  She felt annoyed by his lack of effort, and delighted in marking his papers all over with her red pen, giving him a big 'F'.

     Teachers in her school were required to read all their students' reports from earlier years.  The first grade teacher wrote, "Jack is a smart and happy boy, full of promise."  The second grade teacher wrote, "Jack seems worried about his mother's terminal illness."  The third and fourth grade teachers wrote "Jack seems depressed about the loss of his mother."  Now she understood.

     From that day on she was more patient with Jack, focusing on what he did well instead of his shortcomings.  For Christmas, all the children brought neatly wrapped gifts.  Jack brought something wrapped clumsily in brown paper from a shopping bag.  She opened it while the other children frowned and found a necklace with some missing rhinestones, and half a bottle of perfume.  She wore the necklace and put on some of the perfume.  After school, Jack told her with a bright smile, "Today you smell just like my Mom."

     At the end of the year, Jack told her, "You were the best teacher I ever had."  About every four years, she received a letter from Jack, saying what he was doing and adding, "You are still the best teacher I ever had."  He became a medical doctor, and for his wedding, he asked his fifth grade teacher to take the place of his deceased mother. 

     She wore the necklace and put on the perfume Jack had given her.  Jack told her, "Thank you for being so patient and encouraging, without you I would never have made it." 

     She said, "No, I must thank you, because you taught me how to teach."

     A Chinese proverb says, "Don't curse the darkness, light a candle."

Dr. Claude Shema R.
 Author-"Peace of mind,Reflect,smile and laugh"
ISBN# 978-0-557-67303-2
Just published and available @ www.lulu.com and soon on www.amazon.com