A father was trying to read the newspaper, but his little son kept pestering him. Finally, the father grew tired of this and, tearing a page from the newspaper – one that bore a map of the world – he cut it into several pieces and handed them to his son.
"Right, now you’ve got something to do. I’ve given you a map of the world and I want to see if you can put it back together correctly."
He resumed his reading, knowing that the task would keep the child occupied for the rest of the day. However, a quarter of an hour later, the boy returned with the map.
"Has your mother been teaching you geography?" asked his father in astonishment.
"I don’t even know what that is," replied the boy. "But there was a photo of a man on the other side of the page, so I put the man back together and found I’d put the world back together too."from Paulo Coelho
Today I am attending a ceremony to honor the World War II veterans. In my heart, I honor all veterans.
I am mostly a peaceful person, so some would think it strange that I honor those who have served in the armed forces. For me, the two are not mutually exclusive. In fact, I consider myself to have an inner Samurai. The desire of the Samurai is not to have to fight. But if one must fight, the cause should be just and honorable.
I honor our warriors who have served during peace and those who have served during conflict. I honor them for doing what they believe in.
And I thank them for their time, their service--and some of them, for giving their lives.
Thank you for trying to put us all back together.
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6 comments:
The sacrifices made by our veterans are admirable and deserving of our appreciation. Your words today hit the nail on the head.
I join you in this gratitude.
The Coelho story is new to me and so powerful on so many different levels. What a brilliant man!
I'm trying to decide what to do today to pay tribute to all Vets and my father, who fought in WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. As I move through my day, I will remain open to whatever the Universe brings me to honor and remember the lives of those who've served.
And God Bless YOUR Samurai heart, dear B.
There is nothing incongruent about being a pacifist and honoring those in the armed forces. We all have different views and I appreciate anything anyone else does with a sincere conviction toward making life better for someone else.
Indeed.
Still, despite our love of the men and women we send to war, I pray for universal peace that none may have to injure or be injured, kill or be killed, ever again.
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