The Log and the Speck

Some would see the open flowers and others will notice the unopened flowers. That is what I heard the children talk abut it.

One five year child asked her father, 'can I have a flower from that bunch!'. Her brother who is one year older asked the father, 'why other flowers are not open!'  

The we way we view situations differ form person to person, mostly influenced by his or her inner orientation.

Jesus of Nazareth spoke about this phenomenon metaphorically, which is narrated in the gospel of St Mathew in the new testament of the Bible in chapter 7, verses 1to 6. 'why do you look for the speck in your brother's eye, when there is a log in your eye!'

After a keenly fought basket ball inter house match in a school, one who was injured with bruises from a fall, was being comforted by his team mates. A boy from the opposite team came to apologise for tripping him. The boy who was injured said, 'I am sorry for stamping on your foot intentionally'.  I was touched by this mutual confession.

As I was walking back home, along the staff quarters, I heard a loud conversation between two adults. One was reprimanding the other for plucking a lime from an overhanging lime plant into the latter's compound. They blamed each other, one for plucking a lime and the other for not trimming the plant from overhanging to the neighbour's compound. It ended up as a unsettled dispute as one of them had a visitor arriving in the courtyard.  

All of us carry logs and specks, acts of omission and commission in our lives. We are as much guilty as others in many matters. It is terrible if we searched for specks in others while there are logs in our lives.   

I like the way a teacher taught some students about friendship. He said, 'everyone is potentially a friend. Sometimes we are not ready and some other times the other person is not ready'. 

I wish more of us would notice the open flowers and not be preoccupied with the unopened flowers! 

 M.C.Mathew (text and photo)