SMS#1 – Father & Son!

Oooh!.. Wait. Wait..I know most of you will be busy snatching your head to know what SMS means here right!. For few, (Thanks to the mobile word), the moment we read the acronym SMS, our brain automatically uncovers as ‘Short Messaging Service.’ But relax!, the SMS here nothing relates to any of that!!.

SMS is your FootPaths’ new series of posts named- Short Message Stories. These are short stories that I read and embraced a positive impact.

Recently, I read an article which talked about Story Telling. The message it conveyed was loud and clear - …’Story Telling is going to be the future mantra of Management concept.’ Even many management experts believe this is true. When I say Story, it means the RIGHT STORY worth sharing! (Others please excuse!)

Story telling is not new. We all used to hear stories right from our childhood. For many, the stories we listened during the bed time, shared by our Grannies’ still remain afresh. Most importantly, the moral we learnt (at least for me many times…) guide us during many cirumstances. And the best part about the story is not about telling it. But, it’s about mixing the right story, its rhythm and the timing that all counts.

Here is one such Short Message Story received through an email chain. It goes as below…

“A man was polishing his new car; his 4 yr old son picked up a stone & scratched on the side of the car. In anger, the furious Man took his child’s hand & hit it many times, not realizing that he was using a wrench.

At the hospital, doctors informed, the child lost all his fingers due to multiple fractures. When the child saw his father....with painful eyes he asked ’Dad when will my fingers grow back?' The father was deeply hurt and speechless.

Tempestuous Father went back to the car and kicked it many times. Devastated by his own actions, sitting in front of the car, he looked at the scratches and was surprised to see His Son had written 'LOVE YOU DAD.'

Ashamed of his action, the Next day the Father committed suicide...!!"
Message
Even though many moral can be derived from the above story, a message is crystal clear. Don't ASSUME things and always ASK what is the real INTENTION instead of getting furious.

$.1 pencil point is:
It’s not the Action that counts, but, practice looking at the Intention that triggered the action!. The deep intention of the boy in the above story is to express Love towards his Father!.

Just by trying to understand the intention we can choose our furture steps creating a positive environment.
Your thoughts are welcome!

More SMS’s to come…

Special thanks to my colleague Praveen Babu for sharing this short story!