The Crying Mother





There was once an old lady who always cried.

Her elder daughter was married to an umbrella merchant and her younger daughter was the wife of a noodle vendor.

On sunny days, she would worry about the elder daughter, "Oh no! The weather is so nice and sunny. Who is going to buy any umbrella? What will happen if the shop has to be closed?" These worries made her really sad. And she just could not help it but cry for a long time.

On rainy days, she would cry for the younger daughter, "Oh no! You cannot dry noodles without the sun. Now there will be no noodles to sell. What will happen if the shop has to be closed?" And she just could not help it but cry for a long time.

As a result, the old lady lived in sorrow everyday. Whether sunny or rainy, she grieved for one of her daughters. Her neighbors could not console her and jokingly called her "the crying Mother."

One day, she met a wise man. He was very curious as to why she was always crying.

She explained the problem to him. The wise man smiled kindly and said, "Madam! You need not worry. I will show you a way to happiness, and you will need to cry no more."

The crying lady was very excited. She immediately asked the wise man to show her what to do.

The wise man said, "It is very simple. You just need to change your perspective. On sunny days, do not think of your elder daughter for not being able to sell umbrellas but think of your younger daughter for being able to dry her noodles. With such good and strong sunlight, she must be able to make plenty of noodles and her business must be very good. On rainy days, think about the umbrella store of the elder daughter. With such heavy rain, everyone must be buying umbrellas. She will sell a lot of umbrellas and her store will prosper."

The old lady saw the light and laugh heartily. She followed the wise man’s instruction. After sometime, she did not cry anymore; instead, she begin to smile everyday. From that day on she was known as "the smiling Mother."

Lesson:
Focusing on the positive, admirable, and honorable things in life is a happier and a better way to live.

Over-emphasizing the negative aspects of life will always defeat us and make us mourn and cry.

3 comments:

  Jackie

February 12, 2009 at 4:51 AM

What a simply wonderful and simple way to explain what's wrong with almost all of us in the world today.

This is the best post I have read in weeks!!

Thank you for posting it!!:-)

  ceemee

February 16, 2009 at 1:53 PM

It's a simple yet very nice story. Thanks for sharing!

  Yeo KeeHui

February 20, 2009 at 7:59 PM

Thanks Shinade, Thanks Ceemee for your wonderful comments.

Seeing the brighter side of things is
how I can carry on today.

If we all learn to forgive and forget, life will be more pleasant.

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