 |
| Sunday, January 18, 2004 |
|
| Sunday, January 18, 2004 |
|
ONE day Solomon decided to humble Benaiah ben Yehoyada, his most trusted minister. He said to him, "Benaiah, there is a certain ring that I want you to bring to me. I wish to wear it for Sukkot, which gives you six months to find it." "If it exists anywhere on earth, your majesty," replied Benaiah, "I will find it and bring it to you, but what makes the ring so special?" "It has magic powers," answered the king. "If a happy man looks at it, he becomes sad, and if a sad man looks at it, he becomes happy." Solomon knew that no such ring existed in the world, but he wished to give his minister a little taste of humility. Spring passed and then summer, and still Benaiah had no idea where he could find the ring. On the night before Sukkot, he decided to take a walk in one of he poorest quarters of Jerusalem. He passed by a merchant who had begun to set out the day's wares on a shabby carpet. "Have you by any chance heard of a magic ring that makes the happy wearer forget his joy and the broken-hearted wearer forget his sorrows?" asked Benaiah. He watched the merchant take a plain gold ring from his carpet and engrave something on it. When Benaiah read the words on the ring, his face broke out in a wide smile. That night the entire city welcomed in the holiday of Sukkot with great festival. "Well, my friend," said Solomon, "have you found what I sent you after?" All the ministers laughed and Solomon himself smiled. To everyone's surprise, Benaiah held up a small gold ring and declared, "Here it is, your majesty!" As soon as Solomon read the inscription, the smile vanished from his face. The jeweller had written three Hebrew letters on the gold band: "gimel, zayin, yud", with which began the words "Gam zeh ya'avor" -- "This too shall pass." At that moment Solomon realised that all his wisdom and fabulous wealth and tremendous power were but fleeting things, for one day he would be nothing but dust. (Author unknown, source unknown) Prayer of a dying child I woke up one morning and I was 17, I knew the day had come The day I prove to everyone how cool I was The day I accepted death as my destiny Little did I know I would regret that day And my family who kept me alive for 17 years Would be cursed by me with years of never ending pain Without thinking I lit the cigarette I knew it had to be done before the day was over I coughed a little but I was fine Now as I lay in bed coughing and choking My family is beside me My parents and my sister I whisper in my sister's ear "Please don't do what I did" She just nods her head in silence Now as my angel holds me in his arms I know it's time for me to go I close my eyes and kiss him one last time It's funny how we resent those who try to help us when we're alive And how we beg them to save us when we're about to die All this because of one silly cigarette All this because someone was dumb enought to say that Smoking is cool (Author unknown, source unknown) — (Culled from the Net) |
