At 365 Awesome! we believe the world is filled with awesomeness. We also believe it’s easy to overlook all the really cool things, people and places around us. With daily reminders from 365 Awesome! we hope to change that.
Got Curiosity?!
The Story of the Pencil
Published:December 19, 2009
Source: Like the Flowing River by Paulo Coelho
A boy was watching his grandmother write a letter. At one point he asked:
‘Are you writing a story about what we’ve done? Is it a story about me?’
His grandmother stopped writing her letter and said to her grandson:
I am writing about you, actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I’m using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.’
Intrigued, the boy looked at the pencil. It didn’t seem very special.
‘But it’s just like any other pencil I’ve ever seen!’
‘That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on to them, they will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.’
‘First quality: you are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.’
‘Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpener. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterward, it’s much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.
‘Third quality: the pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.’
‘Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.’
‘Finally, the pencil’s fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. in just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action’
Got Dixon Ticonderoga No.2 ?!
Photog:Fran Meckler
A Ball Can change The World! features inspiring images captured by Fran Meckler* from three events/projects that are part of the global sport for social change movement. Featured in Fran’s images are:
Girls Kick It! - Namuwongo, Uganda; The 2009 USA Cup - Washington, DC; The 2009 Homeless World Cup - Milan, Italy.
*Fran & I were connected via my freind & fellow social-do-gooder Jeremy Goldberg, Founder of Global Youth Partnership for Africa this year - thanks, JMG!
Got Hope?!
Graffiti Courtesy of The Red Rubber Ball Company/UK
Enjoy Your Chase!
Books by KC
