Friday, November 9, 2012

ENCHANTING ECHOES

ENCHANTING ECHOES

                         A father and his son were walking along a road in a mountain range. All around them, they could see majestic mountains with magnificent beauty. Suddenly the son stepped on a shaky stone, slipped and fell down. He cried aloud in great pain. To his surprise, he heard a similar cry from the distant mountainside. He turned around and asked aloud, "Hey! Who are you?" The ghostly voice replied the same question, "Hey! Who are you?" The boy quickly lost his temper. He shouted, "Come out, you coward and show me your face!" To his surprise, the weird voice repeated his threatening words.
                        The boy got furious and shouted a chain of foul words at the top of his voice and received the same words in return. He complained to his father and sought his help to punish the enigmatic enemy. The wise father was watching the events with a smile. He asked his son to say aloud, "You are a good boy. I love you." The boy obeyed and was glad to hear the same nice words of welcome from his apparent opponent.
                        The boy was quite confused. he asked his father about the mystery. The father explained the mechanism of 'echo' as a reflection of his sound from the distant mountain ranges. He added, "If you shout bad words, you will hear similar words as echo. If you send blessings, you will be blessed in return. This is true of life too. When we do good deeds for others, we receive similar gifts from others." The boy was enlightened. He sang a hymn melodiously and was overjoyed to hear its enchanting echoes.
                       Our life is a reflection of our actions. It gives back to us whatever we say or do. To receive love, we must shower love on others. Even in the midst of misfortune, hardship and trials, let us speak only positive words which comfort others.
                     "A person will reap exactly what he sows" {Galatians 6: 7}. "You will have to live with the consequences of everything you say. What you say can preserve life or destroy it; so you must accept the consequences of your words" {Proverbs 18: 20, 21}.
                       Jesus taught us, ""You can be sure that on Judgement Day everyone will have to give account of every useless word he has ever spoken. Your words will be used to judge you-- to declare you either innocent or guilty" {Matthew 12: 36, 37}.
                       St. Paul advises, " Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you....Get rid of all bitterness, passion and anger. No more shouting or insults, no more hateful feelings of any sort. Instead, be kind and tender-hearted to one another, and forgive one another, as God has forgiven you through Christ" { Ephesians 4: 29-32}.


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© By: Dr. Babu Philip, Professor, Cochin University of Science & Technology, Fine Arts Avenue, Kochi-682016, Kerala, India, Prof. Mrs. Rajamma Babu, Former Professor, St. Dominic's College, Kanjirappally,  Leo. S. John and Neil John, Maniparambil, Ooriyakunnath, Kunnumbhagom, Kanjirappally, Kottayam-686507, Kerala, India.
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