Examine yourself carefully
Three friends (a doctor, an engineer, and a lawyer) sat in a small boat to enjoy a quiet sea trip. Each one of them tried to brag about his achievements, abilities, knowledge, and the advantages his children enjoy. They began to tell their stories and conversations in front of the boat driver, who was feeling ashamed and embarrassed in himself, as he was not educated and did not have anything that distinguishes him. He is a very ordinary person. He is only proficient in driving seaboats. He lived his life among the waves of the sea and sea boats, to the point that he could not read and write. One of them said, “My son is good at mathematics.” Another said, “My son speaks languages,” which made the boat driver even sadder. The other said, “My son learns to play the piano and learns to read musical notes.”
After a short while, the weather turned and the waves were rough, and the boat was slowly sinking. The young man tried to prevent the boat from sinking in every way, but he failed due to the strong winds and storms. He asked them, “Are you good at swimming?” They replied: No, so he said to them: You have perished. After that, the boat capsized and only this young man survived because he was good at swimming.
Dear reader,
Examine yourself carefully, as there is no human being on the face of the earth without a talent or gift from God. Every one of us has something that distinguishes us from others. Your abilities that seem worthless to you may save your life one day.
The Story of the Ugly Sage
The story tells that there was a king who ruled a large kingdom, but he did not have enough intelligence and wisdom to rule a kingdom like the one he ruled. The king searched a lot for a philosopher to teach him wisdom, and after a period of searching, the king heard about a wise man who possessed great wisdom living on the outskirts of the country. So the king decided to go to him to listen to his wise words, hoping he would find his purpose in them.
The king went to the sage’s house in his royal chariot, and when he arrived, he found that the sage lived in a very simple house that was not appropriate for a king like him to enter. But the king gave up his pride and decided to enter to gain some wisdom. The king knocked on the sage’s door and was very surprised when he found an ugly-looking man opening it. He opened the door, and when the king knew that this ugly man was the wise man he was looking for, he said: "I am very surprised how I will find the great wisdom I am looking for in a man with an ugly face!"
The sage smiled and asked the king: "Allow me, my lord, to ask you: Where do you store your Majesty’s wine?"
King: "I store wine in ceramic vessels like all humans."
The wise man said in astonishment: "How can a rich emperor like you, who lives in a palace full of gold and rubies, store his wine in porcelain vessels like an ordinary person? I thought that Your Majesty stored wine in vessels of gold or silver."
The king said with all pride: "You are right, you ugly wise man!"
The king returned to his palace after the end of his visit to the sage and ordered all the servants to put all the wine in gold and silver vessels and to get rid of all the ceramic vessels. The servants did what the king ordered, and after a short period, all the wine in the palace spoiled, and the gold and silver vessels were the main reason for the spoilage of the wine. The king became angry and summoned the sage immediately. The sage said: "I wanted to explain to Your Majesty that external beauty is not a measure of wisdom and intelligence, and that all deceptive appearances have no relation to the essence of man. The appearance of the silver and gold vessels suggests to you that what is inside them is a delicious, unique wine, but the truth is the opposite, as inside them is spoiled wine that would be thrown in the garbage. As for the pottery vessels with a humble and simple appearance, they contained good quality wine inside them."
The king understood the lesson, and instead of punishing the wise man, he made him his personal advisor, and the king gained great wisdom and great humility after accompanying the wise man.