The Stranger（陌生人）

曾經在電郵中讀到以下一個故事，很貼題，現在post出來和大家分享：

A few months before I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small Tennessee town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer, and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later. As I grew up I never questioned his place in our family. Mom taught me to love the Word of God. Dad taught me to obey it. But the stranger was our storyteller. He could weave the most fascinating tales. Adventures, mysteries and comedies were daily conversations. He could hold our whole family spellbound for hours each evening. He was like a friend to the whole family. He took Dad, Bill and me to our first major league baseball game. He was always encouraging us to see the movies and he even made arrangements to introduce us to several movie stars. The stranger was an incessant talker. Dad didn't seem to mind, but sometimes Mom would quietly get up - while the rest of us were enthralled with one of his stories of faraway places - and go to her room read her Bible and pray. I wonder now if she ever prayed that the stranger would leave. You see, my dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions. But this stranger never felt an obligation to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our house - not from us, from our friends, or adults. Our longtime visitor, however, used occasional four-letter words that burned my ears and made Dad squirm. To my knowledge the stranger was never confronted. My dad was a teetotaler who didn't permit alcohol in his home - not even for cooking. But the stranger felt he needed exposure and enlightened us to other ways of life. He offered us beer and other alcoholic beverages often. He made cigarettes look tasty, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (too much too freely) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing. I know now that my early concepts of the man/woman relationship were influenced by the stranger. As I look back, I believe it was the grace of God that the stranger did not influence us more. Time after time he opposed the values of my parents. Yet he was seldom rebuked and never asked to leave. More than thirty years have passed since the stranger moved in with the young family on Morningside Drive. But if I were to walk into my parents' den today, you would still see him sitting over in a corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name? We always called him TV.

Teacher Vs. Guru

Below is something I received through email recently. It's too beautiful not to be shared. Hope you'll enjoy it too.

A teacher takes responsibility of your growth;

A guru makes you responsible for your growth.

A teacher gives you things you do not have and require;

A guru takes away things you have and do not require.

A teacher answers your questions;

A guru questions your answers.

A teacher helps you get out of the maze;

A guru destroys the maze.

A teacher requires obedience and discipline from the pupil;

A guru requires trust and humility from the pupil.

A teacher clothes  you and prepare you for the outer journey;

A guru strips you naked and prepares you for the inner journey.

A teacher is a guide on the path;

A guru is a pointer to the way.

A teacher sends  you on the road to success;

A guru sends you on the road to freedom.

A teacher explains the world and its nature to you;

A guru explains yourself and your nature to you.

A teacher makes you understand how to move about in the world;

A guru shows you where you stand in relation to the world.

A teacher gives you knowledge and boosts your ego;

A guru takes away your knowledge and punctures you ego.

A teacher instructs you;

A guru constructs you.

A teacher sharpens your mind;

A guru opens your mind.

A teachers shows you the way to prosperity;

A guru shows the way to serenity.

A teacher reaches your mind;

A guru touches your soul.

A teacher gives you knowledge;

A guru makes you wise.

A teacher gives you maturity;

A guru returns you to innocence.

A teacher instructs you on how to solve problems;

A guru shows you how to resolve issues.

A teacher is a systematic thinker;

A guru is a lateral thinker.

A teacher will punish you with a stick;

A guru will punish you with compassion.

A teacher is to pupil what a father is to a son;

A guru is to pupil what a mother is to her child.

One can always find a teacher;

But a guru has to find and accept you.

A teacher leads you by the hand;

A guru leads you by example.

When a teacher finishes with you, you graduate;

When a guru finishes with you, you celebrate.

When the course is over, you are thankful to the teacher;

When the discourse is over, you are grateful to the guru.