Thursday, April 06, 2006
A humbling experience
By Henrylito D. Tacio
Regarding Henry
YEARS ago, a group of American tourists visited the home of German composer Ludwig Van Beethoven. A young girl sat down at the piano of the great artist and played through with pride his "Moonlight Sonata."
When she finished, she turned to the old caretaker of the house and said to him: "I suppose many great people were here?"
"Yes," the old man replied. "Famous Polish pianist Ignace Jan Paderewski was here last week."
"And did he play on Beethoven's piano?" she asked. "No," replied the old man. "He said he was not worthy."
Paderewski's attitude was very much like that of a rider on horseback who came across a squad of soldiers who were trying to move a heavy piece of timber. The rider noticed that a well-dressed corporal was standing by and giving commands to "heave." The piece of timber was just a little too heavy, however, for the group of men to move.
"Why don't you help them?" the man on horseback quietly asked the important corporal. "Me?" the corporal responded with shock in his voice. "Why, I'm a corporal."
The rider then dismounted and took his place with the soldiers. Smiling at them he said encouragingly, "Now, all together boys "heave!" The big piece of timber moved easily with the help of the additional man. The stranger then silently mounted his horse.
He said to the corporal as he prepared to ride on, "The next time you have a piece of timber for your men to handle, corporal, send for the commander-in-chief."
It was only then that the corporal and his men realized that the helpful stranger was none other than the president himself George Washington.
"Humility," Confucius said, "is the solid foundation of all the virtues." To which Lao added: "When you are content to be simply yourself and don't compare or compete, everybody will respect you."
Phillips Brooks pointed out: "The true way to be humble is not to stoop till you are smaller than yourself, but to stand at your real height against some higher nature that shall show you what the real smallness of your greatest greatness is."
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (April 6, 2006 issue)
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