Some Important Lessons Life Teaches You...

1 ~ Most Important Lesson

During my second month of nursing school, our
professor gave us a pop
quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed
through the questions,
until I read the last one: "What is the first name
of the woman who cleans
the school?" Surely this was some kind of joke. I
had seen the cleaning woman
several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her
50s, but how would I
know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the
last question blank. Just
before class ended, one student asked if the last
question would count toward
our quiz grade."Absolutely," said the professor. "In
your careers, you will
meet many people. All are significant. They deserve
your attention and care,
even if all you do is smile and say 'hello'. "I've
never forgotten that
lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

Second Important Lesson~ Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:30 PM, an older African
American woman was standing on
the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a
lashing rain storm. Her car
had broken down and she desperately needed a ride.
Soaking wet, she decided
to flag down the next car. A young white man
stopped to help her, generally
unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960s. The man
took her to safety,
helped her get assistance and put her into a taxi
cab. She seemed to be in a
big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked
him. Seven days went by and
a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a
giant console color TV was
delivered to his home. A special note was attached.
It read: "Thank you so
much for assisting me on the highway the other
night. The rain drenched not
only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came
along. Because of you, I
was able to make it to my dying husband's bedside
just before he passed away.
God bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving
others."
Sincerely,
Mrs.. Nat King Cole

Third Important Lesson ~ Always remember those who
serve you.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much
less, a 10 year old boy
entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A
waitress put a glass of
water in front of him. "How much is an ice cream
sundae?" he asked. "Fifty
cents," replied the waitress. The little boy pulled
his hand out of his
pocket and studied the coins in it. "Well, how much
is a plain dish of ice
cream?" he inquired. By now more people were
waiting for a table and the
waitress was growing impatient. "Thirty-five cents,"
she brusquely replied.
The little boy again counted his coins. "I'll have
the plain ice cream," he
said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the
bill on the table and
walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid
the cashier and left. When
the waitress came back, she began to cry as she
wiped down the table. There,
placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two
nickels and five pennies - You
see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to
have enough left to leave
her a tip.

Fourth Important Lesson ~ The Obstacle in Our
Path

In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on
a roadway. Then he hid
himself and watched to see if anyone would remove
the huge rock. Some of the
king's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by
and simply walked around
it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the
roads clear. But none
did anything about getting the stone out of the way.
Then a peasant came
along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon
approaching the boulder, the
peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the
stone to the side of the
road. After much pushing and straining, he finally
succeeded. After the
peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed
a purse lying in the
road where the boulder had been. The purse
contained many gold coins and a
note from the king indicating that the gold was for
the person who removed
the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned
what many of us never
understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity
to improve our condition.

Fifth Important Lesson ~ Giving When it Counts

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at
a hospital, I got to know
a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a
rare and serious disease.
Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood
transfusion from her
5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived
the same disease and had
developed the antibodies needed to combat the
illness. The doctor explained
the situation to her little brother, and asked the
little boy if he would be
willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him
hesitate for only a
moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes,
I'll do it if it will
save her.." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in
bed next to his sister
and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color
returning to her cheeks.Then his
face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at
the doctor and asked with
a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?"
Being young, the little
boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was
going to have to give his
sister all of his blood in order to save her.

You see understanding and attitude, after all, is
everything and remember to: "Work like you don't need the money, Love like
you've never been hurt and dance like you do when nobody's watching."