"JUST A REMINDER"
SLOW DOWN AND ENJOY LIFE
About ten years ago, a young and very successful
executive named Josh was traveling down a
Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit
too fast in his sleek, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar
XKE, which was only two months old.
He was watching for kids darting out from
between parked cars and slowed down when he
thought he saw something. As his car passed, no
child darted out, but a brick sailed out and-
WHUMP! — it smashed into the Jag’s shiny black
side door! SCREECH…!!!! Brakes slammed! Gears
ground into reverse, and tires madly spun the Jag
back to the spot from where the brick had been
thrown.
Josh jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid and
pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted
at the kid, “What was that all about and who are
you? Just what the heck are you doing?” Building
up a head of steam, he went on. “That’s my new
Jag, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot
of money. Why did you throw it?”
“Please, mister, please…I’m sorry! I didn’t know
what else to do!” pleaded the youngster. “I threw
the brick because no one else would stop!”
Tears were dripping down the boy’s chin as he
pointed around the parked car. “It’s my brother,
mister,” he said. “He rolled off the curb and fell
out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.”
Sobbing, the boy asked the executive, “Would
you please help me get him back into his
wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for
me.”
Moved beyond words, the young executive tried
desperately to swallow the rapidly swelling lump
in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man
back into the wheelchair and took out his
handkerchief and wiped the scrapes and cuts,
checking to see that everything was going to be
OK. He then watched the younger brother push
him down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long walk back to the sleek, black,
shining, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE – a long and slow
walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jag.
He kept the dent to remind him not to go
through life so fast that someone has to throw a
brick at him to get his attention.
Some bricks are softer than others. Feel for the
bricks of life coming at you. In the hustle bustle
and the speed of life, are you missing out the joys
of the present moments.
executive named Josh was traveling down a
Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit
too fast in his sleek, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar
XKE, which was only two months old.
He was watching for kids darting out from
between parked cars and slowed down when he
thought he saw something. As his car passed, no
child darted out, but a brick sailed out and-
WHUMP! — it smashed into the Jag’s shiny black
side door! SCREECH…!!!! Brakes slammed! Gears
ground into reverse, and tires madly spun the Jag
back to the spot from where the brick had been
thrown.
Josh jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid and
pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted
at the kid, “What was that all about and who are
you? Just what the heck are you doing?” Building
up a head of steam, he went on. “That’s my new
Jag, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot
of money. Why did you throw it?”
“Please, mister, please…I’m sorry! I didn’t know
what else to do!” pleaded the youngster. “I threw
the brick because no one else would stop!”
Tears were dripping down the boy’s chin as he
pointed around the parked car. “It’s my brother,
mister,” he said. “He rolled off the curb and fell
out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.”
Sobbing, the boy asked the executive, “Would
you please help me get him back into his
wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for
me.”
Moved beyond words, the young executive tried
desperately to swallow the rapidly swelling lump
in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man
back into the wheelchair and took out his
handkerchief and wiped the scrapes and cuts,
checking to see that everything was going to be
OK. He then watched the younger brother push
him down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long walk back to the sleek, black,
shining, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE – a long and slow
walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jag.
He kept the dent to remind him not to go
through life so fast that someone has to throw a
brick at him to get his attention.
Some bricks are softer than others. Feel for the
bricks of life coming at you. In the hustle bustle
and the speed of life, are you missing out the joys
of the present moments.
-author-
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