One day, two old friends were walking through the desert. During the journey they had a quarrel, and one friend couldn't control himself and hit the other one in the face.

The one who was hit was hurt, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he wrote in the sand, "Today my best friend hit me in the face."

They kept on walking until they found an oasis(绿洲). They decided to get some water. The one who was hit fell into the mire(泥潭) and was in danger, but the friend saved him.

When he felt all right, he wrote on a stone, "Today my best friend saved my life."

The one who had hit and saved his best friend felt surprised and asked him, "After I hurt you, you wrote in the sand but now you write on a stone. Why?"

The other friend replied," When someone hurts us, we should write it down in sand where winds of forgiveness can blow it away. But when someone does something good for us, we must write it in stone where no wind can ever blow it away!"

Since then the two friends have never quarreled with each other again and they got on better with each other.

Way back in 1953, high school mathematics looked like a big problem for me and several of my classmates. When we reached the 9th grade, we got Mr.Iyer, the strict math teacher who was also our class teacher. He always stuck to his discipline. We had to arrive on time, pay attention to his lectures, and never neglect (忽视) any of his homework.

As he was our class teacher, we got to know him better. Noticing some of us were fidgety one day as the midterm exams approached, he stopped solving a mathematical problem to ask us why. “There’s too much to do,” we sighed. “We’re afraid we’ll never manage to finish our review before the exams.”

“Nothing is impossible,” Mr.Iyer told us. “This classroom is on the second floor. Do you have trouble reaching here?”

We reacted with blank (茫然的) eyes.

“No, you don’t!” he said, answering his own question. “You have a staircase to help you climb up to this level. No one expects you to make it in two giant leaps. You simply take one step at a time. Any task can be solved if you focus on the next action to be taken. The rest will take care of itself, if you keep at it. One step at a time. That’s the secret.”

Then he wrote down an old motto on the blackboard: “The longest journey starts with a single step.” Having heard his staircase analogy (比拟), we saw him in a new light.

Most of my classmates scored distinctions (优等评分) in math. And I went on to become an English teacher. To this day, whenever I pass on Mr. Iyer’s invaluable advice to my own students, they brighten up at the sight of a lighter academic burden.

Getting late for a meeting, “I need to run,” he said, as he put his coat over the shoulder and rushed out of the house. As he drove away, she came running down the stairs two at a time. “Wait, wait,” she shouted, but he had already left.

“He forgot to give me a goodbye kiss,” she said in a low, sad voice that shook under the weight of the hurt. She called him and said, “You left without giving me a kiss.” “I am sorry, sweetheart,” he said, his voice shaking. “It is okay,” she said, trying to be all grown-up as she cut the call.

She ate her breakfast quickly, put on her shoes, picked up her school bag and started to walk out of the door. Her shoulders were slumped(耷拉) and her eyes were filled with tears. As she climbed down the steps, a car came to a stop outside the house. He got out of the car. She ran to him.

“I am sorry I forgot,” he said, as he picked her up and hugged her. She said nothing. Her jaw ached from smiling.

Fifteen years later, no one would remember he was late for a meeting, but a little girl would never ever forget that her father drove all the way back home just to kiss her goodbye!

What is more important, work or family? Some parents always put work before everything. But some put family first. Remember, the company will run the same without you and your colleagues(同事) may forget you soon after you leave. But you are everything to your children.