On the outskirts of the capital city of Abidjan, stands Mr. Machel’s Dry-cleaners. The well-known shop is the result of Thomas Machel’s hard work over the years. “One cannot be complacent,” he often told his employees, hence he pushed for more growth year after year.

His thoughts so revolved around his shop that he failed to take his advice at home for he was complacent in his responsibility as father and husband. Everything he did was for his family, surely they understand that. He had long believed this lie that he never dared to question it. His long hours away from home became intolerable for the young wife; their lovely home soon became just a lovely house.

A cheerful young man by the name of Didier, who was recently hired to support the growing shop stopped by one morning hours before his shift began. He was accompanied by his wife who had used a portion of his first paycheck to bake a cake for Mr. Machel to thank him for her husband’s employment.

The usually austere boss was stunned by such generosity. Didier could certainly not sustain his family with what he paid him, yet he spends what little he has on this cake. Seeing the joy in the eyes of Didier’s wife, he realizes how lucky Didier is. “What a lovely home they must share together”, he wondered. It made him think of his wife who once enjoyed coming to see him in his shop. In this moment, he perceived that he was much poorer and ignorant than his minimum-wage employee and would do better to learn from him. He heartily embraced Didier’s wife and invited them both to his house for dinner.

The presence of the guests had a refreshing effect on everyone in the house. It was as if peace and merriment returned after a long hiatus. “This couple possesses something that outweighs all I have,” Thomas Machel clearly sensed this. Didier’s wife had unintentionally awakened the inner joy that had long been suppressed by his blind drive for earthly success. The dullness of his existence became glaringly apparent.

Thomas Machel closed his shop for a week. He quickly made up for lost time with his family and their lovely house once again became a lovely home.

Love More, See More

Mom’s birthday was fast approaching and Sana was clueless on what to get her mother for her 50th birthday. She calls her big sister, Sarah, for guidance. “Mom enjoys singing, why not get her a one-year membership to the Tewksbury Chorus group? It will encourage her to improve her singing and it is quite close to the house.”

“Yes! That is a great idea, you always have the best gift ideas,” Sana happily exclaims. She thanks her sister and hangs up the phone. Suddenly, she is overcome by a question. How does Sarah do this… how does she always know what people need? Just two weeks ago, she received a pair of thermal underwear from Sarah which was exactly what she needed against the harsh Toronto winter. After musing on this question for a few minutes, the answer unexpectedly dawned on her. She loves more therefore she sees more.

She recalls how attentive Sarah always was during their conversations. How her questions in one way or the other sought to find out the true state of her spirit, to find out how she was and what encouragement she needed. It became abundantly clear to Sana that her sister knows what people need because she cares, it is that simple.

Smiling, she gives gratitude for her dear sister and strives to follow her example. She soon found herself occupied constantly with the question, “How can I serve?” And a new world opened up to her. For the first time, she could see the lonely eyes of her neighbor whom she had always greeted only superficially. Where she formerly just concerned herself with her work, she now saw its connection to the whole organization. In her loving attentiveness within her circle of friends, she could hear what their words failed to express and could therefore be a better friend.

Observing these changes in herself, Sana comes to the realization that selfishness is nothing but self-imposed blindness that can only be cured by love for others.

Thirteen-year-old Wande so much wanted to do well in school but he was an average student at best. His parents knew he had the ability to do much better than his grades indicated, and so did his teachers. Despite several discussions with his teacher and his parents, along with a new resolve to try harder, his grades remained average.

As the new school year approached, Wande feared the new year would be no different from the previous years unless he changed his approach. His former approach of trying harder would not suffice, this he knew for sure. Observing himself, he realized that he could best assimilate information in small chunks. Upon this realization, he developed a new approach where he would break up his reading assignments and read no more than two pages at a time.

Rather than trying to knock out his assignments in one stretch, he would break them apart, and focus on small chunks at a time. This took much longer. He had to make sacrifices; the focus and self-discipline required every strength the teenager possessed. In between classes, when he would formerly aimlessly goof around with friends was now used to go over class notes. Even a portion of his ride home from school was used to get a jump start on his reading assignments.

His grades improved almost immediately. The results encouraged him to continue on this new path. Only now did he realize his potential. His self-confidence grew because he grew. He had learned to demand the highest of himself and the highest opened itself to him. At the end of the first term, he was third in his class. The initial difficulty of first observing the reason for his mediocrity and then taking action to rectify this constraint was no longer difficult but simply a normal way of life. Smiling he recognized that everything is difficult until it becomes easy.