There once was a youth in his twenties who had a very bad temper. He would get annoyed and irritated very quickly. His father gave him a bag of tent pegs and told him, “Dear son, every time you become angry, go to our garden and drive a peg into the ground. The first day the youth had driven 40 pegs into the ground. Over the next few weeks as he learned to control his temper, the number of pegs driven in the ground, gradually reduced. He discovered it was easier to hold his anger than to drive those pegs into the ground.
Finally the day came when the youth didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the youth now pull out one peg for each day that he was able to hold his anger. The days passed and the youth was finally able to tell his father that all the pegs in the garden were driven out.
The father took his son by the hand and led him to their garden. He said “you have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the garden. The garden will never be the same. When you lose your temper you say things that leave a mark just like this one.” You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It doesn’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there and will always stay there. Make sure you control your temper the next time you are tempted to say something you will regret later.
This is a repeat story that had appeared long ago. Anyway, nice for new readers. There is a similar couplet in “Tirukural” which says ‘ the scar out of a burn may vanish, but the scar made out of a bad tongue would remain for ever.’
Few of my friends have commented about the difficulty in controlling anger and the best way of overcoming the same is to start counting from 1 and before you reach 100 your anger would have subsided.
Best wishes to all.
Thanks for the suggestion. Best wishes to you too 🙂
true
Very true
i don’t agree wit this totally, as if someone is forgiven it should be from d heart, neat n clean, not with a mark inside & put-up outside. i guess that is what is taught.!
Great 🙂
Its such a co-incidence, I have a temper and today was particularly bad, and then I read this story at the end of the day, I was often given advice that I should let my anger out whenever it comes, because I built up a lot of repressed anger in my life, but I have learned it is better to hold it in.
A very good and interesting way to advise and control temper.but it is difficult to control.
Arabic script showed ?????????????? only!! above
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Who restrain anger, and pardon mankind – for Allah loves those who do good –
Al Imran 134