Love: The Creative Force
A college professor had his sociology class go into the Baltimore slums to get case histories of 200 young boys. They were asked to write an evaluation of each boy's future. In every case the students wrote, "He hasn't got a chance."
Twenty-five years later, another sociology professor came across the earlier study. He has his students follow up on the project to see what had happened to these boys. With the exception of 20 boys who had moved away or not contacted, the students learned that 176 of the remaining 180 had achieved more than ordinary success as lawyers, doctors and businessmen.
The professor was astounded so he decided to pursue the matter further. Fortunately, all the men were in the area, and he was able to speak to each one. "How do you account for your success?" In each case the reply came with a feeling: "There was a teacher."
The teacher was still alive, so he sought her out and asked the old but still alert lady what magic formula she had used to pull these boys out of the slums and into successful achievement.
The teacher's eyes sparkled and her lips broke into a gentle smile. "It's really very simple," she said. I believed those boys."
-Eric Butterworth / Chicken Soup for the Soul
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On Courage
A little girl was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her five year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease because he had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.
The doctor explained the situation to her little brother and asked him whether he was ready to transfer blood. He hesitated for only a moment, then took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I'll do it if it will make my sister healthy."
As the transfusion progressed, he lay in a bed next to his sister. He smiled as 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? Please save my deer sister."
Being young, the boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give her all his blood.
-Dan Millman/Chicken Soup for the Soul
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A Brother Like That!
I was received a beautiful bicycle as a birthday present. One day, when I took a ride on my bicycle in the park, a boy was walking around the bicycle, admiring it.
"Is this your bicycle?", he asked.
"My brother gave it to me on my birthday", I replied with pride and satisfaction.
"Oh, I wish....", he hesitated.
Of course I knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the boy said was unexpected to me:
"I wish," the boy went on slowly, "that I could be a brother like that". I saw his face full of determination. Then, he went to the bench behind me, where his little crippled brother was sitting and said:
"Someday, I'm gonna give you a wheelchair on your birthday."
-Dan Clark
A college professor had his sociology class go into the Baltimore slums to get case histories of 200 young boys. They were asked to write an evaluation of each boy's future. In every case the students wrote, "He hasn't got a chance."
Twenty-five years later, another sociology professor came across the earlier study. He has his students follow up on the project to see what had happened to these boys. With the exception of 20 boys who had moved away or not contacted, the students learned that 176 of the remaining 180 had achieved more than ordinary success as lawyers, doctors and businessmen.
The professor was astounded so he decided to pursue the matter further. Fortunately, all the men were in the area, and he was able to speak to each one. "How do you account for your success?" In each case the reply came with a feeling: "There was a teacher."
The teacher was still alive, so he sought her out and asked the old but still alert lady what magic formula she had used to pull these boys out of the slums and into successful achievement.
The teacher's eyes sparkled and her lips broke into a gentle smile. "It's really very simple," she said. I believed those boys."
-Eric Butterworth / Chicken Soup for the Soul
------------
On Courage
A little girl was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her five year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease because he had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.
The doctor explained the situation to her little brother and asked him whether he was ready to transfer blood. He hesitated for only a moment, then took a deep breath and said, "Yes, I'll do it if it will make my sister healthy."
As the transfusion progressed, he lay in a bed next to his sister. He smiled as 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? Please save my deer sister."
Being young, the boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give her all his blood.
-Dan Millman/Chicken Soup for the Soul
-----------
A Brother Like That!
I was received a beautiful bicycle as a birthday present. One day, when I took a ride on my bicycle in the park, a boy was walking around the bicycle, admiring it.
"Is this your bicycle?", he asked.
"My brother gave it to me on my birthday", I replied with pride and satisfaction.
"Oh, I wish....", he hesitated.
Of course I knew what he was going to wish for. He was going to wish he had a brother like that. But what the boy said was unexpected to me:
"I wish," the boy went on slowly, "that I could be a brother like that". I saw his face full of determination. Then, he went to the bench behind me, where his little crippled brother was sitting and said:
"Someday, I'm gonna give you a wheelchair on your birthday."
-Dan Clark
