Kisah Si Penebang Pohon

Alkisah, seorang pedagang kayu menerima lamaran seorang pekerja untuk
menebang pohon di hutannya. Karena gaji yang dijanjikan dan kondisi kerja
yang bakal diterima sangat baik, sehingga si calon penebang pohon itu pun
bertekad untuk bekerja sebaik mungkin.

Saat mulai bekerja, si majikan memberikan sebuah kapak dan menunjukkan area
kerja yang harus diselesaikan dengan target waktu yang telah ditentukan
kepada si penebang pohon.

Hari pertama bekerja, dia berhasil merobohkan 8 batang pohon. Sore hari,
mendengar hasil kerja si penebang, sang majikan terkesan dan memberikan
pujian dengan tulus, "Hasil kerjamu sungguh luar biasa!

Saya sangat kagum dengan kemampuanmu menebang pohon-pohon itu. Belum pernah
ada yang sepertimu sebelum ini. Teruskan bekerja seperti itu."

Sangat termotivasi oleh pujian majikannya, keesokan hari si penebang bekerja
lebih keras lagi, tetapi dia hanya berhasil merobohkan 7 batang pohon. Hari
ketiga, dia bekerja lebih keras lagi, tetapi hasilnya tetap tidak memuaskan
bahkan mengecewakan. Semakin bertambahnya hari, semakin sedikit pohon yang
berhasil dirobohkan. "Sepertinya aku telah kehilangan kemampuan dan
kekuatanku. Bagaimana aku dapat mempertanggungjawab kan hasil kerjaku kepada
majikan?" pikir penebang pohon merasa malu dan putus asa.

Dengan kepala tertunduk dia menghadap ke sang majikan, meminta maaf atas
hasil kerja yang kurang memadai dan mengeluh tidak mengerti apa yang telah
terjadi.

Sang majikan menyimak dan bertanya kepadanya, "Kapan terakhir kamu mengasah
kapak?"

"Mengasah kapak? Saya tidak punya waktu untuk itu. Saya sangat sibuk setiap
hari menebang pohon dari pagi hingga sore dengan sekuat tenaga," kata si
penebang.

"Nah, di sinilah masalahnya. Ingat, hari pertama kamu kerja? Dengan kapak
baru dan terasah, maka kamu bisa menebang pohon dengan hasil luar biasa.
Hari-hari berikutnya, dengan tenaga yang sama, menggunakan kapak yang sama
tetapi tidak diasah, kamu tahu sendiri, hasilnya semakin menurun. Maka,
sesibuk apa pun, kamu harus meluangkan waktu untuk mengasah kapakmu, agar
setiap hari bekerja dengan tenaga yang sama dan hasil yang maksimal.
Sekarang mulailah mengasah kapakmu dan segera kembali bekerja!" perintah
sang majikan.

Sambil mengangguk-anggukan kepala dan mengucap terimakasih, si penebang
berlalu dari hadapan majikannya untuk mulai mengasah kapak.

Istirahat bukan berarti berhenti.

Tetapi untuk menempuh perjalanan yang lebih jauh lagi.

Sama seperti si penebang pohon, kita pun setiap hari, dari pagi hingga malam
hari, seolah terjebak dalam rutinitas terpola. Sibuk, sibuk dan sibuk,
sehingga seringkali melupakan sisi lain yang sama pentingnya, yaitu
istirahat sejenak mengasah dan mengisi hal-hal baru untuk menambah
pengetahuan, wawasan dan spiritual. Jika kita mampu mengatur ritme kegiatan
seperti ini, pasti kehidupan kita akan menjadi dinamis, berwawasan dan
selalu baru!

BAJU yang MENIPU...

Seorang wanita yang mengenakan gaun pudar menggandeng
suaminya yang berpakaian sederhana dan usang, turun
dari kereta api di Boston, dan berjalan dengan
malu-malu menuju kantor Pimpinan Harvard University.

Mereka meminta janji. Sang sekretaris Universitas
langsung mendapat kesan bahwa mereka adalah orang
kampung, udik, sehingga tidak mungkin ada urusan di
Harvard dan bahkan mungkin tidak pantas berada di
Cambridge.

"Kami ingin bertemu Pimpinan Harvard", kata sang pria
lembut.

"Beliau hari ini sibuk," sahut sang Sekretaris cepat.

"Kami akan menunggu," jawab sang Wanita.

Selama 4 jam sekretaris itu mengabaikan mereka, dengan
harapan bahwa pasangan tersebut akhirnya akan patah
semangat dan pergi. Tetapi nyatanya tidak. Sang
sekretaris mulai frustrasi, dan akhirnya memutuskan
untuk melaporkan kepada sang pemimpinnya.

"Mungkin jika Anda menemui mereka selama beberapa
menit, mereka akan pergi," katanya pada sang Pimpinan
Harvard.

Sang pimpinan menghela nafas dengan geram dan
mengangguk. Orang sepenting dia pasti tidak punya
waktu untuk mereka. Dan ketika dia melihat dua orang
yang mengenakan baju pudar dan pakaian usang diluar
kantornya, rasa tidak senangnya sudah muncul.

Sang Pemimpin Harvard, dengan wajah galak menuju
pasangan tersebut. Sang wanita berkata padanya, "Kami
memiliki seorang putra yang kuliah tahun pertama di
Harvard. Dia sangat menyukai Harvard dan bahagia di
sini. Tetapi setahun yang lalu, dia meninggal karena
kecelakaan. Kami ingin mendirikan peringatan untuknya,
di suatu tempat di kampus ini, bolehkan?" tanyanya,
dengan mata yang menjeritkan harap.

Sang Pemimpin Harvard tidak tersentuh, wajahnya bahkan
memerah. Dia tampak terkejut. "Nyonya," katanya dengan
kasar, "Kita tidak bisa mendirikan tugu untuk setiap
orang yang masuk Harvard dan meninggal. Kalau kita
lakukan itu, tempat ini sudah akan seperti kuburan."

"Oh, bukan," Sang wanita menjelaskan dengan cepat,
"Kami tidak ingin mendirikan tugu peringatan. Kami
ingin memberikan sebuah gedung untuk Harvard."

Sang Pemimpin Harvard memutar matanya. Dia menatap
sekilas pada baju pudar dan pakaian usang yang mereka
kenakan dan berteriak, "Sebuah gedung?! Apakah kalian
tahu berapa harga sebuah gedung ?! Kami memiliki lebih
dari 7,5 juta dolar hanya untuk bangunan fisik
Harvard."

Untuk beberapa saat sang wanita terdiam. Sang Pemimpin
Harvard senang. Mungkin dia bisa terbebas dari mereka
sekarang. Sang wanita menoleh pada suaminya dan
berkata pelan, "Kalau hanya sebesar itu biaya untuk
memulai sebuah universitas, mengapa tidak kita buat
sendiri saja?" Suaminya mengangguk.

Wajah sang Pemimpin Harvard menampakkan kebingungan.

Mr. dan Mrs. Leland Stanford bangkit dan berjalan
pergi, melakukan perjalanan ke Palo Alto, California,
di sana mereka mendirikan sebuah Universitas yang
menyandang nama mereka, sebuah peringatan untuk
seorang anak yang tidak lagi diperdulikan oleh
Harvard.

Universitas tersebut adalah Stanford University, salah
satu universitas favorit kelas atas di AS. Kita,
seperti pimpinan Hardvard itu, acap silau oleh baju,
dan lalai. Padahal, baju hanya bungkus, apa yang
disembunyikannya, kadang sangat tak ternilai. Jadi,
janganlah kita selalu abai, karena baju-baju, acap
menipu.

The Secret to a Lasting Marriage

Embrace Imperfection

When I was a little girl, my mom liked to make
breakfast food for dinner every now and then. And I remember one night in
particular when she had made breakfast after a long, hard day at work.

On that evening so long ago, my mom placed a plate of
eggs, sausage, and extremely burned toast in front of my dad. I remember
waiting to see if anyone noticed! Yet all my dad did was reach for his
toast, smile at my mom, and ask me how my day was at school.

I don't remember what I told him that night, but I do
remember watching him smear butter and jelly on that toast and eat every
bite! When I got up from the table that evening, I remember hearing my
mom apologize to my dad for burning the toast. And I'll never forget
what he said: "Baby, I love burned toast."

Later that night, I went to kiss Daddy good night and
I asked him if he really liked his toast burned. He wrapped me in his
arms and said, "Debbie, your momma put in a hard day at work today
and she's real tired. And besides-a little burnt toast never hurt anyone!"

In bed that night, I thought about that scene at
dinner and the kindness my daddy showed my mom. To this day, it's a cherished
memory from my childhood that I'll never forget. And it's one that
came to mind just recently when Jack and I sat down to eat dinner.

I had arrived home late as usual and decided we would
have breakfast food for dinner. Some things never change, I suppose!
To my amazement, I found the ingredients I needed, and
quickly began to cook eggs, turkey sausage, and buttered toast.
Thinking I had things under control, I glanced through the mail for the day.
It was only a few minutes later that I remembered that I had
forgotten to take the toast out of the oven!

Now, had it been any other day -- and had we had more
than two pieces of bread in the entire house -- I would have started all
over. But it had been one of those days and I had just used up the last
two pieces of bread. So burnt toast it was!

As I set the plate down in front of Jack, I waited for a comment about
the toast. But all I got was a "Thank you!" I watched as he ate bite by
bite, all the time waiting for some comment about the toast. But
instead, all Jack said was, "Babe, this is great.
Thanks for cooking tonight. I know you had a hard day."

As I took a bite of my charred toast that night, I thought about my mom
and dad how burnt toast hadn't been a deal-breaker for them. And I
quietly thanked God for giving me a marriage where burnt toast wasn't a
deal-breaker either!

You know, life is full of imperfect things and imperfect people. I'm not
the best housekeeper or cook. And you might be surprised to find out
that Jack isn't the perfect husband! He likes to playhis music too loud,
he will always find a way to avoid yard work,
and he watches far too many sports. Believe it or not, watching " Golf
Academy " is not my idea of a great night at home!

But somehow in the past 37 years Jack and I have
learned to accept the imperfections in each other. Over time, we have
stopped trying to make each other in our own mold and have learned to
celebrate our differences. You might say that we've learned to love
each other for who we really are!

For example, I like to take my time, I'm a perfectionist, and I'm
even-tempered. I tend to work too much and sleep too little. Jack, on
the other hand, is disciplined, studious, an early riser, and is a
marketer's dream consumer. I count pennies and Jack could care less!
Where he is strong, I am weak, and vice versa.

And while you might say that Jack and I are opposites,
we're also very much alike. I can look at him and tell you what he's
thinking. I can predict his actions before he finalizes his plans. On
the other hand, he knows whether I'm troubled or not the moment I enter a room.

We share the same goals. We love the same things. And we are still best
friends. We've traveled through many valleys and enjoyed many mountain tops.

And yet, at the same time, Jack and I must work every
minute of every day to make this thing called "marriage" work!

What I've learned over the years is that learning to
accept each other's faults - and choosing to celebrate each other's
differences - is the one of the most important keys to creating a healthy,
growing, and lasting marriage relationship.

And that's my prayer for you today. That you will
learn to take the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of your married life
and lay them at the feet of GOD. Because in the end, He's the only
One who will be able to give you a marriage where burnt toast isn't a deal-breaker !


Deb Graham - Contributor

9 WORDS WOMEN USE

1. Fine:
This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

2. Five Minutes:
If she is getting dressed, this means a 1/2 hour. Five

minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes

to watch the game before helping around the house.

3. Nothing:
This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and

you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

4. Go Ahead:
This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It !

5. Loud Sigh:
This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often

misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and

wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you

about nothing.
(Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.)

6. That's Okay:
This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can

make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before

deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

7. Thanks:
A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say "you're welcome".

8. Whatever:
Is a women's way of saying F@!K YOU!

9. Don't worry about it, I got it :
Another dangerous statement, meaning

this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is

now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking "What's

wrong?" For the woman's response refer to #3.