Monday, December 13, 2010

Living With Porcupines...?

'During the Ice Age many animals died because of the cold. Seeing this situation, the porcupines decided to group together, so they wrapped up well and protected one another.

But they hurt one another with their thorns, and so then they decided to stay apart from one another.

They started to freeze to death again. So they had to make a choice: either they vanished from the face of the earth or they accepted their neighbor’s thorns.

They wisely decided to stay together again. They learned to live with the small wounds that a very close relationship could cause, because the most important thing was the warmth given by the other.

And in the end they survived.'

A witty short story by Paulo Coelho, South American writer of inspirational, thought-provoking novels.

What a funny illustration! =)

Although we humans poke and jab each other, no matter how irksome we may be to one another, we cannot deny the fact that none of us can survive without each other's company. We'd probably go even crazier than if we were to put up with our irksome friends, family or neighbours!

I cannot describe just how much I am thankful to God for my family. Without dad and mum, their sound advise and heartfelt encouragement, their reminders and corrections... Without my sisters Janna and Jirene, their mere existence in the home, the 'background noise' they make - without which the house would be eerily quiet - and the fun we all share on holidays and on 'normal days'... Without these people, I wouldn't be Janielle.

No matter how annoyed or angry or frustrated we get, no matter how bad we get on each other's nerves, like the porcupines, we still need to stay together to "keep warm". Well, at least getting poked and pricked is certainly the "lesser of two evils"!

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