Your True
Size Is Measured By Your Courage, Wisdom, and Love.
Even as a
baby elephant, Bulig was big.
As Bulig
grew up, he was taller and bigger than all his playmates.
It didn’t
take long for the other elephant to be afraid of him. And Bulig knew this. So
he used his size to terrify others to do what he wanted them to do.
He’d snort
and growl as he’d say, “I’ll crush you!” It was his usual greeting to anyone he
met on the road.
Obviously,
if the other elephants were scared of Bulig, the other smaller animals would be
as well. Monkeys, deers, tigers, and even lions stood in awe at the huge
animal.
The
elephants gave him a special home on top of a small hill. And Bulig’s throne
was a gigantic bed. There he lay down and lorded it over the jungle.
Each
morning, the elephants would give him a basketful of bananas. And the monkeys
would give him a basketful of apples. And the deer would give him a basketful
of nuts. This happened everyday.
So Bulig
grew even bigger. And the more he grew, the more terrified the animals became
of him.
He now
became a god to all the animals there.
A group of
pelicans took turns fanning him.
A group of
parakeets sang to him in the morning.
A group of
monkey acrobats performed for his evening entertainment.
For the
longest time, Bulig never much left his home.
In fact, for
years, he didn’t even stand up from his giant bed.
All he
really did was snort and growl once in awhile, “I will crush you!” And every
time he said it, all the animals would be terrified.
Because he
didn’t move much, he became as fat as ten elephants put together!
Now, even
other animals from other jungles would visit to see for themselves if the
Legend of the Giant Elephant was true. And all of them would stand in terror at
the sight of the great beast.
One of those
animals was a tiny turtle by the name Pokito.
Pokito heard
about this Elephant and wanted to see him.
Being a young
and playful turtle, he thought it would be great to be friends with the giant
elephant.
So one day,
he walked up to Bulig who was like a mountain compared to Pokito. But Pokito
wasn’t afraid.
He said, “Hi
great Bulig! Can I be your friend?”
All the
animals around Bulig gasped in horror. Who dared speak to Bulig in that way?
Does he know what he was saying? Poor turtle!
Bulig was
insulted that a little creature was not worshipping him as a god. So he snorted
and growled his usual growl and said, “I will crush you!”
But Pokito
was a wise turtle. He saw that behind Bulig’s size was great weakness. He felt
pity for him. So he simply said, “Bulig, I just want to be your friend. If you
don’t want to, that’s fine. I’ll just go on my merry way…”
As he turned
around, Bulig got even angrier and snorted and growled again and said in a
bigger voice, “I WILL CRUSH YOU!”
All the
animals scampered behind bushes, rocks, and trees. It was the first time they
heard Bulig this angry.
Pokito
turned around to face the giant again and said calmly, “Bulig, I wouldn’t do
that if I were you. You might hurt yourself…”
Bulig’s face
turned red as a fire truck.
He stood up.
Or at least tried to.
Remember, it
has been years since he even stood up!
“Ummph…
Ummmph…. Ummmmmmmph!” Bulig struggled and struggled but couldn’t stand up!
“Bulig,
please don’t do that…” Pokito said.
All the
animals left their hiding places. They were totally shocked to see their god
having difficulty standing up!
Finally,
Bulig’s legs folded and he came crashing to the ground. Whaaam!
Bulig was
now in pain, but his humiliation was even greater than any physical pain he was
feeling at that moment.
First, a
little monkey began to jeer.
Soon, other
monkeys joined him.
And after
awhile, all the animals began to ridicule Bulig. They taunted him and called
him names. “Weakling!”, “Fatso!”, and “Blubberhouse!”
That was
when Pokito screamed, “Stooooooooop it!”
Everyone
hushed at the brave turtle in front of them.
“For years,
you worshipped Bulig as a god,” Pokito said, “but now, you’re insulting him as
the enemy. Why are you doing that? Bulig is just one of us, just like any other
animal.”
Pokito
marched to the embarrassed, whimpering Bulig and said, “Do you need help to
stand up?” Sheepishly, Bulig nodded his head.
The turtle
turned to the other elephants, “Help your friend stand up.”
The other
elephants were astounded by the wisdom of the little turtle. All of them went
beside the giant, and together, pushed him up.
With great
effort, the huge elephant stood up.
With his
knees still trembling, Bulig smiled at the turtle and quietly said, “Thank you.
You are the real giant.”
Pokito
smiled. “Thank you.”
Bulig asked,
“Can you be my friend?”
The turtle
said, “On one condition. You have to join me in jogging every morning.” He
winked.
And all the
animals broke out in laughter.
7 Lessons
for Life
I wrote this
little story for Mustard, our children’s magazine. (Why Mustard? From mustard
seed! If you want to subscribe and get 10 fun-filled issues for your kids, log
on at www.shepherdsvoice.com.ph )
But the
powerful lessons in the story aren’t for children only.
In fact, I
believe adults need to hear them more than kids do!
Here are the
7 life-changing lessons from the story:
Lesson #1:
Don’t look
for worshippers; Look for true friends instead.
Not all
friends are created equal. Some friends are just fans. They admire you. They
flatter you. They fear you. They benefit from you. But when you need them,
they’re not there. Choose true friends over fans anytime. When you have a
problem, they’ll stick there by your side.
Lesson #2:
The best way
to look for a true friend is to be one.
Are you a
true friend? Do you care for people? Do you go out of your way to express your
love for them? The best investment you’ll ever make will be in your
relationships. There lies your true gold.
Lesson #3:
Bullies are
weak. Avoid them or face up to them,
but never be
afraid of them.
Do you have
bullies in your life? You’ll always cross paths with bullies. Bullies
intimidate people. Bullies want you to fear them. They manipulate you to follow
them. Depending on the situation, you can avoid them or face up to them. But
never be afraid of bullies. Because all bullies are fake. With their outward
force, they cover up their weakness. But deep within, a bully is a fragile
child with lots of fears.
Lesson #4:
When someone
doesn’t like to be your friend,
just walk
off and go on your merry way.
Life is too
beautiful to be sad at one person’s rejection.
People-pleasers
want to please everyone. And when one person rejects them, they die within.
Because people-pleasers need to be needed. When a person rejects them, they get
hurt deeply—and carry this hurt wherever they go and allow this hurt to affect
their lives forever. What does a mature person do when they receive rejection?
They get hurt like everyone else but they don’t carry the hurt. They shake the
dust of their feet and move on. They love themselves. They love life.
Lesson #5:
When someone
is angry with you in an unjust way, pity that person.
He will be
hurting himself.
Don’t pity
yourself when you suffer unjust anger. Remember that unjust anger destroys the
person who is angry, not you. Pity him.
Lesson #6:
Always be
good and kind to everyone—
whether he be
a king or a beggar.
Every human
being you meet in life is God’s child. Whether he sits on a throne or lies on
the mud, it makes no difference. That person is your family.
Lesson #7:
Your true
size is measured by your courage, wisdom, and love.
Are you a
big person? Measure your courage and wisdom. By how you love, you shall know
whether you have matured in life or not.
May your
dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez
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