宽容的心

随便

THE STENCH OF HATRED
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A kindergarten teacher has decided to let her class play a game.
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The teacher told each child in the class to bring along a plastic

9 V1 T7 W6 i9 }bag containing a few potatoes. Each potato will be given a name

of a person that the child hates, so the number of potatoes that
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% ?) H" v/ w+ a( u9 U# B) {a child will put in his/her plastic bag will depend on the number
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. b2 t5 Y! K/ v$ T: ]  Rof people he/she hates.

0 L6 n4 G+ G: WSo when the day came, every child brought some potatoes with

( L/ D  `# [$ j9 e/ Ethe name of the people he/she hated. Some had 2 potatoes; some

3 while some up to 5 potatoes.
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7 J) V) \9 m% M3 D9 w7 t: |The teacher then told the children to carry with them the potatoes

in the plastic bag wherever they go (even to the toilet) for 1 week.
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! u- O" A" Y2 D- KDays after days passed by, and the children started to complain

; R2 t, P1 _8 n/ n/ [1 rdue to the unpleasant smell let out by the rotten potatoes. Besides,
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those having 5 potatoes also had to carry heavier bags. After 1
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week, the children were relieved because the game had finally ended.

- x. C6 U, Q: uThe teacher asked: "How did you feel while carrying the potatoes
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with you for 1 week?" The children let out their frustrations and

! t* ?  _; T2 L9 U4 X2 P: K$ vstarted complaining of the trouble that they had to go through

, n1 K& f( m- g6 L" X7 P, @having to carry the heavy and smelly potatoes wherever they go.

1 Z! h$ Y/ G& J: g' M# ^Then the teacher told them the hidden meaning behind the game.
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The teacher said: "This is exactly the situation when you carry
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your hatred for somebody inside your heart. The stench of hatred
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will contaminate your heart and you will carry it with you wherever
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; d! X4 G1 ?% F. |; N% G) k: I: Ayou go. If you cannot tolerate the smell of rotten potatoes for just

1 week, can you imagine what is it like to have the stench of hatred

in your heart for your lifetime???"
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"Forgiveness is not something you do for someone else;

it is something you do for yourself.

/ M% ~- i' U: aGive yourself the gift of forgiveness"

connie

The implied meaning is simple but profound.