When the pencil was made for the first time. The pencil maker gave the pencil some very crucial, pertinent and important instructions, which can actually give us very inspiring lessons to be applied in our own lives.
1. The First instruction that the pencil maker gave the pencil was, what's truly important actually lies within you. The pencil has two aspects to it. The outside, which is its beautiful, colourful wooden casing. And the inside, which is the lead, its very substance, its very purpose. Similar in our lives as well, we have the outside. The outside is about our personality, our looks, our presence. I always say no one looks as good as their profile picture. And no one looks as ugly as their driving license picture. The outside is about personality. The inside is about being a genuine, sincere person.
- What truly important actually lies within you.
2. That the pencil maker told the pencil was, "Unless what is within you comes out, the lead, you cannot make an impact." It's only when the lead comes out of the casing can the pencil actually make an impact on the paper by writing something. Similarly, in our lives as well, unless what is within us comes out we will not be able to make an impact either on our own lives or on those of others. Thus the latin word 'educare' from which the English word 'education' is derived means to bring out. To bring out the virtues, the qualities of our soul. Yes, our personality can impress, but being a genuine person can inspire. Yes, our charisma can impress but our character can inspire others.
One time, Thomas Edison, when he was just a little boy came back home from school and handed a letter to his mother saying that, "My teacher gave this letter only for you to read." The mother opened that little piece of paper and as she read out this letter to Thomas Edison, her little son, she was crying. She said, "Tommy, your teacher is written that Thomas is such an intelligent boy, he is a genius. This school is too small for him and doesn't have enough good teachers to train him. So it's better that he doesn't come to school any longer and you train him at home." Years later, when Thomas's mother had died and thomas Edison was one of the greatest inventors of the century he was at his mother's home clearing things up and in a small little drawer he found that piece of folded paper, that letter that the teacher had gives years back to his mum. Thomas Alva Edison opened the piece of paper to read the contents and he broke down in tears, crying profusely, because what was written on the paper was, "Madam your son Thomas is a dunce, he is mentally ill, he does not fit into the school. I do not think he can ever make it there so we are expelling and throwing him out of the school today." Thomas Alva Edison wrote another line underneath. He wrote, "Thomas was indeed a dunce, a mentally ill child and he was made into the greatest inventor or shall I say one of the greatest inventor of the century by his hero, his mother." his mother didn't have a massive personality. She didn't have a super good charisma nor did she have too many valuables. But she was a genuine person with a great character, amazing values and look at the impact that it had on the life of Thomas Alva Edison.
-Unless what is within you comes out you can't make an impact
3. The third important instruction that the pencil maker gave the pencil was unless you go through sharpening, what is within you will not come out. The pencil has to go through painful sharpening before the sharp lead comes out and makes an impact. Ladies and gentlemen, similarly in life, unless we go through painful sharpening, the best things within will never come out as they say, no pains, no gains.
- Unless you go through sharpening what is within you will not come out
4. The fourth message that the pencil maker gave the pencil was, "When you write, you will most certainly end up making mistakes. What's truly great is that right behind you is attached an eraser and you can actually correct that mistake and once again write right thing." Ladies and gentlemen, even in our lives we make so many mistakes and what's amazing is God has given us the opportunity, the chance, to erase them, to correct them and to rewrite our stories.
- Erase, correct mistakes and rewrite our stories.
