2020.03.25(星期三) 

言語創傷與身體創傷一樣嚴重

Bad temper is its own safety value. He who can bark does not bite.

  

脾氣暴躁 

  曾經有一個小男孩脾氣不好。他的父親給了他一袋釘子，並告訴他，每當他發脾氣時，將釘子釘入籬笆。

  第一天，男孩將37枚釘子釘入籬笆。在接下來的幾星期，隨著他學會控制自己的憤怒，每天錘的釘子數量逐漸減少。他發現發脾氣比將那些釘子釘入籬笆要容易得多。

  終於有一天，男孩沒有發脾氣。他把這件事告訴了父親，父親建議男孩現在每天只要能忍住自己的脾氣就拔一個釘子。日子一天天過去了，男孩終於能夠告訴父親，所有的釘子都沒了。

  父親牽著兒子的手，把他帶到籬笆上。他說：“我的兒子，您做得不錯，但是請注意籬笆上的孔。籬笆永遠不會是一樣的。當您發怒時，它們會像這樣留下疤痕。您捅一把刀，再把它拔出來。你說多少次對不起都沒用，傷口還在那兒。”

言語創傷與身體創傷一樣嚴重

 A Short Story : Bad Temper

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

The first day, the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry. The wound is still there."

A verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.