Cleaning of Unwanted Weeds…….

One day a teacher in a secondary school at Wisconsin in London asked her students to bring some fresh tomatoes in a plastic bag to school. Each tomato was to be given the name of a person whom that child hated. So, the number of tomatoes would be equal to the number of persons they hated. On a pre-determined day, all the children brought their tomatoes and they well addressed each one with fancy felt-pens. Some had two, some had three and some had five, some even had 20 tomatoes in accordance with the number of people they hated.

The teacher then told them they had to carry the tomatoes with them everywhere they went for two weeks. As the days passed the children started to complain about the decay and smell of the tomatoes. The students who had many tomatoes complained it was very heavy to carry and the smell was too much. After a week, the teacher asked the students, ‘How did you feel this week?’ The children complained of the awful smell and heavy weight of the tomatoes, especially those who carried several tomatoes. They were feeling too unclean and no friend was ready to sit and chat with them. They were not understanding why the teacher had given them this ridiculous assignment.

The teacher then very nicely explained to them and said: ‘This is very similar to what you carry in your heart when you do not like some people. Hatred makes the heart unhealthy and you carry that hatred everywhere. If you cannot bear the smell of spoilt tomatoes for a week, imagine the impact of bitterness on your heart as you carry it daily. Our heart is a beautiful garden that needs regular cleaning of unwanted weeds. Forgive those who have angered you. Let go of things that are not important and make ample space in your room for storing good things. Get Better, Not Bitter. Make friends not enemies. Life is a full circle of happiness. Do everything with a Good Heart. Enjoy eating your tomatoes with everyone. Sharing is caring.