The Story of the Pencil
Every year, Global Campaign for Education organizes Global Action Week in order to raise awareness of the right to education for all. The theme chosen for this year is "Youth and Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning." This year, Global Action Week takes place from April 20-26th.
Global Action Week involves you reading a story from the Big Read, a compilation of short stories about those who are denied the chance to learn, which were written by TV celebrities, education advocates, famous authors and other influential figures from around the world. By reading a story from the Big Read, you can write your name at the end. The names will be collected at the end and then delivered to governments during Global Action Week for them to take action to make sure that everyone has education. You can read your own stories of course.
This is my favorite story from the Big Read, written by Paulo Coelho (author of The Alchemist).
The Story of the Pencil
The little boy was watching his grandfather writing a letter. At a certain point he asked:
"Are you writing a story that happened to us? And is it by any chance a story about me?"
The grandfather stopped writing, smiled and said to his grandson:
"I'm writing about you, that's true. But the pencil I am using is more important than the words I am writing. I hope you are like it when you grow up."
The boy looked at the pencil with curiosity, but did not see anything special about it.
"But it's just like all the other pencils I have ever seen in my life!"
"It all depends on how you look at things. There are five qualities in it that if you can manage to keep in yourself will make you a person always at peace with the world."
The first quality: you can do great things but you must never forget that there is a hand that guides our steps. This hand we call God, and He must always guide it according to His will.
The second quality: from time to time I need to stop what I am writing and use a sharpener. This makes the pencil suffer a little, but in the end it becomes sharper. So, learn how to bear some pains, because they will make you a better person.
The third quality: the pencil always lets you use an eraser to rub out what was wrong. Understand that correcting something that we have done is not necessarily bad, but rather something important to keep us on the path of justice.
The fourth quality: what really matters in the pencil is not the wood or its outer shape but rather the lead that is inside it. So, always take care of what happens inside you.
Last, the pencil's fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. In the same way, know that everything you do in life will leave traces, and try to be aware of each and every action.
Global Action Week involves you reading a story from the Big Read, a compilation of short stories about those who are denied the chance to learn, which were written by TV celebrities, education advocates, famous authors and other influential figures from around the world. By reading a story from the Big Read, you can write your name at the end. The names will be collected at the end and then delivered to governments during Global Action Week for them to take action to make sure that everyone has education. You can read your own stories of course.
This is my favorite story from the Big Read, written by Paulo Coelho (author of The Alchemist).
The Story of the Pencil
The little boy was watching his grandfather writing a letter. At a certain point he asked:
"Are you writing a story that happened to us? And is it by any chance a story about me?"
The grandfather stopped writing, smiled and said to his grandson:
"I'm writing about you, that's true. But the pencil I am using is more important than the words I am writing. I hope you are like it when you grow up."
The boy looked at the pencil with curiosity, but did not see anything special about it.
"But it's just like all the other pencils I have ever seen in my life!"
"It all depends on how you look at things. There are five qualities in it that if you can manage to keep in yourself will make you a person always at peace with the world."
The first quality: you can do great things but you must never forget that there is a hand that guides our steps. This hand we call God, and He must always guide it according to His will.
The second quality: from time to time I need to stop what I am writing and use a sharpener. This makes the pencil suffer a little, but in the end it becomes sharper. So, learn how to bear some pains, because they will make you a better person.
The third quality: the pencil always lets you use an eraser to rub out what was wrong. Understand that correcting something that we have done is not necessarily bad, but rather something important to keep us on the path of justice.
The fourth quality: what really matters in the pencil is not the wood or its outer shape but rather the lead that is inside it. So, always take care of what happens inside you.
Last, the pencil's fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. In the same way, know that everything you do in life will leave traces, and try to be aware of each and every action.
Labels: writing
posted by hoopskratchz at
10:52 AM
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