A story tells of a merchant in a small town who had identical twin sons. The
boys worked for their father in the department store he owned and, when he died,
they took over the store.
Everything went well until the day a dollar bill disappeared. One of the
brothers had left the bill on the cash register and walked outside with a
customer. When he returned, the money was gone. He asked his brother,
"Did you see that dollar bill on the cash register?"
His brother replied that he had not. But the young man kept probing and
questioning. He would not let it alone.
"Dollar bills just don't get up and walk away! Surely you must have seen it!"
There was subtle accusation in his voice. Tempers began to rise. Resentment set
in. Before long, a deep and bitter chasm divided the young men. They refused to
speak. They finally decided they could no longer work together and a dividing
wall was built down the centre of the store. For twenty years hostility and
bitterness grew, spreading to their families and to the community.
Then one day a man in an automobile licensed in another state stopped in front
of the store. He walked in and asked the clerk,
"How long have you been here?"
The clerk replied that he'd been there all his life. The customer said,
"I must share something with you. Twenty years ago I was 'riding the rails' and
came into this town in a boxcar. I hadn't eaten for three days. I came into this
store from the back door and saw a dollar bill on the cash register. I put it in
my pocket and walked out. All these years I haven't been able to forget that. I
know it wasn't much money, but I had to come back and ask your forgiveness."
The stranger was amazed to see tears well up in the eyes of this middle-aged
man.
"Would you please go next door and tell that same story to the man in the
store?" He said.
Then the man was even more amazed to see two middle-aged men, who looked very
much alike, embracing each other and weeping together in the front of the store.
After twenty years, the brokenness was mended. The wall of resentment that
divided them came down.
It is so often the little things -- like resentments -- that finally divide
people. And the solution, of course, is to let them go. There is really nothing
particularly profound about it. But for fulfilling and lasting relationships,
letting them go is a must. Refuse to carry around bitterness and you may be
surprised at how much energy you have left for building bonds with those you
love.
Author unknown. If anyone has a proprietary interest in this story please
authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as the circumstances
dictate.
Thanks to Life Support
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