The Story of the Broken Plate
I don’t usually share parables, but this one really resonates with me. I hope it does with you, too. We need more kindness and thoughtfulness in the world.
A mother had a son who had an extremely bad temper. He would often do or say some extremely hurtful things, after which he seemed truly repentant. No matter what the mother did, she could not get the child to think before he reacted.
One day while washing dishes, she had a great idea. She called her son into the room with her and handed him a plate. “Throw that plate on the ground” she instructed the young man. After some encouragement, the young man did as he was told. As expected, the plate broke into several pieces.
“Now let’s glue this plate back together” the mother said, so they worked together for quite some time and had the plate looking pretty close to its original state, although a few cracks and chips were still visible. “Now say you’re sorry to this plate,” the mother said. The child looked confused but saw that his mother was serious. So he said his apology. “Now is the plate good as new?” the mother asked. The child shook his head no, because although it was back together, it would never look the same.
The mother went on to explain that is what we do to the hearts of our loved ones when we are angry. Although the pain can be mended and apologies can be given, the relationship will never be able to be put back together the same again.
So the next time you are tempted to say something hurtful to a loved one or co-worker, think of the story of the broken plate and ask yourself, “is saying this really worth the damage that can never really be undone?”
