“Every truth has two sides; it is as well to look at both, before
we commit ourselves to either.” – Aesop
***
In Charity and Its Fruits: Christian Love as Manifested in the Heart and Life, Jonathan Edwards wrote: “There are always two sides to every story, and it is generally wise, and safe, and charitable, to take the best; and yet there is probably no one way in which persons are so liable to be wrong, as in presuming the worst is true, and in forming and expressing their judgement of others, and of their actions, without waiting till all the truth is known.”
Now, allow me to share two stories. The first one was forwarded to me through e-mail by a friend:
A couple went for a cruise tour to enjoy their private honeymoon while leaving their children at home. Unfortunately, the cruise ship was sinking due to catastrophic weather conditions. The couple finally made their way to the lifeboat area but there was only space for one person left. The man jumped onto the lifeboat, leaving his wife on the sinking ship. The wife stood on the sinking ship and shouted to her husband saying…
The teacher paused the above story and asked her students in the classroom, “Let us guess. What do you think she shouted to her husband?” Most students answered altogether: “I hate you! I was blinded by love!”
The teacher noticed that there was a student who sat quietly and asked him. The student answered, “Teacher, I believe she would have shouted: Take care of our children!”
The teacher was shocked and asked: “Have you heard this story before?” The student shook his head and said, “Nope, but before my mother passed away to disease, she told my father the exact same words!”
The teacher was amazed and praised: “Your answer is excellent!”
The cruise sunk and the man returned home and brought up their children single-handedly.
Many years later after the death of the man, their daughter who had been accusing her father found her father’s diary while tidying his belongings, and she found out the truth.
It turns out that when her parents went onto the cruise ship, the mother was already diagnosed with an incurable disease. During the crucial moment on the sinking ship, her father rushed to the only space left on the lifeboat. He wrote in his diary, “I wanted to sink with you together on the sinking cruise. But for our children, I could only let you sink alone into the deep cold ocean bed.”
The daughter burst into tears after reading this diary.
The teacher finished the story and the whole class went silent.
The teacher knew that her students had understood the moral of the story that she wanted to pass on to them. In this world, there are always two sides of a coin: there is good and there is evil. Sometimes the situation can be very complicated and indistinguishable between good and bad.
Now, the second story was posted by Health Secretary Ted Herbosa in his social media. Allow me to share it to you:
A famous writer sat in his study. He took out his pen and started writing: “Last year, I had surgery to remove gallstones. I was bedridden for a long time. In the same year, I turned 60 and was forced to retire, quitting a company that I loved so much. I had to leave the job I’d been doing for 35 years.
“That same year, I was abandoned by my beloved mother who passed away. Then, in the same year, my son failed his final medical exam because of a car accident. Repair costs from the car damage marked the peak of bad luck last year.”
At the end, he wrote, “What a bad year!”
His wife entered the room and found her husband sad and pensive. From behind, she’d seen what he’d written. Slowly, she backed away and left the room. But 15 minutes later, she came back in and put down a piece of paper with the following:
“Last year, my husband finally managed to get rid of his gallbladder which had been making his stomach hurt for years. That same year, I am grateful that my husband was able to retire in a healthy and happy state of mind and body. I thank God he was given the opportunity to work and earn for 35 years to support our family. Now, my husband can spend more of his time writing, which has always been his hobby.
“In the same year, my 95-year-old mother-in-law returned to God in peace, without any pain. And still in the same year, God protected our son from harm in a terrible car accident. Our car was seriously damaged by the accident, but my son survived without any serious injuries.”
In the last sentence his wife wrote: “Last year was a year full of extraordinary blessings from God and we spent it full of wonder and gratitude.”
The writer smiled with emotion and warm tears flowed down his cheeks. He was grateful for a different point of view for every event he had gone through in the past year. A different perspective of the same events now made him joyful.
The statement of David Lynch comes to mind: “We all have at least two sides. The world we live in is a world of opposites. And the trick is to reconcile those opposing things. I’ve always liked both sides. In order to appreciate one, you have to know the other. The more darkness you can gather up, the more light you can see too.”
