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Along Life’s Way
Mind over
Matter: A Fable
© 2018 Lois E. Wilson
Their four year old, Tommy, was a busy, inquisitive boy. He liked to
explore objects to find out how they work and many situations intrigued
him. One Saturday he went out to play on his tricycle and was
distracted by the pretty yellow flowers in his mother’s garden. He
thought he’d surprise her and pick her a bouquet. He pinched or broke
off every blossom that had opened and carried them into the house.
However, her reaction shocked him. She loudly exclaimed, “Tommy, have
you lost your mind? I was saving those to take to church tomorrow. Now
what will I do? Go back outside and let me think.”
He rode on his tricycle until a rain shower drove him inside. He
hurried up to his room to play with his toy cars and trucks. He put
them in a row on the floor and decided to play “mechanic” like he had
seen at the car service center. He began to take the wheels from the
vehicles and to take them apart. He had about finished the project when
his father appeared at his door.”What are you doing? Have you lost your
mind? You’re ruining them. And by the way, you left your tricycle out
in the rain—I ask again, have you lost your mind?” Tommy shrugged and
tried to put the cars and trucks back together.
He went downstairs and saw his dad working. His mother was taking a nap
on the couch. He was hungry so he thought that he would make pancakes
just like he had seen his mother do many times. The broken eggs with
some shell attached fell on the kitchen counter. He put the flour in a
bowl and accidently knocked it to the floor. Flour flew everywhere on
his clothes, on the counter and floor. The crash woke up his mother.
She rushed in, saw the scene, and cried, “Have you lost your mind? What
were you thinking? What a mess!”
He knew he was in big trouble and decided to try and remedy the results
of his actions. He started in his room then went through the rest of
the house—each floor, the garage—in every corner until he was so tired
he could no longer keep his eyes open. His father called, “Bedtime!” He
picked up Tommy and carried him to his bedroom. His mother helped him
put on his PJ’s and he climbed into bed. They kissed him “goodnight”
and turned off the light.
They left his door ajar, but paused to listen when they heard him
praying. “Dear God, I got into trouble today. I need some help. My
parents keep asking me if I lost my mind. I believe things will get
better if I find it. I’ve been hunting for it everywhere, but I can’t
find it. Could you please give me a hint where it is. Also, I really
need to know what it looks like, then I’ll know when I’ve found it.
Thank you, God, goodnight. Amen”
The parents silently walked arm in arm to their bedroom. Both had tears
in their eyes. The father said, “We need to have a discussion, and then
we’ll talk with Tommy tomorrow about what we said to him.”
Moral: Think before you act, then you will likely find—your mind’s only
lost when you’ve paid it no mind.
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