4 Things You Cannot Recover

A young lady was waiting for her flight in the boarding room of a big airport.  As she would need to wait many hours, she decided to buy a book to spend her time.  She also bought a packet of cookies.  She sat down in an armchair, in the VIP room of the airport, to rest and read in peace.

Beside the armchair where the packet of cookies lay, a man sat down in the next seat, opened his magazine and started reading.  When she took out the first cookie, the man took one also.  She felt irritated but said nothing.  She just thought, “What a nerve!  If I was in the mood I would punch him for daring!”

For each cookie she took, the man took one too.  This was infuriating her but she didn’t want to cause a scene.

When only one cookie remained, she wondered what he’d do.  Then the man, taking the last cookie, divided it into half, giving her one half.

Ah!! That was too much!  She was much too angry now!  In a huff, she took her book, her things and stormed to the boarding place.

When she sat down in her seat inside the plane, she looked into her purse to get her eyeglasses and to her surprise, her packet of cookies was there, untouched, unopened!

She felt so ashamed!!  She realized that she was wrong…..  She had forgotten that her cookies were kept in her purse.

The man had divided his cookies with her, without felling angered or bitter.  While she had been very angry, thinking that she was dividing her cookies with him.  And now there was no chance to explain herself….nor apologize.

The moral of the story….  There are 4 things you cannot recover:

• The stone …. after the throw!
• The word ….after its said!
• The occasion ….after its missed!
• The time ….after it’s gone!

“How any cookie crumbles – is really up to you & me
If a choice alone can lock us up – then it can also set us free
We can choose to rush to judgment – we can choose to scream and shout
Or we can choose to give a greater gift – The Benefit of the Doubt!” (Kirk Weisler)

Story retold by Valerie Cox and Kirk Weisler and many others.  Per Kirk, the story has been around for more that 100 years and the original creator of the tale is unknown but it’s a story we all need to read from time to time.