Plates

I heard this short story in the form of a dialogue recently:

Grab a plate and throw it on the ground.

-Okay.

Did it break?

-Yes.

Now say sorry to it.

-Okay.

Did it go back to the way it was before?

-No.

Do you understand now?

(See it as an image here)

There are at least three lessons in the story:

1. If someone has hurt you, it doesn’t have to be magically okay. It will probably continue to hurt for a while.

2. If you’ve hurt someone else, you should do everything you can to make it right—but you also shouldn’t expect it to be completely fixed.

3. Whenever possible, avoid these situations in the first place. Don’t be careless with plates, or with people.

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Image: Mountain Bread