Respirit--inspiration to refresh your spirit and give you courage

From NAIL IN THE FENCE
...
There once was a little boy who had a bad temper.
His Father gave him a bag of nails and told him that 
every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a 
nail into the back of the fence. The first day the boy 
had driven 37 nails into the fence. Over the next
few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the
number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled 
down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper 
than to drive those nails into the fence.  Finally the day 
came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told
his father about it and the father suggested that the boy 
now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to 
hold his temper. The days passed and the young boy 
was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were 
gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to
the fence. He said, You have done well, my son, but look 
at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the 
same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar 
just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw 
it out.  It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry,
the wound is still there. A verbal wound is as bad as a 
physical one. Friends are very rare jewels, indeed. They 
make you smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend
an ear, they share words of praise and they always want
to open their hearts to us.
....

Author Unknown