I remember reading short stories which were great sources of knowledge and taught moral values. Even before I could read, my mother used to tuck me in and narrate short stories that were a source of knowledge and moral values.
Whenever I forget to slow down and cherish the simple things in life, the remembrance of those short stories save me.
Here are 4 such short stories which are a great source of knowledge and moral values for teenagers and adults who, like me, are living the modern life the modern way.
1. The Rich Man’s Dilemma: What Makes One Happy?
Once a rich man went to see a saint who was known to be a source of knowledge. He told him his dilemma. He was rich and had moral values but did not know how to be happy. The saint asked him to juggle three balls, one made of ceramic, one of glass and one of rubber.
The man started going as instructed. Eventually, he lost coordination and the ceramic ball was about to fall. The man quickly dropped the rubber ball and caught the ceramic ball.
The saint asked him why he did that. The man answered that the rubber ball wouldn’t break but had the ceramic ball fallen, it would have broken. The saint told him that the balls represent priorities in life.
The ceramic ball represents family and friends, the glass ball represents the necessities in life such as a job, house and food and the rubber ball represents luxury. Till now, the man had been dropping the ceramic ball and that was the reason for his unhappiness.
The saint told him that we can only juggle a limited number of balls. So, when the need comes, to be truly happy, we should drop our luxuries and focus on our dear ones and our basic necessities.
This story served as a big source of knowledge for me as it made me to stop and think which ball I have been saving and if it was making me truly happy.
2. Bowl of Noodles: A Short Story about Moral Values
“Compassion is the basis of morality.”
― Arthur Schopenhauer
Again, Sue had a fight with her mother and deemed it best to leave the house. It was a cold night and she was hungry. She came across a noodle shop but didn’t have the money to buy a bowl.
The owner caught her eye. He seemed like a kind man with moral values. He invited her in but Sue told him she didn’t have any money. The man insisted and told her she didn’t have to pay. Sue accepted the invitation.
While eating, she narrated her story to the man. The man told her that she was grateful to him after just one bowl of noodles. While her mother had raised her, fed her numerous nourishing meals.
The man told her that with time, we tend to take the people in our lives and the things they do for us for granted. It is then when we start making unreasonable demands and having unrealistic expectations. This was against moral values.
The man was a great source of knowledge to Sue. She understood her mistake and went back home to apologise, only to find her mother at the gate with dinner in her hand, waiting for Sue.
I learned that no matter how many moral values we have, if we take our loved ones for granted, we’ll definitely hurt them.
This story was a source of knowledge and enlightenment for me and made me go and hug my near ones.
3. The Weight of Glass: A Source of Knowledge
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