Solon was one of the great thinkers of ancient Greece. Even today, he is remembered as a great lawgiver.
One day, Solon went out among the citizens, holding a rotten apple in his hand. He raised a question to the people who had gathered around him, “Can anyone tell me what I can do to regenerate this apple, to make it new?”
The people shook their heads in negation. What could one do with a rotten apple? As for making it new, whoever heard of such a thing? It had to be thrown away – and that was it.
Receiving no answers to his query, Solon cut the apple into four pieces.
On collecting the seeds of the apple, he said to them, “The way to make this apple new, to create new apples out of this rotten apple, is to sow these seeds. Out of these seeds will bloom forth new apples.”
The people marveled at the lawgiver’s vision and wisdom. How could they have forgotten that even the rotten apple contained within itself the source of new life – its seeds!
“If you wish to build a new house, get the best quality cement and steel!
If you wish to build a new town, plant trees!
If you wish to build a new humanity, begin with the child.”
PRACTICAL TIP:
Encourage children to read about the lives of great ones and to keep good company. They must be able to choose between what is right and wrong and what is ethical and unethical. Equally important, is to instill in them the lesson that when they face something or someone corrupt, it does not mean that all is lost. When humanity becomes rotten, remember that the seeds of humanity are its children. Invest in them. Take care of them, for they can regenerate humanity.
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