Take the Rocks

Do you guys like stories? i love them! i have a story for you all today. well, a parable, really. i did not make this up, i heard it from a kid in my school.
Once upon a time, there was a man who was traveling through the wilderness via camel. After several hours, he grew tired and thirsty, so he stopped to rest near a flowing stream. He sat under a tree, enjoying its shade as he ate his bread.
After he had finished eating, the man bent down over the water to drink. It was then that he noticed that the bottom of the stream was covered with small pebbles. They were pretty ordinary looking, so he didn't give them another thought as he scooped the cold, clear water into his parched mouth.
As the man got up to continue on his journey, he suddenly heard a voice in his ear. It was soft and whispery, as if it belonged to the wind itself. The voice said, "Take the rocks, for tomorrow you'll be glad and tomorrow you'll be sad."
"What?!" the man exclaimed, taken aback. "I already have so much to carry, and my camel is tired as it is. Why on earth would I take these useless pebbles? They'd only weigh me down."
The voice did not answer.
The man shrugged. "Might as well take some," he figured. "It can't hurt."
The man sank his arm to the stream's bottom and pulled out a few pebbles. He dropped them into his pocket, then climbed onto his camel and continued on his way.
It was only the next day, when the man had arrived at his home city many miles away, that he remembered the rocks. He stuck his hand into his pocket and took them out, but what he saw amazed him. Instead of ordinary pebbles, there were three dazzling diamonds sitting in his palm! They had turned from plain old rocks into valuable gems!
The man was overjoyed at his newly acquired wealth. But at the same time, he was devastated. He had only brought back three pebbles, when he could've had hundreds and hundreds! Now he would never again have the opportunity to go back and retrieve the treasures. It was too late.

Not a very good story, I'll admit. Still, it has a very good lesson. throughout our lives, we will go through many different experiences, some pleasant and some not-so-pleasant. We have a choice- we can simply let the time pass, and get nothing out of it. Or- we can take something with us. We can make the most of our time, even if we aren't enjoying our situation. We can see it as an opportunity to learn, to grow. We can have a chance to grab at priceless treasures, even if they might not seem like treasures at the time. We should try to take as many as possible, so that we can have few regrets once the opportunity passes.

So take the rocks, for tomorrow you'll be glad, and tomorrow you'll be sad.