There was a boy with a bad temper. His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he should hammer a nail into the backyard fence. On the first day, the boy hammered 37 nails. Gradually, the number of nails driven into the fence decreased each day, as he discovered that controlling his temper was easier than hammering nails. Eventually, a day came when the boy no longer lost his patience or his temper. He shared this with his father. The father suggested, "From now on, whenever you manage to control your temper, pull one nail out." As time passed, the boy finally told his father that he had pulled out all the nails.
The father took him by the hand to the backyard and said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. This fence will never be the same as it was before. The words spoken in anger leave scars just like these holes. If you wound someone with a knife, no matter how many times you say sorry, the wound will remain. The pain caused by words is as difficult to bear as physical pain."
People often suffer permanent damage due to unavoidable conflicts. If we can start with ourselves and treat others with tolerance, we will surely receive unexpected blessings. By opening a window for others, we allow ourselves to see a more complete sky.