The master carpenter

A man discovered he had a flat tire and pulled to the curb. He then realized he had stopped in front of the local mental health sanitarium when a patient came up to the fence and began teasing him.

The driver ignored the patient’s catcalls and insults while he carefully took each lug nut off and placed it in the hubcap as he removed the tire. While trying to install the spare, he inadvertently knocked the hubcap, which spilled the lugs and all five nuts fell into the nearby storm sewer, falling beyond his reach.

The patient howled with laughter as the guy, at the end of his patience, began to vent about being stuck there until a tow truck could arrive. The patient told him, “I can help you.”

The guy glared at him and said, “Sure you can.”

The patient said, “No, really, I can help.”

The guy reluctantly asked how. The deranged patient then said, “Take one nut off of the other three tires and put the spare on with three lugs. Then you can safely drive to the nearest gas station or garage for the other nuts and get your tire fixed.”

The guy said, “how come I did not even think about that? What a great idea.” And so he thanked him and asked, “How did a guy like you ever think that one up?”

To which the asylum patient replied, “Well, I’m just crazy, not stupid!”

People have different kinds of smarts. And I have always believed that their smarts can be developed into skills that can help them and eventually make them intelligent. But do you know that sometimes smarts and intelligence become insanity and stupidity. The following story by Michael Josephson, in his blog site “Character Counts,” would show. Here is the story:

A master carpenter who worked for the same builder for nearly 50 years announced that he wanted to retire. The builder told him how much he appreciated his work. He gave the carpenter a $5,000 bonus and asked him if he would build just one more house. The builder owned a magnificent lot with a spectacular view and he wanted to build a dream home.

The carpenter was bitterly disappointed at the small bonus, but his last building fee would help him buy a small cottage, so he agreed to build the dream house.

The carpenter prided himself on his uncompromising commitment to quality, but his resentment caused him to cut corners, ignore details, and accept shoddy workmanship from other workers. He even looked the other way when some of them substituted cheaper materials and pocketed the difference.

When the house was finished the builder shook the carpenter’s hand and with a huge smile he gave him an envelope with a thank-you card and a folded piece of paper. The carpenter was disdainful — until he unfolded the paper and found the deed to the house he had just built.

The carpenter was ashamed that he had misjudged his old friend and betrayed his own values, and he was remorseful that the house he would live in for the rest of his life was made so carelessly.

Unhealthy emotions like envy, resentment, anger, and so on, can easily render smarts and intelligence non-operative, and when allowed to fester lead to insane and stupid behavior.

Michael Josephson closes this story with his commentary: “Our character is the house we live in and it’s built piece by piece by our daily choices. Deceit, irresponsibility and disrespect are just like shoddy workmanship. Whenever we put in less than our best and ignore our potential for excellence, we create a future full of creaky floors, leaky roofs, and crumbling foundations.”

And may I add, if life is lived with a leaky foundation of ethics and morality, then there will always be consequences to the insane and stupid behavior. Be smart and master emotions skillfully. This makes one intelligent.

(Experience two inspiring days with Francis Kong learning leadership and life skills in his widely acclaimed Level Up Leadership April 18-19 at Seda Hotel, BGC. For further inquiries contact April at +63928-559-1798 or register online at www.levelupleadership.ph)