|
|
|
|
The Touch Of The Master's Hand,
Myra B. Welch
'Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
thought it scarcely worth his while
To waste much time on the old violin,
But held it up with a smile.
What am I bidden, good folks!" he cried,
"Who'll start the bidding for me?
A dollar, a dollar, then, two! Only two?
Two dollars, and who'll make it three?
Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;
Going for three.. ." But no,
From the room, far back, a grey-haired man
Came forward and picked up the bow;
Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,
And tightening the loose strings,
He played a melody pure and sweet
As a carolling angel sings.
The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
With a voice that was quiet and low,
Said: "What am I bid for the old violin?"
And he held it up with the bow.
"A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two?
Two thousand! And who'll make it three?
Three thousand, once; three thousand, twice;
And going and gone" said he.
The people cheered, but some of them cried,
"We do not quite understand
What changed its worth?" Swift came the reply:
"The touch of a master's hand."
And many a man with life out of tune,
And battered and scarred with sin,
Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,
Much like the old violin.
A mess of potage a glass of wine;
A game -- and he travels on.
He is going once, and going twice,
He's going and almost gone.
But the Master comes and the foolish crowd
Never can quite understand
The worth of a soul and the change that's wrought
By the touch, of the Master's hand.
This was send to me by a friend , some time again and I was going through my website tonight .. Well I thought it would be good to post it here ..
Just like the old violin that was touch by the Master's hand maybe we need to be touch by the Master's hand to show us , we are all worth something . No matter what our opinions are ..
Rick ..
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rick, it is true and we could all do with a lil help now and again. Sometimes our lives do get bent outta shape 
People have a habit of changing your direction through life
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Plug
|
 |
Getting started |
Registered: January 1970
Messages: 12
|
|
|
Now I like that. I've suffered alot from low self-esteem. There are great people who try to boost it and make me feel good and confident. Then I say something which seems important and useful, to me anyway, and some know-all bugger who pretends to be a friend slaps me down with obscenities. Why can't people be positive and polite? Hasn't everyone got a spark which deserves encouraging and opinions that deserve listening to? It's like someone delibaretly playing that violin flat and squeaky just to show he's superior and it's inferior. How does one deal with them? Ignore them, or avoid them, or what? I'd really like advice.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
timmy
|
 |
Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
|
|
|
The best advice is to smile inwardly because you know what they are doing.
It is easier to put someone down than to build them up. Try building someone up and watch how they recoil from the idea. Put them down and they are "satisfied" because the encounter went "as expected".
I like the idea of doing random acts of kindness. Mind you, smith told us a while back that he tried that in the mall and the woman he was trying to help tried to call the police!
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Plug
|
|
Getting started |
Registered: January 1970
Messages: 12
|
|
|
Yeah, that's all very well. But that's from the putter-down's point of view. Suppose you're the one put down. You may have expected to be put down, but Christ, YOU're not satisfied. You know what they're doing, but it's bloody hard to smile inwardly. Let alone outwardly. You just ache.
Sorry to go on. I know I'm a new boy, but I'm in pain. Any more ideas about how to handle putters-down?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Mainly because I really don't know your situation. You call yourself the "new boy", so I assume you're dealing with school putter-downs? Am I right?
If that is the case, I experience that a lot, but not as much as I used to, now that I'm a junior in high school. But what kid doesn't experience that in school? What I did to deal with them is just really ignore them, because the kids who were doing it were just plain obnoxious. They're just trying to look cool, and I think it's a pretty stupid way of doing it. I didn't let them phase me because they aren't my true friends. True friends wouldn't treat me that way. I know that I have awesome friends who will always be with me.
As corny as that sounds, it's the truth. I know it may not be much, but I'm not too sure of your situation. Perhaps you could elaborate a little more so we can help you further?
And once again, welcome!
-Tom 
"Whatever is sought for can be caught, you know,
whatever is neglected slips away."
Oedipus Rex, lines 126-127
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
timmy
|
|
Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
|
|
|
I tend to take things one side at a time.
Being put down is a thing I was quite used to as a kid. I even went as far as to try to be friends with the bullies who put me down. I was a sad little kid.
I don't think I ever really dealt with those who put me down, as such, and I know I ached. My previous answer was really to set into context the "handshake" between the one who puts and the one who IS put down, to make it understandable.
The only thing that is going through my head is what my son did when he moved from one school to another. The first school he hated. He never told me how much, or how horrible a time he had there until a year ago. Thne he explained how he'd decided never to be bullied or put down or teased again.
He had an advantage. He changed school. But I think the process holds true. He started to walk tall and proud even though he was terrified it would all go wrong. And he achieved becoming one of the group of kids that everyone looks up to and respects. One of. Not "the".
So, to me, it seems that the first step is an internal decision. Not aggressive. Not "if he puts me down I'll piss in his pockets", but "I have the right to walk tall and proud. He doe snot have the right to put me down. So, despite what he seems to be saying, I am not listening."
Loads of arguments about why that "will not work", and it needs input from lots of people here. It will work, and it takes guts. We have a number of examples here of those who were crapped on by so called friends. They can stand up and be counted if they want. Show you how they got through.
I think each started by someone valuing him. Or her. And by accepting that good valuation.
I don't think anyone dealt with the people who put them down. Instead they dealt inside themselves to start with.
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here at this link, you will find an audio *.mp3 of Walter Brennan's spoken-word rendering of the Myra Welch's poem.
http://www.houseofellithorpe.com/futilis1.html
Just a little something.
Brian
To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
As I was walking the halls of my school with a couple of friends this, well, jerk standing around with his group of lackeys threw a hurtful comment my way. I stopped turned to him and told him how bad I feel for him since the only reason people say those kind of things is to boost their own self esteem. I told him that if he ever feels the need to talk about what gets his self esteem so low that I'd be willing to listen. I must say that the look on his face was priceless; he stood there for what had to be half a minute with the most dumbfounded look I have ever seen. Needless to say that took the wind out of his sails. His "good" friends of course laughed at his expense which of course led to his fists trying to find my face . After that (and after the talk with our principle) he ignored me completely and from what I saw he tuned down his put downs of others.
What I think I'm trying to say is this, when dealing with this kind of bullies you have two options ignore them or do something about it. I was taught that ignoring problems does not make them go away so I chose to do something about it. I knew that if I ignore him he'll get tired of picking on me and just go on to someone else who'll have to go through it. Although I'm not sure I'd advise you or anyone else to do what I did, I did it full knowing that it will cost me.
Now that I read what I wrote I'm not sure what my point was, maybe just another option, another point of view.
BTW welcome
Hugs,
Gil
Searching for the light at the end of the bed...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Plug
|
|
Getting started |
Registered: January 1970
Messages: 12
|
|
|
Thanks for your welcome, and I appreciate what you've all said.
I meant I'm a new boy on this site. I've left school, where you almost expect crap like this. I'm involved in a voluntary organisation, a group of about a dozen regulars of all ages. Most of them are cool, and seem to think I'm OK. But it's all buggered up by a single prick, if you see what I mean. The guy in charge pretends to be friendly, but he picks on me and swears at me. He's the sort who thinks he's the bee's knees. He has to be right even when he's obviously wrong. He has his pets, and maybe he wants me out. Or maybe he doesn't realise how much it hurts. But he is the boss, and we work as a team, so it's hard to ignore him. The only way to avoid him is to leave. But I don't want to. We do useful stuff there, and I've more friends there than at college or at home. It would be hard to replace them cos I'm not an outgoing type, not into pubbing and clubbing. One or two of them couldn't stand him either and have gone, but the rest just shrug their shoulders when he's a pain in the arse. They say I haven't got a thick enough skin. But how do you grow one?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
timmy
|
|
Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
|
|
|
I work for one of those. She makes my life a misery and I feel sick each morning in a job I used to love and am good at.
My solution is to document every last incident, and to assemble a dossier for when (not if) I leave.
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
|
|
|
|
|
Goto Forum:
|
] 
A Place of Safety
Search
Help
Register
Login
Home
The Touch Of The Master's Hand, 
Re: The Touch Of The Master's Hand, 
Re: The Touch Of The Master's Hand, 
