"If you have the time," I said.

God smiled and said:
"My time is called  'eternity' and is enough to do everything;
what questions do you have in mind to ask me?"
 
"None that are new to You.....
But what's the one thing that surprises You most about mankind?"

God answered:
"That they get bored of being children, are in a rush to grow up,
and then long to be children again.

That they lose their health to make more
and then lose their money to restore their health.
 
That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present,
such that they live neither for the present nor the future.

That they live as if they will never die,
and they die as if they had never lived...
and they forget about love, the essence of Myself"

God's hands took mine and we were silent.

After a long period, I said, "May I ask you another question?
As a Parent, what would you ask your children to do?"
 
God replied with a smile:
 
"To learn that they cannot make anyone love you,
what is important is who you love.
 
To learn that it takes years to build trust, and a few seconds to destroy it.

To learn that what is most valuable is not what you have in your lives,
but who you have in your lives.

To learn that there are persons that love them dearly,
but simply do not know how to show their feelings.

To learn that two people can look at the same thing
 and see something totally different.

To learn that it is not good
to compare themselves to others.
There will be others better or worse than they are.

To learn that they should control their attitudes,
otherwise their attitudes will control them.

To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most,
but is one who needs the least.

To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds
in persons we love, and that it takes many years to heal them.
 
To learn that it is not always enough that they be forgiven by others,
but that they forgive themselves.
 
To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness.

To learn that money can buy everything but happiness.
 
To learn that great dreams do not require great wings,
but a landing gear to achieve.
 
To learn that while at times they may be entitled to be upset,
that does not give them the right to upset those around them.
 
To learn that they are masters of what they keep to themselves
and slaves of what they say.

To learn that true friends are scarce,
he/she who has found one has found a true treasure.

To learn that they shall reap what they plant;
if they plant gossip they will harvest intrigues,
if they plant rejection they will harvest loneliness,
if they plant love they will harvest happiness.

To learn that true happiness is not to achieve their goals
but to learn who they are by striving towards others.

To learn that happiness is a decision.
They decide to be happy with what they are and have,
or die from envy and jealousy of what they lack.

To learn that even though they may think they have nothing to give,
when a friend cries with them, they find the strength to appease the pain.
 
To learn that those who are honest with themselves
without considering the consequences go far in life.
 
To learn that by trying to hold on to loved ones, they very quickly push them away;
and by letting go of those they love, they will be side by side forever.
 
To learn that even though the word "love" has many different meanings,
it loses value when it is overstated.
 
To learn that they can never do something extraordinary for Me to love them;

I simply do.

(From: DOCD4DZ@aol.com)