The Puppy and the Calf
Once upon a time, a puppy and a calf were good friends. The puppy liked to watch floating white clouds . So did the calf. But the reason that made them friends was not only because they shared the same interest but also because for both of them the quality time was their most favorite love language . That's why they were together everyday talking about the size, the color and drift of the clouds as well as any news from around the old farm. However, most important, they found that they were most enjoyed one another's company when both of them were awed by the magnificent beauty of the infinite changes in the clouds floating past them in the blue sky. Other animals are envious about their friendship and call them peas and carrots in that old farm.
One night, the calf was moved to a new barn. It was the first time that the calf had left his little stall at nighttime, and as he looked up, he saw the blaze and twinkle of stars in the dark velvet sky. He was joyously amazed by the millions of points of light above him. He told himself, "I will come out to see them every night."
After that night, he greatly reduced his cloud gazing during the day time so he could take a long nap, and have the energy to see the stars at night. A couple of days later, the puppy noticed changes in his friend, that the calf didn't spend as much time as before watching the clouds. Neither did he talk much with him. Some days there was not even a single word of conversation between the puppy and the calf. A couple of times, the calf even got impatient and angry with the puppy for taking too long to describe the shapes he was seeing in the summer sky. Although the calf apologized to the puppy each time after he was angry or impatient, the puppy was becoming more and more concerned about their friendship.
Finally the puppy decided to do something to save their friendship. and worked up the courage to ask the calf if he would agree to talk with him at least once a day so their friendship could continue. The calf nodded in agreement, because he too realized how much he valued this friendship with the puppy, and decided to make the effort to preserve that relationship.
This new rule, to "communicate once a day" was established. The puppy was happy since he thought he could at least talk to his friend every day, even though they had the different interests right now. Even after the rule was made, however, the calf didn't reduce his obsession with the stars. He went out every night to watch the stars, and continued to be very tired during the day. The calf was known for his commitment to keeping promises, so he managed to find time to faithfully keep the rule to "communicate once a day ."
Unfortunately, the puppy felt that there was something that got lost in their communication after they had established that rule. Before, he could talk to the calf whenever he wanted; now he had only a fixed time of day to visit with the calf. If the conversation became too long, the puppy would begin to see boredom and impatience in the calf's face. Before, he could talk to the calf a couple of times a day; now he had to save all of his feelings and observations during the day so he could share them during that fixed time of day. Also, before the agreement, the calf always asked the puppy a lot of questions, but now he seemed to avoid asking the puppy any questions. The puppy found that, although they kept the rule perfectly well, their relationship didn't make any progress.
The relationship with the calf made the puppy realize one thing: a true loving relationship cannot rely on rules to either maintain it or deepen it. If you don't have the heart to nurture the relationship, it will be not grow no matter how well you keep the rule. After the puppy had this realization, he said to himself, "I cherish my friendship with the calf, so I will use my heart to water it. I will go to tell the calf that the rule should be abolished. No rules between us any more. Only Love! "
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