Thought for the Week

THE LOCH was completely still as the pink clouds turned day into evening, casting their perfect reflections on the still waters.

The woods were quiet too and only the sound of our boots on the dry leaves broke the silence.

That was until our collies heard something in the bushes and their barking soon shattered the peace.

Then there was another threat as a ‘dog’ across the loch barked back at them with ever louder determination.

Soon it was mayhem as this dog, called Echo, responded to every bark.

Greatly amused, we watched as our two barked, then stopped to listen for Echo’s response. He obliged every time.

As a child I loved to find a cave or a hill where my voice would echo back to me. If I laughed, laughter came back to me; if I sang, my song was returned; if I shouted, the voice shouted back; if I cried, the voice cried with me.

Someone once said: ‘What we do in life echoes in eternity.’

Maybe what we do in this life too, comes back to us. If we laugh with people, they usually laugh with us. If we sing, people often join in our song.

However if we shout, people tend to shout back at us.

There is a lot of shouting in our world these days, and people tend to think that the louder they shout, the more likely they are to win the argument.

How wrong they are, because when people are shouting, they are not listening.

The truth is usually found in the still small voice of calm.

Speak gently to one another, for ‘what we do in life echoes in eternity’.