There was once a young girl who was very fond of dancing. Her skill in dancing was extraordinary and surpassed her dancing friends that she often appeared as the champion in many competition held. She thought, with what she possess at that time, one day later when she grew up, she would want to be a world class dancer. She imagined herself dancing in Russia, China, America, Japan, being watched by thousands of people giving applause to her on salutation.
One day, the city she resided in was visited by a dancing expert professional who came from abroad. This dancing expert was very fascinating, from his hands have been born out world class dancers. The young girl desired very much to dance and exhibit her prowess in front of the teacher, or even if possible, to be one of his pupil. Finally the opportunity came at last. The young girl managed to meet with the teacher behind the screen after his performance was over. The young girl asked "Sir, i really want to be a wold-class dancer. Can you give me a moment of your time, to judge my dancing skill? I want to know what you think of my dance." "Fine, dance then for 10 minutes", the expert responded.
Not even 10 minutes have passed, the teacher stood up from his chair, and left the place without saying any word to the young girl. How broken heart the young girl was upon that. The girl immediately ran out, reaching her home, she cried and cried. She began hating herself. After all, the dance that she had been proud of all those years was nothing at all for the teacher. She then get hold of her dancing shoes and threw it in the garbage. Since then, she swore not ever to dance anymore.
Several decades have passed, now the young girl have became a mother with three children. Her husband had passed away. And to feed her family, she had to work as waitress in a restaurant at the corner of a street.
One day, there was a dance exhibition being held in the city. The same expert could be seen behind the young dancers behind the platform. The expert looked much older, with his hair whitening. The mother with her children went to see the dance show. After the show, the mother brought her three children into the back, looking for the teacher, and introduced him to her three children. The old teacher still recognize her, and so they converse with each other enjoy fully.
The mother asked, "Sir, i still have one thing that still bothers me. It was about me performing in front of you many years ago. Was my performance that bad that you leave straight away?" "Oh yes, I remembered it. Frankly speaking, I never have ever seen in my life such beautiful dance that you showed me at that time. I was even sure that you would surely become a world-class dancer, but i was dumbfounded how you suddenly stopped from the world of dancing", answered the teacher.
The young mother was extremely shocked hearing it. "This is not fair!", she exclaimed. "Your attitude had stolen all my dreams! If it was true that my dance was good, why did you just leave me that way when i had just only danced for several minutes? You should have praised me, not ignoring me like that. I am supposed to be a world-class dancer right now, not just a waitress!"
The teacher answered calmly with his wisdom, "No...No, I think I have done what I thought was right. You don't need to drink a barrel of wine to know that the wine is good. The same goes with me. I didnt need to watch you for 10 minutes to prove that your dance was good. That night I was also very exhausted after the show. So I was thinking to leave you for a moment, to get you my name card, and hoped that you would contact me again the next day. But then you were not there anymore when i returned. And another thing that I have to remind you, that You should focus on your dreams not, on what I say or what I do or what the world say! Then applause? So you expected praise and applause? Ah, maybe at that time you were still growing, young lady. Praise like a double edged sward. at some times it will motivate you, at the other times it will weaken you. And the fact is that I had observed that most of the PRAISE GIVEN TO A GROWING CHILD, WILL JUST MAKE HIM/HER FEEL SATISFIED OF THE CURRENT PROGRESS AND HINDERS FURTHER GROWTH. I EVEN PREFER TO IGNORE YOU, AS IT SUPPOSEDLY CAN ROCKET YOUR PROGRESS. Besides, praise is something that should come from myself, not something that you should ask for."
"You see, this was actually only a small matter. If only at that time you didn't ignore what happened and kept on dancing, you would have became a very great world-class dancer. You might hurt at that time but it will dissipate quickly once you keep on practising again. But the hurt emerged from this regret today will never disappear for the rest of your life..."
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