Seeking for a Job

A young man was applying for a job in a big company. He had passed the first few tests, and now he was sitting in front of the general manager to have the final interview. After looking at the result of the tests and his appearance, the general manager asked him, “What’s your ambition?”

“My ambition is to sit on your chair one day,” he answered.

“You know, it is not easy. You must work very hard for a long time. Do you understand this?”

The young man nodded.

“What do your parents do?” the general manager continued.

“My father passed away when I was young, sir. My mother is the bread earner. She sends us to school.”

“Do you know your mother’s birthday?” again the manager asked.

“There is no tradition of celebrating birthdays in our family Sir. I don’t know her birthday.”

“Well, young man. I have not made decision whether to accept you or not, but I have one task for you. When you are home, do this small thing: wash your mother’s feet. Come back here tomorrow.”

He did not understand why the manager asked him to to do this. It was certainly an extraordinary request. However, he was willing to do it since he wanted the job badly. In the evening, he led his mother to a chair. “Mom, you look so tired. Let me wash your feet.”

Surprised, the mother looked at her soon and nodded. “My son, you’ve grown up now. You seem to start understanding life.”

He took a pail of warm water, and soaked his mother’s feet in it. He rubbed and messaged the fragile, wrinkled, and withered feet gently. Feeling the rough and flaky feet in his hands, he shed tears down his cheeks. “Thanks you very much, Mom. So far you have been working very hard for me. Because of these feet I can be what I am today,” he mumbled, trying hard to control his sobs. Then they hugged each other with a feeling of gratitude and relief.

The next day, the manager asked him, “Now, tell me what you felt when you washed your mother’s feet.”

“When I washed them, I realized how much she loved me. She sacrificed everything, even herself, for her children. Seeing my mother’s wrinkled and fragile feet, I know that I have to work very well as a way to pay respect to her,” he said wholeheartedly.

Hearing this, the manager decided to accept him. He believed that a young man who knew how to be grateful and to replay the kindness of his parents was a human being with big compassion. And a man with compassion would work seriously, with all his heart and responsibility.

“Our parents’ love and sacrifices cannot be valued by anything. Only when we understanding the meaning of our mother’s sacrifices can we find real compassion.”