A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. All the other frogs gathered around the pit. When they saw how deep the pit was, they told the unfortunate frogs they would never get out. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead.
Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and simply gave up. He fell down and died. The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs asked him, “Why did you continue jumping? Didn’t you hear us?” The frog explained them that he was deaf. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time. The story holds a lesson:There is power of life and death in the tongue. An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the day; and a destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to kill them. Be careful of what you say.
Akhand Jyoti Magazine May June 2014