A dent on the door of a BMW car remained untouched by its owner. Whenever someone inquired about it, the owner would calmly respond, “In the race of life, one shouldn’t drive so fast that they have to stop the car by hitting someone.” Those who heard this were often puzzled by the owner’s response.
One day, a young business executive was driving his brand-new BMW from his office in DHA to his home. As he passed through a less fortunate area, he saw a child running towards the road. He slowed down, but to his surprise, the child threw something at his car. He immediately applied the brakes and got out to see what had happened. There was a significant dent on the door of his new car.
His anger flared, and without thinking, he chased the child down and grabbed him. “Are you blind? Are you crazy? Do you think your father will pay for the damages?” he shouted. The child looked up at him with tearful eyes and managed to speak a few broken Urdu words. The executive’s anger turned to bewilderment as he noticed the child’s face marked with scratches and signs of hardship.
Suddenly, the child pointed towards a nearby hillside area and muttered something in broken Urdu. The executive followed the child’s gaze and saw a handicapped person lying in the dirt, with a wheelchair beside him. A bowl of cooked rice lay spilled next to the wheelchair. It was evident that the person was unable to steady the wheelchair and had accidentally knocked over the food. The young man realized that the child had thrown the object to seek help.
Feeling remorseful, the executive approached the wheelchair-bound person and carefully lifted him onto the wheelchair. With great effort, he pushed the wheelchair back onto the road and placed the person on it. The child looked on with gratitude, and then they continued towards the child’s father.
The child’s father had a grimace of pain on his face, and it was clear that he was in need. The young executive quickly reached into his pocket, took out ten thousand rupees, and placed them in the pocket of the child’s father. Then, he used a tissue from his tissue box to clean the scratches on the person’s face and carefully adjusted the wheelchair. The father continued to bless him as he placed him in the wheelchair and made his way back towards his car.
As he headed back towards his car, he noticed a BMW logo on the back of the vehicle, reminding him of his own luxury car. Yet, he felt a sense of humility and reflection on his own actions. He realized that his anger had been misplaced and that the dent on his car was insignificant in comparison to the struggles these people faced.
Years later, the young executive established a school for disabled children with the help of a charitable organization. He devoted himself to the cause and eventually became an advocate for the marginalized. His BMW became a reminder of the lesson he had learned that day – that life’s race shouldn’t be so fast that one has to hit an obstacle to stop. Sometimes, the message from above is whispered in our ears, and sometimes it’s delivered through the heart.
So, the next time we are tempted to brush off a message, let’s remember that sometimes, a slight tap on our conscience is necessary for us to truly listen.