Chosen for Further Reading (August 2021)
Some brilliant stories from The Masterpiece
The Masterpiece always tries to publish and promote good stories. Stories that matter — stories that connect you deeply. So, here we are again!
In this post, we are going to share a few stories we’ve edited and published in the last month and, therefore, selected for further reading.
We hope the following stories will give you a great reading experience and teach you some valuable life lessons.
Let’s explore the stories!
The Moment I Realized I Had Failed As A Father
written by Rick Martinez
It was my turn to run to the grocery store for milk and diapers. My wife reached into her purse to grab the keys. Instead, she grabbed something else and handed them over to me.
Foodstamps.
Time stopped. Everything froze. Especially my breathing as I looked at the book of “welfare” given to us by the government so I could buy food for my family.
We were poor. Dirt poor, and as I type this, I feel it welling up inside me.
Tout Complet
written by Stephen Goldhahn
It was our first night in Paris — Saturday, April 28, 1979 — and the three of us found ourselves in the same unenviable predicament. No place to stay! Complet! read all the hotel lobby posts. Full. No Vacancy. It was a May Day holiday weekend, and not a room could be had in all of Paris!
But I’m getting ahead of myself. I must admit, the memory of it all is a little fuzzy. Forty-two years… Well, you know how it is. Neural synapses not firing on all cylinders these days.
So, I gave a lifeline call to my brother Ron, an inveterate diarist with a great associative memory — and a brain that’s nine years younger than mine. I figured he could help me fill in the gaps.
War-Zone Like Landscape Close to My Home
written by Agnes Simigh
Just a few kilometers drive away from my home, houses collapsed, and people died. Looking out of the window in the morning, I did not see anything remarkable apart from the playground being soaked in water. I went on my usual morning jogging, and this was when I faced the damage caused by the rain.
Gardens, houses, garages were standing half in water. The small stream crossing our town that is hardly noticeable otherwise erupted with full power from the river bed and flooded the sports field and the nearby places. People were piling up rubbish along the streets, including furniture, washing machine, and everything that became unusable.
I was lucky. I live on the 3rd top floor of the building, and fortunately, the roof proved to be resistant.
We Place Too Much Importance On Work
written by Michael Robert
In 2019, I was a few years into a job that I thought would be the story of my professional life for years to come, possibly forever. But, life has a way of forcing you to think bigger. For me, that meant leaving that job, moving back to the Midwest — all in the name of ensuring our family was closer to our extended family.
My wife and I chose life over work.
If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that the career dynamics of work-life balance are shifting — dramatically.
Dear Single Parents, Your Grudge Isn’t Your Child’s Grudge
written by Jimmy Misner Jr.
To some extent, I get it. I really do. Your significant other ditched you with a child or children and left you to take all the responsibility. They don’t help pay anything, they’re never there when you need them, and they probably just suck as people. There’s plenty of reasons for you not to like them.
The problem is that you aren’t your kid. That deadbeat parent may be a big moldy bag of rock-sucking bagels but your kid loves them anyway. That’s their parent, after all. Honestly, there really isn’t a love more unconditional than the love a child gives a parent.
The Art of Stillness — My First Digital Detox
written by Jack Road
I have journeyed to nowhere for the first time in my life. The 24-hour trip took me to a paradise of thought and wonderment, to a universe where life sits peacefully still. For an entire day, I hid every device away from view and lived life at its core.
I did my first digital detox.
For years now, I have been intrigued by the idea of detoxing from the digital world. Far too often, I find myself perplexed and frustrated by the constant strain it has on me; the ubiquitous flow of information bogs me down.
Hope: The Sun Will Rise Again
written by Christopher Akinlade
In the 1950s, Professor Curt Paul Richter of Johns Hopkins University carried out a series of interesting experiments — drowning rats experiments. Though cruel, these experiments showed the power of hope and resilience in overcoming difficult situations. He placed rats in half-filled buckets of circulating water seeking to know how long rats could swim before drowning.
Even though the hapless rats were excellent swimmers, they lasted for 15 minutes before succumbing to the water depths and drowning. In his own words: “The situation of these rats scarcely seems one demanding fight or flight — it is rather one of hopelessness… the rats are in a situation against which they have no defense… they seem literally to ‘give up.’”
Following up with the first experiment, he exposed another batch of rats to the same inevitable drowning waters. However, in this second experiment, he intervened and rescued the rats just as they were about to drown. Next, he dried them up and returned them to their nightmare. Amazingly, those same rats now swam for an average of 60 hours — two and a half full days!
Not a New Income Stream — But a Healthy Lifestyle Is All You Need
written by S M Mamunur Rahman
Last month, I earned the amount of money I never earned before in my life. It was way more than what I need for a month. But did that make me happy? Yes, absolutely. I felt that I achieved something. And it was great. Great but short-lived.
Here is how I look at money. Money is a tool that helps me to survive. It certainly makes my life easy but I realized that it’s not the money that gives me ultimate happiness, rather the connection I have in my life with nature, family, and friends makes me truly happy.
But if I stop earning the amount I need, that relationship will be affected. So, here comes the idea of a balanced and healthy lifestyle.
Thank you for reading.
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