An Indian boy wanted to be a hero. So one of the warriors and leaders of his tribe taught him to hunt and fish and shoot with bow and arrow.

Finally, the important day dawned when the boy was to make his first bow and arrow. That is a work of skill and patience, to be done from beginning to end by one man. Most difficult is choosing the right wood from the right tree. A day was chosen for selecting the wood. As the lad set out to choose the wood, his father made two conditions:

First, once he had passed up a tree, he was never to consider it again. Secondly, once he had made his choice, he was not to change it.

Early in the morning the boy started out. He tramped and tramped looking closely at one tree after another. He was almost near the edge of the forest, not many trees left, and so he had to make a choice, and he did.

But when he brought the young tree back home, his father told him that it was not the best. Then his father wisely asked the boy to think over his experience that day and tell what he had learned from it. The boy thought and thought. At last he came to his father and said, "Dad, I learned that once you make your choice, you cannot change it."

Your choice in life might not be the best one, but you work with what you have chosen�and make something of it. �Msgr. Arthur Tonne

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When you remember how hard it is to change yourself, you begin to understand what little chance we have of changing others. �Anon