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John Hembree

An Everyday Expression of Hope and Its Potential

An Everyday Expression of Hope 

Mangled Beyond Use

January 12, 2020 by John Hembree 1 Comment

Coke Can II

A marketing professor at Boston University, Reni Fridel, noticed a unique trend at his office.

Fridel observed, with recycling and trash containers side by side, that when a colleague discarded paper, whole sheets would be placed in the recycling container.

If it was torn, shredded or crinkled it would be placed in the trash container.

Same result with soda cans.

No dents, in the recycling container.

Dented or even changed slightly in shape, in the trash.

He conducted an experiment by observing and then collecting what others either recycled or trashed and why.

Fridel noted, “Useful things go in recycling, and useless things go in the trash.”

That made me think.

We treat people the same way.

If a person’s life seems pristine, intact, with no damage nor blemishes we consider them valuable and useful.

If a person’s life is messy, dented, damaged, mangled or crushed we consider them of no value and for them we have no further use.

We do that.

The beautiful people and their beautiful lives, they should be the ones to be hired and succeed.

We simply can not use ugly people and ugly lives.  It’s a known fact.  (Heavy sarcasm there.)

Even when one goes through a troubled time in the their life, if they are empty but intact, like the soda can?

Yep, definitely worth recycling.

If someone’s life has been crushed, torn into pieces and almost unrecognizable?

Nope, sorry, in the trash.

Look for the dented, mangled and shredded people that you come in contact with.

Are you recycling people or trashing people?

Do you hire based on appearance?

Do you choose your friends based on social status?

Consider people for who they are, not necessarily what they look like and what you can get from them.

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Comments

  1. Cathy says

    November 30, 2013 at 8:26 am

    I was a perfectly good can in the beginning of my life up until mu mid twenties. Then slowly my can became more and more dented, scratched, torn and even broken. The more years that went by the more damaged I became. Some people thought I needed to be trashed. There was no hope at the chance of recycling me, the chief amongst sinners. I had done WAY too much wrong to ever be recycled. I am so thankful for the prayers of family and friends who believed tat my can could be made like new again. For a God who loved me so much tat He NEVER thought of trashing me but only of recycling me and making me like a brand new shinny can. Now I have so many who thought I would NEVER amount to anything and are surprised at who and what I have become. And so many who always believed in who and what I could be. I love to tell how I went from a beautiful can to a very ugly can and back to being a bright and shinny newly recycled can. Thank you once again John for a wonderful way of making us think!!!!

    Reply

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