If we’re moral, if we’re grateful to our leaders for protecting the

CAREFULNESS

Thành held a gun and threaded his way through the reef at the bottom of the water, looking for some big groupers to sell to a seafood restaurant that would be holding a formal party the next day. Scuba tanks were working very well. The undersea world was passionately beautiful. Suddenly, he felt some premonitory disaster, and there came a shark, the killer of the sea.

Luckily, a fissure was nearby, so Thành immediately swam over there and hid, but the two scuba tanks got stuck outside. There was no time to hesitate, Thành untied the rope and dropped the tanks. As soon as he could get himself into the fissure, the shark came. What a close shave!

Thành held his breath, watching and hoping the shark would go away. It seemed he was hungry, as he didn’t want to leave, but circled round and round. As soon as Thành had nearly lost his breath, he remembered an extra mini-scuba tank that his friend, Hưng, tied around his chest for guarding against all mishaps. Thành had laughed at his friend for being overcautious, but since he didn't want to upset Hưng, he carried it into the sea. Now it became his savior. Thành used it to breathe.

The gun had fallen outside the fissure. It was too narrow to do anything. He just stood still, breathing slowly and carefully. More than 5 minutes later, the shark went away. Thành got out, grabbed the scuba tanks and gun, then resurfaced back to the boat. Hưng told him that he saw the shark and worried so much for Thành. He could do nothing, only pray to the God of the Sea for Thành’s safety.

Thành said:
“Thank you. It’s your carefulness that saved me. But why are you so cautious like that?”

Hưng showed Thành a scar on his head:
“When I was a little boy, I loved picking fruit from trees. One time, I climbed on a small branch of a star apple tree. My older sister stopped me and told me that the branches of star apple trees were very brittle and easy to break down. I struggled to escape from her hands. She yelled at me and said, “You need to foresee any danger, before doing anything.” I still struggled to pull myself from her hands and climbed up. The result was that I had to drop from my class to be in hospital for 6 days with the scar on my head. Since then, I always think about any danger that may happen to us and provide solutions for all possible contingencies.”

Thành concluded:
“Then your sister has saved me today.”
Carefulness means to predict all possibilities, and make plans to deal with any bad situation that might happen.

Careful people are intelligent since they can provide against all possible contingencies. On the contrary, people who are not smart enough can hardly foresee any bad situation happening, so they become subjective and prepare nothing to resolve, to neutralize, or to protect against risks.

When assigning people certain tasks, we need to think of all possible risks, and thus come up with preventive methods. Before selling products to the market, we need to check them carefully or they may poison and injure the consumers. Before traveling, we should foresee any obstacle on the journey, so as to make the right decision.

People who are moral are much more careful to keep others safe from harm. If they see an old broken bridge, they will find some way to rebuild that bridge, so that children and old people are safe while crossing.

If they see neighbor kids alone at home because the adults are at work, they will notify local authorities to protect these children from danger. If they see a wall or a fence broken, but not fixed yet, they will warn people with a signboard or notice.

For leaders of a country, their caution must be extremely great, because they must always provide against all possible contingencies to protect their country from insecurity. If we live in a peaceful and safe country, it’s because we have good leaders who always try to do their best for our peace and safety. Sometimes, people think it’s normal to live in safety. They don’t know a safe and peaceful life is exceptional, while insecurity and a risky life are normal. We’re safe but ungrateful.

If we’re moral, if we’re grateful to our leaders for protecting the country, then we should always be careful and observant. We should always foresee dangers and risks, so as to prevent them early. Our carefulness will keep the people around us safe and sound.

Written by:
Janna

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