THE JOY OF GIVING.

[Guest guest]

condition, two of the elder children, Albrecht and Albert, had a dream. They

both wanted to pursue their talent for art, but they knew full well that their

father would never be financially able to send either of them to Nuremberg to

study at the Academy. After many long discussions at night in their crowded

bed, the two boys finally worked out a pact. They would toss a coin. The loser

would go down into the nearby mines and, with his earnings, support his brother

while he attended the academy. Then, when that brother who won the toss

completed his studies, in four years, he would support the other brother at the

academy, either with sales of his artwork or, if necessary, also by laboring in

the mines. They tossed a coin on a Sunday morning after church. Albrecht Durer

won the toss and went off to Nuremberg. Albert went down into the dangerous

mines and, for the next four

years, financed his brother, whose work at the academy was almost an immediate

sensation. Albrecht's etchings, his woodcuts, and his oils were far better than

those of most of his professors, and by the time he graduated, he was beginning

to earn considerable fees for his commissioned works. When the young artist

returned to his village, the Durer family held a festive dinner on their lawn

to celebrate Albrecht's triumphant homecoming. After a long and memorable meal,

punctuated with music and laughter, Albrecht rose from his honored position at

the head of the table to drink a toast to his beloved brother for the years of

sacrifice that had enabled Albrecht to fulfill his ambition. His closing words

were, "And now, Albert, blessed brother of mine, now it is your turn. Now you

can go to Nuremberg to pursue your dream, and I will take care of you." All

heads turned in eager expectation to the far end of the table where Albert sat,

tears streaming down his pale face, shaking his lowered head from side to side

while he sobbed and repeated, over and over, "No ...no ...no ...no." Finally,

Albert rose and wiped the tears from his cheeks. He glanced down the long table

at the faces he loved, and then, holding his hands close to his right cheek, he

said softly, "No, brother. I cannot go to Nuremberg. It is too late for me.

Look, look what four years in the mines have done to my hands! The bones in

every finger have been smashed at least once, and lately I have been suffering

from arthritis so badly in my right hand that I cannot even

hold a glass to return your toast, much less make delicate lines on parchment or

canvas with a pen or a brush. No, my brother ...for me it is too late." More

than 450 years have passed. By now, Albrecht Durer's hundreds of masterful

portraits, pen and silver-point sketches, watercolors, charcoals, woodcuts, and

copper engravings hang in every great museum in the world, but the odds are

great that you, like most people, are familiar with only one of Albrecht

Durer's works. More than merely being familiar with it, you very well may have

a reproduction hanging in your home or office. One day, to pay homage to

Albert for all that he had sacrificed, Albrecht Durer painstakingly drew his

brother's abused hands with palms together and thin fingers stretched skyward.

He called his powerful drawing simply "Hands," but the entire world almost

immediately opened their hearts to his great masterpiece and renamed his

tribute of love

"The Praying Hands." The next time you see a copy of that touching creation,

take a second look. Let it be your reminder, if you still need one, that no one

- no one - ever makes it alone! Source: Unknown

(Sharing with

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Ram.Chugani. H-H TeamRam ChuganiKobe,

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