gershon hepner - yes

It only needs one man to bless,
and wash away your woes;
it only takes a single yes
to stop a thousand woes.
The power of a single thought
can close Pandora’s box,
restraining enemies you fought
with very simple locks.
A thousand no’s can’t put them back
once they have all flown out;
one thought alone pre-empts attack,
a yes, without a doubt.

One yes is really all you need;
you ought to pay attention
that every thought and every deed
that you recall and mention
is positive, for yes, just one,
can conquer all the no’s.
It starts out small, but oh what fun
to watch it as it grows.
From no’s you stand to gain far less––
they should not be your gods;
so cultivate the single yes,
despite the awful odds.


Scott Hicks, the director of “Shine”, decried the obstacles that confronted him when he first planned to make the movie about David Helfgott. “It only takes a single yes to beat a thousand no’s, ” he said, describing how all the negative feedback he had received was wiped out by a single piece of positive feedback.

The Rabbis say: “Koha d’hetera adif”, which means that the power of a permission is greater than that of prohibition. Their saying is a reflection of the fact that the power of yes is greater than the power of no.


3/25/97

gershon hepner

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/yes-3/