In December 1914, Thomas Edison's laboratory in West Orange, New Jersey caught on fire. When the great inventor realized the scope of the blaze, he enthusiastically sent word to his family and friends, “Get down here quick! You may never have a chance to see anything like this again!”
Edison lost 2 million dollars worth of equipment and the record of much of his life work in that fire. The next day, he walked through the rubble with his son Charles. He said, “Charles, there's a great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.”
How many of us would be able to respond in gratitude after such a loss? With a thankful heart, Edison did start anew. Three weeks after his first laboratory went up in smoke, he invented the first phonograph, one of his many inventions after the disaster.
1914年12月，托马斯·爱迪生位于新泽西州橘县西部的实验室被付之一炬。当这位大发明家看到熊熊大火四处蔓延时，他热情洋溢地向家人和朋友捎话：“赶紧过来看。你们也许一辈子都没有机会看到这种场面。”
爱迪生在这场火灾中损失了价值200万美元的实验设备，耗尽大半生的实验记录也化作灰烬。第二天，与儿子查尔斯一起踩着瓦砾，爱迪生说：“查尔斯，灾难自有它的价值。这不，我们所有的错误都被大火烧得一干二净。感谢上帝，我们又可以重新开始了。”
我们又有多少人面对这样的巨额损失，能做出心怀感激的反应呢？爱迪生怀着感激之情，真的重新开始了！在他的第一个实验室被焚毁之后3个星期，爱迪生就发明了第一部留声机，这是灾难之后他为数众多的发明之一。