Friday, January 8, 2010

Perspective



I have been thinking a lot lately about how the state of our economy has affected so many people whom I love and adore. It's so easy to think about what we DON'T have and we sometimes forget how blessed we really are. I remembered a story I came across several years ago that really puts things into perspective.

"One day, the father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor people live. They spent a couple of nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip the father asked his son, “How was the trip?” “It was great, Dad.” "Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked. “Oh yeah” said the son. “So tell me, what did you learn from the trip?” asked the father. His son answered, “I saw that we have one dog and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our yard and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have millions of stars at night. Our patio reaches to our front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them.” The boy’s father was speechless. “Then the son added, “Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are.”

No comments: