Perceptions...

Read this story somewhere, cannot remember now but I like the meaning behind the whole story. Many times, it is how we look at things. It has something to do with our personality, upbringing, environment and what sort of value we embrace. It is also wisdom and again wisdom is not intelligence.

The story goes like this...

A father was thinking that children nowadays are pampered. They are well provided by parents, go to good school and are always on the computer. Things they eat and wear are of higher grade and therefore some children even throw way things when they are still in good conditions.

To teach his son, the father decided to bring him on a trip. The father arranged for them to stay with a family in countryside and hope to educate his son so that the boy can appreciate what he has.

After two weeks of holidays and upon returning home, the father did an evaluation with the boy.

Father: Son, what did you learn on this trip? Did you enjoy yourself?

Son: Yes, I enjoyed myself very much and I realized

1) that we have one dogs and they have four.
2) We have a swimming pool in the middle of the house, and they have a creek that has no end.
3) We have imported lamps in our house, and they have stars instead.
4) Our Patio reaches to the front yard, and they have the whole horizon.
5) We have a small piece of land to live on, they have fields that go beyond our sight.
6) We have servants to serve us, and they enjoyed serving others.
7) We buy our food and they grow theirs.
8) We have walls around our house to protect us, they have friends who protect them.

The boy's father was speechless. He did not realize or expect his son to see the truth so thoroughly. The boy went on to say..

“Dad, thank you for showing me how poor we are.”

We always limit ourselves, draw a circle and stand inside, calling it protection. We protect ourselves so much that our eyes are blind to the beauty of people and things around us. We forget to accept people, we expect people. We forget we have plenty materially but continue to accumulate more and call it ‘richness’. The above story tells us how rich we are.

How rich are you?