One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country wanting to show him how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and 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.
The son answered:
“I saw that we have one dog and they have four.
We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.
We have a small piece of land 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 his son added, “Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are.”
All too often we forget how much we have and focus on what we do not have. What may be a worthless object to one person could well be a treasure to someone else. It is only a question of perspective. Perhaps we should ask ourselves what would happen if we were to feel gratitude for all that we have instead of wishing for more and more. See through the eyes of your inner child’s heart and realize how important it is to appreciate what you do have rather than what you don’t.
Author unknown
