The Sue Atkins Wednesday Story To Ponder !

Here’s today’s story from my never ending notebook and everlasting coloured pencil.

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 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 had 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 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 his son added, ‘Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.’

Isn’t perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don’t have.

• What’s this story getting you thinking about this week?

• How can you appreciate  more of what you have and focus less on what you lack?

• How can you pass this idea on to your children?

If you have enjoyed the Wednesday Story this week feel free to pass this on to  your family, friends and acquaintances to perhaps refresh their perspective and appreciation….. “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”  –  Helen Keller