One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. The father hoped his son would gain a better perspective about all that he had provided for the family. 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 did you enjoy our 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 this 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, and 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."
Perspective is an amazing thing.
On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How did you enjoy our 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 this 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, and 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."
Perspective is an amazing thing.
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(The above appeared in an article by Vickey Pahnke Taylor at Meridian Magazine this morning. I just had to share it because too often we have a somewhat skewed view of things, and need to be reminded about "things as they really are" -- including what is truly most valuable and important in our lives.)
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4 comments:
It really IS all about perspective. When I was young our family moved from Albuquerque to the East Mountains with 11 acres of land. I was about 8 at the time and I didn't really consider us as being poor, even though in hindsight we were REALLY poor. Those years were some of my best experiences growing up.
I really liked that. It places value on things that actually have value! Good reminder...
i liked that too!
We may not have money, but we do have those things that are important. Especially each other.
Thanks for the reminder!
That's why, one day, I want to live on a small farm! Yes! The simple life!
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