Rishave Verma
Two men looked out through the prison; one saw the rods, the other saw the gaps in between.
(Anonymous)
One fine morning while driving through a rural area, Larry approached a curve where a peahen was leading a queue of babies across the road. He stopped the car and enjoyed the beauty of the striking deep aqua-green colored chicks, their shiny feathers reflecting like colorful mirrors in the soft morning sunlight, walking behind their mother like a bunch of ever disciplined children. He took a deep breath and thanked God for the opportunity to start his day with a humble and magnificent display of Mother Nature.
On the other side of the birds, another car was stopped in the opposite direction. The driver of that car was not so pleased with the display. Obviously in a hurry, he was making scowling expressions as he waited impatiently for the birds to cross. As soon as the birds reached the other side of the road, the man floored the accelerator and his car screeched off furiously.
Both of them came upon the same scene and interpreted it in entirely different ways. Larry viewed it as a gift of nature, and the other person saw it as a nuisance. Behold the power we invoke when we filter our experience through perceptual screens. No occurrence has any absolute reality; everyone who observes it will call it something different. We see the world not as it is, but as we are. Events are not intrinsically good or bad, but it is our eyes through which we see them as one or the other.
Experiment with finding the good in every experience. Even if an event seems to be a problem or threat, adopt a vision through which it can empower us. When we behold life through the eyes of beauty, we will find beauty in our lives.
Today’s Prayer:
“Help me see the good in all people and events.”
