A Matter of Perception

The following story illustrates that life is clearly a matter of perception:

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 yes!" replied 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."


This wise young man saw clearly what his father apparently did not that his own family was in fact the truly "poor" people.

Life is really a matter of perception. It is what we choose to see and what choose to make of it.

Yesterday, while I was on a popular social networking website, I saw a "status" posted by a young man recounting some of the events which have occured his life so far this year:

-His grandmother died.
-He had his heart severely broken by a woman.
-One of his cars was wrecked.
-He had to re-live the murders of his friends during a recent trial.
-One of his cars was stolen.
-He received orders back to the war-torn Middle East for the 9th time.
-And finally, as if all that wasn't enough, he was held up at gunpoint yesterday for $40 while waiting at the drive-in of a local fastfood restaurant.

No one could argue, he sure has had more than his fair share of adversities so far this year, but I couldn't help to wonder if he realizes how incredily blessed he's been as well.

-He was blessed with a grandmother who he obviously loved dearly. How many are out there in this world alone, without anyone here on Earth to care for them?

-While his latest love relationship didn't work out for him as he would have liked it to, he was blessed with knowing what it is like to love someone deeply. In the wake of the end of the relationship, he was also blessed with the support of many caring people.

-He was blessed with the means to own a car, something many of us take for granted each day in a world where there are still people who must walk miles each day for the most basic of human necessities - water.

-He is blessed by his very life. He is alive. He may have lost $40 yesterday, but he walked away with his life. He has survived numerous deployments to war-torn areas of this world and has returned alive each time. Wow! What a blessing! I know of one young Marine who didn't make it through the first day of his very first deployment.

When life throws fast and furious curveballs our way, it is so easy to lose sight of the many blessing which have also been bestowed on us.

We must never forget, our life is all a matter of how we choose to perceive it .

James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.