

Having somewhere to go is home. Having someone to love is family. Having
both is a blessing. Each day we are encouraged to be thankful for nights
that turn into mornings, friends that turn into family, dreams that
turn into reality and likes that turn into love.
Gratitude
turns what we have into enough. |
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into
enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order,
confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a
home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past,
brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.
Let us learn to appreciate what we have before time makes us appreciate
what we had like the farmer in the following narrative.
There was a
farmer in Africa who was happy and contented. He was happy because he was
contented. He was contented because he was happy. One day a wise man came to
him and told him about the glory of diamond and the power that goes
along with the.
The wise man said, "If you had a diamond the size of
your thumb, you could have your own city. If you had a diamond the size
of your fist, you could probably own your own country." And then he
went away. That night the farmer couldn't sleep. He was unhappy and he
was discontented. He was unhappy because he was discontented and discontented
because he was unhappy.
The next morning
he made arrangements to sell off his farm, took care of his family and
went to search of diamonds. He looked all over Africa and couldn't find
any. He looked all through Europe and couldn't find any. When he got to
Spain he was emotionally, physically and financially broke. He got to
disheartened that he threw himself into the Barcelona River and
committed suicide.
Back home, the
person who had bought his farm was watering the camels at a stream that
ran through the farm. Across the stream, the rays of the morning sun hit
a stone and made it sparkle like a rainbow. He thought it would look
good on the mantle piece. He picked up the stone and put it in the
living room.
That afternoon
the wise man came and saw the stone sparkling He asked, Is Hafiz (a
Persian
mystic
and poet) back?
The new owner said, "No, why do you ask?" The wise man said, "Because
that is a diamond. I recognize one when I see one." The man said, no,
that's just a stone I picked up from the stream. Come, I'll show you.
There are many more." They went and picked some samples and sent them
for analysis. Sure enough, the stones were diamonds. They found that
the farm was indeed covered with acres and acres of diamonds."
Everyone is
gifted. But most people never open their package. |
There are several
moral lessons in the story. When our attitude is right we realize that
we are all walking on acres and acres of diamonds. Opportunity is always
under our feet. We don't have to go anywhere. All we need to do is
recognize it.
The grass on the
other side always looks greener. But while we are dyeing the grass on
the other side, there are others who are dyeing the grass on our side.
They would be happy to trade places with us.
When people don't
know how to recognize opportunity, they complain of noise when it
knocks. The same opportunity never knocks twice. The next one may be
better or worse, but it is never the same one.
By
Tim Pedrosa



When
life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate. And when life is bitter, say
thank you and grow.-Shauuna Niequist |