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 a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, “How was the trip?”

“It was great dad,” the son said.

“Did you see how poor people live?” the father asked.

“Oh, yeah,” the son said.

“So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?” the father asked.

“I saw that we have one dog, and they have 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.”

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.

May this story refresh our perspective and appreciation!