Rich Man, Poor Man....

A Prize Possession.....

One day a very wealthy father took his son on a trip to the country for the sole purpose of showing his son how it was to be poor.  They spent a few days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family.

After their return from the trip, the father asked his son how he liked the trip. "It was great, Dad," the son replied. "Did you see how poor people can be?" the father asked. "Oh Yeah," said the son.

"So 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, "It showed me how poor we are."

Too many times we forget what we have and concentrate on what we don't have. What is one person's worthless object is another's prize possession. It is all based on one's perspective.

I'm thankful for what I have, not jealous for what I don't.  The more I understand about where I am, and understand what it is I want and need for my family and my children, the better I am able to make good decisions as a Husband and a Parent.  When I'm aware of how my decisions affect others, I'm better able to make ones that are not only good for me and my family, but good for my community, my region, my country, and even our planet.  Sometimes it takes the perspective of a child to remind us what's important.

~Author Unknown~

Education is essential but it is also crucial to instill in our children what is important in life. It is not the things that money can buy that will provide lifelong happiness. Rather, it is the appreciation of the simple things in life, the things that sometimes money cannot buy.