Be thankful for what we have

Guest Editorial by Paulette Glasgow

Sitting on a building’s stairs, a blind boy sat with a hat at his feet. Beside the hat was a sign that read, “Please help me I am blind.”

As time passed, just a few coins were dropped into the hat. A man, passing by, took the few coins he had and dropped them into the hat. On turning to leave, he noticed the sign. He took the sign, and began to change the wording. Putting the sign back, he walked away. Soon, the boy’s hat began to fill.

Some time later, the man returned. He noticed the boy’s hat was overflowing with coins. Recognizing the man’s footsteps, the boy asked, “Are you the one responsible for my good fortune?”

“Yes,” answered the man.

“Thank you,” said the boy. “But how did you do this?”

The man answered, “I rewrote your message, but put it in a different way. I wrote today is a beautiful day, but I can’t see it because I am blind.”

Both signs indicated the boy’s physical limitations, but the second sign told those passing by to be thankful for all that they have.

As we go through our day, we only see the reasons not to be thankful for all that we have. We fail to see both sides to everything. When life gives us 100 reasons to complain, we fail to stop and see the 1,000 reasons to smile. We fail to face adversity.