A Shift in Perspective

Not sure how long ago I came across this, or even where I did. But it seems whenever I need to make a slight adjustment on where I’m going or what I’m focusing on… I stumble across this.

Strange how what we need, is generally right there when we need it… everything happens for a reason.

One day a professor entered the classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. They waited anxiously at their desk for the test to begin. The professor handed out the question paper, with the text facing down as usual. Once he handed them all out, he asked his students to turn the page over and begin. To everyone surprised there were no questions… Just a black dot in the center of the page.

The professor seeing the expression on everyone’s face, told them the following; I want you to write what you see there. The students confused, got started on the inexplicable task. At the end of the class, the professor took all of the answered papers and started reading each one of them aloud in front of the students. All of them with no exceptions, describe the black dot and its position in the middle of the sheet. After all, had been read, the classroom silent, the professor begins to explain -

I am not going to grade you on this, I just wanted to give you something to think about. No one wrote about the white part of the paper. Everyone focused on the black dot, and the same happens in our lives. We have a white paper to see and enjoy, but we always focus on the dark spots.

Life is a gift, with love and with care and we always have reasons to celebrate..  nature renewing itself every day, our friends around us, the job that supplies our livelihood and the miracles we see every day. However, we tend to insist on focusing only on the dark spots, health issues that bother us, the lack of money, a complicated relationship with a family member, the disappointment with a friend etc.

The dark spots are very small compared to everything we have in our lives, but they are the ones that pollute our minds. Take your eyes away from the dark spots in your life.