22 June 2008
True Sight
Posted by Joy Bischoff under: General .
Instead of my regular Sunday format, I wanted to share this story to remind myself and all of us to look beyond ourselves and find the beauty in life. Happy Sunday.
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL FLOWER
The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read beneath the long
straggly branches of an old willow tree. Disillusioned by life with good
reason to frown, for the world was intent on dragging me down.
And if that weren’t enough to ruin my day, a young boy out of breath
approached me, all tired from play. He stood right before me with his head
tilted down and said with great excitement, “Look what I found!” In his hand
was a flower, and what a pitiful sight, with its petals all worn-not enough
rain, or too little light.
Wanting him to take his dead flower and go off to play, I faked a small
smile and then shifted away. But instead of retreating he sat next to my side
and placed the flower to his nose and declared with overacted surprise, “It
sure smells pretty and it’s beautiful, too. That’s why I picked it; here,
it’s for you.”
The weed before me was dying or dead. Not vibrant of colors: orange,
yellow or red. But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave. So I
reached for the flower, and replied, “Just what I need.” But instead of him
placing the flower in my hand, he held it mid-air without reason or plan
It was then that I noticed for the very first time that weed-toting boy
could not see: he was blind.
I heard my voice quiver; tears shone in the sun as I thanked him for
picking the very best one. “You’re welcome”, he smiled, and then ran off to
play, unaware of the impact he’d had on my day. I sat there and wondered how
he managed to see a self-pitying woman beneath an old willow tree. How did he
know of my self-indulged plight? Perhaps from his heart, he’d been blessed
with true sight.
Through the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see the problem was not
with the world; the problem was me. And for all of those times I myself had
been blind, I vowed to see the beauty in life, and appreciate every second
that’s mine.
And then I held that wilted flower up to my nose and breathed in the
fragrance of a beautiful rose and smiled as I watched that young boy, another
weed in his hand, about to change the life of an unsuspecting old man.
3 Comments so far...
Jan W. Says:
22 June 2008 at 3:16 pm.
What a fabulous story. Perfect for a Sunday. Thanks.
Hawk Says:
22 June 2008 at 5:58 pm.
Nice!
Nalvy Says:
22 June 2008 at 7:03 pm.
Joy you sure did brighten up my day with this one!
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