ConneXus Blog

By Julia Fowler, Worship Arts Pastor

STORY: "In Budapest, one day a man goes to his rabbi and complains, "Life is unbearable. There are nine of us living in one room. What can I do?" The rabbi answers, "Take one of your goat into the room with you and come back and see me in one week." The man incredulously agreed.  A week later the man went back looking more distraught than before and exclaimed, "We cannot stand it," he tells the rabbi. "The goat is filthy." The rabbi then told him, "Go home and now let the goat out and come back to see me in another week." The following week a radiant man returned to the rabbi exclaiming, "Life is beautiful. We enjoy every minute of it now that there's no goat-- only the nine of us."   -- George Mikes, How to be Decadent, Andre' Deutsch, London

How quickly our perspective can be altered when we are thrown into circumstances other than whatever our presents one appears to be.  The circumstance of the man living in proximity with 8 others didn't change after all - what changed was his perspective.  He was presented with an alternative that was less accomodating that the one he was in prior.  That was enough to help him see that things weren't so bad exactly where he was.  

This thanksgiving that's what I am trying to do; look at things from a different angle-perspective and re-evalulate the postives and negatives.  We really do have a lot to be so grateful for!

Happy Thanksgiving Friends,

Julia