Our Story of the Week: You Create Your World!

The following story may be old, but its message is still ahead of its time.  

It was the custom of the old man to sit outside the wall of the ancient city where he lived, watching passersby come and go. He always sat in the shade, usually surrounded by children, retelling stories which they loved to hear. Through the course of the day, many travellers would stop to chat. One hot summer day a stranger stopped for a few minutes with the old man, who was entertaining his young friends. The stranger approached the old man and asked, “I am thinking of moving to your fair city. Tell me, sir, what kind of people live here?”
 
Quickly the old man replied, “What kind of people live in the city where you’re from?”
 
“The people in my town are unkind,” said the stranger. “They cheat and steal and lie; they speak badly of each other. I am leaving that town because of the undesirable people who live there.”
 

The old man gazed sadly at the stranger and said, “I’m sorry to inform you, but you will find the same type of people in this town.” And without a word the stranger turned and walked away as the old man continued his tale to the children.
 
A short time later, another stranger came down the road towards the gate. He, too, stopped to chat.
 
He said, “My good man, I need to move to a town such as yours. Tell me, sir, what type of people live here?”
 
The old man asked the same question, “What kind of people live in the town where you’re from?”
 
The stranger replied, “The people in my town are good. They are friendly, courteous, and are always looking for an opportunity to do a good deed for someone. I truly hated to leave that town because of the warmth and kindness of its people, but my work requires that I move.”
 
The old man clasped the hand of the traveller and said, “You’ll find the same type of people here. Welcome to our fine town.” The stranger walked away happily through the gate.
 
The children sat in silence. Finally, one of them approached the old man and asked, “Why, sir, didn’t you tell those men the truth? You told one that our people were bad and the other that they were good.”
 
The old man begged them to sit while he explained.
 

“I did tell the truth, “he said. “You see, no matter where you go or what you do, you will find in other people just what you are looking for. If you search for the good, you will find it; but if you look for the bad, that is what you will undoubtedly see. Almost everyone has far more good qualities than bad. Always look for the best in others.”
 
We hope that the story has some meaning and lesson to you and that you will use the awareness you get from it to improve your dream and yourself. Remember also that the color of the eyeglasses you are wearing determines the color of the external world you are seeing. Change the color of your eyeglasses and the color of the external world will change.