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"Change Your Vision"

Post on: April 19, 2021

There once lived a wealthy merchant who owned a resort in the touristy town. He had enough of worldly possession but lived with constant pain. He suffered from a severe eye ailment which caused him much pain and discomfort. He consulted the best physicians but it was to no avail. Finally, he was recommended a monk who was known to treat such a disorder.

He told the monk his problem and begged him for a cure. He was willing to give a blank cheque to anyone who could find a remedy. The monk understood the cause of his anxiety but did not charge him. Instead, he asked the merchant to donate any amount he wishes to a charitable organisation.

“This can be treated quite easily. Set your eyes on green colour and avoid all other colours for two weeks,” he advised.

The wealthy man was filled with a glimmer of hope by the monk’s assurance. He was so focused on getting cured that he employed 3 painters to paint anything that he comes across in his daily activities, into green colour. The painters bought barrels of green paint and performed their job diligently – painting every object that the merchant encountered into green.

Two weeks later, the monk paid him a visit to check on the progress of the treatment. But before he could enter the house, the painters splashed a bucket of green paint over him. The startled monk noticed that the whole house and objects therein was green.

The monk enquired the reason for such a deed. The merchant was indignant and told him that he was merely following the monk’s instructions to look at “all things green”.

Hearing this, the monk laughed aloud and said, “You could have merely worn a spectacle with green coloured lens; you could have saved a lot of money and the unnecessary inconveniences.”

There may be a few interpretations of this story. There is no way one can paint the whole world green. Instead, when we change our perception, the whole world appears accordingly.

Another viewpoint: Some people are hellbent on changing the world — the social fabrics of society and political landscape. And when things don’t go according to what they visualise, they become disillusioned and give up. Changing the world is not an easy task. The world’s been functioning before us and will continue to do so.

In most circumstances, you may not be able to change the world holding a loud hailer and propagating how you envision the world to be. It does not work that way. However, we can do one thing; we can change ourselves.  If you change how you think, then you will change how you feel and what actions you should take. And so, the world around you will change.

I’ll conclude with a saying by the great Mahatma Gandhi, “Be the change you want to see in the world”

The Jolly Good Times will be bringing you a series of such motivating stories. They are powerful read; easy to digest and leaves behind a message. If you had enjoyed reading, share it — invite your kakis (buddies) to like us on our Facebook and Website.

By Shaji Thomas Varughese
#ChangeYourVision #JollyGoodTimes #ShajiThomasVarughese
https://www.facebook.com/jollygoodtimes.org/
Photo: pexels.com

 

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