the lesson of the words

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He was holding up a sign which said: “I am blind, please help.” There were only a few coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the boy’s hat. 

He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words on it. The man then put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words. Soon the blind boy’s hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to see how things were with his blind friend. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked in amazement, “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?” 

The man replied, “I only wrote the truth. I also said what you had written but in a different way.” What the man had written was: “Today is a beautiful day and I cannot see it.” 

Do you think the first sign and the second sign were saying the same thing? Of course, both signs told people the boy was blind. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people they were so lucky that they were not blind and had the gift of sight. 

When life gives you a 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. 

 — Author unknown