An old tale recounts of two men: one was a merchant who, while looking for precious stones, found a pearl of inestimable value. So he sold all he owned in order to purchase it. The other was a peasant who found a treasure in a field. He also sold all he owned and bought the field.
Let us see. The merchant who was searching for precious stones was already on the right path because he knew what he was looking for. But the one who found the treasure in the field? Was he looking for it? Did he believe it existed or did the finding happen just by chance? And if someone else had found the treasure, would they have “recognized” it as such? Or would have they rather ignored it, believing it to be worthless? Think now about yourself and try to establish whom you see closer to your way of being. Discover if you are like the merchant who immediately understands the value of the pearl, or if you are rather like a person who doesn’t find anything (because he/she is not searching) or, even if he makes a valuable discovery (an enlightening word or concept, an uplifting book or movie, a wise person…), he would not understand its worth and, therefore, wouldn’t benefit from it.
The searcher is the individual who is aware of how life can offer much more than what appears evident to a superficial observation, so he decides to look for more. It could be a good cause to dedicate his life to, the transformation of a negative trait of his character or usual behavior, the acquisition of greater empathy or understanding toward others, the achievement of a higher self-esteem, the feeling of gratitude etc.
Further more, there is the one who proceeds on his path without realizing the many opportunities he has at his disposal, thus remaining unaware of what awaits him: He believes that the life he is presently leading is the only one available! Therefore he moves along, stopping every now and then to offer a tiny smile, to moderately appreciate a gift, to make a fairly good deed… but nothing more. No true commitment. He is the average “good” person who lives rather well, with the usual ups and downs, convinced that nothing can actually be done to change or add anything to his daily routine. But, if he happens to come in contact with someone or something that makes him perceive new horizons and wider perspectives, he is also ready to seize the chance, to accept new possibilities. As a consequence, he starts listening to uplifting words, to read good books, he tries to get in contact with people who are experiencing the same phase of inner transformation. He is ready to “sell what he owns” (of course, not materially). He is just ready to give up his old pre-conceived ideas in order to accept new, more beneficial ones.
An additional kind of human being is the most common one. It’s the man (or woman) who walks only looking at his feet, never raising his eyes to look up. Thus he misses the view that surrounds him. Not lifting his head, he is unable to admire the limitless sky. He does not imagine that his spirit – as the American-Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran wrote – is equipped with wings to rise above the mere materiality.
If “you” are not yet the man (or the woman) who is looking for the precious pearl – knowing that he will find it and therefore persists until he succeeds – try at least to be like the one who, although till now he has been unaware of what life can offer, is nevertheless open to change. Put yourself in a state of “availability,” so that you won’t miss the enlightening cues the moment they are offered to you. When you start perceiving the “truth,” in fact, something clicks in yourself, which will make you see the best direction to take. You have now reached a crossroad where you need to leave the old road behind and just look ahead, forget a past that does not exist any more, feel rich with the wealth of joy that is before you, focus on what you can both give and receive from a Universe that reflects the divine munificence.
— Elsa Franco Al Ghaslan, a Saudi English instructor and published author (in Italy), is a long-time scholar of positive thinking.
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