Wisdom-Trek / Creating a Legacy

Welcome to Day 155 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom.

Life Is Like a Black Dot

Thank you for joining us for our 7 day a week, 7 minutes of wisdom podcast. This is Day 155 of our Trek, and yesterday we looked at why life is like a bank account. Today and throughout this next week, we will be presenting a series of short wisdom stories. If you miss any days of our Wisdom-Trek, please go to Wisdom-Trek.com to listen to them and read the daily journal.

We are recording our podcast from our studio at The Big House in Marietta, Ohio. This episode is being released on Monday as Paula and I are on our 7 day podcasting cruise. While we are out at sea this week, I will have a series of podcasts covering short stories about wisdom without a lot of additional commentary. Once we get back from the cruise, we will remain at camp for a few days as we dive back into the commentary on the book of Proverbs.

Today we will hike on two similar trails, both dealing with how we view our world.

Today’s story is…

Life Is Like a Black Dot

One day a professor entered his classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. They all waited anxiously at their desks for the exam to begin.

The professor handed out the exams with the text facing down as usual. Once he handed them all out, he asked the students to turn over the papers.

To everyone’s surprise, there were no questions – just a black dot in the center of the paper. The professor, seeing the expression on everyone’s faces, told them the following, “I want you to write about what you see there.” The students, confused, got started on the inexplicable task.

At the end of the class, the professor took all the exams and started reading each one of them out loud in front of all the students.

All of them, with no exception, defined the black dot, trying to explain its position in the center of the sheet. After all had been read, the classroom silent, the professor started to explain…

“I’m not going to grade you on this. I just wanted to give you something to think about. No one wrote about the white part of the paper. Everyone focused on the black dot, and the same thing happens in our lives. However, we insist on focusing only on the black dot – the health issues that bother us, the lack of money, the complicated relationship with a family member, the disappointment with a friend…The dark spots are very small when compared to everything we have in our lives, but they are the ones that pollute our minds. Take your eyes away from the black dots in your lives. Enjoy each one of your blessings, each moment that life gives you. Be happy and live a life filled with love!”

Ephesians 5:1-2, “Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.”

Philippians 4:8, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

Changing Our Vision

There was a very wealthy man who was bothered by severe eye pain. He consulted many physicians and was being treated by several. He did not stop consulting a galaxy of medical experts. He consumed heavy loads of drugs and underwent hundreds of injections, but the ache persisted with more vigor than before.

At last, a monk who was supposed to be an expert in treating such patients was called for by the suffering man. The monk understood his problem and said that for sometime he should concentrate only on green colors and not let his eyes fall on any other colors. It was a strange prescription, but he was desperate and decided to try it.

The millionaire got together a group of painters and purchased barrels of green paint and directed that every object upon which his eye was likely to fall be painted green just as the monk had directed. When the monk came to visit him after few days, the millionaire’s servants ran with buckets of green paint and poured it on him since he was in red dress, lest their master see any other color and his eye ache would come back.

Hearing this, the monk laughed and said, “If only you had purchased a pair of green spectacles, worth just a few dollars, you could have saved these walls and trees and pots and all other articles and also could have saved a large share of his fortune. You cannot paint the world green.”

Let us change our vision and the world will appear accordingly. It is foolish to shape the world. Let us shape ourselves first.

Today we looked at Life is Like a Black Dot and Changing our Vision. The lessons that we can learn from each other are valuable, so encourage your friends and family to the join us each day and come along tomorrow for another day of Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy. For the next few days, we will explore some more short wisdom stories.

That will finish our podcast for today. Remember to listen to your daily dose of wisdom on Wisdom-Trek.com, or subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, SoundCloud, Spreaker, or YouTube so the episodes will be downloaded to you automatically each day. Please share Wisdom-Trek with your family and friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, or in person so they can come along with us each day.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most of all your friend as I serve you through the Wisdom-Trek podcast and journal each day.

As we take this Trek together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

This is Guthrie Chamberlain reminding you to Keep Moving Forward, Enjoy Your Journey, and Create a Great Day Every Day! See you tomorrow!