Perception

“Love is not blind; it simply enables one to see things others fail to see.”

I have long believed that Happiness is something internal, not external. A poor person with a loving family can be very happy while a rich person in a greedy family can be miserable. We make the decision regarding “do we have enough” or “is it good enough”. It’s a matter of perception.

For example, when traffic backs up during my commute I could decide to get frustrated and angry. Instead I enjoy the extra time this gives me with the lectures on CD I listen to.

Another example comes from Gary Smalley’s seminar, “Love is a Decision”. When I was googling Dr. Smalley a few days ago for an earlier blog, I was surprised to see how many sites cited this story. Clearly it made an impression on a lot of people.

Dr. Mark Smith tells it this way…

Dr. Gary Smalley […] was addressing a crowd on the theme of love and marriage, and he began his talk by walking over to a table and picking up an old, beaten up violin. The instrument’s bridge was broken and dangling by its strings. Holding up the violin for all to see, he asked the audience what he thought the instrument was worth. Everyone laughed, and most thought no more than ten or twenty bucks.

Then Smalley looked inside the body of the violin and read an inscription inside: “1723 Antonin Stradivarius.” There was an audible gasp, as the crowd recognized just how valuable it was. ($100,000 at the time).

Smalley passed it around to the people in the front row and they handled it very gently, with great respect. The amazing thing is that moments before, people thought it was just a piece of junk. Nothing changed – it was the same violin, the same wood, and the same broken strings. But people chose to honor it as the rare treasure it was. [One of 600 in the world.]

Enter “gary smalley Stradivarius” into Google for more references to this story.

Bottom Line

Choose to look the positive side of things. See the value in others and in the world around you.

Choose to see your spouse as a "Stradivarius" and sigh "awwwe" every now and then in their presence.