One day a wealthy father took his son on a trip to the country so that the son could see how the poor lived. They spent a day and a night at the farm of a very poor family. When they got back from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?" "Very good, Dad!" "Did you see how poor people can be?" "Yeah!" "And what did you learn?" The son answered, "I saw that we have a dog at home, and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of the garden; they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lamps in the house; they have the stars. Our patio reaches to the front yard; they have the whole horizon." When the little boy was finished, the father was speechless. His son then added, "Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are!"
This parable was interesting to me because it plays on the multiple perspectives of happiness and fulfillment. While the father takes his son to see the poor in a low economical area, the boy was able to see good in everything. This is because the boy was not fixated upon material things and what money could buy but rather the natural joys of life that can be enjoyed by all. But to add another dynamic to the parable, it could be discussing the bliss of childhood innocence and how that can be stripped from you as you age and have to conform to the social norms of everyday life. The kid, being young, is brought joy by less because the world is newer to him and is able to enjoy things like that worry free without bills and responsibilities. While on the other hand a seasoned father has been there and done that for those things and to add insult to injury has the weight of supporting a family lessening the joy as well.
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