We hear a lot of folks whine and complain about “things” they “don’t have” and seldom give thanks for their many blessings.

Reading the following might give you a different outlook ...

Woman lived with her husband and two children in a very small hut. Then her husband’s parents lost their home and she had to take them into hers.

The coughing of the old folks and the crowding were unbearable. In desperation, she went to the village wise man, whom she knew had solved many, many problems. “What should I do?” she begged.

“Do you have a cow?” asked the wise man.

“Yes,” she replied. “Then bring her into the hut too. And come back and see me in a week,” said the wise man.

A week later she was back. “This is utterly unbearable,” she said.

“Do you have any chickens?” asked the wise man.

“Yes,” she replied. “What about them?”

“Bring them in the hut too,” he said. “Then come back and see me in another week.”

“You’re utterly out of your mind,” she said. Nevertheless, still awed by his reputation, she did as he asked.

A week later she returned. “This is absolutely impossible,” she said. “Our home is a mess of chicken feathers, cow dung, and people.”

“All right,” said the wise man, “take out the chickens.”

The next week she reported that without the chickens it was definitely better but still a miserable situation. “All right,” said the wise man, “now take out the cow. That will settle your problem.”

And it did. Without the chickens and cow to contend with, the woman, her husband, the children, and his two parents got along quite peacefully. Everything, you see, is relative. Sometimes we don’t know how well off we really are.