Mindset story: When people tell you how lucky you are…

There was once a preacher who liked to take long drives along the countryside to see how people took care of their land. One day he took a new route which he never took before. And after some time he came upon a beautiful farm which looked like it was painted by the most talented artist on the “canvas of land”. The main house and other buildings were well constructed and perfectly painted. A garden around the house was filled with beautiful flowers and other plants. There were farm animals behind fences and some even running free, but everything was in order and looked well organized. So the preacher decided to drive up to the farm and get to know the people who lived there. He was surprised as he was driving up the driveway about the fine rows of trees lined on each side of the driveway. As he came up to the farmhouse he noticed the farmer, on a tractor, hard at work. The farmer noticed the preacher, stopped with his work, and approached him with a smile and a cheerful “Hello”. The preacher couldn’t help himself admiring everything he saw at the farm and instead of saying “HI” back he started the conversation by saying “Do you know how lucky you are to have a place such as this! You have truly been blessed.”

There was a pause as the farmer took off his hat and shifted his look across his farm. The preacher followed the farmer’s look and stood silently. After some moments the preacher couldn’t stand being quiet anymore and started explaining who he was and what he did and what he had seen so far on his trips. And how much the farmer’s farm was the most beautiful farm he had ever seen in his parish. The farmer thanked the preacher and invited him for a drink on his porch where the rest of his family could join them for a fresh lemonade made of homegrown lemons. So the preacher, the farmer, and his family all gathered at the porch and listened to what the preacher had to say. And he had a lot to say… No one could get a word. The preacher explained how many different people he met, how some were not so lucky as the farmer and his family were to get what they had. Soon the farmer had enough of the preacher and explained to him that he started working on this piece of land many years ago and that nothing was as it is now.

The preacher looked at the farmer with fanatic excitement and said, “You are then truly blessed. You have no idea how lucky you are to have such a beautiful place. God was taking care of this beautiful land before you came here.” The farmer realized that there was no way to make the preacher understand that the land was in ruins when he came to live here and start a family. So he simply looked at the preacher and said, “Yes, He has, and we’re grateful. We also know how lucky we are to have what we do. But you should have seen this place when he had it all to Himself.”