Eugene Moreau - Outlook on Life

  Read more articles by Eugene Moreau.

Your outlook on life can determine your degree of satisfaction and fulfilment. In fact, your outlook can even dictate how you approach events that take place… events that you did not plan for or expect to occur.

When I say ‘outlook on life’ I really mean… attitude!

Attitude is a mindset. it’s how you view your world. Your altitude determines whether you see things ‘happening to you’ or whether things are ‘happening around you’. Our perception of the events in our life, and how we regard these events can be attributed to our attitude.

I came across this great little story that really demonstrates exactly the point I am wanting to make in this post.

A successful, reasonably important man, if only to himself, was driving through a quiet little neighbourhood street in his new BMW. As he drove he noticed a number of children playing on the footpaths and lawns of the houses so he made a conscious note to keep an out for ‘darting’ children

As his car slowly passed house after house, and just when he thought he was free and could relax, out of the corner of his eye he saw something flash and the next thing he knew a  brick smashed into the BMW’s side door!

He slammed on the brakes and jumped out of the car, and then, started yelling at the nearest kid and started shouting, “What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? This is a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?”

The young boy was apologetic. “Please mister … please, I’m sorry… I didn’t know what else to do,” he pleaded. “I threw the brick because no one else would stop…”

With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car.

“It’s my brother,” he said. “He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.”

Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned man, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.”

Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out his fancy handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts. A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.

“Thank you and may God bless you,” the grateful child told the stranger.

Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the little boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home.

It seemed like a long, slow walk back to the BMW. The damage was very noticeable, but he made a deliberate decision to never repair the dented side door. He wanted to keep it to remind him of this message: Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!

So, there you have it, sometimes we need to slow down and really look around us. Let our ‘outlook on life’ be so attuned to the world around us that it doesn’t take a brick to get our attention.

Until next time…
Eugene

print