This story is an adaptation of something my mother told my brother, sister and me when we were children. A father had two sons, one whom he could never please, no matter what he gave him. The other son would take joy in everything that came his way from the father’s hand. It never seemed to make sense. No matter how much the father tried, the son who would seem to have the greatest favor, was the least thankful, while the other son, who received the leftovers was always full of glee and gratitude.
The father tried an experiment. He bought the self-absorbed son a gift pony, put a big ribbon on it and presented it to him in the presence of his brother. As expected, the selfish son accepted the gift, pouting that it was the wrong color and too short. He did the lead the pony out of the barn, however, grumbling as he left. His brother bolted into the stall where the pony once stood and immediately started shoveling through the manure pile, singing and laughing all the time. His father was alarmed and rushed in to stop what seemed like an obvious fit of madness. “What are you doing my son? Why are you shoveling this pile of manure?”
The son explained. “I saw the one pony and I know there must be another one hidden in this pile of manure somewhere!”
The point my mother was trying to make was it is so easy to consider the trappings of wealth and privilege as giving someone the joy of living. The opposite is actually true. The joy of living does not come in what we possess. It comes by recognizing the simple advantages