Life Lessons from an Ice Cream Shop
Imagine walking towards the ice cream shop. You can feel the heat of the sun beating down on you. But the thought of your favourite flavour keeps you going.
You push open the door and step inside, immediately feeling a cool blast of air conditioning. You make your way to the counter and order your favourite flavour.
You can almost taste that sweet, creamy goodness on your tongue already. Finally, the shopkeeper hands you your ice cream in a cone, and you take that first bite.
The flavour hits your taste buds, and you close your eyes in bliss. You know without a doubt that getting this ice cream was the best decision you've made all day.
You walk a little further and someone comes ruining and bumps into you. Your beloved ice cream drops to the ground and the guy runs away in a hurry without even apologising. (How rude!)
What is your initial reaction?
Anger? Frustration? Something worse?
What if I tell you this guy just got a call from the hospital that his mother was in critical condition? What if you were in his situation?
What do you feel now? I hope the anger has subsided and you feel empathy towards him.
What did you learn?
Life is not black and white.
Most things in life do not come with a context.
Your state in life depends on your perception.
I understood this lesson a little late in life. I tasted success early on and that made me a narcissist. I forgot to look at the gray area in life. Now that I am a little wiser, i look at things differently. Hence the name of this newsletter.
This first issue of this letter is a reminder that when going through your week, observe things a little differently. Maybe there is a different side to life, that we are ignoring.
Maybe your perception can ease your suffering!