The black dot

Upon entering the classroom, a professor told his students that he was about to spring a pop quiz on them and handed out the tests, text facing down. Then he asked his students to turn over the paper. To their surprise, they were staring at a white sheet graced by a single black dot. Puzzled, they looked at their professor who calmly instructed the class to write a short essay on what they saw before them.

The students went to work. They stretched their brains. Uneasily, they scribbled down a few sentences. The task was tough. They tried to describe the location of the black dot, its size, and its color. After all, what can you say about a black dot on white paper? When the allotted time was up, the professor collected the papers and proceeded to read the answers out loud.

After all the papers had been read, the professor spoke again, “I am not going to grade you on this, but I want you to ponder something. Did you notice that each of you focused on the black dot? Not one of you wrote about the white part of the paper. The same applies to life. Life is like this large piece of white paper. All of life is there to enjoy. Yet we tend to focus on life’s limitations and imperfections, which is the black dot on the paper. Instead of enjoying the good things that surround us – home, family, friends and nature – we zoom in on the black dots – issues concerning health, relationship, work or finances. Even though the black dot is tiny in comparison to the white sheet, it becomes the focal point of our thoughts.

Try to pay more attention to the good things in your life, enjoy each moment, and keep the black dots in perspective.