Train your eyes

My daughter & her friends came home one day for some coffee time. However what I realised was they opened up a pandora box of complaints. Cribbing cribbing cribbing. I got them some nicely brewed coffee. One of the girls said aunty it's long we heard some interesting story from you, why don't you share some. My daughter giggled as she knew I was just waiting to be asked. Once upon a time in a bustling village, there lived a little girl named Mira. Mira was kind-hearted and curious, but she had a habit of noticing only the negative things around her. If the sky was cloudy, she’d complain that it might rain. If her friends laughed, she’d worry they were laughing at her. Everyone in the village adored Mira, but they often wished she could see the brighter side of life. One day, while playing near the forest, Mira stumbled upon an old wooden cottage. Inside, she found an ancient mirror covered in dust. As she wiped it clean, a warm, glowing face appeared in the mirror. It was the Mirror Spirit. “Hello, Mira,” the spirit said, smiling kindly. “I am the Magic Mirror & I can show you the most beautiful things in the world. But first, you must do something for me.” “What do I have to do?” Mira asked eagerly. “You must bring me three examples of the most beautiful things you see each day,” the Mirror Spirit replied. “Only then will I reveal my secret.” Mira agreed & ran back to the village, determined to find beauty. At first, it wasn’t easy. She noticed her friend Ravi had a torn shirt & almost said something mean, but then she remembered his bright, happy smile. “That’s one beautiful thing,” she thought. Next, she saw a tree with broken branches after a storm. She felt sad for the tree until she noticed tiny new leaves growing on it. “That’s the second beautiful thing,” she said to herself. Finally, she saw her mother baking bread. Mira almost grumbled about the heat in the kitchen, but then she smelled the delicious aroma & realized how much love her mother put into the food. “That’s the third beautiful thing.” That evening, Mira rushed back to the Magic Mirror. She told the Mirror Spirit about the smile, the new leaves, & her mother’s baking. The mirror glowed brighter. “Well done, Mira!” said the Mirror Spirit. “The secret is this: Beauty is everywhere, but you must train your eyes & heart to see it.” From that day on, Mira made it a habit to look for the positive in everything. She found joy in small things: the laughter of her friends, the warmth of the sun, & the songs of birds. The more she focused on the good, the happier she became. All the girls looked at each other as they knew why this story. Post that the evening was full of fun and only positive conversation.

Reflection by Dr Anjana https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/anjanavinod

Reflect in life how often we miss seeing the good things because our focus is only on the one we didn't get or miss. "Remember* focus on the beauty around us, & the world will become beautiful & will help finding light even on cloudy days.

The Irony of life is sometimes, when things are falling apart we miss the fact that they may actually be actually falling into place. Happiness is not by chance but by choice. Let's go ahead in life start paving another road if we don't like the one we are walking on instead of just complaining and wasting our energy because a dead end is just a good place to turn around. How do you read this story

1. What does this story open up for you?

2. Let's look at 5 positive things around us today that we may have otherwise?missed.