An old man lived his entire life on a beautiful island. For decades, he walked the same paths, saw the same sunsets, breathed the same ocean air. The island was renowned worldwide for its stunning beauty. Travelers journeyed thousands of miles just to glimpse what he saw every day.
But the old man never really looked. He didn’t care.
Only at the end of his life, when visitors spoke of his island's fame, did he finally understand. If he had known how famous this island was, he reflected with deep sadness, he would have looked at it.
Anthony de Mello, the beloved spiritual teacher whose parables illuminated the human condition, shared this story in his teachings on awareness. We live surrounded by wonders we never see.
You are reading these words right now. Do you realize what this simple act represents? You possess a skill that transforms mysterious marks into meaning, symbols into understanding. This ability places you among the most fortunate humans in history. And yet, your mind likely skips past this miracle to focus on what you lack.
Like the old man gazing at distant horizons while missing the paradise beneath his feet, we spend our days blind to the wonders already surrounding us.
The Bhagavad Gita teaches that contentment comes from appreciating the abundance already present, not from acquiring more. "He who has divorced himself from the effects of desires and abandoned the lusts of the flesh goes straight to Happiness."
If you have food on your plate, clothes on your back, and a safe place to sleep, you're already richer than half the world. If you have money you can spend however you wish, and the freedom to go where you want, you are part of the top 8% of humanity. If you woke up today with more health than sickness, you are more blessed than the million people who will not live to see the end of this week. If you have friends or family who care for you, people you can call when life gets heavy, you are wealthier than countless souls who face this world alone. And if you can read and understand these words, you are more fortunate than the hundreds of millions who cannot.
See what's already here. Focus on that. The privileges, the freedoms, the blessings you overlook every single day. Don't waste it chasing what you don't have. Appreciate what you do.
Like the old man on his island, you live surrounded by wonders. The difference is you still have time to see them. Don't wait until the end to realize you've been walking through paradise, blind to its beauty.
Someone, somewhere, is praying for the very life you forget to notice.
