The wishing well sat at the far end of a grassy meadow. A winding path, lined with flowers in every color of the rainbow, led to the well. The path was paved with low flat stones of many shapes and sizes. Someone had taken great care in laying the stones in such a way that although it looked broken, its surface was smooth as silk, not one stone sat higher than another.
It had been a long time since the old man had visited the well. The place had always been a favorite spot for he and his wife. His wife had been passed many months and he had always felt he couldn't make the trip without her. Something about this morning was different, he wasn't sure what it was, but from the moment he had awakened, he knew he had to go to the well.
As the old man neared the end of the path, the path split and formed a large circle around the wishing well. There were four large wooden benches placed evenly around the well. Each one sat on the outside of the path nestled in all the colorful flowers. The old man was a bit winded from the long walk and sat down at the first bench to his right. It was really the only bench he could have chosen, it was their bench, he and his wife's.
The wishing well was about three feet tall and constructed of individual stones. Each stone had been painstakingly placed and mortared and like the path, the stones were smooth. Their mortar lines gave no hint of providing a youngster with a finger or foot hold to climb to the top. The well was deep and to look into it was like gazing into a portal to another dimension. It was always said that somewhere just beyond the blackness was a safety net, just in case someone did fall in, but if it was there, it couldn't be seen.
As the old man caught his breath, he noticed a young woman standing on the other side of the well. She was quite beautiful but her face was full of sadness. He tried not to stare, but he was sure that she was crying. He looked out across the end of the meadow, not wanting to interrupt her solitude. After a few minutes he could hear her sobbing.
He rose from the bench and dug deep into his pants pocket and produced two coins, a dime and a penny. He walked over to the well, gazed into its inky darkness, silently made a wish and dropped the dime into the abyss. The old man took a deep breath and made his way around the well to the young woman. As he drew near he extended his hand which held the last remaining coin and said. "My dear, a penny for your thoughts?"
The young woman turned to the old man, she wiped at her tears and said, "Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to disturb you."
The old man smiled, extended his hand again and said, "Young lady, you didn't disturb me. I can see that you are quite upset. A penny for your thoughts."
The young woman took the penny from his hand and again burst into tears. When she finally composed herself she turned towards the old man and began, "I was sitting here taking in all the beauty this place has to offer and I began to think. I thought, what if I met the man of my dreams and what if we were to marry? What if we had a wonderful life? What if we were to have a child, a beautiful little girl? And what if we brought her to this place? What if, while we were here, she fell into the well? What if my wonderful husband jumped into the well to save her and what if they both drowned? What if all that happened?! It just makes me so sad!"
The old man gave her a quizzical look, "None of these things have happened?", he asked.
"No", she said, "But what if they did?"
The old man looked into her sad eyes and said, "What if you did find and marry the man of your dreams? What if you had a wonderful successful life? What if you had a beautiful daughter and that daughter grew to be a great leader? What if she made the entire world a better place to live? What if she brought peace to all the nations? And what if she had children of her own, who were just like her and they loved to come to your house and spend time with you and your wonderful husband? What if all that happened?"
"Well," the young woman said, "That would wonderful!"
The old man smiled. "Life is too short, my dear, to focus on what if things could go wrong. There will always be good days and bad days and yes, sometimes bad things do happen. But, it takes no more energy to focus on what if something bad happens as it does to focus on what if something good happens. That is where your focus should be, focus on the good, because when you set your sights on the good, you open yourself up for the "good" to come to you."
"I'm not sure I understand." the young woman said.
The old man continued, "It's like the old saying, 'birds of a feather, flock together'. If you want good things in your life, surround yourself with others who have the same goal. Keep that goal always on your horizon. You may stumble from time to time, but troubles are the tools which God uses to fashion us for better things. Think good thoughts, for those thoughts will bring to you good things. Do not let your thoughts turn to what if things go bad, life is a journey, like a vacation, every once in a while, you will have a flat tire."
"I've never thought about it, life, like that before." She said.
The old man laughed. "You know what they say, it takes more muscles to frown than it does to smile. Don't spend your precious time making things harder than they are, always look for the good."
The young woman smiled at the old man, "Thank-you. she said. She dropped the penny into the well, turned and walked away.
The old man walked back to the bench and sat down. He closed his eyes. He felt someone pat his hand. He opened his eyes and there was his wife. She looked so beautiful and there was a glow around her. "What are you doing here?" he exclaimed.
"I have something to show you, something wonderful" answered his wife.
The old man took her hand and she led him down another path, a path with flowers in colors brighter than the sun. He stopped once, to look back. There on the bench was the shell he had spent a lifetime in. He looked back at his wife and with a wink he said to her, "What if I'd stayed home this morning?"
No comments:
Post a Comment