Winston Churchill used to tell the story of a British family that went out for a picnic by a lake. In the course of the afternoon the five year old son fell into the water. Unfortunately none of the adults could swim and as the child was bobbing up and down and everyone on the shore was dissolving in panic, a passerby saw the tragedy of the situation.At great risk to himself he dived in, fully clothed, and managed to reach the child just before he went under for the third time.
He pulled him out of the water and presented him safe and sound to his mother. Instead of thanking the stranger for his heroic efforts, the mother snapped peevishly at the rescuer and said, “Where’s Johnny’s cap?” Somehow in all this commotion the boy’s hat had been lost.
It is sometimes easier for people to nit-pick over little things, grizzle and wrangle over mere trivialities and forget to be grateful for the positive things that have happened to us and our loved ones.
Geoff Pound
Image: Winston Churchill