5 Minute Friday ~ Perspective

Once again, joining Lisa-Jo at Gypsy Mama for 5 Minute Friday...

"On Fridays over here a group of people who love to throw caution to the wind and just write gather to share what five minutes buys them. Just five minutes. Unscripted. Unedited. Real.

Your words. This shared feast.

If you have five minutes, we double dog dare you to spend it writing here.

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments.

OK, are you ready? The Gypsy Mama Facebook late night crew is my new muse come 10pm Thursday night, so please give me your best five minutes on their choice..."

Ready... Go!

Perspective…

"People only see what they are prepared to see." – Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Before criticizing a man, walk a mile in his shoes."
- Old English Proverb

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

"Bad is called good when worse happens."
- Norwegian Proverb

 "When others see a shepherd boy, God may see a king."

- Ray Boltz and Steve Millikan

"Is the glass half empty or half full?" (recently wrote about this myself)

“Being happy doesn't mean that everything is perfect. It means that you've decided to look beyond the imperfections.”

"A flower is a weed seen through joyful eyes."

- Jonathan Lockwood Huie

"When one door closes another opens.

But often we look so long, so regretfully, upon the closed door,

that we fail to see the one that is opened for us."

- Helen Keller

Perspective is one of those things I think about a lot - hence my collection of quotes above. These are my favorites and I could have included more, but recently I read a parable that says more better than I ever could, so let me simply retell, in my own words...

"A hurricane had ravished the island, leaving a monkey stranded watching the waves crash along the shore. While taking count of his situation and waiting for the waters to calm and recede, the monkey notices a fish struggling to swim against the current. Obviously, the fish was in need of help and so the monkey decided to take a risk and help his fellow creature.

One branch from the tree in which he was sitting extended out over the water, right above where the fish was thrashing and struggling to make way in the abusive surf. Even though it entailed danger and risk, the monkey inched far out on that limb and hanging down as far as he could stretch, snatched the fish from the thundering waves. The monkey then scampered back to safety, clutching the fish close to him so he wouldn't drop it. Well back from the raging waters, he delicately laid the fish on the beach. For several minutes, the fish seemed excited and delighted, flipping and flopping around, but soon it settled down and slipped into a restful sleep, probably for the first time since the storm began.

The monkey was pleased with himself, for he had helped another. That poor fish would've died without his intervention."

 Stop! 
(5 and 1/2 minutes... I had to finish the story!)

The monkey parable came from a book I'm currently reading titled Cross-Cultural Servanthood: Serving the World in Christlike Humility, by Duane Elmer

If a quote is not properly attributed, or there is no attribute and you can correct me, please do!