A popular story of the Middle East tells that a youth arrived at an oasis next to a town and approaching an old man asked, “What kind of a people live in this place?”
“What kind of a people live in the place” Where do you come from?” asked the old man instead.
“Oh, group of selfish and wicked,” replied the young one. ‘I am happy I left the place.”
To that the old man answered, “You will find the same kind of people here.”
That same day another young man approached the oasis to drink water and seeing the old man, asked, “What kind of people live here?”
The old man answered with the same question, “What kind of people live in the place you are coming from?”
“A magnificent group of people, honest, amicable, hospitable, it hurts very much to have left them.”
“You will find the same kind of people here,” answered the old man.
A man who had heard both conversations asked the old man, “How is it possible to give two different answers to the same question?”
To which the old man answered, “Each one carries in his heart the environment where he lives. That one that did not find anything new in the places where he stayed, cannot find other things here. The one that found only friends there, can also find friends here, because, to tell the truth, your mental attitude is the only thing in your life over which you can maintain absolute control.”
When you always have a positive attitude you will find the true richness in life. If you look within, you will know that you possess a great strength to give and to find all the good things in others.
May you always find an oasis of peace! — Author Unknown
