Something To Think About

One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the rural countryside with the firm purpose of motivating his son to work hard by showing him how poor people can be. The father wanted to prepare his son to take over managing the vast family fortune and estate. They spent a couple of days and nights helping with the daily activities on the farm of a poor family. Sharing meals at night with the family, they learned a little about planning and life on the farm. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son,

"How was the trip?"

"It was great, Dad."

"Did you see how poor people can be?" the father asked.

"Oh Yeah" said the son.

"So what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.

The son answered, "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, and they have many friends to protect them."

With this, the boy's father was speechless. Then his son added, "Thanks dad for showing me how poor we are."