The Golden Windows

Acceptance of one's life has nothing to do with resignation; it does not

mean running away from the struggle. On the contrary it means accepting

it as it comes. . . . To accept is to say yes to life in its entirety.

Paul Tournier 

I've never wanted more than what I have. Yes, you often hear me speaking about wanting to leave the city to go back to the country, but that's nothing more than a dream that I am able to admit to myself may never come true.  I would love for it to happen, but I am not going to sit around ruminating about something that may never be.  Instead, I choose to cherish what I DO have. My three-room apartment is exactly what I 'need' right now.  It feels so good to come home from a hard day at work and kick up my shoes and relax in my favorite chair by my favorite window.  For those of you who have ever lived in a home with virtually no windows, you know what a joy it can be to finally have one in every room of the home.

It's the simple things that give me pleasure. I've learned that living one's life always 'wanting' something more takes those pleasures of life away. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with wanting the best for our lives and working towards those goals, but when we spend our lives chasing something far and beyond our means, we open ourselves up to an unhappy life because we are so busy chasing that we don't take the time to appreciate what we do have.  We must take the time to enjoy the blessings of the simple things in life if we want to experience contentment. 

The little girl in the story below was just such a person.  She was so busy being unhappy with what she had and wanting more that she was blinded to the gifts that she already possessed.

The little girl lived in a small, very simple, poor house on a hill and as she grew she would play in the small garden and as she grew she was able to see over the garden fence and across the valley to a wonderful house high on the hill – and this house had golden windows, so golden and shining that the little girl would dream of how magic it would be to grow up and live in a house with golden windows instead of an ordinary house like hers.

And although she loved her parents and her family, she yearned to live in such a golden house and dreamed all day about how wonderful and exciting it must feel to live there.

When she got to an age where she gained enough skill and sensibility to go outside her garden fence, she asked her mother is she could go for a bike ride outside the gate and down the lane. After pleading with her, her mother finally allowed her to go, insisting that she kept close to the house and didn’t wander too far. The day was beautiful and the little girl knew exactly where she was heading! Down the lane and across the valley, she rode her bike until she got to the gate of the golden house across on the other hill.

As she dismounted her bike and lent it against the gate post, she focused on the path that lead to the house and then on the house itself…and was so disappointed as she realized all the windows were plain and rather dirty, reflecting nothing other than the sad neglect of the house that stood derelict.

So sad she didn’t go any further and turned, heart broken as she remounted her bike … As she glanced up she saw a sight to amaze her…there across the way on her side of the valley was a little house and its windows glistened golden …as the sun shone on her little home.

She realized that she had been living in her golden house and all the love and care she found there was what made her home the ‘golden house’. Everything she dreamed was right there in front of her nose!