Thursday, August 27, 2009

Putting Things in Perspective

I was a bit frustrated yesterday. Some unforeseen delay of transaction in one of my banks has caused an avalanche of problems in another. End result? My account is in total disarray! I spent most of the day talking to one person after another, apparently getting no where fast and more frustrated with each phone call. Finally, I gave up and went home.

After a rather unproductive evening I went to bed with a new book just arrived in mail: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. I read for two hours before I fell asleep and then read another hour after I woke up at five. I like to quote you a small passage in the book:

This morning, when I was sitting in front of the window and taking a long, deep look outside at God and nature, I was happy, just plain happy. ... Riches, prestige, everything can be lost. But the happiness in your own heart can only be dimmed; it will always be there, as long as you live, to make you happy again. Whenever you're feeling lonely or sad, try going to the loft on a beautiful day and looking outside. Not at the houses and the rooftops, but at the sky. As long as you can look fearlessly at the sky, you'll know that you're pure within and will find happiness once more.
  • This was written on Wednesday, February 23, 1944 by Anne Frank, after been in hiding from the Nazis for two years.
  • She was 14.
  • She and seven other people lived in a secret hiding place for two years in constant fear, starvation, and isolation.
  • One year later she perished in the concentration camp, along with her sister and her mother.
And I was frustrated over a banking problem.

Note to self: Try to put a little more perspective in how you view life, learn some maturity and courage from this 14 year old Jewish girl who had no more than a year to live, and get out there make a difference.

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