The Grass Is Always Greener....

my wonderful town nestled against the foothills of the Boise Mountains

A story tells of a man who is oppressed by his family. His wife dominates and torments him. His children make fun of him. He feels a victim, and thinks the time has come for him to go away and find Heaven. After much searching, he meets an old sage who gives him detailed directions on how to go there: You walk for a long time, but eventually you will arrive. The man sets out. During the day he walks, and that night, exhausted, he stops at an inn to sleep. Being a precise and methodical man, he decides before sleeping to place his shoes pointing toward Heaven so as to be sure not to lose his way the next morning. But during the night, while he is asleep, a mischievous little devil sneaks in and turns his shoes around the opposite way.

Next morning the man wakes up and sets off, this time in the direction opposite to the day before-toward his starting point. As he walks along, the scenery looks more and more familiar to him. He arrives at the town in which he always lived, but he believes it to be Paradise: "How much like my old town Paradise looks!" But since it is Paradise , he feels good there and likes it immensely. He sees his old house , which he thinks is Paradise: "How it looks like my old house!" But since it is Paradise, he finds it very enjoyable. His wife and children greet him: "How they look like my wife and children! Here in Paradise everything looks the way it was before." However, because it is Paradise, everything is beautiful. His wife is a delightful person, his children are extraordinary--they are full of qualities that he , in his daily life, never would have suspected to exist. "Strange, how here in Paradise everything resembles so precisely what was in my life before, and yet everything is completely different!"

I read this excerpt in a book I picked up at a book exchange in Mexico. Written by Piero Ferrucci, "The Power of Kindness" I think it is a powerful two paragraphs.