Acres of diamond

Acres of Diamond

There was a farmer in Africa who was happy
and content. He was happy because he was
content. He was content because he was
happy. One day a wise man came to him and
told him about the glory of diamonds and
the power that goes along with them. The
wise man said, "If you had a diamond the
size of your thumb, you could have your own
city. If you had a diamond the size of your
fist, you could probably own your own
country." And then he went away. That night
the farmer couldn't sleep. He was unhappy
and he was discontent. He was unhappy
because he was discontent and discontent
because he was unhappy. The next morning
he made arrangements to sell off his farm,
took care of his family and went in search of
diamonds. He looked all over Africa and
couldn't find any. He looked all through
Europe and couldn't find any. When he got to
Spain, he was emotionally, physically and
financially broke. He got so disheartened
that he threw himself into the Barcelona
River and committed suicide. Back home, the
person who had bought his farm was
watering the camels at a stream that ran
through the farm. Across the stream, the
rays of the morning sun hit a stone and
made it sparkle like a rainbow. He thought it
would look good on the mantle piece. He
picked up the stone and put it in the living
room. That afternoon the wise man came
and saw the stone sparkling. He asked, "Is
Hafiz back?" The new owner said, "No, why
do you ask?" The wise man said, "Because
that is a diamond. I recognize one when I see
one." The man said, no, that's just a stone I
picked up from the stream. Come, I'll show
you. There are many more." They went and
picked some samples and sent them for
analysis. Sure enough, the stones were
diamonds. They found that the farm was
indeed covered with acres and acres of
diamonds.
What is the moral of this story? There are five
morals:
1. When our attitude is right, we realize that we
are all walking on acres and acres of diamonds.
Opportunity is always under our feet. We don't
have to go anywhere. All we need to do is
recognize it.
2. The grass on the other side always looks
greener.
3. While we are dyeing the grass on the other
side, there are others who are dyeing the grass
on our side. They would be happy to trade
places with us.
4. When people don't know how to recognize
opportunity, they complain of noise when it
knocks.
5. The same opportunity never knocks twice. The
next one may be better or worse, but it is never
the same one.