See the Good: A Powerful Story About Gratitude and Perspective

For twenty years, Moshe the butcher had been working in his shop. He knew his customers and their families well, and he even knew which cuts of meat each person preferred. But he had never seen anything like this.

One morning, a large dog walked into the shop and began licking his shoes. Moshe grabbed a stick and tried to chase it away, but all his efforts failed.

The stubborn dog stood its ground, opening its mouth toward him. Moshe was startled, but then he noticed an envelope inside the dog’s mouth. Carefully, he took it out and found inside two hundred shekels and a list of different cuts of meat.

A Dog on a Mission

Moshe quickly packed the order into a bag and handed it to the devoted dog, who took it in his mouth and ran off toward its owner. Fascinated, Moshe decided to follow. He quickly closed the shop and went after the dog.

The dog crossed the street at a crosswalk, turned left, walked to the end of the road, passed between two buildings, and entered a neighborhood of villas.

At the entrance of one of the luxurious homes, the dog stood on its hind legs, entered a four digit code, and opened the gate. It reached the front door and knocked gently, but there was no answer.

An Unexpected Reaction

The dog knocked again, this time more forcefully, until finally the door opened. The owner stood there in a bathrobe, his face full of anger.

“You fool!” he shouted at the dog. “Why are you bothering me? How many times have we talked about this? Don’t you have any sense? What is this supposed to be?”

Moshe, who had been hiding behind the bushes and listening to the unusual exchange, could no longer hold back.

“Excuse me for interfering,” he said, “but you have such a loyal, intelligent, and talented dog. How can you speak to him like that and humiliate him?”

“Yes,” the man replied, “but this is already the third time he has gone shopping and forgotten to take the keys. What, I have to get up and open the door for him every time?”

The Blindness We All Share

There are many times in life when we suffer from a kind of partial blindness, just like that man. He has a brilliant and devoted dog, yet all he sees is the one thing it forgot.

We often think, “I wish I had a father like someone else’s,” or “Look how brilliant that child is.”

Is it really true that everyone else has something better, more beautiful, more perfect? Is the grass really greener on the other side?

Learning to See the Good

Pause for a moment and notice how much goodness already fills your life. Look at the half full cup that God has given you as a gift.

Look into the pure eyes of the precious child you have been given. Focus on the immense goodness, the inner beauty, the innocence and purity of your own “angel,” and from the depths of your heart say, “Thank You.”