Sometimes, amazing things happen around us that we’ve forgotten how to notice. What has happened to us? Why have we stopped seeing the beauty around us? Where did that sense of wonder go that made us marvel at rainbows, sunrises, and flowers when we were children?
Does this incredible quality disappear from us as we grow older? AdmiGram.com recalls an old parable about how we’ve forgotten to notice simple and amazing things around us. Hopefully, after reading it, each of us will start noticing more beauty around us once again!
The old parable of not noticing the simple things
An elderly woman from the village used to fetch water every morning. She would take her two old wooden buckets and walk leisurely to the well. Drawing water, she would fill the buckets to the brim and then head back home just as calmly.
But one day, disaster struck: one of the old buckets had a crack, causing water to leak out in small streams as the woman walked home. Observant neighbors noticed the leaky bucket and hurried to inform the woman about it.
To their surprise, the woman acknowledged that she was aware of it and seemed unperturbed. “Oh yes, I know about it,” she said, dismissing it as insignificant. The neighbors thought that maybe old folks had their quirks and dismissed the matter. Before long, children began to run behind her, laughing and pointing, as the leaking bucket left a trail of water.
One young man who encountered the woman by the well each morning offered his help, suggesting he could fix the old bucket. The woman warmly thanked the caring young man but declined his offer, saying she didn’t need any assistance.
However, the young man’s heart couldn’t accept the idea of the woman’s daily struggle, carrying water that leaked away along the way. The next morning, he met her at the well again and handed her a brand-new bucket.
“You’re a very kind young man with a good heart, but I truly don’t need a new bucket,” the woman smiled once again.
“Why not?” the young man asked, puzzled.
“Well, perhaps, like so many others, you didn’t notice that on the side of the road from my house to the well, I’ve planted beautiful flowers. They bring me joy every day, and I’m sure they bring joy to everyone else too. And as for the leaking bucket, as you’ve probably guessed, I need it to water those flowers along my way. When I walk, the water from the cracked bucket waters them,” she explained.
The elderly woman once again thanked the kind young man, took her buckets, and strolled leisurely toward her beloved flowers that the village residents loved to admire.
