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On yet another trip to the gym for one of my sons’ many gymnastic practices, I asked him to help clean up the car a little, so he started with the spare change in the cupholders.
He looked at me with a very puzzled expression asking, “Mom why do you keep all this spare change, it is just a bunch of nickels and sticky pennies.”
I laughed, because he was right, but also because I saw the lesson. I went on to explain that nickels and sticky pennies may seem small and unimportant, but it can add up to something valuable over time, it was just a matter of how we chose to look at it. I could tell by the look on his face he wasn’t sure where I was going, so I continued. I reminded him of the last time we did a puzzle together, and it seemed like the manufacturer had given us some wrong pieces, but when we turned the picture around it started to make sense, we chose to change our perspective and we saw new possibilities. I could see in his eyes that he was starting to understand. “So, changing the way we see things can help us figure something out?” he asked.
“Exactly,” I replied, “and that small change can open up endless possibilities.”
Before we could reach the gym, the sticky pennies in the cup holder became a lesson on perspective, and each small shift we make in our viewpoints can make a big difference. I invite you to be open to the endless possibilities of an afternoon errand, be willing to turn the picture upside down, and the difference a few sticky pennies can make!
Natasha E. Schmidt is The Spiritual Director and Coordinator at Unity of Syracuse.