The Blind Boy

A Short Story, by Nick Ortner

The Blind Boy
By Nick Ortner

A young blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which read,

“I am blind, please help.”

There were only a few coins in the hat –- spare change from folks as they hurried past him.

A man was walking by. He read the boy’s sign, took a few coins from his pocket, and dropped them into the hat.

The man then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words on the other side. Then he put the sign back in the boy’s hand so everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money to the blind boy.

That afternoon, the man who had changed the sign returned to see how things were going. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked,

“Were you the man who changed my sign this morning? Excuse me, but would you please tell me what you wrote?”

The man said, “Yes, that was me.  I only wrote the truth. I said what you said only I said it in a different way. I wrote,

“Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it.”

Both signs spoke the truth. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind, while the second sign conveyed to everyone walking by how grateful they should be that they can see the beautiful day …

What is Gratitude?
(Nick Ortner)

Simply put, gratitude is a feeling. It’s a way of looking at the world and all the good things in it with a feeling of appreciation, regardless of whether or not your current situation is the way you would like it to be.

Gratitude is a heart-centered approach to being at peace with yourself and with all you have. When you practice a feeling of gratitude, it attracts even MORE things into your life that you can feel grateful for.

Poet/Writer/Author of 5 books.
Quora Top Writer 2018.
CJ’s World is reader supported.
If you enjoy reading my work, please,
be a paid subscriber so I can continue 
writing.  Thank you!