One day a professor asked his students to prepare for an extra credit test he said he would be emailing them at home.

The class was surprised because the summer session was almost over and final grades were already pretty well established.

That evening, each student received a photograph of a large yellow canvas with one gray dot painted in the middle, along with instructions to write an essay on the painting.

When the professor received the answers back, all of the students, without exception, described the gray dot, its position on the canvas, the contrast and so on. After reading all the answers, the professor sent a follow up email out to all the students:

“I am not going to grade you on this test; I just wanted to give you something to think about. No one wrote about the yellow section of the canvas.

Everyone focused on the gray dot and the same thing happens in our lives. We have a whole canvas in front of us, but we are so busy focusing on the dark spot in the middle.

Life is a special gift with different layers: our friends, livelihood, love, family, and the miracles we see every day. I want you all to realize the dark spots in our lives are just one thing on a very large, bright personal canvas.

Take your eyes away from the apparent spots in your life and enjoy each one of your blessings and each moment that life gives you.

I wish you the best!”