A faceless snowman opened his Christmas gift and felt two lumps of coal.
“What!? You are giving me two lumps of coal?” he exclaimed with disappointment to the giver.
“Let me show you how to use them,” responded the giver. And she placed the lumps of coal on the snowman’s empty face.
“Wow! Now I can see!” said the snowman.
“You did not need lumps of coal to see,” said the giver. “Vision comes from within.”
Do you have a blind spot that is impacting your vision?
Lack of any vision is probably the #1 reason we fail to move forward. And all the money in the world gets you nowhere if don’t know where you want to go.
Do you look at challenges as problems or opportunities? Detours as roadblocks or new adventures?
I spoke with a woman this week who has recently had serious eye surgery in both eyes. She is trying to stay upbeat but with the tone of fear in her voice she told me, “I’m so afraid I will lose my eye sight.” I told her “You will not lose your eyesight. Do not be afraid. You will come out of this with more clarity and a clearer vision of what really matters.”
How we envision ourselves and who we want to be should be the fuel that keeps us going. Blind spots and a refusal to look at things with fresh perspective hold us back.
The term “lumps of coal” is usually referred to as a negative- a bad gift. But in reality, here’s the coal hard truth: Lumps of Coal for this blog represent seeds of vision. It is all about perspective.
The Chinese view coal as dirty and bad. The Scottish give lumps coal of as good luck gifts on New Year’s Day. Lack of vision, or negative vision, take you nowhere. Keep your eye on a goal or a direction to propel you forward.
You can view coal as fuel to fire up new ideas.
You can use coal to create beautiful works of art (read Lemony Snicket’s book “Lumps of Coal”)
Coal, like diamonds, is made of carbon, as are we. All three are born rough, yet with care and vision the diamond becomes a thing of beauty, coal becomes the heat that warms our homes, and we can become whatever our heart desires.
This season I hope you take any lumps of coal tossed your way and use them not just to create warmth, but to fire up new ideas and to create something special.
It’s all how you view it.
