This afternoon, as I sat on my back porch looking at
the trees, still devoid of leaves, I thought it was
time to send out another newsletter. As you know, my
newsletters are few and far between. I never want to
burden you with lots of useless information so, as not
to waste your time, I think carefully about what I
should write.

It was quiet and relaxing, just sitting there with my
thoughts. I let my attention shift for a moment from
the trees to the sky. It was a bright, cloudless day.
Not even a balmy breeze -- just a cool, wonderful
afternoon. As I looked up again at the sky, I wondered
where all the stars were. I couldn't see even one.

Of course, I couldn't see them because they were all
hidden by the brightness of the sun. But the stars
hadn't gone anywhere. They were always there. They do
not run and hide or just disappear into nothingness
when the sun comes up. They seemed to have been lost.
We just cannot see them when our vision and perception
are blocked by clouds or the sun or a roof or even deep
thought.

Even on a clear, moonless night, we may not see stars
if we are looking down at the ground. To see stars, we
generally have to lift our eyes and our vision. We have
to look up from where we are.

So it is in life. The noise of daily problems, the
worries of making a living or our focus on the struggle
may block our view to the glories of making a life. We
do not only need to rely on our sight, but on our
insight as well.

Sight is seeing with our physical eyes, insight is
seeing with our inner eyes, our heart and soul. Sight
is a storehouse. It gathers data and stores it for
current or future needs. Insight is a powerhouse. It
takes the data and combines it into ways that are most
helpful to us.

The solutions to every problem we have are within our
reach if we could see them clearly. Just like the stars
seem to be hidden by the brightness of the sun, so the
solution to our problem may be hidden by the intensity
of our struggle or our focus on worrying.

Perhaps the world is waiting for us to take the
solution that best fits us. Our attitude definitely
determines how we solve our problems. If we sit back
and say that there's nothing we can do, the Universe
would show us a face, which says there's nothing you
can do.

If we stand up and say that maybe there's a solution to
our problem, the Universe would say that, perhaps,
there is a solution. But if we grab life boldly and
look it straight in the eye and say that the solution
is there for the taking, life responds by giving you
what you demand.

I am reminded of the three umpires who gathered at a
little pub just after the game was over. The first
umpire looked at the others and said, "I calls 'em as
they are." The second umpire shook his head and quietly
said, "I calls 'em as I sees 'em." The third umpire
looked at the other two and bellowed, "They ain't
nuthin' till I calls 'em."

If we've been plagued by the frustrations of everyday
living, let us look at the world slightly differently
from the way we've been looking at it. Perhaps the
solutions to all of our problems are waiting for us,
within our reach, ready for us to grab them.

You are bigger than your problems. You have within you
the power to live life fully and gloriously. Don't say,
like the first umpire did, "I calls 'em as they are,"
because you may not be completely aware of how they
are. Don't even be like the second one who said, "I
calls 'em as I sees 'em." It's entirely possible that
you may not be seeing clearly at the moment. Choose the
third umpire and say, "They ain't nuthin' till I calls
'em." Your problems are nothing until you give up your
power to change them. So, as Sir Winston Churchill once
said, "Never give in. Never, never give in."

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You have my permission to reprint this article in your newsletter or on your website in its entirety without any alterations (except for typographical corrections). If you choose to reprint, please add the following at the end of the article: John Harricharan is the award-winning author of the bestseller, "When You Can Walk on Water, Take the Boat". Get a free PDF copy and sign up for John's free newsletter at http://www.waterbook.com Photos of John and friends are at http://insight2000.com/pictures

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