Samuel was unloading the dishwasher yesterday and complaining about how hard it was and how much he hated it. As I tried choosing my response carefully, I remembered the story of the power pole that Elder Quentin L. Cook shared at General Conference.
Quentin's father had a ranch house with a beautiful view out the window. Right in the middle of that view was a tall, metal power pole with cables leading to and from it. Quentin was turned off by that ugly thing and asked his father why he placed the window there. His father replied that that pole reminded him that he didn't have to haul water to the house anymore, and that he didn't have to light oil lamps anymore. That pole was the greatest thing on his property and he wanted it right in the middle of his view.
I told Samuel this story, and I also told him about the years that Jonah and I didn't have a dishwasher and how we spent an hour each night doing dishes. It was hot, wet work. When we moved into an apartment with a dishwasher, all of a sudden we had time for hobbies in the evening! It was amazing! Every time I load that dishwasher, I am grateful for the time and energy it saves me.
So the Power Pole Perspective is this: two people can see the same thing and think two completely different things about it. Quentin saw the power pole as an ugly distraction. His father saw it as a blessing. Samuel sees a dishwasher as a terrible task. I see it as a blessing.
(Quentin L. Cook telling his story)
I hate doing laundry vs. I am so grateful we have clothes and machines that make it so I don't have to haul water from a well, rub my clothes on a washboard, and hang them up to dry.
This back pain is awful vs. I am so grateful to gain a little empathy for people with chronic back pain, and I am grateful that this is giving my children an opportunity to help around the house more.
We don't always have a choice in what happens in our life, but we always have a choice in our perspective.
