Change What They See Into What You Want Them To See

My son was twelve years old, and somehow he had remembered being told by a doctor earlier in his life that he could one day have a skin graft to conceal the burn mark under his eye which he had had since he was 5 months old. With this mission in mind, he approached me at the diner table one night.

For as long as I could remember (at that time) everyone who ever met my son would say, "Hey, fellow, who gave you that black eye?", as if it were an original statement. As he grew-up, I began to notice he would winch every time he heard it. When he asked if and when he will be old enough for surgery, I decided to focus on the cause of the underlying problem.

My son was a cute little boy and turning into an attractive young man, but he was unable to see his physical self as such because of this mark on his face. I told him that when I looked at him, I didn't even see the mark; all I could see was the handsome young man he was becoming. I asked him what he saw when he looked in the mirror the first thing in the morning.

He said, "I see how ugly I am with this thing on my face."

I said, "Well, how does that affect you?"

He said, "It ruins my day!"

I said, "Do you really want to do something about it?"

He said, "Yes, I'll do anything."

I said, "Okay, but before we even consider something as painful as grafting surgery, I want you to do something that I believe will change you without surgery."

He said if it could help him, he would try it.

The prescription I gave to my son, I believe, came from a source greater than me, and it was simple. He had to spend time looking in the mirror and focus on his face, not the burn mark which distorted how he really looked. I told him his mission would be accomplished when he could look at himself and see the beauty that was him and not even notice the burn mark.

Two months passed and I noticed that when I introduced him to a friend, my friend said, "What a handsome young man you are," and not a word was said about the burn mark.

Later that evening, I queried him. "Tell me, when was the last time you heard 'Who gave you that black eye?'"

He rolled his eyes back in thought and said, "I think about two months ago."

I said, "Did you use the prescription I gave you."

He smiled and said yes.

"Have you met many people since that time?"

He said, "Yeah, and nobody's said that to me," in wonder. "How did that happen?", he asked.

I explained to him that his real problem was his focus. Because he spent so much time begrudging the imperfection on his face, it became a dominant aspect of who he was. So people, being a lot more attuned to one another than they realize, tend to feel what is important to you, and they automatically focus in on it. "Now that your focus has shifted, people are able to see past the burn mark." He smiled a big beautiful smile, and I silently said, "Thank you, God." Never again did the subject come up.

The moral of the story is clear. If you've forgotten, remember. . .The energy one spends worshiping negative thoughts, feelings, or actions only magnifies the energy until it seems insurmountable, finally getting out of control. The power to change any condition is in you, so look within, not without, for the answers which lead to peace.

God bless you,

Remay