The Midas Touch

Sometimes getting what you wished for is a bigger tragedy than not getting what you want!

Summer Holidays! It’s wonderful to see how happy everyone is during this time. So much to do, so much fun to be had…Oh to be a kid again!

One of the first things my daughter wanted to do with her best friend was have a lemonade stand. What would summer be without lemonade stands? I took them to the store to buy all the ingredients. They of course, wanted matching cups and designer napkins for their stand. After a few hours selling their lemonade, they excitedly wrapped up and rushed home to count their earnings. They had made $20. I pulled out the supermarket receipt and showed them that the cost of their purchases had been $20, and thus they had just broken even. The news was received with blank stares on their faces. They were not quite ready for that reality yet. After all, to them it was just the experience of having friends come taste their drinks, not about the money. I felt bad I had even mentioned it. There I was, trying to turn my daughter into a business woman at 8 years old. However, it did remind me about the story of Midas, which I had read with Tayla a few nights before.

We all know the story of the greedy King Midas. He had a lot of gold, and the more he had, the more he wanted. He stored away all his gold and spent his days counting it.

One day a stranger approached the King and said he would grant him a wish. The king was delighted and asked that everything he touched turned would turn to gold. The stranger granted king Midas his wish.

The next morning when King Midas went down for breakfast his newspaper, then his eggs and bacon all turned to gold. Just then his daughter came running to hug him, and she instantly turned to gold. The king bowed his head and cried.

The stranger returned and asked the King if he was happy with his golden touch. The King said he had never been more miserable, and he asked for forgiveness.  I will give up all my gold for my daughter, he cried. The stranger empathized with the King and said; “You have become wiser and you have learnt a golden lesson.” And with that, he reversed the spell. The King got his daughter back and learned a valuable lesson he would never forget for the rest of his life.

Be careful what you wish for, because it may not be what you expect. The moral of the story for me, is never lose perspective of what’s important in your life. “Happiness is not having great possessions, but having fewer wants.” -Epictetus

Enjoy your summer, it truly is a gift.

Ralph Harris, Editor