5 inspiring short stories

We only see a fraction of what is. Only small parts are visible to us, which is why we often do not understand our environment - and why others seem to behave so strangely.

5 short stories to change your perspective and to create an AHA-moment

This 5 inspiring short stories show: When we look at things from a different perspective, we often recognize a completely new situation. The same case suddenly looks entirely different, and instantly we understand. Becoming aware of this leads to more understanding - for others and for ourselves. A change of perspective can make us more emphatic, solution-oriented, kinder, and it might dissolve internal pressure. Therefore, a change of perspective is a good exercise for anyone.

Short story ⌗ 1

Covey`s story

Steven R. Covey, the author of „The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People“ reported a paradigm shift he experienced one Sunday morning on a subway in New York: Everything was peaceful and quiet - some people were looking out the window, some were reading, some were lost in thought. The journey was calm and relaxed. Then suddenly a man with his three children entered the train. The kids were yelling and throwing things and they were obviously disturbing the other passengers. The mood on the train changed instantly. But the father of the three kids was just sitting there with his eyes closed, saying nothing. Covey was irritated. It was so obvious that these children were annoying all the others, yet the father just did nothing about it.

So, Covey turned to the man and asked him to control his kids a little bit. The father looked up astonished, as if he had only just noticed all this, and answered: “Oh, you’re right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don’t know what to think, and I guess they don’t know how to handle it either.”

Short story ⌗2

The old wise woman

An old wise woman was walking in the mountains. On the way, she found a very, very valuable stone, put it in her backpack, and went on. After a while she met a wanderer. The wanderer was hungry and so he asked the woman if she had something to eat for him. The old woman opened her backpack to take out her bread and share it with the wanderer. While opening the bag the wanderer spotted the valuable stone. He asked the old woman to give it to him: "Oh, please give me this beautiful stone, dear woman". And the woman gave him the valuable stone. Then both set off again, - and the wanderer knew that he could now live until the end of his life without any financial worries.

But a few days later the wanderer came back. He returned the stone to the old wise woman and said: "Dear old woman, I will give you this stone back. I do this in the hope that you can give me something much more valuable in return. Please dear woman, give me some of what made it possible for you to give me this stone!"

Short story ⌗3

Window theatre

The woman leaned against the window and looked over to the opposite building. As she was about to turn away, a man appeared in the opposite window and waved to her. She nodded back and kept standing by the window. The man nodded again. Then he disappeared for a moment and came back with a scarf and a hat on. He smiled and then he started to wave with a white hanky. Then he untied his scarf, a big colorful one, and waved with the scarf by leaning out of the window. The man's enthusiasm continued to grow, and his actions became increasingly strange.

The behavior became increasingly strange, so that the woman finally called the police.

It turned out: In the apartment above the woman there was also a child standing at the window. It waved laughingly at the man, and the man's whole cheerful attention was directed towards the child.
The man had performed a "window theater" for the child.

Short story ⌗ 4

The most peaceful painting

One day a famous art gallery announced a competition to find the world’s most peaceful painting. Therefore, thousands of artists submitted their paintings to participate. Finally, the day came when the judges had to decide which painting would get the award. On this final day 100 paintings were displayed, and all artists as well as the media were gathered to see the best painting. There were several great ones: One showed a clear river with mountains, snow and sun rise. Another showed a rainbow and flowers, and in the next picture there were birds, trees and a charming lake. All the drawings were so beautiful that the competition seemed very difficult - as one painting was better than the other.

Then the judges presented the award-winning picture. It was placed behind a curtain, and when the curtain was removed, it was a shock for the artists and the audience. As the painting did not show any peace, the audience thought about a mistake.

But it wasn't. The owner of the gallery stood in front of the audience and asked: „Did you watch closely?“ He explained what he saw in the painting: He saw a storm, destruction, dark clouds but he also saw a house with a small window by which a man stood and smiled and watched the storm calmly and without any worry. „That shows true peace“, said the gallery owner. „Peace does not only describe what is on the outside but what is on the inside. If you have peace from within, then you do not have to worry about what is outside.“

Short story ⌗5

The brothel doorman

Once upon a time there was a doorman in the brothel. His father and grandfather had been the doormen here before him. It was the worst paid job in town, but the doorman couldn't read and write so there was no chance of getting another job. One day the owner died, and a young man became the new manager. He was ambitious and started optimizing the whole house. He also gave further tasks to the staff. „From now on“, he told the doorman „You have to write reports about the customers.“ But since the doorman could not write, he was fired but received a severance pay.

The doorman went home all sad. What should he do now? Then it occurred to him that he could offer some renovation work. He often had done small repairs in the brothel. So, the doorman took his severance payment and bought a toolbox. Since there was no hardware shop in town, it took him a two-day ride to get it. When he came back from his trip, his neighbor came along to borrow a tool. That gave him a new idea. He offered others to do the tool-shopping for them, because not everybody had the time go on a 2-day trip. This service went great, and after a while, he became a successful tool salesman. Over time he optimized his journeys and opened his own shop. People from all over the area came to him so the shop grew and finally he became one of the most influential entrepreneurs in the area.

One day the mayor asked him to sign the golden book for his great merits. The entrepreneur replied that he was honored, but unfortunately, he could not read or write. "You can't read and write?" answered the mayor "and yet you have founded such a large company? I'm amazed! What would have happened to you, had you ever been able to write and read?" „I can tell you that" the entrepreneur replied with a smile, "I would still be a doorman in the brothel."

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Sources for this inspiring short stories:
1. according to Stephen Covey - The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
2. unknown author
3. Ilse Aichinger: Das Fenstertheater
4. unknown author
5. according to: Jorge Bucay - Let Me Tell You a Story: Tales Along the Road to Happiness