One day a professor entered the classroom and asked his students to prepare for a surprise test. They waited anxiously at their desks for the test to begin. The professor handed out the question paper, with the text facing down as usual. Once he handed them all out, he asked his students to turn the page and begin. To everyone’s surprise, there were no questions—just a black dot in the center of the page. The professor seeing the expression on everyone’s face told them:

“I want you to write what you see there.”

The students confused, got started on the inexplicable task.

At the end of the class, the professor took all the answer papers and started reading each one of them aloud in front of all the students. All of them with no exceptions, described the black dot, trying to explain its position in the middle of the sheet, etc. etc. etc. 

The professor explained after reading all answer sheets:

“I will not grade on you this, I just wanted to give you something to think about. No one wrote about the white part of the paper. Everyone focused on the black dot—and the same happens in our lives. We have a white paper to observe and enjoy, but we always focus on the dark spots. Our life is a gift given to us by God, with love and care, and we always have reasons to celebrate—nature renewing itself every day, our friends around us, the job that provides our livelihood, the miracles we see every day.

However, we insist on focusing only on the dark spots—AMIE is difficult to pass, It would take a very long time to pass AMIE exam, recognition issue (thanks to WhatsApp University!), no time to prepare for AMIE exams, etc.

The dark spots are tiny compared to brighter side—passing AMIE exams will give a feeling of pride and self satisfaction, would help in promotions and moving to higher education, etc.

The lesson: Take your eyes away from the black spots in your life. Enjoy each one of your blessings, each moment that life gives you.