How many fingers do you see?

Many years ago I was watching the movie Patch Adams. Robin Williams plays a
man who has so much anxiety that he checks himself into a psychiatric hospital.
He meets a man named Arthur who was known for being a great innovator.
Arthur holds up four fingers and asks, “How many fingers do you see.” When
Robin answers four, Arthur calls him an idiot.

Robin keeps thinking about the fingers and finally goes to visit Arthur to get the
answer. Here is the video of the scene:

The answer comes when Robin focuses beyond the fingers. Each eye sees its own
set of fingers, therefore he now sees eight instead of four, a new possibility.
Arthur urges him on by saying “See what no one else sees. See what everyone
else chooses not to see out of fear, conformity or laziness. See the whole world
anew each day.”

I felt as if someone very powerful picked me but by my lapels, shook me and
shouted. PAY ATTENTION, THIS IS IMPORTANT! I had recorded the movie, so I
kept playing the scene again over and over. I wasn’t sure why it was having such a
profound impact on me, but I knew I would see the world differently from then
on, and I have.

Now when I am faced with new information I wonder, what’s beyond the
obvious? How should I look at this differently? What do others not see? Often the
obvious answer has been the best answer for me, but not always. Many of the
most important answers with the deepest most long lasting effects have come
from looking beyond the fingers. My world has gone from black and white to a
rainbow of possibilities. It’s a fun place for me to live.

Most of the blogs and podcasts to follow will be heavily influenced by this one
simple question, “How many fingers do you see?”

May you have enough today, one moment at a time.