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Writer's pictureDr. Andrew Yellen

The Red-Blue Glasses Fairytale

04/03/2023


In the make-believe (maybe not so make-believe) land of Grrrr there lived two very large families. They were always angry with each other. While different, both families had one peculiar tradition in common. In one family, as soon as a baby was born, people put red glasses on. In the other, they put blue glasses on. What was so strange was that after a short period of time no one even realized they had glasses on. Thus, the glasses became invisible. Nobody really understood why, but this tradition was passed from generation to generation.


The inhabitants of Grrrr were exhausted from the constant conflict. One family insisted that everything had a red tinge to it and that anyone who dared to question that fact was to be hated. The other family insisted that everything had a blue tinge to it, and, just as with the red family, no one was to question this. Sometimes things really got out of hand when they encountered each other.


The glasses truly colored everything they did, including the people they associated with, how they spoke, where they lived, and even what they believed in. But, again, no one knew why. It just kept going generation after generation. But one day a person no one had ever seen showed up.


He was wearing purple glasses. Members of both families asked him why he was wearing purple glasses. Rather than answer directly, he answered with a question. To one group he asked why they were wearing red glasses, and to the other group he asked why they were wearing blue glasses. Of course, both groups denied they were even wearing glasses because the glasses had long ago become invisible.


He picked one person from each family. He asked them to trust him. He removed the glasses each had on and replaced them with purple glasses. He then asked them what they saw. With amazement, they both said they could see both red and blue in everything. The elders in both families did not want to believe this was possible. They had all grown up believing in one color. Many were not even willing to try the purple glasses.


But thankfully, many of the younger members of the families were willing to try the purple glasses. This worked so well that many members of each family mingled with members of the other family. The land of Grrrr became a happy place to live for those willing to wear purple glasses. The part of town where people wore purple glasses was renamed Weeee. People still had their preference for one or the other color, but they were actually able to see both.


What color glasses are you wearing? Are you willing to try on a different color?










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