You Hear What You are Trained to Hear
A minister walking down a crowded street with a great scientist - a student of birds and animal life - was stopped by the scientist with the question, "What do you hear?"
"Why, I hear the confusion of the crowds, the clatter of the street cars, the clang of the automobiles."
"But what else do you hear?"
"Nothing," replied the minister.
"I hear a cricket," said the scientist.
The scientist led the way through the crowd to the side of the building. There he lifted a bit of stone which rested on a ledge. Under it was a cricket, making its distinctive music.
The minister was astonished, and asked, "How did you hear that?"
"Oh, that's nothing!" replied the scientist. "I'll show you something more wonderful than that."
He led the way to the sidewalk, stopped in the midst of the crowd that was streaming by, reached into his pocket, and found a dime.
"Now listen!" He dropped the dime. It tinkled. Every one within twenty feet stopped and listened.
"Now," said the scientist to the minister, "I will preach you a better sermon in one sentence than you ever preached in half an hour. Here it is: You hear what you are trained to hear, and see what you are trained to see!" - By Hubert C. Herring
Source: Signs of the Times, Copyright (c) March 11, 1930, Pacific Press, www.pacificpress.com/signs. With permission from Dale Galusha dalgal@pacificpress.com .