One day an old Cherokee Indian left his home on the reservation to make a trip to visit his nephew in the big city. The massive skyscrapers, the noise of the traffic and the sheer volume of people coming and going overwhelmed the old Indian. And yet, as he walked down the street he suddenly stopped in his tracks, turned to his nephew, smiled and said, “Shush, listen! I can hear a cricket.”

His nephew shook his head at the old man and said, “You must be crazy! How on earth could anyone possibly hear a cricket among all this hustle and bustle and noise?”

The old Indian said nothing but walked over to a nearby grass verge. Slowly, he pulled back the low branches of a shrub and then, quick as a flash, he reached into the undergrowth and pulled out a cricket.

The nephew stood back in amazement and stuttered, “How on earth…?”

“It all depends on what you focus your attention on and what you listen out for,” said the Indian. “Let me show you… watch this.” – With that, the old Cherokee put his hand into his pocket, pulled out a handful of loose change and threw the coins in the air. Up and down the busy street, hundreds of heads instantly turned to look for the source of the jingling sound!

“See what I mean?” said the Indian.