A parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard the mule 'braying' - or - whatever mules do when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together and told them what had happened...and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.
Initially, the old mule was hysterical! But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back...a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back...HE SHOULD SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP! This he did, blow after blow.
"Shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up!" he repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or distressing the situation seemed the old mule fought "panic" and just kept right on SHAKING IT OFF AND STEPPING UP!
You're right! It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, STEPPED TRIUMPHANTLY OVER THE WALL OF THAT WELL! What seemed like it would bury him, actually blessed him...all because of the manner in which he handled his adversity.
THAT'S LIFE! If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity...THE ADVERSITIES THAT COME ALONG TO BURY US USUALLY HAVE WITHIN THEM THE POTENTIAL TO BENEFIT AND BLESS US! Remember that FORGIVENESS--FAITH--PRAYER-- PRAISE and HOPE...all are excellent ways to "SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP" out of the wells in which we find ourselves!
This was an inspiring story to me and i believe it will be to you too. Let the lesson of the story shape your 'heartitude', seeing every adversity asn an opportunity to move hiher in life...
You will Succeed!
2 comments:
Nice one and encouraging I believe what can teach us resilience and tenacity is simply adversities and challenges.
Oga this confirms what I have always suspected. That your deportment must be a growth on a very solid philosophical ground that practicaly works all the time in life. I beleive it does.
With it I say 'Life is not a straight line' yet we always want it to be so. 'Things aren't always what they look like' but we insist on knowing them just as they appear. 'The fact that an entrance we expected to use suddenly shuts us out before we get in does not mean we will remain outside or that we got only one inside to enter' yet we keep standing out there and staring at the closed door.
And such are the great experiences we get from looking at objects the other way.
SHAKE IT OFF AND STEP UP
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