Friday, August 20, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Shake it off and Step up
One thing I have observed about many of the youth today is that when stuff happens, they tend to give up quickly. When they get piled upon, they don't know how to respond and just fold up. Here is a story told to me long ago by my grandfather. Just shows you that no matter how the world tries to throw stuff at you and bury you, you have to learn to improvise on the fly and step up ----
One day a farmer's donkey fell into an abandoned well. The animal cried grievously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be buried anyway; so it just wasn't worth it to him to try to retrieve the donkey.He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him. They each grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. The donkey, realizing what was happening, at first cried and wailed horribly. Then after a few shovelfuls later, he quieted down completely. The farmer peered down into the well, and was astounded by what he saw. With every shovelful of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing some thing amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up on the new layer of dirt. As the farmer's neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.
Pretty soon, the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off, to the shock and astonishment of all the neighbors. Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt and try to bury you. The trick to getting out from beneath it all, is to not let it bury you, but to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!
Finally, the donkey gave the farmer who tried to bury him a good kicking. Which brings me to another moral for this story - When you try to cover your ass, it always comes back and gets you.
One day a farmer's donkey fell into an abandoned well. The animal cried grievously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be buried anyway; so it just wasn't worth it to him to try to retrieve the donkey.He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him. They each grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. The donkey, realizing what was happening, at first cried and wailed horribly. Then after a few shovelfuls later, he quieted down completely. The farmer peered down into the well, and was astounded by what he saw. With every shovelful of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing some thing amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up on the new layer of dirt. As the farmer's neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.
Pretty soon, the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off, to the shock and astonishment of all the neighbors. Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt and try to bury you. The trick to getting out from beneath it all, is to not let it bury you, but to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!
Finally, the donkey gave the farmer who tried to bury him a good kicking. Which brings me to another moral for this story - When you try to cover your ass, it always comes back and gets you.
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