May 04, 2006

The Donkey in the Well

And I am not talking about the Democrats, although there probably is a lesson in here for them.

I don't know where I first heard this story but it is worth considering again.

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One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, she decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. She invited all her neighbors to come over and help. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.

At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer was curious and looked down the well and was astonished at what she saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was shaking it off and taking a step up. As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off.

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is 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.

Five things that can help:

1. Hate less.
2. Worry less.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

3 comments:

J.D. Ryan said...

"Daily Affirmations with Stephen McArthur"... nice Steve.

I noticed down in your 'worth supporting' links, you don't have Ned Lamont, the guy trying to unseat Lieberman.. Might be worth a look, Joe's gotta go!

www.nedlamont.com

Stephen McArthur said...

Just so you don't think I have gone all new age on you, I'll use lots of cursewords in my next post!

Stephen McArthur said...

Somehow I knew this entry would induce my logical, rational friends to question my sanity and political discipline. Call it wishful thinking? It's my sensitive side.