Shake it Off. Step it Up.
There was once a man who devoted all his time and energy into rearing his donkey. One day, while walking across a muddy field, his prized donkey fell into a deep pit. The owner tried over and over to pull the donkey out; but he was fighting a losing battle as there was no way the donkey was going to make it. He resorted to making the difficult decision of burying the donkey alive, rather than have it suffer immeasurable pain.
His eyes blurred as tears ran down his face. It was the most painful ordeal he’d experienced, yet he knew that this was best for the donkey. He went back and forth, shoveling in mud. For a minute he paused to rest his head on the shovel, stops crying, looks around, and was shocked at what greeted him…
Every mound of dirt that was hurled into the pit fell straight onto the donkey. It hurt. But the donkey reacted by simply shaking it off. The rocks that fell by his feet where then used to step it up, elevating him to a higher point than before.This happened multiple times; he shakes it off and steps it up. After a while the donkey was able to make the final step out onto green pastures a place he never thought he’d reach.
The donkey tells the story of each one of our lives. Sometimes we might feel like dirt, rocks and sharp pebbles are being thrown at us. At first, it also may seem that the only way to escape the pain is to give in. Let them pierce us. Rather die than go through life fighting each rock.The battle may seem too mighty for an individual alone. But heed the donkey’s lesson; keep shaking the pebbles off, deal with each problem as it comes, fight the desire to do wrong. Not only that, but use the very pebbles that could have knocked you out, and step on them, learn from what they have to teach you about yourself. With much effort in this field (which consists of mind training, rewiring faulty thought patterns, and real action…) I really believe that we will merit to see the results of our effort as we one day experience graze in our own green pastures.
Shake it off.
Step it up.