THE GIFT OF A DAY (29); SHAKE IT OFF

"Today is life-the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto." - Dale Carnegie

Shake it off

A story about a farmer whose mule fell into an abandoned well. After numerous unsuccessful attempts to get the mule out of the well, the farmer decided it was a hopeless situation. With sadness, the farmer figured that the only humane thing to do would be to haul truck loads of dirt to bury the old mule, while filling in the dangerous well, at the same time. He backed up the truck, and began to shovel in the dirt. The old mule, however, went berserk when the first load of dirt hit its back. That old mule started shaking off the dirt, stomping it down and stepping up a bit.
Another shovel full of dirt caused the mule to shake off the dirt and firmly stomp it down. Truck load after truck load, the old mule repeated the same process. It shook off the dirt, stomped it down and stepped up a bit. Little by little, that mule was lifting itself out of the hole. No matter how distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought off panic when it realized that no matter how much was dumped on its back all it had to do was shake it off, stomp it down and step up. And, guess what? It wasn’t too long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, triumphantly stepped out of the well.

If we take out time to constructively look at our daily challenges, we'd notice that there are different ways each challenge presents us with opportunities to solve or deal with them. If we respond to our problems positively, and refuse to panic, or fall further into bitterness and despair, the adversity that come along to bury us usually contain within them the potential to benefit and bless us! Rather than burying us, the adversity and criticisms are there ONLY to make us better, lifting us up, bit by bit. Teaching us one day at a time lessons daily, as we run our courses in the university of life.

You can shake off the dirt life, circumstances, friends or adversaries hurl at us; depending on how we chose to see it. The more we see the load of dirt as overwhelming, the deeper we're buried. And the more we see each load of dirt poured, as a stepping stone the higher we'll rise. After much shaking off (of problems) And stepping up (learning from them), we'll graze in GREEN PASTURES! Have a fun filled Wednesday shaking off those dirt as they come at you today!