Sunday, July 29, 2001
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Sunday, July 29, 2001 |
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What you can learn from a donkey By MARY JANE HOLT
In the front of my most ragged bible, recorded on those inside cover pages in the front and back which I always think beg for something to be written on them, I once scribbled something to which I have often referred over the years. Don't know where it came from, if I heard it or read it somewhere. I don't think it was original although some of what I have recorded in such space is as original as anything can be, I suppose, when we all share such a common journey on our way into eternity. So what did I write and why do I recall it today? Read on. I wrote: "Keep your heart free from hate, your mind from worry. Live simply; expect little; give much; fill your life with love; scatter sunshine. Forget self. Think of others, and do as you would be done by." And you know what? For many years I really tried to live by that. Today I woke up wondering if there is any going back. Can I turn back time and regain some moment when my heart was free from hate and begin once more? Can I resolve today to never worry again? Can I find a way to live more simply? When did I begin to expect so much of myself and others? Love? Does love still rule? Is my life filled with love now? And those sunbeams, do I really want to share them or keep them all to myself? Myself? Could I ever learn to forget self again and live for others? Live for others. Think of others ... do unto others as I would have others do unto me. The truth is, and, oh, how I dislike the truth just now, but the truth is I can't cut the mustard anymore. I have become more and more self-centered and selfish. I decided at some point in time I'd rather be a survivor than a saint. I don't like admitting that. I can't for the life of me figure out why I would actually record it here, but what can I say? When those rose-colored glasses fell off a decade or so ago it began to be harder and harder to "keep my heart free from hate, my mind from worry, live simply; expect little; give much; fill my life with love; scatter sunshine, forget myself, think of others, and do as I would be done by." Do my thoughts and actions of the past few years dictate that I cannot go back? No, but reality does. There is only today and the hope of tomorrow and every sunrise offers the opportunity for us to begin again. So I can always start anew. Right? While I continue to ponder on this let me share with you what prompted this line of thought. Somebody sent me an e-mail that contained the following story. Read it and see where your thoughts take you. "Shake it off and never give up. ... "One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously 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 covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to try and retrieve the donkey. "He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. 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 finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take 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! "Remember the five simple rules to be happy: "1. Free your heart from hatred. "2. Free your mind from worries. "3. Live simply. "4. Give more. "5. Expect less."
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