“When things go wrong as they usually will, and your daily road seems all up hill…” (Source unknown), do things differently. If something is not working for you do not keep doing it. Changing the behaviors or words that keep getting us into trouble seems to be such a hard thing to do. It’s not, you know, it’s just a decision to sample different ways to get a desired outcome.
When children are young, they will often sample different games, sports, friends, foods, hobbies, etc, until they find one that suits them. Perhaps we should all reconnect with our inner child and sample different ways of being. We generally know what we don’t like or what doesn’t suit our lifestyles but may be at a loss to discover what we do like or can accept. The key to discovery is: sampling difference.
Although I aim to recreate bad situations into acceptable ones, I often forget to see the positive aspect in the clouds of grey. But…thanks to one of my students, I now have a serendipitous reminder to always choose difference. I share her forwarded wisdom with you now:
THE DONKEY: 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 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. He was astonished at what he saw. With each 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 happily 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 steppingstone. 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 mentally healthy:
1. Free your heart from hatred – Forgive.
2. Free your mind from worries – Most never happen.
3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less
I’m trying to teach my son to also be a donkey. Doing things differently is a huge gift that I choose to give him. How about you?
My FAVORITE child focused article of the day: Building your Child’s Vocabulary, by Tristi Pinkston