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, that the well needed to be covered anyway, and that it just wasn’t worth retrieving the donkey.
The farmer invited his neighbours to come and help him fill and cover the well. 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 would shake it off and take a step up.
As the farmer’s neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. After a while, everyone around the well was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off to the field, no worse for wear.
Life is sometimes going to shovel dirt on you. The trick is to shake it off and take a step up.
