When we focus too much on what we have lost, we underestimate what we have.Once upon a time, a donkey fell into a pit. He kicked and kicked but he couldn’t get out of the pit. Then the donkey brayed and made a terrible racket, but no one came to help him.
At last some men came by and tried to pull him out, but he was so far down in the pit that they couldn’t get a rope around him. They talked about the situation. Finally they decided that there was simply no way to pull the donkey out of the pit and that they would just have to bury him in there! So they began to throw in shovels full of dirt.
At first the donkey brayed even louder. But then the donkey began to realize that the dirt was a gift! With each shovel full, the donkey shook off the dirt and stepped up on it. A shovel full of dirt, a shake of the donkey, and a step up. Another shovel full of dirt, a shake of the donkey, another step up.
Well, the men kept shoveling, thinking they were burying the donkey. Suddenly they heard a happy “Hee-Haw” and there was the donkey, looking them in the eye! He was standing on top of all the dirt they had dumped on him!
Sometimes we don’t have as much sense as that donkey! We don’t rise above the dirt that gets dumped on us and learn to use what we have available to us.
Continued in Down a Notch or Two: Finding More Pots. (This series begins with Down a Notch or Two: Loss of Income and Status.)
Nancy Smith is a writer, educator, and ordained deacon whose ministry is to link faith and work, spirituality and justice, passion and ethics. From her own commitment to the Christian faith, she affirms the common spiritual experiences of people of all faiths and encourages inter-religious dialogue. Nancy offers Spiritual Life Retreats as well as workshops on Workplace Spirituality and Career Decisions. All are appropriate for both clergy and laity. Visit her web ministry at www.WorkplaceSpirituality.info
