What to Do When Life Tries to Bury You

Life is not always easy. There are times when it can seem as though it’s trying to bury you. Of course, like most things, it is a matter of perspective and attitude. Here’s an old story that I find particularly useful to ponder whenever life behaves like this.

The Lost Animal

One day a farmer found that he could not find his donkey. He needed the donkey to pull his cart to market that day, so he set about looking for it.  Eventually he discovered that his donkey had fallen into into an old abandoned well on the farm. He could hear the cries of the distressed animal as it couldn’t get out. He looked down but could see no way of getting his donkey out. Furthermore, he reasoned that the donkey was old and perhaps not worth the expense and effort of rescuing. However, he didn’t want any other animals to fall in and get trapped too, so gathered some neighbours and started to fill the well in.

Take a Fresh Look

They all brought shovels and began to fill the well with dirt. The falling soil naturally alarmed the poor donkey, but the farmer hardened his heart and continued. Curiously though, the animal’s distressed cries stopped soon after. The farmer could still hear the sound of the donkey moving around in the well though. He decided to take a look and what he saw surprised him.

Shake it Off

Each time a shovel of dirt landed on the donkey, it shook it off and took a step up. As they continued to fill the well, the donkey simply kept shaking off the earth and climbing higher. Eventually, the farmer’s old donkey simply stepped out of the well and wandered off to find some sweet grass.

Stepping Up

The fact is that there will be many times in your life that you’ll feel as if events or even other people are intent on shovelling dirt upon you. My advice for dealing with it? Just shake it off and take another upward step. Keep shaking off anyone’s attempts to bury you and keep climbing. And if you see anyone else being buried, pop over and help them climb out of their well.