One day a farmer’s donkey fell into a well. The farmer frantically thought what to do as the stricken animal cried out to be rescued. With no obvious solution, the farmer regretfully concluded that as the donkey was old, and as the well needed to be filled in anyway, he should give up the idea of rescuing the beast, and simply fill in the well. Hopefully the poor animal would not suffer too much, he tried to persuade himself.

The farmer asked his neighbors help, and before long they all began to shovel earth quickly into the well. When the donkey realized what was happening he wailed and struggled, but then, to everyone’s relief, the noise stopped.

After a while the farmer looked down into the well and was astonished by what he saw. The donkey was still alive, and progressing towards the top of the well. The donkey had discovered that by shaking off the dirt instead of letting it cover him, he could keep stepping on top of the earth as the level rose. Soon the donkey was able to step up over the edge of the well, and he happily trotted off.

Life tends to shovel dirt on top of each of us from time to time. The trick is to shake it off and take a step up.

When life throws dirt on top of you what will you do? Will you let it bury you or will you shake it off and step up?

“Life is full of bumps and bruises. It’s what you learn from it and what you do with it that makes you who you are.”
Author Unknown

This quote got me thinking about how people go about their lives. Life is not a smooth ride. Some people, when they hit a bump, give up and turn around while others find a ways to go over the bump or around it. I believe that everyone should tackle these bumps and find a way to conquer them.

So when you reach a bump on the road called life, don’t give up because you’re not the only person to ever reach that particular bump and you won’t be the last.

Be an example for your followers!

So ask yourself the next time you are approaching a bump; will I turn around and go the other way because it might be easier, or will I follow the road I started on, the road to my goals and deal with the bumps?

When you lose someone you love, you are only losing their physical presence.

You will never lose the beautiful memories you built together.

It is OK to be sad. Sad for you and sad for the world that they did not have the chance to experience the greatness of the person lost.

Never be sad for the person, for whether we believe it or not, it was their time to go.

The love you shared, the experiences you had and the beautiful memories will be yours forever.

We will all see our loved ones again. Sometimes we just need to trust in what we cannot understand.

Hard work is painful when life is devoid of purpose. But when you live for something greater than yourself and the gratification of your own ego, then hard work becomes a labor of love.

- Steve Pavlina

What is your labor of love? Hard work is just hard work unless you are working to improve a situation, yourself or the world. Make sure your work is for the greater good and not for your own self-centeredness.

Holding on to anger is like holding on to a burning red hot coal.
The longer you hold on to it the more it burns, the more it hurts and the more damage it does.
The longer you hold on to it the longer it takes for the wound to heal.
What red hot anger coal are you holding on to?
Let it go!

- John Slimp

Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity.
An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people.

- Colin Powell