A Fresh Start

I heard a story about a farmer who had an old mule who had fallen into an empty well, 40 - 50 ft deep. When the farmer surveyed the situation, he realized it was almost impossible to rescue him. The well was narrow and the mule was crammed at the bottom. As much as he didn’t want to, he decided he was going to bury the mule. He called some friends over to help, and they began to shovel dirt. When the old mule felt the dirt on his back and realized what they were going to do, he decided every time he felt the dirt on his back, he would shake it off and step up. Finally after 2-3 hours of doing that, he was able to step over the well. What’s interesting is that the dirt that was going to bury him actually saved his life.

We all face situations that seem like they could bury us. The only difference between being buried and being planted is the expectancy of what’s going to happen next. When you put a seed in the ground, you say you’re planting the seed, not burying the seed, because you know it’s coming back. You can have a seed on the shelf for a lifetime, but its potential will never be realized until it is put on the ground. Only after it’s been planted in the dark ground, something supernatural starts to happen. It goes through germination, the outer shell breaks off, the new growth springs forth, and that’s when it blossoms.

When you go through tough times, you may feel like you’ve been buried, but the fact is, you’ve simply been planted. That means you’re going to come back, and you’re going to come back stronger, better, and increased. Extraordinary people face extraordinary difficulties. Tough times give way to new growth, new potential, new talent, new vision, new opportunities, and blossom in ways you’ve never dreamed of.

~Joel Osteen, You Have Comeback Power

"Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do
are in harmony." - Mahatma Gandhi

This is what I strive for. I find it interesting that he doesn't mention feelings.