Should I Complain?

Should I complain because my $457.00 rechargeable electric lawnmower, weedeater, leaf hog, etc. was stolen from my garage? Or that the estimate for the repair of my car’s air conditioner is $1566.00? Of that the heat wave we are having is making me physically ill? Or that I remain unemployed?

Well, I just did, but I don’t think that complaining will help any of that. Come to think of it, all complaining does for me is to make me feel worse!

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried miserably for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided that the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey anymore.

So the farmer invited his neighbors to come over and help him. 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 was doing something astonishing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!

I know that life is going to shovel dirt on me—all kinds of dirt. I also know that the trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up.