00:00There was a farmer who had an old mule, which fell into the farmer's well. The farmer heard
00:08the mule praying, or whatever mules do, when they fall into wells. After carefully assessing
00:13the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the
00:18well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors, told them what had happened,
00:24and called them to help haul dirt, to bury the old mule in the well, and put him out of his misery.
00:30Initially, the old mule was hysterical. But as the farmer and his neighbors continued
00:35shoveling, and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him, that
00:40every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, he would shake IT off, and step up.
00:45This he did, blow after blow. Shake it off and step up. Shake it off and step up. Shake it
00:51off and step up. He repeated to encourage himself. No matter how painful the blows, or how distressing
00:57the situation seemed, the old mule fought panic and just kept right on shaking IT off,
01:02and stepping up. It wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly
01:07over the wall of that well. What seemed like it would bury him actually helped him. All
01:12because of the manner in which he handled his situation.
01:14That's life. If we face our problems and respond to them positively, and refuse to give in to
01:21panic, bitterness, or self-pity.
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