The ostrich, the opossum, and the surfer.
There is no denying it,--whether they be financial, professional, domestic, or medical,-- life presents us with many challenges. The quicker we realise that there is no way out of it, the better off we are. The only way to survive it is to learn how to handle each and every challenge we are presented with in the best possible way . The animal world provides us with some examples. A myth developed about the ostrich who is often seen with its head in the sand. It even became a proverb about people who just try to pretend their problems just don’t exist and go on living as if nothing happened. While the ostrich is actually simply stirring its eggs in a hole it dug as a nest, many people do turn their back to their problems either by running from them or ignoring them rather than facing them head on. The opossum gives us another example. When presented with confrontation, he falls into an epileptic-mouth-frothing trauma. This characterises those of us who just faint at the notion of difficulty. I was telling a friend this week that problems are like the waves of an ocean; we can’t stop them from coming. We can attempt to stop them with a plank of wood but that would be quite unsuccessful. Instead, we can take that same plank of wood and surf the waves as they come hurling at us. As we do, the waves of problems we dread so much will propel us further and take us higher. Here is a poem written by the very prolific writer: Unknown The Oyster & the Pearl There once was an oyster Whose story I tell, Who found that some sand Had got into his shell. It was only a grain, But it gave him great pain. For oysters have feelings Although they’re so plain. Now, did he berate The harsh working of fate That had brought him To such a deplorable state? Did he curse at the government, Cry for election, And claim that the sea should Have given him protection? No – he said to himself As he lay on a shell, Since I cannot remove it, I shall try to improve it. Now the years have rolled around, As the years always do, And he came to his ultimate Destiny – stew. And the small grain of sand That had bothered him so Was a beautiful pearl All richly aglow. Now the tale has a moral; For isn’t it grand What an oyster can do With a morsel of sand? What couldn’t we do If we’d only begin With some of the things That get under our skin.
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