eRipples v3.27: Ripples of SHAKING IT OFF!

eRipples: Your Free Weekly Splash of Inspiration
from Paul & The Ripples Project
eRipples v3.27: Ripples of SHAKING IT OFF!
July 2, 2001

PEBBLE ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
- Plato, submitted by Anna Lennon <annalennon@hotmail.com>

BOULDER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried
piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally the farmer decided the animal was old and the well needed to be
covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. So he
invited all 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
amazing. 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!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out
of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a
stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping,
never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!
-original source unknown, submitted by Nicolle Dearborn

PONDER ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I finished off June with a glorious excursion to the Pacific Ocean to
participate in the 25th annual Seaside Wellness Conference which
gathers wellness professionals from around Oregon (and around the
northwest) for four days of education and inspiration. One of the
workshops I presented was on dealing with difficult people and we had a
blast generating a long list of personality types that make our lives more
challenging.

One useful insight came as we explained that sometimes we make
situations worse by taking the personality traits of a co-worker (or family
member) personally. Sometimes those people are the way they are
because of something that happened a long time ago and it isn't useful
(or accurate) for us to think that we caused them to be that way. It doesn't
mean we always have to put up with negative behaviors, but it can help us
maintain our sanity by not taking it personally. Shake it off and take a step
up this week!

Peace,

Paul