The Obstacle In Our Path

“Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.”

There once was a very wealthy and curious king. This king had a huge boulder placed in the middle of a road. Then he hid nearby to see if anyone would try to remove the gigantic rock from the road.

The first people to pass by were some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers. Rather than moving it, they simply walked around it. A few loudly blamed the King for not maintaining the roads. Not one of them tried to move the boulder.

Finally, a peasant came along. His arms were full of vegetables. When he got near the boulder, rather than simply walking around it as the others had, the peasant put down his load and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. It took a lot of effort but he finally succeeded.

The peasant gathered up his load and was ready to go on his way when he saw a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The peasant opened the purse. The purse was stuffed full of gold coins and a note from the king. The king’s note said the purse’s gold was a reward for moving the boulder from the road.

The king showed the peasant what many of us never understand: every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

Listen and Silent

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Hmmm... really, just think about that. 🤔 

Never really took a moment to realize that listen and silent had the same letters. They go hand in hand with each other and I know I need to practice that more. We all do. So many of us want to always "run our mouths" to prove and show what we know. Even to make others, or ourselves, believe we are something that we're really not. Instead of zipping it and learning and growing.

They say sometimes you show how smart, caring, and mature you are when you can just be silent and just listen. Oh the things you learn when you just sit, be silent, and listen. Taking heed. Making a note. Time to practice this more.