It's funny. I was walking around in my own little world, worrying about my petty little worries. I wasted a good part of this week doing so. And as I finally resurfaced from the spot I had been in, I started talking to other people. What I found out, is that they had been going through troubles of their own. It seemed there was something in the air this week for some of the people in my life.
It made me think of a story that a very wise friend once told me .... (I hope it doesn't lose something in the retelling. I was told this tale about 20 years ago so I'm afraid I'll have to make up the details that I am missing).
Three people who were each dealing with very stressful problems (at the time I was told this story the 3 of us sitting at the table were dealing with cancer, a child with serious health issues and the after effects of an abusive marriage), once went to a very wise man and asked for him to take their problems away. The wise man agreed and each of them were immediately rid of their problems. But what they got in exchange was one of the other problems the other people were living with. After a short time, these same three people returned to the wise man and asked for their original problems back.
No matter what we are dealing with in life, no matter how unsurmountable it feels to us at the time ... is something we are capable of handling. I've heard it said many times that 'you are never given more than you can bear'. Many people have had to bear burdens that would break the best of us, but they do overcome and grow stronger.
As I looked at the table with people who had problems much bigger than my own (or so it seemed from my perspective), I realized how fortunate I really was.
And this week has been much the same (on a much smaller scale). It's all about perspective sometimes...
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