The Donkey and the Well... What it means to me.

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 he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They each 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 looked down the well, and was astonished at what he saw. As every shovel of dirt hit his back, the donkey did 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.


This parable means a great deal to me. Often in life, we are surrounded and sunken in circumstances of our own creation. We could sit back and let the situation get worse. Or we could do what the donkey did, use our circumstances to turn ourselves (or situations, whatever it may be) around. Lord knows that in life we all have created our own muck. The key is not to get down, stay calm, and look at how we can turn it around.

I remember when I was sent to jail. I thought long and hard about how much does an Indiana expungement lawyer cost would be to me and my family.