Category: Motivational

A Word To The Wise (Email I Received)

Illustration of a tongue

“Whoever guards his mouth, and tongue, keeps his soul from troubles.”
— Proverbs 21:23

This bit of verse by an unknown writer says it well:

Wisdom About the Tongue Across Cultures

  • • “The boneless tongue, so small and weak, can crush and kill,” declared the Greek.
  • • The Persian proverb wisely saith, “A lengthy tongue, an early death.”
  • • Sometimes it takes this form instead: “Don’t let your tongue cut off your head.”
  • • While Arab sages this impart: “The tongue’s great storehouse is the heart.”
  • • From Hebrew wit, the Maxim’s sprung: “Though feet should slip, don’t let the tongue.”
  • • A verse from Scripture crowns the whole: “Who keeps the tongue doth keep his/her soul.”

Reflections on the wisdom of careful speech across cultures and traditions.

The Mule & The Well

One day, a farmer’s Mule 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 mule. 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 mule 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 mule 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 mule stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off.

The Moral:
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 giving up! Shake it off and take a step-up!