Parable of the Week: The Obstacle in our Path.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the kirig's wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it. Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.  Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the king indicating that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway. 

The peasant learned what many of us never understand. Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition. 

--Unknown--

This life is a university; experience is the teacher; the earth the school room, and each of us is a student.  Each of us were born into this realm with lessons to learn, and challenges are our greatest teachers. And Father Time is always there, standing  at his post of duty--the past he has written and her record he has sealed; the present is revealed upon the page before him and with his ruler, he points into the future--warning  us that the hours are swiftly passing by. 

Obstacles are the gifts we have been given for learning, and we move on in our journey of life, we will find that it is full of lessons. It's up to us to decide when we are ready to accept them. We discover new courage in overcoming them and learning the lessons that they offer us.  And never forget that some of the best lessons we ever learn we learn from mistakes and failures. Sometimes, as in my case, we are doomed to repeat, and to repeat, but eventually, the errors of our past become the success of the future. Through hardship comes strength.  Through suffering comes gratitude.