Tuesday, December 06, 2005
THE SPLINTER
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THE SPLINTER
Author Unknown
Dec 05, 2005
Once there was a man who thought to cross America on foot.
He bought a map of the USA and carefully plotted out his course.
He would take the back roads and walk from morning till night,
viewing the beautiful land all around him as he went, stopping
at wayside inns and spending the night, rising the next morning
to begin his journey again.
On the morning of the beginning of his journey, he walked
outside on his porch and viewed the beautiful sunrise.
As he headed back into his house, his foot caught on a loose
board and a splinter wedged in the ball of his right foot.
The man sat down and lifted his foot and yelled at the splinter,
"Out! Get out of my foot! Out, I say!"
Rising, he went inside and finished preparing for his journey.
Heavy socks and thick walking shoes were to be his protection
against the hard earth. T-shirt and shorts would be his main
clothing. A backpack with a change of clothes and trail mix, a
map and plans for the trip, identification and a first aid kit
along with various other items completed his gear. A full belly
and plenty of sunscreen and he was off on his journey.
The man had not gone very far from home when he started to limp.
The splinter seemed to grow larger and larger. But the man was
determined and continued on his way.
That night he stopped at a little Bed and Breakfast Inn and got
a room for the night. After eating supper at a local diner, he
prepared for the morning before going to sleep. Finishing his
shower, the man sat on the side of his bed, lifted his right
foot and yelled at the splinter, "Out! Get out of my foot!
Out, I say!" And then he went to bed.
The following morning, the man rose up and started dressing for
the day. He lifted his foot and yelled at the splinter, "Out!
Get out of my foot! Out, I say!" Then he renewed his journey.
The sun rose with a spectacular view as the world shimmered
awake, but the man limped by with his eyes on his right foot,
glancing up only now and then, missing a lot of the views.
The roadside bloomed in wonderful shades of blues, greens, reds,
yellows, purples, oranges and burgundies. Rabbits hopped and
deer cropped in the fields all around. The birds sang and flew
all around the man, but he was unaware. The splinter was bigger
now, of that he was sure, as big as a two by four or maybe
more.
The sunset came that evening in glorious hues of purples, reds,
oranges and blues, but the man did not notice. He focused on the
painful throbbing of his right foot.
His mornings and nights started rolling together as the splinter
grew and grew and grew, and his limp got bigger and bigger and
bigger. His views got smaller and smaller as he focused more and
more on his right foot.
Each morning and each night, the man would lift his foot and yell
at the splinter, "Out! Get out of my foot! Out, I say!"
Halfway across America he went, inch by painful inch. Finally he
could stand it no longer, caught a bus and went home.
Calling his best friend along the way to tell him he was coming
home, the man settled into the swaying of the bus. Every so
often, he would take off his right shoe, remove his right sock
and yell at the splinter, "Out! Get out of my foot! Out, I say!"
Home at last, the man limped down his driveway to find his best
friend waiting for him on his doorstep. All excited, his friend
asked him about what he had seen, where he had gone and what he
had done.
The man had nothing to tell him but the splinter that was lodged
in his right foot. It hurt so much that he didn't feel like
looking at the view. It hurt so much that he didn't feel like
walking, much less going anywhere special. It hurt so much that
he didn't feel like doing anything exciting. It hurt so much
that he came home with his journey incomplete.
Then his friend asked the man,
"Why didn't you remove the splinter?"
So many times in life, we let splinters get in our way.
Instead of removing them and enjoying the rest of our journey,
we simply yell at them thinking they will respond to our
complaining and fussing. Then we cut the trip short.
What splinters do you carry?
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