The Farmer, An Old Mule & The Well – A Mexican Parable & The Inspiration Behind My Efforts

The Farmer, An Old Mule & The Well – A Mexican Parable & The Inspiration Behind My Efforts

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I have long known about this parable, how to fill the old well slowly and free the mule.

But I still needed to dig the well a bit deeper, hoping I didn’t lose sight of my objective.

A Catch-22 struggle of the light at the top becoming fainter, before it can grow brighter, and ultimately to reach my goal – a free mule and a filled well.

I have always known my neighbors, old and new, would be there for me to lend a hand, as I have lent to them in the past, now in the present and going into the future.

So this story is as much about me, as it is about you.  Thank you!

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The Farmer & The Mule – A Mexican Parable

“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.” ~ author unknown

This story has been recounted many times and many ways, but it has sat in the back of my mind these past 6 months or so.

The old well was this blog itself, Hans World Travels.  It is a reconfiguration from a forgone time, when I was half the person I am today – needing to write, just like the water from the well, to grow into myself.

The old mule, is this “hippie dippie traveler” persona I have constructed over the years.  Symbiotically blending my need to travel with a need to support myself (otherwise known as work) in order to travel to feed my inner being with experience.  A vicious cycle, full of ups and downs, and I would not trade them for anything. 🙂

But this “old mule” is hardly that, stepping his way up with every new shovel full of dirt hitting his back.

Thanks to everyone, my “neighbors”, who have lent a hand in whatever capacity you could, adding a shovel full of dirt here and a shovel full of dirt there! 

The light at the top gets faint with all the dust in the air at the well’s bottom.

I can’t be certain of the origins of this “Moral of the Story” that was include in the post I found through a Google search, however it is fitting none the less.

“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!” ~ author unknown