In ancient times, a king had a huge boulder placed in a roadway, then he hid and watched to see if anyone would remove it.
Some of the kingdom’s biggest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around the
boulder.
Many of them loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none of them did anything about getting the big stone out of the way.
Then a peasant farmer came along, carrying a load of vegetables on his back.
When he came to the boulder, he laid down his vegetables and began trying to move the boulder to the side of the road.
After much struggling and straining, he finally succeeded.
As he was picking up his vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had
been.
The purse contained many gold pieces and a note from the king indicating the gold was for the person who removed the stone from the roadway.
The farmer had learned what many others have learned since:
Every obstacle presents an opportunity.
Life will throw up obstacles, but instead of going around them or trying to avoid them all together, take the opportunity to confront them and learn in the process. Facing obstacles and challenges makes us stronger and aids us on our spiritual path. Oftentimes, when we avoid something we are only putting off the time until we will meet it again. It is best to bite the bullet and face these challenges head on, improving your self and learning the lessons that are meant to be learnt.
