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Bear the weight
Shake it off
And step up
-安天美
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Listen closely my dears, for I want to tell you about an old mule who knew something that many take a lifetime to learn. You see, when this mule fell into a deep well, the farmer - thinking he was being merciful - decided the kindest thing would be to bury the poor creature. But that old mule? Well, he had other plans.
Now, with every shovelful of sand that came raining down, something remarkable happened. Instead of accepting what others had decided was his fate, that clever mule did something that still makes my heart smile. Each time the sand hit his back, he would shake it right off and take a little step up. Shake and step. Shake and step. Like a dance he made up right there in that well.
You know what makes my eyes twinkle about this story? It's how that mule didn't cry out, didn't fight against the sand, didn't even try to convince the farmer he was wrong. No, sweetheart. He just kept doing what he knew would work - turning each burden into a blessing, each shovelful into a step toward freedom. That's the kind of wisdom that runs deep and true. An invitation to accept the weight of burdens that already exist.
Perhaps most revolutionary is how this poem reframes our relationship with difficulty. It suggests that our greatest power lies not in avoiding weight, but in choosing how we engage with it. Every burden becomes an invitation to practice this sacred sequence - to bear with grace, shake with purpose, and step with intention toward higher ground
I've seen this pattern play out time and again. When life seems to be burying us, we have a choice. We can let it weigh us down, or we can do like that old mule - shake it off and let it lift us higher. Every challenge, every heartache, every setback can become a stepping stone if we learn to dance with it just right.
So when you feel like you're in a deep well with the world throwing sand on your back, remember our friend the mule. Remember that sometimes the very things meant to bury us can become the path that sets us free. And know that your grandmother smiles every time she sees you shake off what weighs you down and take another step up.
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<aside> <img src="/icons/backward_blue.svg" alt="/icons/backward_blue.svg" width="40px" /> Liberation Practice
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<aside> <img src="/icons/forward_blue.svg" alt="/icons/forward_blue.svg" width="40px" /> Alchemy of Optimism
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