According to an old parable, Bart was caught inside his house during a flood. The water was a foot high when a rescue truck offered to evacuate him. Bart refused, saying, "God will provide."
The levee broke, and the water got so high he had to climb onto the roof. A man in a rowboat paddled by and urged him to get aboard. Again Bart refused. "God will provide."
Soon the waters rose so high that Bart had to climb on top of the chimney. But it wasn't enough, and the water swept him away. Bart shook his fist toward the sky. "God, why have you forsaken me?"
A helicopter pilot maneuvering to rescue Bart heard him and yelled back, "You fool, God sent you a truck, a boat, and this helicopter. Now use the arms He gave you and grab the rope!"
Bart reminds me of people who moan and whine about never getting the breaks other people get while passing up opportunities that could help them get what they want. Remember the Scarecrow, Tin Man, and Lion who expected the Wizard of Oz to give them the one thing they thought they needed, only to find out they already had what they were looking for?
Many of us greatly underestimate and underuse the power within us and the resources around us.
Wanting, wishing, and worrying aren't enough.
Real success and personal happiness come to those who accept responsibility for their lives.
They seize obvious opportunities, search out and find hidden ones, and when necessary, make their own.
As golfer Gary Player once said, "It's amazing. The harder I practice, the luckier I get."
-character counts
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