Monday, June 16, 2014

The Boulder in the Road

There once was a king that wasn’t sure as to why his kingdom was failing, his people were unhappy and the conditions were worsening. He tried everything that his court had suggested, but nothing was helping. One afternoon, he decided to create a problem and see how the people around him attempt to resolve it. He placed a boulder in the middle of the road and hid himself in the nearby shrubbery to watch what happens.

Within hours, he saw many of the people from his court come through the road and pass right by the boulder. Several of them even made commentary about how the king is at fault for not keeping all the roads clear, but none of the people did anything to fix the problem. Shortly after the wealthier courtiers passed by the boulder, a peasant came upon the boulder with a cart of vegetables from his garden. Without hesitation he placed his cart on the side of the road and toiled for an hour to move the rock out of the road until he finally succeeded.

Next to the place where the boulder had been, the peasant found a sack of gold coins and a note that read
“To the person who moves the boulder from the road: Thank you for your hard work, the kingdom appreciates your help and as a token of gratitude, this bag of coins belongs to you”


The peasant learned something that many people don’t always take the time to understand; every obstacle that presents itself is an opportunity to improve our current condition.