Going Through Life........................

I was thinking about a good topic to write about tonight.  I thought of a story that I heard a number of years ago.  I know that I will most likely butcher the story, but here goes.  The King in an ancient Kingdom realized that he had been blessed by a having such good, hardworking people in his Kingdom.  He had prospered greatly, and no other Kingdom dared attack, for the fierce loyalty of his subjects had repelled every attack.

The King decided that he should reward his people, so he proposed a race in which one of his loyal subjects would get four sacks of gold for winning the race.  People from all walks of life entered the race, the course was laid out encircling the entire kingdom finishing at the gate of the castle.

One of the runners was a farmer, although no longer a young man, he was still in great physical shape.  He had been able to stay with the fleetest runners almost the entire way.  He knew that he could run all day long, so he hoped that by keeping the fast runners in sight, he would be able to pass them once they tired and slowed down before reaching the finish line.

The farmer managed to maintain this strategy and at the halfway point of the race was less than 100 yards behind the leader.  The road that the race followed passed under a cliff less than a half mile from the finish line.  The farmer noticed the huge rock slide that covered the main road, leaving just enough room for runners to pass next to the cliff.  The farmer knew that this blockage of the road would hurt the entire Kingdom, so being loyal to the King, he stopped and began clearing the road of debris.

One by one the runners passed as the farmer hefted the rocks to the side of the road.  It was a big slide and it took several hours to clear the road.  The race was long over, but the farmer kept on clearing the rocks and debris.  It was nearly completely dark, and the farmer nearly didn't see the bags that were hidden by the massive amount of rocks. 

The farmer finished clearing the road, gather the sacks the best that he could and began jogging towards the castle.  A great victory feast had been going on for several hours when the farmer burst through the door, filthy and grimy from the race and the hard labor.  The King rose to greet the farmer, who offered the heavy bags to the King. 

The King smiled and said that the race had been won, he put the bags back into the farmers hands.  The farmer said but I finished last.  The King smiled and said all of the others strived to get ahead of him, he was the only won that stopped to make the Kingdom a better place.

Like I said, I probably butchered this story, but it has a good lesson, we all need to strive to get ahead, but I really believe that by making the world a better place, we ultimately win the race.  Make it a Great Week!