There's an old story of a woman who sold fish all her life and knew nothing else. One fine summer day, she was invited to the queen's palace to help prepare a royal festival. When she was shown to her room, she found it filled with fragrant flowers. "How disgusting," she complained. "Please take me back and let me sleep near my pile of fish."
Now why would she choose the stench of her fish over the sweet fragrance of flowers? It is simply because of habit and familiarity. It's the old choice of picking "the devil you know."
In the same way, we often hold on to our angers and sorrows, our bitterness and mediocrity because they are all we know. They offer us familiarity in an uncertain world and a self-image we can hold on to and feel comfortable - if not happy - with.
But the miracle of life is that as soon as we realize that we can choose self-worth, approval and appreciation over pain and fear, a powerful force begins to work on us.
Over time, we can learn to acknowledge and nurture the essential goodness and strength that each one of us was born with. Over time we can all learn to love the smell of the flowers and walk away from the smell of the fish.
This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24
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