Stand Up And Shake It Off, Living Day By Day

Once upon a time, a young donkey asked his grandpa, "How do I grow up to be just like you?"

"Oh, that's simple," Grandpa said. "All you have to do is to remember to shake it off and step up." "What does that mean?" asked the youngster.

Grandpa said. "Let me tell you a story. . .

"When I was about your age, I was out walking one day, and I wasn't paying attention, and I fell deep into an old abandoned well. I started braying and braying. Finally, an old farmer saw me in the well. I was scared to death. And then he left . . . I stayed in the well all night.

"The next morning, he returned with a whole group of people, and they looked down at me. Some of them even laughed. The old farmer said, "The well's abandoned, and that donkey isn't worth saving, so let's get to work.' And believe it or not, they shovelled dirt into the well.

"Well, I panicked. I was going to be buried alive! After the first shovelfuls of dirt came down on me, I realized something. Every time dirt landed on my back, I could shake it off and step up! They kept shovelling, and I kept shaking it off and stepping up. This went on for some time.

"Shake it off and step up... shake it off and step up... Shake it off and step up," I kept asking myself for encouragement.

I fought the panic by shaking it off and stepping up. And it wasn't long before I stepped out of the well, exhausted but triumphant.

So no matter how difficult the situations, no matter how bad things get, no matter how much dirt gets dumped on you, remember.

“Shake it Off!”