I know for me that it is easy sometimes to stay with a routine, one that makes me comfortable. As August begins, the folks are starting to feel the coming of the routines of the "school year" and the sense of normalcy that comes with these months of Fall, Winter and Spring. Whenever I think about routines, I am reminded of this Aesop fable.
"A merchant drove his donkey to the seashore to buy salt. His road home lay across a stream into which his donkey, making a false step, fell by accident and rose up again with his load considerably lighter, as the water melted the sack.
The merchant retraced his steps and refilled his saddlebags with a larger quantity of salt than before. When he came again to the stream, the donkey fell down on purpose in the same spot, and, regaining his feet with the weight of his load much diminished, brayed triumphantly as if he had obtained what he desired.
The merchant saw through his trick and drove him for the third time to the coast, where he bought a big supply of sponges instead of salt. The donkey, again playing the fool and thinking he was so smart, fell down on purpose when he reached the stream, but the sponges became swollen with water, greatly increasing his load. And so his trick backfired on him, for he now carried on his back a double burden."
As you approach your daily life, strive to take the fresh way each day, and to not rely on what has worked before but rather on what will work in the present. There is so much good life out there- waiting for us to take hold of it.
