Wisdom from the lips of a wrinkled old worm.
“Okay, listen up, ‘cuz I’m gonna tell ya’ perzactly what The World is like.
Most of the time it looks real dark and kind’a dry ‘n crumbly feelin’. But when I tunnel straight up for a little ways, then I see a bunch’a green stalks at least twenty-six times bigger’n me. And there’s these enormous feet walking ‘round in them green stalks. All kinds of feet. Some with toes, some not. The ones with no toes have huge coverings on ‘em, guess they call ‘em ‘shoes.’
And another thing. There’s this ginormous bright yellow thang up there. ‘Causes me to get so bloomin’ hot that I can’t stand it. Can’t wait to turn around and dig back down to my home, where it’s heap cooler and darker.
But, fact is, nobody in This World ever notices I am around. Unless they’re diggin’ for sumthin’ they call fish bait. Then suddenly, I’m the center of their ‘tention! Yep, they start cuttin’ into my home, lookin’ for me and my neighbors. When they find us, they throw us into a can of that dark and crumbly stuff I done talked about, and put a lid on it. Scary stuff, I’m here to tell ya!
Naw, I ain’t gonna tell ya’ the rest of the story. Ain’t nobody needs to hear details ‘bout how they thread our body on sumthin’ really sharp. And then, while we’re jest trying to breathe, they suddenly fling us into what they call ‘water.’ There we dangle, awaitin’ on a HUGE-PLUMB-FEARSOME-LOOKIN’ thing called a fish to come at us with his mouth wide open!
Nope, ain’t gonna say a-nuther word. Ya’ don’t need to hear the rest…jest might ruin your supper tonight.”
Quite a contrast to Granddad and his ten-year-old grandson’s version of that same day:
“Hey, Johnny, it’s going to be a beautiful sunny day! How about you and I go down to the pond and go fishing? I’ll grab my shovel and a bucket, and we can dig up worms for bait before we get in the boat. Now, why don’t you go ask your grandma to fix us a picnic lunch. And then you and me are going to spend the rest of this morning drowning worms and fishing for that big old catfish that lives in my pond. I promise you, son, we are going to have a good time – just me and you, out on the water fishing together. And just maybe, we can get lucky and bring home supper for your grandma to cook!”
Different perspectives of the same day. Happens to all of us. And we need to remember that fact, on the days we come face to face with someone who has a completely opposite outlook on life than yourself.
It’s a sad fact. Sometimes we’re the one with the fishing rod, and sometimes we’re the worm.
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