In the grasslands of Australia, there was a shepherd who envied other people’s flocks for their sheep and other people’s wool. Therefore, he shouted “annoyed, annoyed, annoyed” every day, lost his temper with his family, and prayed to God from time to time, hoping to exchange his fate with others.
Seeing this, God decided to help him realize his hope of exchanging destinies. So God said to him, “Put all your troubles in your pockets, and then come to the fence wall, where there are countless bags of troubles, and exchange them for whichever one you like.”
After the shepherd had thanked God, he quickly put his troubles into his pockets, put them on his shoulders, and set out.
Along the way, the shepherd felt the pockets on his shoulders getting heavier and heavier, and he even felt himself being bent over, and he thought he no longer had the strength to move forward. However, he was too eager to exchange his fate with others, so he braced himself and stumbled forward with his pockets on his back.
As he walked, the shepherd thought of a distant relative of his, who not only had a cottage in town but also had lovely children and a beautiful young wife who must not be in trouble.
The shepherd also thought of the director of the dairy factory and how comfortable he seemed to be free. Ah, he did not have to work; the family employed milkers and cooks, and his life was more prosperous than anyone.
The shepherd thought of the older man planting flowers; he lived a life free from the world, beyond the world, his a quiet and relaxed, how envious of himself ah! The older man who grows flowers must have very few worries.
When the shepherd came to the fence wall, God had the angel remove the pockets from his shoulders and put them into a large pile of bags containing troubles, distress, discontent, humiliation, frustration, etc. The owners of these pockets were all people of the class that the shepherd envied. They are owned by farmers, directors of milk factories, distant relatives, older men who grow flowers, and even government servants, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and songwriters ……
The shepherd looked dumbfounded as he muttered, “God! Thank you for your kindness in giving me the opportunity to pick from so many people to exchange my fate, I’m so happy!”
The angel said, “Take your time to pick. As soon as you choose the one you like best, take it home, so that your fate will be changed and your troubles will disappear.”
The shepherd listened and happily began his selection. He spent the whole day choosing and choosing and picking, and only before dark did he choose the lightest weight of a pocket. The importance of this pocket was so soft that it was as if nothing was in it.
The shepherd was so happy. On his way home, he thought, “With so little trouble in the pocket, it might as well be the governor’s or the most famous lawyer’s.”
When he arrived home, the shepherd put down his pocket and almost cried when he couldn’t wait to open it. It turned out that he had picked out his bag among the piles of sacks. After a whole day of picking, he weighed and measured, and it turned out his worries and miseries were the lightest and least psychologically burdensome to himself.
From then on, the shepherd began to be able to take the right attitude toward the pain, worries, and concerns in his life. These were originally what he desperately wanted to exchange with others, but now, he has been able to face it openly.
Like the master in this parable, there are many people in life, especially in our surroundings, who, from the outside, are the object of our envy and wish they could have good luck like him: such as having their own business, a beautiful wife, intelligent children, parents who are high officials, and loyal friends ……
However, as long as we pay attention to understanding these people’s lives, it is not difficult to find that behind the scenes, there are also bitter tears, there are also conflicting feelings, there are also times when they encounter financial constraints …… Their troubles are often the least, so what reason do we have to be unhappy?
