I must give partial credit to the person I heard this story from, the late Dr. Frank Richelieu. I also highly recommend his book (if anyone reads books anymore) called The Art of Being Yourself. Here is a link to it. This could be a life-changing book for those who want it to be and the story below is loosely translated not from the book but from one of his many motivational speeches.
Two drifters were driving aimlessly already a little high on drugs at 10:00 AM, out of work for months now because their lousy employers expected them to show up on time and wouldn’t listen to their valid excuses about the flat tire, the alarm not working, the girlfriend being slow in making them breakfast, etc. The world sucked, and if the rich people just paid more in taxes and the government made it a lot harder to fire people, they wouldn’t have it so rough. They were on their way to pick up some friends to go hang out at the beach and their complaining and passing the joint back and forth got them completely lost on some narrow road in the middle of nowhere. The GPS on their $1,200.00 cell phones didn’t work and they started getting a little nervous because their gas tank was near empty because who in the world ever has the money for a FULL tank of gas in today’s economy?
There was just barren desert land for miles until they saw in the distance some greenery way up ahead. They couldn’t believe their eyes when they got closer and noticed a beautiful house situated on what must have been 10 acres of lush vegetation. They had to get gas or they would be stranded so they drove down the long tree-covered driveway until they reached the picket fence surrounding the main house where two small children were happily running and playing.
The old man drove up in his tractor, having been up since the crack of dawn plowing the fields, taking care of feeding the livestock, manicuring the shrubbery, and pruning the vegetables and fruit trees. “How can I help you young men?” he bellowed. One of the drifters told him that they got lost on their way to work in their new job and are almost out of gas. If he could help them in some way, they would surely appreciate it. “I just happen to have a 5 gallon can of gas in the back of my pickup for emergencies and you’re more than welcome to it, especially since you are on your way to “work” knowing by the looks of them that they cringe at the word “work”. The old man even put the gas in their car for them as they marveled at this paradise in the middle of the desert. His hands were huge and rough as sandpaper and his skin tanned and wrinkled from his many decades of working in the sun. He looked like a mountain man and strong as a bear. He might be mistaken for some homeless person if he were out in the city where normal people live as he wore tattered clothes and was covered in dust from tending to his property. They were surprised that the only vehicle they saw was an old pickup truck, a tractor that was from the fifties but still hummed like a top and the man telling them he never owned a cell phone as he watched them fiddling with theirs apparently upset that they couldn’t get a signal.
The drifters thought maybe he was hiding from the law or must have inherited lots of money, stole it, or struck oil because otherwise no one should have such nice things. The old man finished putting 5 gallons into their car while his beautiful wife smiled and waved from the porch. His curiosity got the best of him and the drifter commented, hoping for an answer to this mystery, “Mister, God sure has blessed you with this beautiful piece of land”. The old man let out a huge belly laugh and responded “You should have seen it when God had it all by himself!”
As they drove off, they were angry instead of happy that this man saved their hides while they continued to drive aimlessly, complaining about some people having all the luck. The old man’s response was completely lost on them.
It doesn’t matter if this story is true or even if I embellished it in an attempt at humor because versions of it are “true” to many people in everyday life who envy what others have. They do not see, nor do they care about the time, sweat, effort, and hardships that others have to sacrifice to achieve whatever status they have in life. In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the bible talks about a father’s elder son resenting his younger brother who squandered away his wealth and returned penniless being rewarded. He felt he should not be given anything because of his past transgressions.
The father told the eldest son that he would always be with him and that “all that is mine is yours”. Similarly, all that is in the world today is yours to do with as you wish. We are all given this life right now and we have a choice to resent the past or others or lament over the apparent fortunes of others who have things that we desire. Wherever we are in life results from our behaviors and choices mixed in with bad luck and good luck. Regardless, we are all given this life and this world to mold as we desire. As far as I can tell, not one of us will ever be back here, and a hundred years from now no one will know or care about any resentments or problems any of us are facing right now. We came into this world with nothing and will leave with nothing. We have to play the hand that was dealt us. We can’t insist on a reshuffle. Some are dealt a full house and squander it away while others are dealt a pair of deuces and make the others fold their better hands. As always, the choice is yours.
We learn our moral values early in life and decide who and what we will be. While it is difficult to make a drastic change in one’s life it can be done by erasing all of our negative thoughts and replacing them one by one with positive things. Better yet is to teach your children the proper morals while they are still young. I wrote a book for that very reason called Magical Morals which can be found on my at Amazon here. Those drifters and many others like them were indoctrinated with victim mentalities that tell them they are powerless and taken advantage of by others. Most of them will go through their entire lives like that. Don’t let it be your child.
