Once upon a time in a land very close, indeed, there lived an evil hammer named Choice. Everyone knew that The Hammer was big and monstrous and bad to the bone. How it loved to prey upon unsuspecting thumbs! All day long, it would hide in the bushes and await the opportunity to pounce. “Heh, heh, heh, ” the thumbs imagined Choice muttering as they walked by, “now, there’s a delicious-looking thumb to whack!”
The thumbs never knew when Choice would strike. On some days, a lot of thumbs were whacked hard; on other days, only a few thumbs were struck; and on rare days, most of the thumbs went merrily about their business. However, almost all of the thumbs lived with the pervading fear that at any moment The Hammer could fall. In secret, the thumbs held Town Hall Meetings with the window blinds drawn and the lights turned low. They would talk in whispers and discuss what could be done to improve the condition of their lives. During such meetings, a variation of the following was almost always heard: “Did you hear about Burt?” asked one thumb to another. A terror-stricken hush would fall upon the room, then: “Yup, got whacked today–real hard.”
One day, however, a startling revelation occurred to a bright little thumb. “Wait a second,” thought the thumb, “I cannot, in fact, know if I will be whacked by the big bad hammer today; but I can definitely choose how I live. I get to choose–how I think and feel about every circumstance that arises. Choice doesn’t have me—I have Choice!” Empowered by the epiphany, the bright little thumb felt jubilation arise from within. It inhaled a deep breath and squared back its shoulders; and from that day forward, it focused on the beauty to be enjoyed here and now.
Within a few days, other thumbs noticed the dramatic change in the brave little thumb. It seemed to be shining with hope, positivity, and a fearless spirit. Often the brave little thumb would be seen marching around town wearing a T-Shirt emblazoned with “I Am Lion Thumb, Hear Me Roar.” In time, word of the change began to spread to other thumbs, who told two thumbs, and so on, and so on, and so on. The startling transformation spread far and wide. The thumbs all rejoiced, and there was dancing and singing as never before. They even held a Thumb Fest open to all; with everyone chanting “We have power, here; we have choice, now!”
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So, what’s the point of this little parable? Did all of the thumbs march off into the sunset and live happily ever after? Well, yes and no. Like us, of course, the thumbs continued to be whacked by life; but the good news is that due to this, we and the thumbs evolve and grow stronger. So much of life is beyond our control, but we can definitely control our attitude toward it. We can cower, or we can express our courageous nature. The choice is ours. One of the greatest lessons we can learn is this: To live in fear is not to live.
Dare to dream (and care for one another).
With heartfelt regards,
Art
Copyright © – 2020 – R. Arthur Russell
P.S. Please share this article if you enjoyed it. If you’d like to view my latest book (This Taste of Flesh and Bones–released September 8, 2020), press here. May it help you in your spiritual journey. 🙏🙏
Think2wice 