Cast Down your Bucket

This is from a speech given by Booker T. Washington in 1895. The idea to "cast down your bucket" was that no matter what situation you find yourself in, you should try to make the best of it.

In the speech he references a boat out at sea that has run out of water. They spot a friendly ship and signal they are dying of thirst and need water. The ship replies to cast down your bucket. They reply multiple times and receive the same response. They finally out of desperation or frustration cast down their buckets... at this time they bring up fresh water. (they were at the mouth of the river sitting on top of fresh water, completely unaware)

This story is always in the back of my mind as I go through life. So often we work towards the something else. We focus on the where we can go or who can help us to get out of the place we are in.

But when I embrace this idea, I often find myself in a different place than I thought I was in. It's about perspective I guess, perspective of where I am standing and what I can gain from my footing or lack there of. I am constantly guilty of wanting to get out of where I am standing and move onto something else, sometime feeling like if I could just escape my current circumstances, I would be better off. Whether that be any list of examples. But sadly, this temptation is just that... a temptation to remain in the same place and without growth. To hunker down and explore my circumstances and ask myself what I can learn of them and what they tell me about myself tends to be more fruitful than a graceful amount of dodging around.

So I guess the challenge of this post is to "cast down your bucket" and see what is around you. Cast yourself into your current position and focus on what you are doing today instead of what you could be doing somewhere else. Embrace what you have to learn about where you are and drink deep because I do believe fresh water is usually closer than we think.