Turning Adversity into Opportunity

I once heard the story of a mule that had fallen into a well. So I searched the web and found several sites that posted the story, but none had an author claiming its title.

Giving credit to this unknown author, below is a story of adversity turned into opportunity:

"One day a farmer's mule fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the mule. So he invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.

At first, the mule realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw.

With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the mule was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the mule stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off."

How many times do we feel as if adversity keeps burying us under?

Let's take example from this mule: Shake it off and step up!

I know, I know... easier said than done. But even if we shake off a small adversity at a time, it is better than not doing anything at all.