Story no. 57 – The obstacle in our path
In ancient times, a king had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to
see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers
came by and simply walked around it.
Many loudly blamed the king for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting
the big stone out of the way. Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. On
approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side
of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. As the peasant picked up his
load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been.
The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the
king indicating that the gold was for the person who
removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant
learned what many others never understand.
Every obstacle presents an opportunity to
improve one’s condition.