My philosophy of life in the form of a favorite parable:

"Shake it off and step up!"

One day, an old mule fell into a dry, abandoned well. The farmer heard the mule braying in distress and called his neighbors together, but they decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth saving – they would simply put the animal out of its misery. They all went for their shovels, hauled dirt, and proceeded to bury the old mule in the well.

The mule was hysterical as the first shovel-loads of dirt hit his back, but he fought panic by shaking it off and stepping up. And he continued to do that, over and over – shake it off and step up, shake it off and step up, shake it off and step up. And, amazingly, it wasn't long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the side of that well! What could have buried him actually helped him because of the way in which he handled his adversity.

That's life. Don't give in to panic, bitterness, or self-pity. The adversities that we could allow to bury us have the very real potential to benefit us.

– Anonymous