Sunday, March 30, 2003
When you would rather be “over yonder” than where you are, somehow the “where you are” gets diminished no matter how pleasant it might be. In 1972, I purchased five three-day-old calves. In the beginning they required a considerable amount of attention: bottle feeding, shots, vitamins, etc. As they grew they became more and more independent; demanding less and less of my time. At least that was the case for four of the calves. The fifth calf was different from the rest. I named this calf Miss Dissatisfied.
If the neighbors ever called to tell me that a calf was out of the fence, it was always Miss Dissatisfied. If there was a disturbance down at the calf shed, it was Miss Dissatisfied. Some would say that she just had a restless spirit. Others would argue that her needs were not being met.
Why is it that some of us find contentment in our surroundings and others, like Miss Dissatisfied, always yearn for what’s over yonder? If we love wild flowers and we are standing in the middle of a vast array of nature’s color, why do we sometimes focus on the one flower that is beyond the fence? As I reflect back upon Miss Dissatisfied, I have a very distinct picture in my mind: she is up to her knees in green grass, her neck is poking through the fence, pressed hard against the barbed wire. Her tongue is trying to reach a sprig of grass that is just beyond her reach.
Miss Dissatisfied
There is certainly nothing wrong with reaching, with stretching. The question is whether or not we are happy as we journey along the road of life. Do we tell ourselves that we will be happy when or if a certain event takes place? Do we deny ourselves happiness today because our circumstances aren’t as we perceive they should be?
I have not always chosen the happy road. When I choose otherwise, I inflict needless misery upon myself and those around me. Each day I should try to remember to look inside myself and ask the question, “Will I live after the manner of happiness or will I choose to be like Miss Dissatisfied? Will I choose happiness in what I have been blessed with or will I continually be looking over yonder?” Happiness is a choice, it is an attitude, it is a state of mind. What will I choose? What will be your choice? I hope that each of us will remember to choose happiness.
PS: I sold Miss Dissatisfied at the first opportunity.