Buckets
Many years ago, I attended a fireside that has stuck with me all these years. Things in my life have brought back the memory.
Our guest speaker talked about gifts we are given at birth. He indicated that each of us is given a bucket and a dipper. Every ones bucket is different. Some are big, some small, some round, some square, some smooth, some rough,...etc. You get the idea. The same theory applies to our dippers as well. This bucket is given to us. We are responsible for its care and upkeep.
After he had described these buckets, he explained that they were given to us with the intent of holding love, service, and acts of kindness. When we are born, they were full of love. But as we grow and are faced with the challenges of life our buckets can be emptied.
Some of life's experiences put holes in our buckets. When this happens, we have several options. We can plug the hole and hold on to the love we have left in our bucket. We can let the love run out and suffer. We can let the love run out and seek ways to refill our buckets at the same rate or faster than the love is running out. When all is said and done, it gets kind of messy.
Some times people intentionally try to poke holes in our bucket so they can slip theirs under yours and catch what is draining out. Other times, they do what they can to get their dippers into your bucket and pull out what they can. They do this with out asking. They are just looking to fill their buckets. Who knows why, maybe they have holes and need to replace what they are losing, maybe someone is dipping into their bucket and they are just trying to replace what has been stolen from them. Then there are times that they willing shared what was in their bucket, over extended themselves, and are now desperate to replace what they need to survive. It is a never ending cycle.
In a perfect world, it would be all give and take. We would share with those in need and they would share with us when we are in need or others would see our need and share what they have. When this happens, even though the buckets are different, everyone has sufficient for their needs.
So my questions are to you, what kind of bucket do you have? What condition is it in? How full is it? Are you dipping without asking? Are you letting others dip without asking? What are you doing to fill your bucket? What are you doing to share with other?
Our guest speaker talked about gifts we are given at birth. He indicated that each of us is given a bucket and a dipper. Every ones bucket is different. Some are big, some small, some round, some square, some smooth, some rough,...etc. You get the idea. The same theory applies to our dippers as well. This bucket is given to us. We are responsible for its care and upkeep.
After he had described these buckets, he explained that they were given to us with the intent of holding love, service, and acts of kindness. When we are born, they were full of love. But as we grow and are faced with the challenges of life our buckets can be emptied.
Some of life's experiences put holes in our buckets. When this happens, we have several options. We can plug the hole and hold on to the love we have left in our bucket. We can let the love run out and suffer. We can let the love run out and seek ways to refill our buckets at the same rate or faster than the love is running out. When all is said and done, it gets kind of messy.
Some times people intentionally try to poke holes in our bucket so they can slip theirs under yours and catch what is draining out. Other times, they do what they can to get their dippers into your bucket and pull out what they can. They do this with out asking. They are just looking to fill their buckets. Who knows why, maybe they have holes and need to replace what they are losing, maybe someone is dipping into their bucket and they are just trying to replace what has been stolen from them. Then there are times that they willing shared what was in their bucket, over extended themselves, and are now desperate to replace what they need to survive. It is a never ending cycle.
In a perfect world, it would be all give and take. We would share with those in need and they would share with us when we are in need or others would see our need and share what they have. When this happens, even though the buckets are different, everyone has sufficient for their needs.
So my questions are to you, what kind of bucket do you have? What condition is it in? How full is it? Are you dipping without asking? Are you letting others dip without asking? What are you doing to fill your bucket? What are you doing to share with other?
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