Taking a Step Back

There's an old Yiddish folk tale about a man named Jacob who lived in a small farmhouse with his wife, children, and mother-in-law. It often became terribly loud and chaotic. Jacob couldn't stand it anymore and went to the rabbi in the village for advice. The rabbi listened and asked Jacob, "Do you have any chickens and ducks?" Jacob replied, "Yes." The rabbi instructed him to bring them to live in the house. Not wanting to disagree with the rabbi, Jacob returned home and brought the chickens and ducks into the house. Now the noise and commotion were worse than ever, not to mention the chicken droppings all over the floor. Jacob went back to the rabbi and complained again. This time the rabbi told him to bring his cows and goats to live in the house, too. Flustered, Jacob returned to his home and added the cows and goats. Now his house was a roar of sound and chaos. He ran back to the rabbi and implored him to help. He said, "I cannot go back or I will lose my mind." The rabbi calmly told him to put the animals back in their pens. Jacob did as the rabbi said. When all the animals were out of the house, he went back in to find the most peaceful house that he could remember. Jacob learned that when he stepped back and saw a different way of living, what he thought was so bad, wasn't actually bad at all. He changed his perspective.

Thanks for listening.