In a very poor farming village near a large stream there lived an old woman. One night she awoke to the cry of a child which seemed to come from the direction of the stream. She rushed out of her house to the water’s edge and saw a frightened little girl being carried downstream by the swift current. She waded in and saved the little girl.
The next night she heard the cries of two children who were being carried down the stream. As she ran to save them, she called on her neighbor to help. Together they were able to pull the children to safety.
The following night the old woman heard the cries of a dozen children coming from the stream. The whole village ran to save them from certain drowning.
For the next month, the whole village worked together each night to save the children who were floating down stream.
One day, the villagers paused as they watched the old woman – a pack of her few belongings on her back and a walking stick in hand – begin trudging along the path that headed upstream. “Where are you going?” they asked. “We need your help!” The old woman turned to them, smiled, and said, ”You are all doing a fine job of rescuing the children. You are doing good work. My work is no longer here. I need to journey upstream to find out why the children are falling into the water.”
I realized this was the story of me... the story of a woman who chooses to journey upstream.
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