[One cold and frosty morning in early Spring a young birdie lay on the ground shivering and nearly frozen. A cow saw him there and decided to help the poor birdie out, and promptly covered him with a huge ‘cow pie’.
The cow pie, while warm, was also very smelly and soon the birdie was yelling at the cow for doing that to him. The warmer he got the louder he yelled.
About this time a coyote,attracted by the singing, jumped out from behind a boulder and snatched the birdie from the pile and brushed off all the mess from him.
Little birdie was relieved and promptly thanked the coyote for helping him out and was promptly eaten by the coyote.
The moral of the story is that not everyone who shits on you is your enemy, not everyone that pulls you out of the shit is your friend, but most important of all, if you find yourself neck-deep in a pile of shit keep your mouth shut.]
One of my favorite Old West folk stories. It helps illustrate today’s topic. What happens when you make a bad decision and you really can’t face up to it? Who stands there and lets you go down the wrong path without stepping in and setting you straight?
A true friend, that’s who. Your acquaintances, some family members, even your regular friends may let you go down the wrong path. They may let you get away with doing the wrong thing. But the people you should be listening to will criticize as well as praise you when needed.
Let’s face it. We’re not perfect. Not one of us. It’s easy to look at a person and list his or her faults. But getting a person to face those faults and acknowledge them? Now that’s tough.
The best friends you can have are those that will take the time to point that out to you. They know that their observations may not be well received or appreciated but their concern will override this concern for their social well-being and they will put their friendship on the line to care about you and tell you the truth.
Now, you may not always understand where they’re coming from and you may not even appreciate it in the moment. No one likes to be criticized. It’s human nature after all. But once the anger or humiliation subsides, once you realize why they said what they said, go back and thank them. It’s never too late.
True friends will always stick with you no matter how bad you smell.
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