Stop The Howling!

I’m often reminded of a story I heard many years ago. It goes something like this…Bernard, on occasion, enjoyed stopping by Larry’s house for a cup of coffee and some great conversation.  During each visit, Larry would greet Bernard at the front door, and lead him into the kitchen.  During the first, and all all subsequent visits , Larry’s dog would meander into the kitchen, sit in the corner, and begin to howl. Larry always just ignored the situation, so Bernard felt compelled to mind his own business. 

Over time, Bernard became more and more puzzled by the dog’s odd behavior.  So, one day, Bernard waited until the dog started his howling and he said,

“Larry, what on earth is going on…why does your dog sit in the corner and start howling?”“Oh, that; Larry responded, that's no big deal, there’s a rusty old nail coming up through the floor in that corner.” 

How many of us continue to sit on rusty old nails expecting something different to happen.  Can we expect things to change without taking a new path…  trying a new way… stepping outside of our comfort zone?