Being Carried

“He who is being carried does not realize how far the town is.”

I really like this proverb. Often we imagine all of our achievements, our accomplishments, and our milestones come from either faith or our own work. It takes time to reflect on the sacrifices others have made for you in order to open up new roads. Can you imagine the long nights others toiled and walked just to deposit you at the threshold of opportunity? I think, in essence, this proverb is about gratitude. If you realize that someone is trudging along for you, you stop and appreciate their work. Instead of focusing on reaching the town, focus on who is helping you get there and value them. Even better, get off their back and carry them for a while! Only then can you experience the long journey and appreciate it.

I have so many students who have no idea what their parents had to do—and are still doing!—to get them in and through college. Their parents provide a service, and they never see their parents as individuals sacrificing their own joys for them. These students do not often value the work, and thereby resist doing the work themselves because they have been carried and did not stop to walk.