“The Snowman“

When my children were young I read them a book which I still remember. It was called The Snowman and it was an allegory about a dog and the snowman.

The story focuses on a dog in and around his dog house and a nearby snowman which the children who lived in the house had built. The dog does all the talking and is really amazed at how the snowman keeps looking at a window in the basement of the house.

As spring begins and the temperature rises the snowman begins to melt away. First, the hands fell off and then one by one the arms melted away. Finally, the whole body began to go away. What drove the dog crazy was how the snowman kept focused on the basement window and didn’t seem to mind that he was melting away. He just kept looking and smiling.

After the snowman had completely melted away the dog was surprised to see standing where the snowman had been was a tall, strong steel fire stoker which the children had used to support the snowman.

Finally the dog couldn’t stand it any longer and broke away from his house and looked into the basement because he just had to know what kept the snowman so focused. Guess what he saw?

There in the basement was a large old potbelly stove. The children had taken the stoker away from “it’s stove” to use it for the snowman.

While the stoker was a part of the snowman it never was confused about it’s real purpose in life. It was meant to be a very important part of the potbelly stove which helped keep “his family” warm in the winter, and he longed to be reunited with his purpose.

You see, we too live in a body which changes from birth to death. Our emotions and thoughts change as circumstances change. Even though our bodies “melt away” I believe our spirit, our self, can continue to grow. But, like the dog, the world expects us to react negatively to bad circumstances. And, if we’re not careful, that’s exactly what we’ll do as we let challenges drag us down. But, like the snowman, we can and should stay focused on our purpose, our why.

And, when we do we will be able to remain positive and accomplish our purpose and make the world better. The Snowman didn’t let the circumstances the children put him in (although well-intended) cause him to lose focus on his purpose.

Likewise, we should stay focused on our purpose, have a growth mindset and continue to help others when we can.

Remember, you are a very special person with a God-given, unique and powerful purpose. Don’t let your success and happiness be determined by how the world sees you.

You are a child of The Creator of The Universe, keep smiling. God bless.