One day, a farmer's donkey fell into an abandoned well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old and the well needed covering anyway, so retrieving it wasn't worth the effort.
He invited his neighbors to help. Each grabbed a shovel and began filling the well with dirt. Realizing what was happening, the donkey at first cried and wailed horribly.
Then, after a few shovelfuls, it quieted down completely. The farmer peered down and was astounded. With every shovelful of dirt that hit its back, the donkey would shake it off and step up onto the new layer.
As the neighbors continued, the donkey kept shaking off the dirt and stepping up. Soon, it stepped over the edge of the well and trotted off, to everyone's shock and astonishment.
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to stop wailing, not let the dirt bury you, but to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping-stone. We can escape the deepest wells by never stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.