To kiss a mule

A little prospector wearing clean new shoes walked into a saloon. The big bully of the place, a big Texan, said to his friend standing at the bar, “Watch me make this dude dance.” He walked over to the prospector and said, “You’re a foreigner from the east, aren’t you?

“You might say that,” the little prospector answered. “I’m from Boston and I am here prospecting for gold.”

“Now tell me something. Can you dance?” asked the big bully with a smirk on his face.

“No Sir. I never did learn to dance,” said the prospector.

“Well, I’m going to teach you. You’ll be surprised how quickly you can learn.”

With that, the Texan took out his gun and started shooting at the prospector’s feet. Hopping, skipping and jumping, by the time the little prospector made it to the door, he was shaking like a leaf.

About an hour later, the Texan left the saloon. As soon as he stepped outside the door, he heard a click. He looked around and there, 4 feet from his head, was the biggest shotgun he had ever seen.

And the little prospector said, “Mr. Texan, have you ever kissed a mule?”

“No,” said the quick-thinking Texan, “but I’ve always wanted to.”

There will always be big bullies in school, in the neighborhood and most specially, in the workplace. There will always be people who would throw their weight around, people who would like to announce through rough ways and means their power and position. I guess that’s a fact of life.

Here is another story. A very new soldier was on sentry duty at the main gate of a military outpost. His orders were clear: no car was to enter unless it had a special sticker on the windshield. A big army car came up with a general seated in the back. The sentry said, “Halt, who goes there?”

The chauffeur, a corporal said: “General Wheeler.”

“I’m sorry, I can’t let you through. You’ve got to have a sticker on the windshield.” The general said, “Drive on.”

The sentry walked up to the rear window and said, “General, I’m new at this. Do I shoot you or the driver?” And then, the general stopped and calmly waited until a sticker is produced.

We see this scenario happen all the time. Very important people, as they see themselves would have the tendency to barge in through gates and doors, ignoring the instructions that only people with proper ID will be allowed to enter. But because they carry a position, they undermine the security guards and break the rules with their positions and arrogance as passports for entry.

The fact of the matter is people like them are insecure. They need to throw their weight around and announce their importance. Frankly, they just need to reassure themselves they are important, this is why they break rules and bully people.

Perhaps it is time to check ourselves. How do we feel every time a guard on duty stops us from entering and demands an ID? Do we resent this? Do we speak to them in an impolite manner? How do we react every time somebody puts us on hold? Do we sit there holding the phone fuming with anger and impatience?

If we can’t stand procedures and we have the tendency to be rude to people whose job positions are lower than ours, then there is a bully inside us that needs to be dealt with.

Who is the meekest man upon the face of this earth? You might be surprised to know that the Bible never awarded the title to one who is soft-hearted, nor is it awarded to a sickly passive individual. In fact, that title was granted to Moses.

The man, who would shame Indiana Jones as far as adventures are concerned, yet the great and mighty Moses remained meek in the eyes of God because he knows the power comes from God and to whom much is given, much is required.

Always remember the higher position you have, the meeker you should be.

Meekness is not a sign of weakness. It simply means power under control! And we need to wield it carefully and responsibly.

(Experience two inspiring days of learning leadership skills with Francis Kong in this year’s last run of Level Up Leadership on Nov. 23-24 at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel. For further inquiries contact Inspire at +639158055910 or call April at +639285591798)