“Evil’s best weapon…”
Shared by Breanne Smedley
I’m reading a book right now called, “Chop wood, carry water”
It’s a story of a boy’s journey to achieve his lifelong goal of becoming a samurai warrior and the hundreds of lessons he learned from his sensei along the way.
It’s filled with stories and parables that deliver powerful life lessons about the process of becoming great.
One of the stories I read in the book resonated with me for days after.
One day, the sensei told his student about an evil old witch that was going out of business.
The witch decided to have a yard sale to sell all her potions and tools.
She was selling all the traditional tools you think of when you think of evil: jealousy, anger, lust, pride, envy, deceit, and adultery.
Droves of people flocked to the sale to buy all her shiny tools.
Towards the end of the day, all the tools had been picked through and all that remained were a few heaps of old worn-out broken tools.
One man dug through the scraps and found a tool that was well worn and looking like it was on its last leg.
Hoping for a good deal, it brought it to the woman to ask how much it cost.
The old witch responded, startled. “That tool is too valuable for me to sell, it is the only one I’m passing down to my niece. Give it back to me. It should not have been out here!”
This made the man even more intrigued. “But it’s so worn, and yet you claim it is worth more than all these other and newer tools. I must know what tool it is.”
The witch refused to tell him, took it from his hands, and hid it in the house.
A few months later, the witch was on her death bead. She called for her niece so that she could pass down her most valuable and precious tool.
The niece was upset that her aunt had sold all of her shiny tools without passing them down to her.
Looking at the old, worn-out tool she said, “This?! This old this is all you left me?!”
The old witch looked at her and said, “Oh how naive you are, young child.”
This tool is discouragement and is more powerful than the other tools combined.
The best part is that most people never suspect that it comes from you.
Discouragement will allow you to get to a person’s heart when none of the other tools will.
Once they become discouraged, they are putty in your hands.
You can squash the most powerful of dreams, level the greatest ideas, and ruin almost anything in the world without detection, all by using this tool to plant the seeds of discouragement.
And with nothing but that single tool of discouragement, her niece went on to become one of the most powerful witches to ever live.
Now, while I don’t believe in witches, when I read this story I couldn’t help think back on the role that this evil weapon has played in my life.
The ways in which my own thoughts have limited what I believe I can accomplish, so I don’t try.
The times that I have tried my best, but didn’t succeed and want to just quit all together.
The moments when I compare myself to others and become frustrated with my own progress.
Discouragement can stop us dead in our tracks. Cause us to quit. Impacts how we show up and what we think about ourselves.
The tool to combat this powerful weapon?
Encouragement.
Specifically, fueling ourselves in six areas.
What we watch.
What we read.
What we listen to.
Who we surround ourselves with.
How we talk to ourselves.
What we visualize.
I know the power of evil’s best weapon.
I also know who I choose to surround myself with and what I let into my mind will combat it.
And thankfully, these things are choices I can make daily.
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#DaringlyResilient
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