Anecdote Of The Week: Do You Allow People To Make You Curse Your Gift?

"Pretend for a moment that you are a mink- beautiful, valuable, precious because of the skin that covers you. Suddenly your homeland is invaded by hunters, with bats. The hunters seem kind, yet you approach them cautiously. They pet the younglings who are innocent, less cautious. As you approach your young, the hunters attack. They beat you. You are dazed, struggling for composure. The hunters steal your skin, your heritage, the very essence of your being. They leave you to die, but you survive.

Your fur grows back. Stronger. More beautiful than before. Somehow it doesn't make sense. The very thing that makes you who you are is the source of pain. Confused, distrustful, you hide yourself or camouflage your fur, your essence. Silently you begin to curse your fur, because the hunters return again and again. You begin to understand you will never get away from being what you are. As long as you have fur, you will be hunted. The issue is: Will you curse your fur, give up and die? Or just continue to be a proud but cautious mink?" -From, "Acts Of Faith" By: Iyanla Vanzant