Short story: Giving yourself the long end of the broom, sometimes leaves you feeling shortcut by your decision. It did with Charles.
By emptychair
@innertalks (23746)
Australia
February 10, 2020 5:16pm CST
Charles Penmore was a broom salesman, going from door to door, to sell his wares.
He did this for the best part of thirty years, when he then considered that he was getting too old to be out in all weathers, trying to sell stuff, door to door like that.
At home, after his decision to throw in his broom, Charles decided to study something new.
"What was he suited for to study though?" he thought to himself, as he had not studied anything, since he had left high school, nearly 45 years ago now.
Charles decided to study religion, and to become a pastor of a church nearby to where he lived.
Charles had been going to this church himself, for a long time now. He enjoyed their services, and their teachings and tenets.
Charles studied various religions then, including the philosophy of religion, but as he neared the end of this course, after a full two years of full-on study, he decided abruptly just before taking his final exams, no this is not for me.
He abandoned the course, forthwith.
He left it all where it stood, and he simply took up a job selling brooms and cleaning equipment online, on the Internet.
"Sometimes, it's better to stick with what you know, rather than be swept under the carpet by stuff that you don't know", he had thought to himself, and he was glad of his newest decision.
Any change is not yet real change. Outward changes changes not the inner. Inner change must come first, before the outer self can change.
Senryu Poetry: Change
Outward change, no change
Inner change must take place first.
Otherwise, it's lost.
Photo Credit: The photo used in this article was sourced from the free media site, pixabay.com
Charles thought that he had hung up his broom, but it hadn't hanged him up yet.
Nothings over, until it's really over.
2 people like this
2 responses
@Shiva49 (28402)
• Singapore
11 Feb 20
If something is ingrained in us, we cannot shake it off on a whim.
I have been dealing with the subject of accounts and finance for all my adult life.
From the outside, other pursuits look more attractive but then I comfort myself with "an accountant is the first to be hired, and the last to be fired!".
I think for Charles the broom is his savior and better he embraces it than go after something else that is not his cup of tea. In a way, an attractive person is tough to please just like it is not easy to work for a very rich person for whom nothing is ever good enough - siva
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23746)
• Australia
11 Feb 20
At least, Charles embraced change in one way.
He had to skill himself up on the internet in order to sell his brooms there, and he had enough nouse, to know that that was the best way for him to sell now these days, not door to door anymore.
It is hard to change old habits.
Yes, without his broom, Charles might have gone riding on, on something else instead, or just withered away at home, gathering dust, now that his broom was not being used anymore.
1 person likes this
@Shiva49 (28402)
• Singapore
11 Feb 20
@innertalks In a way, I amuse myself with "my future lies in the past".
I have had some good moments to recall and thank my lucky stars for taking care of me and to stretch my legs after a long working life.
I too cannot do without a broom like Charles though he still makes a living out of it. Kudos to him for up-skilling himself to stay relevant - siva
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23746)
• Australia
11 Feb 20
@Shiva49 It's good that you can recognise a good life, well run, even despite a few falls, and pick-me-ups along the way.
You can see the overall purpose of your life, and perhaps how you usually lived it as you expected yourself to have wanted to live it, keeping to your beliefs, despite the calls not to do so at times.
Some of us can not see the stars shining still from our pasts, all that we see are spent stars, or black holes.
It's good to be still able to value the past, and applaud it, for how it got you through to where you are now.
1 person likes this
@innertalks (23746)
• Australia
22 Feb 20
Actually, I did write one once, a few years ago now. I had it self-published, which anyone can do, if they pay the sums required.
I only had 50 copies printed, as I didn't want to waste too much money on it. I still have around 20 copies left on my bookshelf... lol...
It feels good to have a copy of your own book in your hands, but one go at that is enough for me.
For now, I will just keep writing here on mylot.
