The Priest and the Cabbie

There was an English Priest and a Chicago cab driver who both died and went to heaven at the same time. They arrived at the pearly gates and were greeted by St. Peter. “Welcome, welcome!” Said St. Peter, stepping up to the registrar. “And who might you be?” He asked the cab driver. “I’m Eddie McDonagh, cabdriver from Chicago.” He said in his raspy, pack a day, voice. “Ah yes, here we are”, said Saint Peter as he found his name on the list. He then reached back and pulled out a beautiful white silk robe and handed it to the cab driver along with a gleaming ivory staff. St. Peter then waved over a gorgeous white stretch limo that drove over to pick him up. “Here is your limousine Mr. McDonagh, it will take you to your mansion just around this bend, we hope you find everything to your satisfaction, welcome to heaven.” The cab driver, wearing an ear-to-ear grin on his face and smelly cigar in his hand, took the robe and staff, hopped into the limousine and was whisked off to his mansion.

The Priest, seeing this thought to himself, “My goodness, if a cab driver gets a silk robe, a limousine and a mansion, I can’t imagine what I, a minister who preached the gospel will get!!” All puffed up and excited he then proceeded to walk up to where St. Peter was sitting at his desk and introduced himself. “Hello, I am Reverend Frederick van Heath from London”. “Ah yes, here you are” said St. Peter, “’Very nice to meet you Reverend, welcome, welcome”. Saint Peter then went behind and came out with a shabby cotton robe and a crooked wooden walking stick that he handed to the Minister. “We do hope you’ll enjoy your stay here, your house is just up there on the knoll, if you need help finding your way around, just let us know.” And he turned and pointed to a little shack on the hill indicating that this would be the minister’s residence.

The Minister stood there stunned, his mouth hanging open, his mind confused. He took the robe and the stick from St. Peter and not seeing any limousine’s coming to get him, started to walk, bewildered, toward the shack. He then stopped and turned to St. Peter, “St. Peter, there must be some kind of mistake here. I just saw a cab driver from Chicago get a silk robe, an Ivory staff and be driven off in a limo to his mansion. And here I am a man of the cloth who spoke the word of God for more than 30 years to thousands of people and I get an old robe a stick and a, a shack! Surely there’s been some kind of mistake!” St. Peter then proceeded to look down at the registrar. He then looked up and said, ”No, no, there’s been no mistake. It’s true that you did speak the word of God to thousands of people; and when you spoke it’s true they did listen. But when that man drove cab; people prayed!”.

The moral of the story? Well okay, there really isn’t one, it’s just a good joke I like. But seeing as you’re here, what is it in your life that is really effective for you… that you’re not doing? I have practiced and taught the “Art of Extreme Self Care”, and it always amazes me how we know what is good for us… yet we don’t do it! What is the one effective thing that you know if you did, would make you feel better, happier, more alive?

Now is your chance to start treating yourself better. Decide. Decide to do that thing now. Schedule it, make the phone call, or if possible start it right now. Quit listening to your thoughts and pay attention to what your feeling self is telling you and do it. It may not be the most comfortable experience in the start, but it is definitely the most rewarding in the long run… and you know it. Do it now.