To the pharaoh the dream was a nightmare. He wanted to know what it meant, and the only person who could understand the dream was Joseph, so he had Joseph brought to him to interpret it.
Once Joseph was in front of him, he started to tell him his dream. It was about seven fat cows, seven skinny and ugly cows, seven healthy heads of grain and seven sprouted heads of grain. The seven skinny cows ended up eating the fat cows and the same happened with the heads of grain.
Joseph told the Pharaoh the meaning: Egypt will endure seven years of abundance and seven years of scarcity. If the people don’t get ready for the times of scarcity, they will suffer, and Egypt may perish.
After having my knee surgery, I had some family problems and some business problems with employees and clients, there were promises I could not keep (opening a Custom Body Fitness branch in Glenwood Springs) because of third parties, my car’s suspension broke and a developed an engine problem we couldn’t figure out, my apartment needed repairs, and I couldn’t focus at work no matter how hard I tried. It sounds very simple, but when there is a string of events that don’t allow me to move forward, it is frustrating.
The pharaoh’s dream was about seven fat cows, seven skinny and ugly cows, seven healthy heads of grain and seven sprouted heads of grain. The seven skinny cows ended up eating the fat cows and the same happened with the heads of grain.
The good thing is that I have money saved for repairs for my car and my apartment. I don’t need to put anything on a credit card. Also, being in shape helped me recuperate from the surgery faster. Caring about my family also helped me solve my problems with them, and the same is true with my employees and clients.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining, which is an unattractive trait. Complaining about my car, my job, my employees, my apartment, my life, my day, my situation, my lack of understanding, my family, the hospital system or my knee won’t make any difference. In fact, putting a negative perspective on those things will take energy from me.
Complaining is for only the weak. Instead I like to give thanks for what I have and how great my life is compared to many others. In reality, my problems are not bigger than those of others. Yes, it’s true that not moving forward and progressing is a sign of getting smaller. But I think about those that need more help than I do. Therefore, I also continue focusing on helping those who are more in need.
What I have as an advantage is that I know times with skinny cows are going to come. Therefore I get ready and prepare to endure those skinny cows.
I save money, I become wiser and stronger, I nurture my relationships, and I take care of my health. Ignoring reality won’t help me to continue moving forward.
As you probably know, if you have been following me, I come from a very poor family. Of course, my dad is as poor as I was. He could not see progress until I started to mentor him on how to take care of his health, spirit and money. When I was going through the skinny cow season, my dad helped me a lot by working on my car. I was stressed because we could not figure out what was wrong with the engine, and I bought a lot of parts to try to fix the problem. I remember my father telling me that it was a good thing I had the money to fix it and to imagine if I did not have the money.
Can you imagine having a broken car and apartment and not having the money to fix them? Or not having the money to pay your employees? Or can you imagine having a heart attack or hemorrhage or complications from a knee surgery because you didn’t take care of your health?
Just like exercising, learning and meditating, being ready for the skinny cow season is a must to ensure a high quality of life rather than just going with the flow.
Sandro Torres is owner of Custom Body Fitness in Carbondale and Glenwood Springs and author of the books “Lose Weight Permanently” and “Finding Genuine Happiness.” His column appears on the second Monday of the month.
