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Hey again, its will and it is storytime. We had
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such a great reaction to our last story, The Monk
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and the Butterfly, that I thought I would read you
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another story from the same book. I'm sure you might
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have heard this story before, but when I read it,
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it actually gave me a different feel. It hit differently
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now after four years of doing the show, and I
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think it was appropriate to bring it to your attention.
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So the name of the story is The Farmer's Lost Horse,
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and it goes like this. In a small village, nestled
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between rolling hills and fields of green, there lived an
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old farmer known for his hard work and wisdom. He
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had spent his entire life tending to his land, rising
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with the sun to work the fields, and resting when
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the stars appeared. His only horse, a sturdy and reliable creature,
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was essential to his farm. Well, one summer evening, the
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horse broke through the fence and disappeared into the hills.
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When the villagers heard the news, they rushed to the
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farmer's home, shaking their heads in sympathy. How unfortunate you are,
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they exclaimed, Without your horse, how will you tend your fields?
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What bad luck? The farmer standing by his field and
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gazing at the horizon where his horse had vanished, smiled calmly, perhaps,
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he replied, his voice steady. He did not explain further,
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leaving the villagers puzzled by his serenity. A few days later,
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as dawn broke and mists still hung low over the fields,
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the horse that was lost returned, but it was not alone.
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Two wild horses, strong and beautiful, followed closely behind. The villagers,
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astonished by the sight, hurried back to the farmer's house.
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How fortunate you are, they cheered. Not only has your
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horse returned, but you have gained two more. What incredible luck.
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The farmer looked at the horses grazing near his home
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and smiled again, perhaps, he said. The villagers, now more confused,
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wondered why the farmer did not celebrate the stroke of
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good fortune. But the farmer knew well the ever changing
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nature of life. The following day, the farmer's son, eager
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to tame one of the wild horses, mounted it with confidence,
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but the horse, untamed and strong, reared back, throwing the
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young man to the ground. He fell hard and his
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leg was broken. The villagers, hearing of the accident, came
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once again to offer their sympathies. How unfortunate you are,
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they said, shaking their heads. Your only son now injured.
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What terrible luck. But the farmer, sitting beside his son,
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glanced out at the wild horses grazing nearby and said,
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with the same calm. Perhaps As time passed, the seasons
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began to change, the crops grew tall, and a village
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prepared for the harvest. Then news came of a great
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war spreading through the region. Soldiers arrived, conscripting all able
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bodied young men to fight. Many of the village's sons
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were taken, leaving families in despair. However, the farmer's son,
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with his broken leg, was spared from the draft. The villagers,
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now seeing the situation differently, returned to the farmer's home.
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How fortunate you are, they exclaimed, Your son's injury has
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saved him from going to war. What good luck. The farmer,
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watching the leaves fall from the trees and listening to
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the wind rustle through the fields, smiled and said, perhaps.
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Over time the villagers began to understand the farmer's words.
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They saw that what seemed like misfortune one day could
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bring unexpected blessings the next and what appeared as good
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fortune could lead to hardship. Life, they realized, was unpredictable,
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full of changes that could not be judged too quickly,
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And so the farmer continued his life with quiet acceptance,
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tending his land and caring for his son. He had
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learned long ago that peace comes not from controlling life's events,
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but from accepting them with an open heart. In the end,
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the villagers came to admire the farmer's wisdom, realizing that
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the true nature of fortune and misfortune was beyond their understanding,
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and as the seasons turned, the village echoed with the
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farmer's words. Perhaps so that, like I mentioned earlier, that
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story hit differently now because of all the things that
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have happened over the last four years or so. Just
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when you think things are really terrible, lo and behold,
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something happens and shows the wonderfulness of that misfortune happening.
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A perfect example on my personal life. A lot of
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you know, I work for a living. I mean everybody works.
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I have a full time job, and in my full
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time job, I was up for promotion at least three times,
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and each time that I was up for a promotion.
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I went through the interview process and everything went well,
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and I came in second, like I came that close
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to getting the promotion. Well, at the time, I was devastated.
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How many times am I going to be passed up
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for promotion? I was getting frustrated. I mean, this same
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role for twelve years, there's been no upward movement any
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time that there's an opportunity. The one opportunity that I
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thought I saw that that was meant to be mine
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turned out to be something that wasn't meant to be.
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It was given to somebody else. Well, fast forward a
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couple of years, and we have now gone through the
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third reorganization in my company, in my division specifically, and
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each time that we have gone through this reorganization, that
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job for which I was passed over ended up being eliminated.
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So then I look back at all the time that
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I was so bitter and angry about the fact that
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I didn't get my promotion, that I wasn't able to
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move up, that I had to get stuck in the
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same job for twelve years, only to find someone was
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looking out for me. I didn't get those jobs because
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had I gotten those promotions, I would now be looking
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for a job elsewhere. Meanwhile, through reorganizations later, I'm still here.
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I'm still doing my job, I'm still providing for my family,
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i still have benefits, and I still celebrate working for
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a great company that treats their employees like family. So
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I guess the moral story as difficult as it is.
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Believe me, I've been there. It is very, very difficult
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to pill to swallow everything happens for a reason, right.
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You've heard it a thousand times before, But I just
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illustrated a perfect example of how that is absolutely the case.
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The universe wasn't ready for me to be out of
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a job yet, and so it had me pass up
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promotional possibilities just because it wasn't the right time. So
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now I've got to the point where I'm trusting the
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universe more. If something happens that don't want to have happened,
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I ask myself, how is this going to benefit in
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the future. How is this that's happening for my highest good?
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These are the things that I have to figure out,
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knowing full well that I won't have the answers right away,
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but eventually, over time I'll find the answer. The answer
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will be given to me. So, if this is something
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that you resonate with, I would love to hear from you.
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What is your story? I would love to share your
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story on the show. So I want you to do
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is go to Skepticmanaphysician dot com. Let us know what
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your story is and we might read it on the air.
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Maybe we'll invite you to be on the show as
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a guest. If you prefer to send it to us
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by email, you can always send it to will Will
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at Skepticmenaphysician dot com. However you do it, please do it.
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We want this to be a lot more interactive, a
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lot more engaged. It's that time again where we open
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the mailbox of wonders. Brace yourselves for some listener feedback.
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Your folks have a lot to say, and trust me,
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I'm here for every word, everything thought, and every little
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conspiracy theory tossing our way. So is dive into our
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first message? Oh what's this? It says, I never thought
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i'd find a podcast that makes me question my perfectly
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rational views and also my soft drawer organization. Well, dear listener,
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challenging your worldview is our specialty, and hey, never too
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late to get those socks in order. Okay, I could,
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of course, but we did get some amazing feedback and
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I want to share that with you, So here it
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is for you right now.
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Hi. My name is Nancy Farrocco. I live in San Diego, California,
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and I love your show, love love love it. I've
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listened to you for probably three years now, and you
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started me on my path of metaphysical and I've grown
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so much. I just wanted to let you know that
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I just love you too. You're funny and cute and
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have great guests. So the most recent thing is I
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bought the book The Monk and the Butterfly after listening
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to you talk about it well, and I love the book.
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So another thing that I love about you. Guys. Keep
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up the good work, bye and see.
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Thank you so much. Thank you so much for sending
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us that voicemail. We absolutely love to hear from our audience,
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and hey, thank you for listening for as long as
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you have. Three years. That's a long time. We are
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so grateful. We really are so happy to know that
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the show, the guests we're bringing on our delivery, We're
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really glad to hear that it's resonating with you so
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thank you so much for taking the time and leaving
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us a voicemail. And hey, let us know what you
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think of the Monk and the Butterfly. Well, you did
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say that you love the book already. I wonder how
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far you got into it. What's your favorite story? Share
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that with us. You bet that we are going to
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do our best to keep up the good work, as
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you call it. So once again, thank you so much
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Nancy for the beautiful, wonderful voicemail. If you're listening right
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now and thinking, hey, I got thoughts too, don't be
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shy send us your voicemail or scribble down an email.
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Who knows you might just hear you're using us on
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air next time. Keep those minds open and those messages
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coming you fabulous folks. Now back to unraveling the Universe.
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I hope that that story resonated with you like it
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did for me, and I hope that you will come
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back in future episodes when we have a lot more
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to share with you. So until the next time, I
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really appreciate you listening in. You're watching this video, you're
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listening to this audio, whatever it is that you're doing,
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however it is you're getting the message. I appreciate the
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fact that you are open to it, so thank you
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very much for coming along on my journey of discovery
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with me. Till next time, take care,