Joseph is a gifted mind, given a coat by his father, and visions by God.
After getting out of prison, Joseph is brought before the Pharaoh , as the Pharaoh believes that Joseph is a "dream interpreter".
Joseph explains that he does not interpret dreams, he just tells what he sees in his visions, and that the visions are from God.
Pharaoh continues on to tell the 2 dreams he's had constantly:
One of 7 good ears of corn eaten up by 7 bad ears. And the next of 7 healthy cows being swallowed up by 7 sickly cows.
Pharaoh has had so many of his royal interpreters try to decipher his dreams and none of them could do it. So when he heard about Joseph, he found himself all out of options.
And Joseph delivers with this interpretation.
The 7 good ears of corn and healthy cows represent 7 years of feast, 7 years of plenty. And the 7 bad ears and sickly cows represent the 7 years of famine that will follow after. And Egypt may not survive if nothing is done.
So what can be done?
Joseph comes up with this plan:
During the years of plenty, take all the grain that Egypt has and store 1/5 of it underground. And then during the years of famine, give the 1/5 back to the people.
The plan saved Egypt from starvation and Joseph was made second in command to Pharaoh, and he continued to lead Egypt to great success.
This concept of "storing the fifth" can be applied to happiness as well.
When things go wrong, or the world is completely against you, find something you know makes you happy...
And store it somewhere you can find it later.
A good movie, your favourite comfort food, a conversation with an old friend. Something that calms you down and brings you back home.
And right now, I may not be in the middle of a 7 year famine, but I am working through a starvation of my own. So I am picking up the nearest shovel and I am digging for my stored fifth.
Problem is...
I still have no idea where it is.
I'll keep digging. But the ground is absolutely full of holes.
