“Better to struggle with a sick jackass than carry the wood by yourself.”
There is always more than one way to act, think, or view the world. Similarly, there is always more than one way to perform work or carry a burden. The path of least resistance is usually preferred, and recommended to avoid injury. That is not to say that it is not worth the struggle to achieve something we want to achieve. We must remember that these quotes and sayings are to convey a message, and that message is not always true in all cases. There is no absolute truth, only truth which we seek out and accept as truth for ourselves.
This quote is a reminder that it is often best to flow with the easiest path, to fix our boat as it travels downstream, rather than swim upstream with no boat. A jackass is a beast of burden, and will carry our weight for us. It can carry much more weight than us, thus performing more work than us. It is easier to tend to this jackass and even fight with a sick one, than to carry the burden ourselves.
We can view this quote also as a metaphor. Not just physically carrying a burden, but mentally carrying a burden as well. Why carry on mental burdens, mental suffering, when it is easier to let a jackass carry it away? Our minds have enough to think about, we should not trouble our minds with negative thoughts or insecurities of ourselves and others. Let a jackass carry it away while we focus on what we are doing right now.
Read this with every inch of your self, with all of your being. Then talk with someone else and when you listen to them, listen with all of your being. Feel what they are feeling, truly understand what they are thinking, and enjoy the compassion. Walk somewhere and be ever mindful that you are walking and breathing. When you are done, do something else, and do that with all of your being.