This story is adopted from a Taoist Tale from China.
This story belongs to a time when humanity existed in the midst of nature. The dry wood was the source of fuel that mankind needed.
Professional wood cutters went into the forests, cut dry wood from the trees and sold to others in the community.
Every house had a store-room for wood.
Almost every male member was a wood cutter. Women did the job in the absence of men. Like software professionals of today, wood cutters were in great demand.
Let us see a story in a typical house where there would be no space between houses. A simple wooden fence marked the boundaries.
Every backyard had a hay stack and cattle. In addition, a shed where the cut and uncut wood are stored, as it is the vital source of energy for people of that time.
One fine morning, the owner of the ‘house A’ went to his backyard to cut some wood for his family.
He went straight to his shed where the uncut wood was stored.
He discovered that his favorite axe was missing. He couldn’t find it in the place where he normally kept.
Then he casually looked around and noticed that his neighbor’s son was standing near the woodshed in his house.
It should be a curse on the humanity that everyone quarrels with their neighbors. Jesus advised people to be friendly with neighbors.
The situation has not changed even after 2000 years !
As with any other household, the relationship of people of ‘house A’, was not cordial with their neighbor. They had quarreled on some petty issues in the past.
It was easy for him to suspect that boy next door must have stolen his axe, as an act of revenge. He felt that the boy was watching him from his backyard and enjoying himself of his plight.
He went inside his house and picked-up his spare axe and completed the day’s task. The days rolled-by.
A few days later, the woodcutter was surprised and happy to come upon the axe under a pile of firewood.
“I remember now,” he said to himself, “this is where I left it !”
The next time he saw his neighbor’s son, at his back yard, he noticed that the boy had lost his guilty looks.
It is our misjudgement we see guilt everywhere except in us.
Let us read another story from modern times!
I have heard of several versions of this story in different situations. The common aspect among all is the misjudgement.
Theme: Wrong judgments
Short Story 03
Indecent Fellow passenger.
Ragav is a marketing person based in Bangalore. He commutes to nearby towns by train in air- conditioned class, on every business day.
Some times, the engagements with clients will take so long that he would miss his lunch.
Today was one such day. Ragav, hungry and tired, returned to Railway Station to board his train back to Bangalore. He hardly had any time to eat as the train was entering the platform. He picked up some cookies, a couple of magazines before he boarded the train.
It was a two-hour journey. The compartment was filled with passengers.
He kept the plastic bag containing the cookies near his feet along with his laptop and briefcase. He started reading the magazine.. From time to time he would reach out to his bag to pick a cookie.
Suddenly he realised, another hand also accessing the same bag. He immediately looked at the person sitting next to him. He withdrew his hand and smiled at Ragav. The person looked affluent and well fed. Should he be stealing a cookie from his bag! He wondered! This repeated a couple of times.
He could not read the magazine but pretended to read. His attention was on the passenger seated next to him. He was watching him.
There was the last cookie in the bag. He waited to see if that indecent guy next to him repeats the act of stealing from his bag.
After a long wait, he decided to pick that last piece. The other guy also must have waited. Coincidently, both of them attempted to pick the cookie at the same time. Ragav was furious.He even murmured, “there are thieves even amongst upper class travellers “.
The indecent guy must have heard, but yet he smiled.
The two-hour journey came to an end. As the train pulled into the station, every passenger got up from his seat and picked his luggage.
Ragav also picked his. To his surprise, he discovered that his third bag, the plastic bag containing cookies was there, infact, untouched.
Theme:
Our defective judgments
Short Story 4
The wayfarer.
The story belong to a date, when the Indian subcontinent consisted of several small countries and were ruled by the kings.
The bullock carts were the most expensive transport and only rich merchants and government officials could afford them.
Common people and small traders walked along the roads laid and maintained by the kings.
Trees were planted along the road so that the pedestrians can rest under them when they grew tired. Some take food that they carry with them, under the sprawling trees and sleep for a while before they continue their journey.
There was a lone traveler among several others walking along the road. He was proud that he knows every thing in the world.
After traveling for a long time, he decided to take the lunch that he brought along. When he had finished his lunch he felt sleepy and lay down under the shade of that tamarind tree.
As he lay down under the tree he looked-up and saw a bunch of small tamarind fruits hanging from the branches. He thought for a while and wondered that the nature is stupid that it produced small fruits and berries on large trees and large vegetables such as pumpkin on slender creepers. With these thoughts he slept off.
After a while, wind blew and the riped fruits from the tree fell down right on the head of the traveler. Since it fell from a height, it hurt him very bad and he woke up then.
Then came the thought.
If pumpkin or similar large fruit grew on such sprawling tree, no one can ever rest under the tree. If they did, their head would be smashed some time.
Since creepers do not provide shade no one stay under it. So the people are safe.
The nature, he realized, knew what to grow and where. Our judgments are based on very limited exposure and incomplete knowledge.
Theme: Fight to finish
Know this:
(1) Most of our pursuits come to an end with very little resistance.
(2) Those who succeed brave the failures, overcome obstacles in their path, go through the resistance from every source successfully.
(3) This is possible only for people with a positive mind set.
(4) Several research projects were discontinued only when a few steps were left before it could have given results. Some more efforts, some additional investments would have marked the success.
(5) The Tamil Saint Thiruvalluvar advises as follows. Before you set off on your pursuits, think well. When once started, stopping or rethinking is wrong.
(6) Some of us change the directions and goals half way through a chosen pursuits. We engage ourselves in multitudes of tasks and reach nowhere.
To this, a Zen Guru observes, one who chases two rabbits gets none.
Suggestion:
(1) Stay focussed till you succeed in your mission. Two stories are attributed to Edison, first one to his perseverance and second that demonstrates that he could see advantages even in adverse situations.
Theme: Fight to finish
Short story : 05
Edison’s light bulb.
Today, in Electrical bulbs, there are several hundreds of variations, technologies, and efficiencies to choose from. A path breaking beginning was made by Edison.
It was not easy for Edison, then. It is said he tried out with 2000 and odd elements in his experiments to make an electric bulb to work. His impatient assistant discouraged him suggesting that the project be dropped as a lot of money and effo
rt has gone waste.
To this, Edison’s reaction was something unusual. He convinced his assistant that nothing was ever wasted. Out of our efforts and investment we learnt that two thousands elements are unsuitable for making an electric bulb.
The perseverance of Edison led to his discovery of his first working electric bulb which had carbon filament. Subsequent decades employed Edison’s discovery. Tungsten replaced carbon filament in the electric bulbs. From that evolved other technologies which lights our world.
Theme : POSITIVE ATTITUDES
Selfless act arise out of Positive thinking.
Know this:
(1) It always helps wearing positive attitudes.
(2) The men of knowledge found that our life today is the result of our attitudes and several choices that we made with those attitudes in the past.
(3) To wear a positive attitude, we should make the positive attitude, as our nature.
One’s nature:
You might have heard people saying that it is his nature! That refers to the attitude of a parson.
Everyone’s attitude is made up of several small and big experiences in the past. Lessons are drawn and stored in our mind. Some messages received from people whom we trust, also adds up, to it.
Slowly, this knowledge in the conscious mind trickles down to our subconscious mind. It is here most of our actions are determined without our conscious decision making process.
Those who possess negative mind set, typically must have had several failures in early life.
One or more bad experience in the past when acted with a positive mind set adds up to this. Cultural prejudices, wrong knowledge are other factors which cultivate a negative mind set.
Self confidence, strong mind, courage, fewer failures on acting with positive mindset helps one act into life