STORY TIME FOR GROWN UPS!
Story time is always for the children but story time for the grownups? Looks paradoxical right?
When our very life itself is paradoxical and riddled with dilemmas, to understand these tricky things story is the best way.
As a child I was wondering at the paradoxes contained in the story after finishing 'the moral of the story is...'
Every story for that matter presents contradictory ethos. It struck to me to utilize this paradox nature of the story to effectively communicate about knowing self in my training workshops.
I like to share that famous hare and tortoise story frequently used in management development program with a new perspective. So it is story time for the grownups!
The Hare And The Tortoise – 1
During ‘Panchatantra era’ when animals were talking to each other, a hare and a tortoise decided to have a race.
One fine Monday morning they started the race. The hare darted like an arrow while the tortoise was crawling slowly. After a while, hare turned back to see where is his competitor. The tortoise was not visible and the hare thought – “Let me take a nap to get over the previous nights party hangover. Anyway it will take helluva lot of time for the tortoise to crawl all the distance.” So he dozed off. The tortoise crawled with his own rhythm with his thought firmly perched on the goal post.
As you all know the tortoise won the race.
Morale of the story : Slow and steady wins the race.
Dilemma of the story : If I am slow in real life situations I cannot win any race or competition. I will be near the bottom of the corporate ladder forever. This story is just for the kids.
The Hare And The Tortoise -2
Now, the hare having become wiser called for another race. The tortoise brimming with confidence agreed. The race started. This time the hare did not stop anywhere. So you know who the winner was.
Morale of the story : Fast and steady also wins the race.
Dilemma of the story : Oo.. Oh! This is new thing. But many times being fast means encountering the accidents.
Slow or Fast – How to decide?
The Hare And The Tortoise – 3
After sometime, the hare wanted to have a race again. The tortoise also had become wiser now. So, it tells the hare “Let us have a race on a different route.” And suggests a new route.
The race starts.
The hare knowing very well that ‘fast and steady wins the race’ shoots off like an arrow and keeps going. But soon it had to stop. There was a large lake in front of it! Nevertheless it kept running along the bank of the lake. Now the tortoise came to the bank of the lake and happily jumped into it and swam fast across.
Huffing and puffing hare was surprised to see the tortoise at the goal post.
Morale of the story : Winning on our own turf is easy.
Dilemma of the story : Where is my turf? Moreover, in real situations the turf always changes, like in the story itself.
If one has to win someone else has to lose?
The Hare And The Tortoise – 4
By now both the hare and the tortoise were wiser and appreciative of each other! They decide to have the race once again on the route suggested by the tortoise. However this time the hare and the tortoise make an agreement.
On the land surface of the race the hare has to carry the tortoise on its back and the tortoise will carry the hare on its back while on water surface.
Now a strange thing happened. Both hare and the tortoise won the race. They reached the winning post together!
In the earlier races one of them used to take many hours to reach the goal post. But today, within few minutes both reached the goal post.
Morale of the story : When we work as a team everyone will win. Everyone will complement another – whether the person has strength or weakness. Also the ‘turf’ becomes inconsequential.
Dilemma of the story : Is it possible to find such a team?
The Hare And The Tortoise – 5
The dilemma in the previous story was “How to find a team that is cohesive?”
The hare in the above stories refers to our Mind and the tortoise – our Heart.
Now, ‘I’ am not single but a team made up of Body, Breath, Mind, Memory, Intellect, Ego and the Self.
If ‘I’ like to be happy, successful and winning always, all the team members are to be in harmony, so that all their strength as well as shortcomings will be complimenting each other.
So when ‘I’ become happy I have already found a successful team!
The persisting dilemma : How to harmonize and harness the team members of ‘I’?
The possible solution : Trying to find the answer to the above question is nothing but ‘knowing the self’, essence of ‘Veda’ and key to bliss or 'Aananda'.
Be sure that help is at hand once we come to the above question.
