Journey for wisdom

A true story that occurred a long long long time ago....

Once, there was a wise man and his son in a journey for wisdom..

He told his son to ride a donkey. The wise man followed behind on foot. They travelled for some distance. After some distance they came across a group of people. Seeing the son on the donkey, one of them said,

“What an impolite and bad boy. The old father is walking on foot. The young son is comfortably riding on the donkey. This is no manner to show respect to one’s father”.

Father and son heard this. The son came down from the donkey. The father rode on the animal. After sometime they came across another group of people. On seeing the father riding the donkey, the elder of the group said,

“Oh you old man! This is not the way to bring up a son. You make him walk in the hot sun, while you sit comfortably on the donkey.”

The father paid attention to what the people said. He came down from the donkey. Both father and son walked on foot. The donkey walked in front. They went a little further. People seeing them, said,

“How foolish you are? You walk behind a donkey. Why don’t you ride it?”

The wise man and his son once again accepted what the people said. They both rode the donkey and went further. They came across a river. There was a bridge to be crossed. Some people were sitting there. They saw the wise man and his son riding the donkey. One of them said,

“It is very unkind and cruel of you two to ride on the poor donkey. The little animal can hardly take all your burden.”

So taking this advice the wise man and his son dismounted the donkey. They travelled a little distance further. Looking very lovingly the wise man said to his son,

“You have heard and seen what the people said. It must have assured you, by now, that whatever you do or whichever way you move, one is not able to please the people of the world.” He pointed at the flowing river and added “A person can build a wall across the river. It will stop the flow of the water. But it is not possible to shut the mouth of the people from criticism.”

Moral of the story is...appreciate whatever is in front of your eyes....

Just a food for thought. Have a nice day