Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Aesop’s Fable, The Man and the Lion. Aesop’s Fables is available for free download here.
The Fable
“A Man and a Lion were companions on a journey, and in the course
of conversation they began to boast about their prowess, and each
claimed to be superior to the other in strength and courage. They
were still arguing with some heat when they came to a cross-road
where there was a statue of a Man strangling a Lion. “There!” said
the Man triumphantly, “look at that! Doesn’t that prove to you that
we are stronger than you?” “Not so fast, my friend,” said the Lion:
“that is only your view of the case. If we Lions could make
statues, you may be sure that in most of them you would see the Man
underneath.”
Note: My life would be much easier if everyone saw things the way I see them. It would also be boring if that were the case. In most cases there is my way, your way, and if we want to grow, a better way. Discovering the better way requires large doses of courage and humility mixed in equal proportions. Discovering a better way requires hard work and patience. A better way doesn’t appear by magic. It takes honest conversation and an openness to the insights that emerge from honest conversations. The man and the lion each saw the world from their perspective. They didn’t see the whole world, only the slice they wanted to see.