Today’s Thinking Out Loud reflection is on Aesop’s Fable, The Hares and the Frogs. Aesop’s Fables is available for free download here.
The Fable
“The Hares once gathered together and lamented the unhappiness of
their lot, exposed as they were to dangers on all sides and lacking
the strength and the courage to hold their own. Men, dogs, birds
and beasts of prey were all their enemies, and killed and devoured
them daily: and sooner than endure such persecution any longer,
they one and all determined to end their miserable lives. Thus
resolved and desperate, they rushed in a body towards a
neighboring pool, intending to drown themselves. On the bank were
sitting a number of Frogs, who, when they heard the noise of the
Hares as they ran, with one accord leaped into the water and hid
themselves in the depths. Then one of the older Hares who was wiser
than the rest cried out to his companions, “Stop, my friends, take
heart; don’t let us destroy ourselves after all: see, here are
creatures who are afraid of us, and who must, therefore, be still
more timid than ourselves.”
Note: As an academic I was a qualitative researcher. My students would go with me to fieldsites to conduct our research. The central point of our research was to gain qualitative data chiefly through interviews. My students understood they were collecting data and not arguing perceptions with the interviewees. They followed the maxim, perception is reality. What we see may not be accurate. We may be seeing it through biased filters, faulty memories, or our own faulty value system. It takes courage to question our perception, beliefs, and other tenets we live by and test them to see if they are accurate or still viable. If we fail to test them we may continue to live life not perceiving reality. Perhaps you know people whose perceptions are based on something that is not true. It’s difficult to convince them of reality and they may end up diving into the pond (as the hares intended to do).
