Instinct Is A Prison

The hunted fears the predator, and the predator fears hunger and death.

One day a young child got lost in the fields. He was very far from the village he lived in, when suddenly he met a hungry tiger.

"If you eat me now, Tiger," the child said, "you will still have to hunt tomorrow."

"Yes, but if I eat you now I will live another day!" the Tiger replied.

"I can teach you how to live for many more days," said the child.

The Tiger retracted his claws, sat down and listened to the what child had to say.

"Look around you. See how much grass there is, and how many trees bursting with fruit. Stop eating meat and you will never die of hunger."

"But I am a meat eater!" the Tiger replied. "I have claws and big teeth. What shall I do with them?"

"Use them to defend those you love," said the child.

"But I am alone. I have no family and no friends."

"If you spare me, I will be your friend."

The Tiger thought about it, then said, "All right, I will taste the grass and the fruit of the trees to please you."

He spared the child and learned the joys of sharing a meal with someone else. And from that time on he was never hungry.

(c)2005 www.positive-club.com

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Our instinct can be a cruel prison, causing us to act without thinking. We shout, we get angry and perturbed, we run away when what we should be doing is sitting down and thinking about the consequences of our impulsive actions.

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"Instinct is a prison from which the most ferocious are waiting to be freed."
- M. de Cournouardt
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