Sunday, November 20, 2016

Tripping: A Fable

The young boy tripped every time he walked from one place to another.

His parent chided his missteps, "Why do you trip so often? Slow down, don't fall."

The boy's head hung low as he tried to walk without tripping, but again he tripped.

A day later, a kind neighbor met the boy on the street. They walked together and the boy tripped, fell, and skinned his chin.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, "I trip all the time. I don't mean to do it."

The woman leant him a hand, and pulled him up. Lovingly, she put her arm around his shoulder, "Don't worry. Let's try to figure out why this happens. Walk a few steps for me."

The boy walked a few steps and did not trip. "Try again," the women said, "but this time go faster."

The boy walked faster and did indeed trip again.

"I noticed when you walked faster," the woman said, "that you drag your right foot. Practice walking without dragging that foot. I think that will help."

The boy was mindful of what made him trip. He practiced not dragging that foot and soon he tripped much less. Not long after, his mother walked with him. She said, "I noticed that you are not tripping much anymore. Why do you think this is happening?"

The boy responded, "Rather than yelling at me when I tripped, the kind neighbor helped me to analyze the problem. She figured out why I tripped and helped me to change that. Before that I had no idea why I tripped. Those few moments that the lady and I spent together made a big difference."

"Wow!" the mom said, "I never thought to slow it down and figure out why it was happening. I'm so sorry that I didn't think to do that."

"That's okay," the young boy smiled, "We know better now," and they walked hand-in-hand smiling.

Moral: Rather than chide, seek to understand and remedy wrong doing.