There was lion cub whose mother was killed. The little lion cub fell into the company of a herd of sheep. They took pity on him raised him among them. The young lion acquired the sheep's habits and behaviors. By and by for all the young lion knew he was a sheep, one of the crowd. In the mirror of the sheep herd the lion saw his reflection as a sheep, his identity was given to him in this mirror of social convention. In other words he was programmed and conditioned to be a sheep, to take on the identity of a sheep.One day a mature lion shows up on the scene, and of course the sheep flee and the young lion goes running and screaming along with the rest of the sheep. The old lion looks and he can't believe his eyes, "What the hell?" He sees the young lion running and squealing like a sheep, jumping and leaping in fear, you get the picture. So the old lion captures the young lion. Can you imagine the young lion's fear? The old lion drags the young lion, kicking and screaming for his life, to a pond where he shows the young lion his reflection in the still water. The young lion sees an accurate reflection, not one given to him by the crowd, by society, by conditioning. The young lion sees his original face and realizes his true nature.
4 comments:
What a powerful message!
Wow. That's a great story. My teacher spoke once on the Siegfried and Roy incident, and said "tigers don't do tricks. Suddenly, a cat remembered he's a tiger and decided he didn't want to do tricks. Similarly, you've been trained to do tricks. Remember what you are."
Lovely story, however I do believe not everyone is predisposed to be a lion. To most, being a sheep and following a sheep consciousness is easier than stading up and roaring.
Sometimes I roar, and even then it can be a quiet roar. Thanks for this story/parable. Stopping by here at Graceful Presence is always a relief in the chaotic world.....
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