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.

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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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