A cosmic god had a horse. The horse was beautiful and also it had many good qualities. But it wanted to be more perfect in every way. It especially wanted to become beauty unparalleled. One day the horse said to the cosmic god, “0 Lord, you have given me beauty. You have given me other good qualities. I am so grateful to you. But how I wish you could make me more beautiful. I would be extremely, extremely grateful if you could make me more beautiful.” The cosmic god said,
“I am more than ready to make you more beautiful. Tell me in what way you want to be changed.”
The horse said, “It seems to me that I am not well proportioned. My neck is too short. If you can make my neck a little longer, my upper body will be infinitely more beautiful. And if you can make my legs much longer and thinner, then I will look infinitely more beautiful in my lower body.”
The cosmic god said, “Amen!” Then immediately he made a camel appear in place of the horse. The horse was so disheartened that it started to cry, “0 Lord, I wanted to become more beautiful. In what way is this kind of outer form more beautiful?”
The cosmic god said, “This is exactly what you asked for. You have become a camel.”
The horse cried, “Oh no, I do not want to become a camell I wish to remain a horse. As a horse, everybody appreciated my good qualities. Nobody will appreciate me as a camel.”
The cosmic god said, “Never try to achieve or receive more than I have given you. If you want to lead a desire-life, then at every moment you will want more and more. But you have no idea what the outcome will be. If you cry for a longer neck and legs, this is what will happen. Each thing in my creation has its own good qualities. The camel is not as beautiful as you are, but it carries heavy loads and has a tremendous sense of responsibility.
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No. Not a good story, though I like your effort. If we all were to "Never try to achieve or receive more than I have given you," why should we try to achieve anything at all? This is a horrible, lazy philosophy.
ReplyDeleteThe story in itself is okay, but it does not apply in the allegory you are trying to force it into.
Imagine if the great people who became geniuses in their field followed this advice. We would have no Picasso, no Michelangelo, no Shakespeare, no Steve Jobs, because none of them would try to achieve anything, never work to prove and improve themselves.
Do you think geniuses were geniuses at birth? That God made us exactly how he wanted us? And we cannot become better? And that we do not have to work, and labour at improving ourselves? NO!
A thousand times NO!
All of those geniuses spent many lonely hours at their craft, trying to create a masterpiece. God did not hand them their talents on a golden platter, they had to work to show themselves worthy of it.
Thank you Josh, I just leaned something, which I already knew but never considered before... Yet, there is truth in the article.
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