(A truth story) A scorpion was down by the riverbank looking
for a way to cross. Up the bank within shouting distance was a turtle who was
slowly crawling into the river. The scorpion yelled, "Hey, could you give
me a lift across the river?" Somewhat incredulously, the turtle replied,
"Hell no! I know you. You're a scorpion. You'll sting me and I’ll die."
The scorpion, appealing to the naturally compassionate turtle stepped a bit
closer and pleaded, "But be reasonable here, if I stung you, you'd go down
and I'd die too! I give you my word of honor that I won't sting you." The
turtle, wanting to believe the best about his stranded comrade, relented and
the scorpion leapt up on his shell as they headed together out into the gently
flowing river.
About halfway across, the scorpion began to dance nervously with increasing
frenzy and finally, overcome with instincts, he arched his tail and jammed his
stinger into the surprised turtle's neck. As the poison began its deadly
mission, and as the turtle began to sink he turned in a final conscious moment
and cried out to the scorpion - "Why did you sting me? You knew if you
stung me we would both die! You gave me your word of honor, but now you've
killed us both!"The scorpion, adrenaline now fading, shrugged his claws and lamented, "I
know what I said, and that's really what I intended. But, I'm a scorpion...
it's my nature to sting." (fade to black)
One of our most destructive denials as humans is denying the
nature of a thing. Whether it’s a
wild animal thought to be domesticated, a fellow human, a politician, or an institution
like the government, a bank, a credit card issuer… it is good to remember the nature of a
thing. Twill keep you a mite more
rational and possibly save your sanity.
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