Translating a World on the Edge

by Juditu, 2005, MorgueFile.com

Sometimes I’m a whiner. I complain about a negative situation, even find comfort in my complaints; yet I don’t want to give it my all and do what it takes to fix the problem. I’d like to be a champion, but I don’t want to suffer through what it takes to win.

That’s when I remember the Crow.

There was a Crow, half-dead with thirst, who came upon a Pitcher which had once been full of water; but when the Crow put its beak into the mouth of the Pitcher he found that only very little water was left in it, and that he could not reach far enough down to get at it. He tried, and he tried, but at last gave up in despair and went off whining, “I need some water, but nothing good ever happens for me!”

But he became thirstier and thirstier.

Then a thought came to him. Except it was a thought that required a lot of effort on his part and he didn’t know if he wanted to exert himself that much.

Still, he was getting thirstier and thirstier.

“Oh, all right,” he said to himself. “Maybe I’ll try my idea.” So he found a little pebble and dropped it into the Pitcher. Then he took another pebble and dropped it into the pitcher. Then he started complaining again, doubting himself, and he was just about to quit when something started to happen inside the pitcher. He went for another pebble and dropped that into the Pitcher. Another pebble, and on and on.

At last, he saw the water rising up near the reach of his beak, and after casting in a few more pebbles he was able to quench his thirst, and save his life.

Little by little, the crow won because he did the work and didn’t give up.

Complaining and whining does us no good. But a well-thought-out, positive action, and a lot of sweat can literally change our life, and  one day, maybe even save it.