A Short Moral Story.
A boy went to an old man and said to him.
“What is the biggest lesson that life has taught you?”
The old man paused for a moment and said.
“I’m sorry but I’m not in the mood to talk right now. I am deeply worried”
The boy asked.
“What’s the matter, sir”
The old man responded.
“My pregnant cow has been in labour for more than twenty hours. I’m afraid she could die as the pain is excruciating”
The boy whistled.
“You have to do something about it”
The old man muttered.
“I have no knowledge about things like this. I’m old and weak, I can’t do anything to help. But maybe if we seek the opinions and advice of other people, we could save my poor cow from dying. Don’t you think so?”
The boy nodded his head, then the old man added.
“Do me a favour and take a walk down the road. You’ll meet random people on your way. You will have to seek advice from at least four people. We need to know what their opinions are about my dying cow”
The boy left immediately, then returned about an hour later. He said to the old man.
“I was able to ask four people for their advice… The first person suggested you call the local vet immediately so that he can perform a surgery to remove the calf. The second person suggested you give the cow more time to give birth naturally, and that calling the vet won’t be necessary. The third person suggested you kill the cow and sell the meat as she would eventually die. And the fourth person suggested you assist the cow by pulling the calf from the womb with your hands”
The old man said.
“Interesting, isn’t it, that everyone’s opinions differ so much. So which do you think I should follow?”
The boy thought for a while and said.
“I find the whole thing very confusing. Everyone gave a different piece of advice”
The old man smiled. Then he tapped the boy on his shoulder and said.
“I was actually kind of surprised when you asked me to tell you the biggest lesson that life has taught me. And instead of just saying it, I decided to let you experience it yourself. In doing so, I pretended as if my cow was in pain and needed help. It was a strategy to enable you to realize how different the opinions of people can be. The biggest lesson I’ve learned in life is that different people can look at the exact same thing and have different perspectives. We all have our own view of things. And just because someone’s opinion is different from yours, it does not mean they are wrong. We shouldn’t quarrel, fight or argue with others just because we feel that our opinion doesn’t match theirs. We should learn to be open minded and respectful to people’s opinions even if we don’t agree with them.