Refrain from Copying Others

It’s Thursday Tale Time (TTT 18/2024).

Today, I am sharing a cool little story from our childhood.?

Once upon a time, there was a crow. The crow really wanted to be more beautiful. The crow lived in a huge tree, where a bunch of peacocks also lived. It saw the gorgeous feathers of the peacocks and wanted to be just like them. Constantly, it would curse its own ugliness. It wanted to be impressive, like a peacock, so people would praise it. To achieve its ambition, the crow figured out how to escape the crow community. After careful consideration, it devised an ambitious plan.

The crow collected feathers from peacocks that had fallen off and used them to make itself appear as beautiful as a peacock. The crow failed to understand that it couldn't become a peacock by merely fixing its feathers. For peacocks, their vibrant colors, impressive size, and majestic crest make them truly unique. With the peacock feathers now on its body, the crow saw itself as a member of the peacock family. The joy was palpable, radiating from every pore. The crow decided to live alongside the peacocks. After a lengthy journey, the crow arrived at the location where a group of peacocks were roaming. Among the peacocks, it gracefully walked up and down. To their surprise, the peacocks witnessed this strange bird. The creature appeared to be a hybrid between a crow and a peacock.

The peacocks are well known for showcasing their self-pride. They found it unacceptable that a crow was pretending to be a peacock. The presence of someone pretending to be one of them was something they couldn't tolerate. They immediately attacked the crow and forcefully tore off some of its fake feathers. It was a significant challenge for the crow to save its own life. With every ounce of energy it had, the crow flew at top speed, desperate to escape. After a lengthy flight, the crow arrived at a spot where several crows were resting. With confidence, it started moving about among the other crows. The crows believed it was another bird, similar to a peacock. They couldn't stand having a peacock around, so they attacked it, pecking it hard.

The crow had to fly away again in order to stay alive. Upon feeling heartbroken, the crow flew to a lonely tree in the jungle. The crow was completely unaware of how to proceed. It tried to improve itself by adding peacock feathers, but it still couldn't make it a peacock. The peacocks and crows neither accommodated nor accepted it but attacked it twice for being an imposter.

The crows, even its own brethren, turned their backs on it. The crow was completely unsure of what to do next. Finally, it removed all its peacock feathers and returned to its crow form. Only then did the crows acknowledge it as part of their group and make room for it among themselves. The crow had an unpleasant experience that taught it a valuable lesson. It has gained a profound life experience. Don't use weird and unfair ways to improve yourself and don't copy others.

?The moral principle derived from this story is:

This story is a valuable reminder that diligent hard work and sincere efforts are necessary for true self-improvement, instead of simply imitating others. We should not sacrifice our moral principles to achieve something. The wrong way we're doing things is stopping us from reaching our goals. Such methods are sure to affect the desired results. The accomplishments we gain through unethical methods are temporary and it won't last long.

A common drawback is that we can see people around us mimicking others. Examples include unethical ways to get rich quick, extravagant weddings to show off, and buying expensive gadgets on credit to keep up with others. To attain quick wealth or fund extravagant weddings or purchase expensive gadgets, individuals turn to borrowing money, resulting in stress, frustration, depression and debt repayment pressure. It is unfortunate that in our society, some people struggle to repay monthly EMI their debts and because of that pressure, they have made the devastating decision to end their lives. That's why this story emphasizes the importance of not mimicking others.

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Regards,

Bhupesh Pant