Thu 6 Nov 2008
Once upon a time, a clever monkey lived in a tree that bore juicy, red rose apples. He was very happy.
One fine day, a crocodile swam up to that tree and told the monkey that he had travelled a long distance and was in search of food as he was very hungry. The kind monkey offered him a few rose apples. The crocodile enjoyed them very much and asked the monkey whether he could come again for some more fruit. The generous monkey happily agreed.
The crocodile returned the next day. And the next. And the next one after that. Soon the two became very good friends. They discussed their lives, their friends and family, like all friends do. The crocodile told the monkey that he had a wife and that they lived on the other side of the river. So the kind monkey offered him some extra rose apples to take home to his wife. The crocodile’s wife loved the rose apples and made her husband promise to get her some every day.
Meanwhile, the friendship between the monkey and the crocodile deepened as they spent more and more time together. The crocodile’s wife started getting jealous. She wanted to put an end to this friendship. So she pretended that she could not believe that her husband could be friends with a monkey. Her husband tried to convince her that he and the monkey shared a true friendship. The crocodile’s wife thought to herself that if the monkey lived on a diet of rose apples, his flesh would be very sweet. So she asked the crocodile to invite the monkey to their house.
The crocodile was not happy about this. He tried to make the excuse that it would be difficult to get the monkey across the river. But his wife was determined to eat the monkey’s flesh. So she thought of a plan.
One day, she pretended to be very ill and told the crocodile that the doctor said that she would only recover if she ate a monkey’s heart. If her husband wanted to save her life, he must bring her his friend’s heart.
The crocodile was aghast. He was in a dilemma. On the one hand, he loved his friend. On the other, he could not possibly let his wife die. The crocodile’s wife threatened him saying that if he did not get her the monkey’s heart, she would surely die.
So the crocodile went to the rose apple tree and invited the monkey to come home to meet his wife. He told the monkey that he could ride across the river on the crocodile’s back. The monkey happily agreed. As they reached the middle of the river, the crocodile began to sink. The frightened monkey asked him why he was doing that. The crocodile explained that he would have to kill the monkey to save his wife’s life. The clever monkey told him that he would gladly give up his heart to save the life of the crocodile’s wife, but he had left his heart behind in the rose apple tree. He asked the crocodile to make haste and turn back so that the monkey could go get his heart from the apple tree.
The silly crocodile quickly swam back to the rose apple tree. The monkey scampered up the tree to safety. He told the crocodile to tell his wicked wife that she had married the biggest fool in the world.
I got quite fascinated when I read this story and learnt a few things. Find my lessons below. You can add your own lessons as comments
1. You can never consistently sustain a relationship that is based on transient things.
The monkey and crocodile became friends because the monkey offered the croc rose apples when he was hungry. The monkey should have known that feeding a croc doesn’t pertually make you a friend to the croc. One day, your purpose and destiny will either find alignment or dispersal with that of your close friend, colleague, spouse or business partner. For two to walk together, they must agree.
2. You must know and understand your purpose and design and live within its limits.
A monkey will always be a monkey (potential food for crocodiles and other predators) and a crocodile will always be a crocodile (a predator of animals like monkeys). No amount of friendship or longstanding relationship will change those facts.
3. Values must define everything you do.
Any boundaries set or drawn without value lines will be pulled down or stepped over quite easily when pressure to do so occurs. If the crocodile valued his friendship with the monkey, he wont have been willing to kill him to save his wife. The worst case scenario is that he would have arranged with the monkey or otherwise to catch another monkey. What are you willing to negotiate your values for. Once you can negotiate it, it has no value.
4. What is the Big Picture?
People hardly look closely or deeply to see the big picture. It is said that less that 1/10th of the total size of an iceberg is visible above the waters. The larger part of it is beneath the surface. Experience mariners know this and do not treat icebergs on a surfce level. Where, candidly did the monkey think the friendship would take them to? Did he ever pause to consider the large picture? Did he just enjoy the friendship while it lasted and choose to look away from reality intentionally because responsibility demanded that he drew the line? Did he relish the power trip when other monkeys like him saw the croc and himself together and not wonder if he was on his own in the friendship, couldn’t there be a possibility that he would be on his own when it was over?
5. Who constitutes your multitude of counsellors?
Someone said “In the presence of counsellors, there is safety. ” Did the monkey ever seek counsel concerning his peculiar situation or did he think “Hmm, anybody I talk to will surely ask me if I’m in my right senses and warn me off my friend. They are all biased.” ? Maybe if he had spoken to someone he trusted about the situtaion, he’d have gotten good advice. If you don’ t have good, sensible thinking, mature and honest counsellors in your life, you are simply prey being prepared for the predator’s dinner.
