There was a poor man who was unhappy and miserable. He was homeless and did not have any food to eat. He constantly wallowed in self-pity and felt a lot of pain. He cursed life and he cursed everybody who seemed to have a good life. His pain and misery eventually made him feel entitled. He started to grab and steal from others what he felt they did not deserve. He felt he deserved to have what the others have because he was life had been unfair to him.
One day while he was wandering the streets, searching for something to eat, he saw a fruit orchard. He was very hungry and hadn’t eaten in days. He looked around and didn’t see anyone guarding the fruits on the tree. So he quickly decided to steal some fruits. But as soon as he walked into the orchard and started to climb a tree, the farmer saw him and started screaming in anger. The hungry man saw the farmer coming at him with a stick. He was scared and immediately ran away. He ran towards the forest nearby and escaped from the orchard.
However, after getting into the forest, he realised that he was still hungry. He cursed his fate and felt as helpless and miserable as ever. “Humans are very cruel. They don’t care about people who are suffering“, he told himself.
He started to walk along through the forest when he suddenly saw an interesting scene. There was a fox. It had only two legs and was crawling along. The hungry man thought, “This fox is like me, unprivileged and hungry. I wonder how this fox has stayed alive? The fox can’t run or take care of itself. How is he able to feed himself or protect himself from other wild animals?” The poor man felt a strange sense of resonance with the fox.
And then there was a commotion. He saw a lion coming towards the fox. All the other animals and birds starts to scamper away. The man too was afraid and climbed on to a tree to save himself. But the fox stayed right there. It couldn’t run away.
But what happened next surprised the man. The lion seemed to have a piece of meat in its mouth. And the lion walked up to this fox and left the piece of meat for the fox to eat.
The hungry man was amazed to see this. He was thrilled. What happened before his eyes was extraordinary. It had to mean something. He had a deep feeling that this was a sign from the Universe. He recollected hearing that the Universe always has a plan to take care of every being in creation. The poor man was convinced that the Universe is giving him a sign too. So, he left that place soon and decided to follow the sign he had received through the fox and lion.
He concluded that he had been doing it wrong all along. “I am not meant to be so miserable and curse my fate. I am meant to wait for the right person to come along and take care of me.” So he sat by the streets, heart full of hope, waiting for his ‘lion’ to come and feed him too. He believed in the benevolence of the Universe. All he had to do was to surrender and wait for his saviour.
Time started to pass. He kept looking at the road, waiting for his saviour and his food. He waited there for 2 days, but no food came his way. He was getting impatient. He had been hungry for many days now. And finally, unable to bear the hunger anymore, he decided to leave. He felt very bitter and was starting to tell himself that perhaps he had been right all along. Perhaps his role was to steal and snatch from others after all.
As he was walking along with his miserable and bitter thoughts, he saw a wise old sage (famed for wisdom) walking towards him from the opposite direction. “Hmmm…maybe this wise sage might be able to help me through this situation“, thought the hungry man to himself. He told the sage everything that had happened and of his miserable plight in life. The sage first gave him some food and water. After having it, the man who believed he was a victim of life asked the sage, “Oh wise one! Life has shown mercy even on that crippled fox, but why has Life been so cruel to me?”
The old sage replied with a smile, “Young man, it is very true that the Universe has a plan for everyone. You are obviously part of the plan. And you are absolutely right in recognising that scene between the lion and the fox as a sign from the Universe. But my son, why is it that you saw yourself in the crippled fox? Why didn’t you see yourself in the lion? Could it be that the Universe was trying to tell you that your life is meant for something different?”
These words hit the man like a thunderbolt from the clear blue sky. The sage walked away slowly with a gentle smile on his lips.
Why is it that our mind is so quick to assume that we are “victims” waiting for a “saviour” to come along?
Story Courtesy : Somewhere on the Internet
The Violet Tree 
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