Free Life Coaching - How to Be Your Own Life Coach: Be Inspired: The Art of Consideration

Be Inspired: The Art of Consideration
Tuesday, December 26, 2006

I would like to share with you another beautiful story told by my grandmother when I was a young boy. It was a daily routine for all of us to sit around her and listen to these interesting tales. I have never read these stories, and I think it is the same with my sister, who now lives in US.

The story
It is a story about a young merchant and his faithful dog. A long time ago, there lived a rich merchant in a small town in India. He was a successful man and he had a thriving business. He supplied materials to business associates throughout the district.

Every fortnight he used to go on a business trip to meet his business associates, and collect money for the goods he had supplied. He travelled by horse and his dog also accompanied him.

One day when the merchant was returning home from his trip, he felt tired and stopped near a tree to rest for a while. Then, he lied down and rested his head on his bag. He quickly fell asleep, the dog and the horse also rested near him.

After a while, the merchant woke up feeling fresh and again started his journey. He could not travel too far before his dog started behaving strangely and it continuously barked at him. The merchant first thought the dog might have seen some other animal and that was the cause for his behaviour.

He commanded the dog to shut up and he carried on with his journey. But the dog kept on barking persistently, and it even tried to stop the merchant few times. So, the merchant became little annoyed with the dog, shouted angrily, and tried to carry on with his journey. But the dog still tried his best to stop the horse.

Now, the merchant became furious, and he got off the horse and beat the dog with a stick. The dog became badly wounded, so the merchant left the dog and headed for home.

After travelling for sometime, the merchant suddenly realised that his bag with all the money is missing. He then remembered he had used the bag as a headrest while he rested near the tree. Without wasting anymore time, he turned his horse and headed towards the tree.

When he reached the place, he saw his injured dog lying on the ground with his head on the bag. With great pain, the dog tried to greet his master by slowly wagging his tail, and then passed away.

The merchant didn’t know what to do. He now understood why his faithful dog was behaving strangely. He started crying and prayed to God for mercy. He knew he had done a great blunder by harming his greatest friend.

When our Dida (Grandma in my native tongue) told us this story it always made us cry. I use this story as a metaphor. What can we learn from this story? How many times do we shut off our closest friends? And the closest of all friends is our own self. The inner voice which constantly barks at us like the faithful dog. Do we listen? Do we give enough consideration before we shut it off?

Please use your imagination, and use the message from this story to enrich and enlighten your life. God bless you.

posted by Debojit Chowdhury @ 5:11 AM,

8 Comments:

At December 26, 2006, Anonymous said...: Gr8 inspiring blog...no need to say thanks for adding you.

Keep In touch
At December 26, 2006, Debojit Chowdhury said...: Hi Abhi, thank you (just to express my gratitude). I am glad you liked the blog, please visit again, read my articles and support me.
God bless
At December 26, 2006, Marutham said...: Hello,
My first visit here.... A great blog - u have here! :)
And i loved the story & very inspiring indeed .

Wishes to a very happy new year! :)
Regards,
Marutham.
At December 26, 2006, Anonymous said...: That's a really powerful story and life lesson, many times I have refused to learn important lessons because I am comfy where I am and don't want to be stressed out with uncertainty and doubtfulness. "There is nothing to fear but fear itself", is so easy to say but so hard to make into a habit.
At December 27, 2006, Debojit Chowdhury said...: Hi Marutham, thank you for the visit and the lovely comment. Please visit again.
God bless
At December 27, 2006, Debojit Chowdhury said...: Hi Cinnamon, you are so right, it is difficult but if we really want to make our mark in this world, we have to make some tough decisions. Whether we want to lead a life, where we sit and fear, or go out and fight it. Thanks for your visit.
God bless
At January 02, 2007, Goodlife Dubai said...: Thank you for sharing this story with us. Everyone needs a Dida!
At January 02, 2007, Debojit Chowdhury said...: Hi Solomother, thank you so much for your comment. Yes, she was a special lady, she laid the foundation of my life. Though she is no more with us, she will always be with me, in my thoughts, in my actions. She has given me so much knowledge that I will take quite a while to present it to you. But I resolve to share it with you all. God bless