A turtle family decided to go on a picnic. Turtles being naturally slow about things, took seven years to prepare for their outing. Finally, the turtle family left home looking for a suitable place for their outing. During the second year of their journey they found a place ideal for them at last! For about six months they cleaned up the area, unpacked the picnic basket and completed the arrangements. Then they discovered they had forgotten the salt. A picnic without salt would be a disaster, they all agreed.

After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt from home. Although he was the fastest of the slow-moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. He agreed to go on one condition: that no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and the little turtle left.

Three years passed and the little turtle had not returned. Five years… six years… then on the seventh year of his absence, the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that he was going to eat and begun to unwrap a sandwich. At that point the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting, “See! I knew you wouldn’t wait. Now I will not go to get the salt.”

Moral:

Some of us waste our time waiting for people to live up to our expectations. We are so concerned about what others are doing that we don’t do anything ourselves.

Make an effort to accept other people fully as they are.  The tragedy is that our own mind is not in our control. And what is the comedy? Our own mind which is not in our control, with that uncontrolled mind we want to control other people’s mind which is not even in their control — an impossible task!!! This is the comedy!

Don’t try to change bitter gourd into sugarcane. It will result in frustration and disappointment. Enjoy each as they are. Don’t be judgmental about other people, events, situations and experiences.

Great spiritual masters didn’t waste their time in changing others. They spent their time in perfecting themselves and became an ideal for others to follow. Thus, they helped bring change among those around them.

Liberation is when we intelligently accept people and circumstances as they are and whenever they come.