The Scorpion And The Frog
One day a scorpion was walking along the
riverbank trying to find a way to get across the river that separated him from
his desired location when he came across a frog sitting alongside the
riverbank. The scorpion walked up to the frog and asked the frog if he would
take him across the river. The frog quickly replied, "No, I would not give
you a ride." The scorpion then asked him why. The frog replied, "Because
if I gave you a ride on my back you would sting me and I would drown."
Quickly the scorpion replied, "But, if I stung you then you would drown
and if you drown then I would drown also." The frog thought for a moment
and then said, "I guess you're right, then I will give you a ride."
The scorpion jumps on the frog's back and they start crossing the river. Half
way across the river the frog suddenly feels a sharp pain in his back, as the
scorpion stings him. The frog immediately starts to panic as he feels the venom
race through his veins and he quickly begins to become paralyzed. Just as he is
taking his last breath and about to go down, the frog looks at the scorpion and
asks "Why did you do it? You promised not to sting me! Now we are both going
to drown!" The scorpion replies, "I'm sorry, but I could not help it
- it's my nature".
I was reminded of this story today by a friend, when I
asked him why he kept doing something that apparently hadn’t brought the best
results in the past. "Because it’s in my nature" he replied, "like in the story of
the scorpion and the frog".
"Nonsense", was my reply. "We are our nature".
For
the first time I saw this story as an excuse for not assuming responsibility for our behaviors.
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