I love fables because they tell a story with some ultimate meaning. Take the one about the boiling frog. Legend has it the origins of this fascinating tale are as a result of a 19th-century science experiment. As the story goes, researchers found that when they put a frog in a pot of boiling water, the frog quickly jumped out. On the other hand, when they put a frog in cold water and put the water to boil over time, the frog just boiled to death. Gruesome.
The hypothesis is that the temperature change is so gradual the frog doesn’t realize it’s boiling to death. This story is a metaphor for understanding why change is a vital and necessary part of growth.
Haven’t we all remained in situations that weren’t good for us? Gradually we were damaging our body, mind and soul, yet we couldn’t quite make that leap. It might have been fear, apathy, or rationalising the situation that kept us in an unhealthy situation… until finally we were forced to jump or “die” (or the other person jumped first, leaving us feeling like the boiled frog that was stupidly left behind).
Today this tale points to our inability to react to gradual changes that ultimately may be harmful to us. I know when to change because I know if I remain stuck I will become that boiled frog. Remaining stuck will do me greater harm than if I refuse to accept a situation which doesn’t serve my growth. It’s not possible to hold on if we know our greater good isn’t being served.
One of the hardest lessons I’ve learnt is that life doesn’t always turn out the way I want. People die, marriages end in divorce, children leave, people let us down and our dreams don’t always come true. As someone with 60 years of experience, I’ve realised that loss is a part of life. Yet, through it all, I have learnt to surrender and allow situations to naturally unfold and enable change to guide me as I learn the tough lessons of life.
The message from all of this is to meet life in whatever form it appears and take a leap of faith. Faith in the future, faith in new possibilities and a realisation our experiences couldn’t have happened in any other way than they did.
It takes courage and strength to keep the faith when the unexpected happens and to understand every experience is guiding us to learn the essence of our true great nature.
A frog knows what it must do to survive and so do you.
