A Paradigm Story
I saw this maybe a hundred years ago and heartily laughed as I read it. And I have laughed every time since. And what's best about it; it needs very little explanation or discussion to understand the message, and once you have read it, you will never forget it!
The Pig and the Sow
Once upon a time, there was a man who had a cabin in the mountains and a Porsche to get there. Every Saturday morning, he would drive up to his cabin on a very dangerous road filled with blind curves, unguarded drop-offs, and tricky turns.
But this man was not bothered by danger. After all, he had a great car to drive, he was an excellent driver, and he knew the road like the back of his hand.
One fine Saturday morning, he was driving to his cabin. He was coming up to one of his favorite blind curves. He slowed down, shifted gears, and put on the brakes in preparation for the turn that was about two hundred yards away. All of a sudden, from around that curve, came a car careening almost out of control! The car nearly went off the cliff but, at the last second, its driver pulled the car back onto the road. The car swerved into his lane, then back into its lane, then back into his lane again.
My God, he thought, I am going to be hit! So he slowed almost to a stop.
The car came roaring on toward him, swerving back and forth. Just before it was about to hit him—at the last moment—it swung back into its lane. As it went past him, a beautiful woman stuck her head out the window of the car and yelled at him at the top of her lungs, "PIG!!"
What? he thought; how dare she call me that! He was incensed by her accusation! Instantly he yelled after her, "SOW!!" as she continued down the road.
"I was in my lane! She was the one who was all over the place!" he muttered to himself. Then he began to get control of his rage; he smiled and was pleased that at least she didn't get away without his stinging retort. He'd gotten her good, he thought smugly.
And with that, he put the accelerator to the floor, raced around that blind curve...and ran into the pig!"
What is the moral of the story?
I think it's "Don't take everything you hear at face value."
What are your thoughts?
https://vialogue.files.wordpress.com/2015/12/the-pig-and-the-sow.pdfc