Fox is a carnivorous animal related
to the dog family. They have active agile mind, with a reputation to be sly and
manipulative. Its survival tool is its cleverness and sharp brain power. It has
the power to impress everybody claiming that it can outsmart others. It is
considered to be very cunning and likes to explore forbidden places. It is
flamboyant and considers itself to be very handsome. It is very ambitious and
competitive in nature. While thinking of a fox we are reminded of the following
Aesop fable titled “the fox and the grapes” generally told to us when we were
kids.
One hot summer day, a fox was looking for food. He roamed about for a
long time but could get nothing. His stomach growled in hunger and his throat
was dry with thirst. He saw a bunch of ripe, juicy grapes on a vine hanging
high on a branch. His mouth watered at the sight. Moving back a few paces, he
jumped high to get hold of the grapes. But the grapes were too high for him to
reach. He tried again and again but failed each time. Finally he grew tired and
walked away saying, “I’m sure these grapes are sour. So I don’t want them
anymore.”
A crow sitting on a tree, nearby laughed at the fox for showing
disinterest because he was unable to get what he wanted.
Moral:
It’s easy to despise what you cannot
have.
I just wanted
to analyze this story differently.
Each one of us
works hard day and night, rich or poor, to satiate hunger.
This is the
basic instinct which every living being recognizes the minute they come to
life.
As kids we are
taken care of and nurtured by our parents. As we come of age to take care of
our self we are left of search for our own food.
We develop
desires and become ambitious. We come across “ripe, juicy grapes” like
situations. Our visual sense and intelligence tells us that these are very high
and not easy to reach. But we want to give it a try. This story very
beautifully illustrates that we need to drive our self to reach the highs, not
turn away. We have to put in all our efforts use all our potentials to reach
the highest point of success. We may succeed but can also fail like the fox.
The fox teaches us that we need to try but not worry about the results.
This story
also explains that if we do not reach the “ripe grapes” (the cognition
dissonance) just turn away and state that “it was Sour”( dissonance resolved).
The message is it was not your fault but the “grapes” was not worthy of trying
anymore. The fox does not want to underestimate its potentials. Likewise we
need not underestimate our potentials, but we need to turn away and change our
ambitions and focus. Like the fox we must learn to dislike instantly what we
cannot get and to despise worthless things which we cannot have or reach. The
moral teaches us the method of how to become emotionally strong by walking away
towards other greener pastures. Blame the unreachable object not your efforts.
To understand
better about this behavior I scanned relevant articles in psychology. I stumbled into an article “Cognitive
Dissonance” written by Leon Festinger (1919-1989). He is the best know social
psychologist and professor who did his doctoral thesis under Kurt Lewin,
another prominent person in social psychologist.
Cognition is a
mental act or process of knowing, through perception, reasoning, intuition or judgment.
Dissonance generally used to mean harsh sound and lack of harmony in music, a
disagreeable auditory experience. Now to understand Cognitive Dissonance, it is the uneasiness and conflicts when the
mind is in conflict with the new information in comparison with the perceived
one. The fox perceived the grapes to be ripe and attainable but repeated trials
did not get him those grapes…..now his mind is in conflict. Then what are his
options of defenses to avoid a mental conflict are: to reject; to avoid the new
information and still continue; persuades himself that now conflict exist;
reconcile the differences to despise and walk away or think of anything to
avoid the conflict.
The fox despised
the unattainable grapes and walked away stating it was sour. What a brilliant
lesson from this simple Aesop tale. If the kids are explained this significance
probably we would not have not seen so many acts of frustration from the youth
in this turbulent society.
The crow’s
presence is a message that there are people like that to belittle your efforts,
scorn or mock at your attempts. It is a testing moment on the moral courage of the
individual. Just remember the words of Sigmund Freud, “If you can’t do it give
up”; just despise and move on.
The world will
open many more vintages with “ripe grapes”
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