impulsive solutions

this is a zen tale that I use to tell in class and it’s been so long now I can’t recall if this was one of my originals or not, however it feels as though it is and the lesson is one I reflect upon quite often, (~_*)

A mother squirrel built her nest, next to the ocean. A cool breeze from the sea was a nice touch to the hot days in the sun. A tree at the ocean’s edge had a limb that extended out with a glorious view of the beach, ocean and in-land forest. So she built her a home there, on an outer limb over the ocean.

She had a litter of baby squirrels and one day went off as usual to dig and forage for something to eat. While she was gone, the oceans swells got rather large and rose up and whisked the baby squirrel nest away. Floating away with the tide was the nest and the babies.

Momma squirrel heard the ruckus and babies chattered screams and came running to find her babies drifting away to sea. In her haste, not knowing what to do, she went to the oceans edge and started swatting at the water and throwing the water onto the bank. An attempt to drain the sea? What else could she do? Swatting in a frenzy, splashing the water onto the sand as fast as she could but it was futile.

A fox came strolling up and saw the dilemma, ran out on the tree limb over looking the ocean and broke a limb off, jumped in the water and used it to float to the babies then swam back to the mother and the babies were safe.

moral: sometimes our first impulse, energies and actions may not be the right one for the job <grin> even though the heart is in the right place, our immediate response may not be the correct solution!