The grass is always greener on the other side. We think that our respective professions are the most challenging. But the truth is that our challenges appear big in our eyes and someone else’s challenges seem insignificant. Magnifying our problems and brushing aside the difficulties of others will lead to unhappiness, said M.A. Venkatakrishnan in a discourse.
There is a Panchatantra story about a washerman, his donkey and his dog. The donkey said to the dog, “You are lucky. You don’t have to carry loads of clothes. All you do is sleep the whole day and keep watch at night.” The dog said: “All you do is carry the load to the river and while the master washes clothes you sleep. Then you come back home, carrying the washed clothes and rest again. But I have to be vigilant all the time.”
So the two animals decided to swap duties. That night, the donkey sat up to guard its master’s possessions. A thief tried to sneak into the house, and the donkey brayed loudly to warn its master. The washerman, woken from sleep, scolded the donkey for disturbing him. The dog, meanwhile, slept peacefully, while the thief made away with what he had stolen. The next morning, the washerman discovered the theft and scolded the dog for being a useless guard. Thus the animals learnt that each job comes with responsibilities and difficulties.
We find fault with God for having made someone else’s life comfortable, while He has burdened us with problems. But it is not so at all. Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches and it is wrong to think that others have it easy while we ourselves suffer.
When something goes wrong in our lives, we blame the Supreme One. However, we are the ones to blame, for we face what we do in life because of our own actions.
