You Can't Make Everyone Happy

I read an interesting article in the "Asian Voice" newspaper not too long ago. It was written by a 9 year old boy who had attended the "Learning through Eastern Wisdom" seminar. Although he admitted to the seminar being more beneficial for those older than him, he also went on to talk about what he had learnt from there. One such case was learning how in life, one cannot make everyone they encounter happy. I've written what I can remember from the story which he told.

Once, a father and his son were looking to sell their donkey to raise some money to support the family. They had to travel through 5 villages in order to sell the donkey, so they set off on their travels.

They left home, the father and the son walking beside the donkey. After going through the first village, a villager said,

"Look at that poor boy being forced to walk alongside the donkey". The father heard this and promptly told his son to sit on the donkey whilst they continued on their journey.

Whilst entering the second village, another villager said,

"Look at that poor man. He must walk whilst his son rides on the donkey." The son heard this and jumped off the donkey, and told his father to sit on the donkey.

They then approaced the third village, where yet another villager said,

"Look at that poor boy, being forced to walk beside the donkey whilst his father sits on it." Having heard this the father told his son to sit on the donkey with him.

When they got to the fourth village, another villager was heard saying,

"Look at that poor donkey being forced to bear the weight of both father and son in this heat." Both father and son heard this, so they got off the donkey, tied up its legs and carried it on their shoulders.

Whilst approaching the fifth village, the father and son were crossing a bridge, but the weight of the donkey became too much and they slipped and the donkey fell off the bridge. Subsequently, the father and son who had been trying to please all the villagers, were left without a donkey and nothing to show for it.

This story goes a long way to show us that in life, we can't always please everyone, because in the end it will backfire on us. We should do what we feel is best, and what we feel comfortable doing, because at the end of the day we live our lives for ourselves - not for others.