It all started one lazy Sunday afternoon in a small town near Toronto in Canada. Two school-going friends had a crazy idea. The...
It
all started one lazy Sunday afternoon in a small town near Toronto in
Canada. Two school-going friends had a crazy idea. They rounded up three
goats from the neighbourhood and painted the number 1, 2 and 4 on their
sides. That night they let the goats loose inside their school
building.
The
next morning, when the authorities entered the school, they could smell
something was wrong. They soon saw goat droppings on the stairs and
near the entrance and realized that some goats had entered the building.
A search was immediately launched and very soon, the three goats were
found. But the authorities were worried, where was goat No. 3? They
spent the rest of the day looking for goat No.3. There was panic and
frustration. The school declared a holiday for the students. The
teachers, helpers and the canteen boy were all busy looking for the goat
No. 3, which, of course, was never found. Simply because it did not
exist.
We
are all like those folks in the school – we may have our own goats, but
are obviously looking for the elusive, missing, non-existent goat No.3.
So instead of making the most of what we have and focusing on our
strengths, we worry about the missing piece – our shortcomings.
Our
mind is so programmed to see the things to completion, a continuity and
a carry forwardness. If this is denied then the program gets messed up.
An absence of something is always larger than presence of something.