It is a part
of the moral from an Aesop fable that I remember from fourth class. The story is about a dhobi’s donkey who
envied the happy plight of his master’s dog.
In an effort to improve his own standing with the dhobi, he tried to imitate
the dog and eventually met with unhappy consequences. The story that I read concluded exactly in
this manner: “It was a sadder but wiser donkey
that slept in his stable that night.”
In my long life whenever I have had to taste the bitter fruits of my follies I have always drawn comfort from the plight of that poor donkey. I write this post as I am reminded of yet another of those instances from my life. This time around, though, I may well have crowned myself with the olive wreath for stupidity.
For many years to come, as I reflect on these past months involuntarily - I do pray that I will have the good sense to not reflect on them voluntarily – these embarrassing moments will keep coming back to my mind. I can only hope that the intensity of the feelings they stir up will slowly ebb away to a point where with the passage of time they will not matter to me anymore.
Exeunt Omnes from the stage that was this past year, as they say in old drama scripts.
I dedicate this piece to Surya and Rafsal, the two characters who make me still feel that after all what I attempted was not that despicable, even if it was not sagacious.
In my long life whenever I have had to taste the bitter fruits of my follies I have always drawn comfort from the plight of that poor donkey. I write this post as I am reminded of yet another of those instances from my life. This time around, though, I may well have crowned myself with the olive wreath for stupidity.
I write this as
a post script to a tale of foolishness and naivette. Through this edition I draw the curtain on a
year of misadventure, hoping never to repeat it. I hope to leave the year and its pesky
memories behind.
I hope to never
again do anything that will put at risk the dignity and self-esteem that the
Lord has bestowed on me in the form of an honourable academic position and the
head of a family that dotes on me. However
genuine or even noble my motives or intentions this is one line that I hope
never again to cross, to borrow a metaphor from the famous Jack Welch inspired integrity
statement of GE.For many years to come, as I reflect on these past months involuntarily - I do pray that I will have the good sense to not reflect on them voluntarily – these embarrassing moments will keep coming back to my mind. I can only hope that the intensity of the feelings they stir up will slowly ebb away to a point where with the passage of time they will not matter to me anymore.
Exeunt Omnes from the stage that was this past year, as they say in old drama scripts.
I dedicate this piece to Surya and Rafsal, the two characters who make me still feel that after all what I attempted was not that despicable, even if it was not sagacious.
Nanni…Namaskaaram…
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