There is an ancient Chinese parable about a man running through the forest as he is being chased by a Tiger… the only escape from this tiger is jumping over a cliff face and climbing down a vine that is the only source of support. As the man climbs down the vine, he sees another tiger prowling around the bottom, awaiting the mans imminent arrival. As the man realises he doesn’t have much choice, he observes two rats, one black, one white, just above where he is holding on to the vine gnawing away – so not only is their a chance of death at the bottom with the waiting tiger, but the rats could expedite the process by chewing through enough so the vine breaks.
The man tries to ward the rats away, but this is no use, it looks as though his doom is imminent. As the man comes to this realisation, he notices a plant sticking out of the cliff just next to him – it is a beautiful, ripe, red strawberry – the man lets go of the vine with one hand, plucks the strawberry and tastes it. It is the most beautiful piece of fruit he has ever had, and he enjoys it immensely.
I turned 23 today, and I am trying to pluck the strawberry and enjoy it to the fullest. To pluck the strawberry is a euphemism for seizing the moment. The vine represents our lives. The Tiger at the top of the cliff represents our past, and the Tiger at the bottom represents our mortality. The white and black rats represent the cyclical nature of day and night – omnipresent. As I reflect on my life thus far, only a quarter down the vine, I try not to worry about the spectres of my past or the jaws of the future – It is important for me to notice the strawberries and grasp them.
If we hold on to the vine to tightly to hold on to our past, we don’t have the awareness or desire to reach out and take that marvellous fruit of our lives – the same goes for the fear of falling to the Tiger at the bottom, reaching out and plucking the strawberry is one thing, but having the presence of mind to notice it is a trick in itself.
23 is a great age, and I am noticing strawberries a plenty during my predestined trail down the vine. Opportunities are presenting themselves every single day, and whilst the awareness of the Tiger at the top of the cliff determines a pensive approach to some strawberries, it is important that I let go of the vine, even for just a moment to recognise these opportunities to their full potential. It is no use to grasp a part of a Strawberry because of fear of the future or regrets of the past.
Next time you feel as though you are getting no where in your life, and you are clutching at straws, maybe rephrase that, and remember to pluck at strawberries. It is impossible to ‘have’ our past, and it is impossible to ‘have’ our future, all we have is the moment we are living in, and it’s up to us to seize that moment. I am learning life is just a series of moments, moments that we share with each other and make our own