Give someone a fish, you feed them for a day, teach someone to fish, you feed them a lifetime.
A proverb, I’m sure many of you have heard, but did you know that there are many important lessons left out from the real story?
One day a young boy come back from a day of fishing, as he approached the entrance of his village, a hungry beggar appeared. Feeling sorry for the man, the boy shared his catch. The beggar quickly, prepared, cooked, and ate on the spot. The boy fed the man for a day and save him from hunger.
Feeling great that he did something good, the boy joyfully heading home, and tell his neighbour about his deed.
“You’re only feed him for a day, what the man really need is a tool to feed himself for a lifetime” The neighbour replied, “we should give him a fishing rod.”
The next day, the boy and his neighbour, on their way home from fishing, the same beggar stood at the entrance, this time, the young boy give the man a fish, and his neighbour gift his rod to the beggar. Both merrily heading home, but they stumbled upon a friend, and the boys retold the story excitedly. The friend shakes his head in disagreement.
“What you did was great, but if you don’t show the man how to fish, what good does it do?” the friend asked.
The following day, three boys come back from fishing, the same beggar, once again stood at the entrance. The first boy, give him another fish, the second inspecting the rod, and the third, show the man how to fish. After a while, the three boys, head home feeling wholesome believing that they have changed a life for the better. On the way they met a wiseman, and they all excitedly repeat the story to him.
The wiseman shook his head in disagreement upon hearing the story. “What you did are correct, but you left out few important elements.” The wiseman said.
“You give the beggar, the tool and the necessary skills to fish, but that is not enough.”
“You see, that beggar, in his mind, all his life, the first thing he think when he wakes up to the last thought before he go to bed is – begging to be fed, instead of working for your meal. And that thinking have been ingrained in his mindset.”
“So, the first thing you should teach the beggar is to change his thinking.”
“The second, you know fishing is an art, you can’t expect a catch with every cast. You have to spend, many hours even a whole day. The second lesson is he needs to learn to be patience.”
“The third, and most important, you need to teach him in believing in himself, believing in that he can change the course of his life. You see, that beggar right now, in his thought, he believes he has no skill, and life have been destined to be a beggar. He has no other choice but to live the life that have been written. You can give someone all the necessary tools and skills, but if you’re unable to believe in oneself, all that would be for nothing.”
The three boys, listen tentatively, and request the wiseman to help the beggar, change his thought. The wiseman thought for a while, then decline.
“You see, one’s thought is impacted by society, family, and the education system. It must be practice everyday by oneself. You have to understand, thought turn into action, action become habit, and eventually habit defined your destiny.”
What the story teach us is that our attitude will shape us into who we are. In life as you get higher your attitude and skills play an important factors. And those factor will make you integrate easily into a new country like Canada, regardless of what you have, or who you are, if you are unable to change your mind set, you will never be successful.
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