The Illusion of Reflection | A Powerful Moral Story About Perspective

Sometimes we don't see the truth. We may spend a lot of time chasing an illusion simply because we fail to look at things from the right perspective.

The Story

A long time ago, a king gave his daughter, the princess, a lovely diamond necklace. One day, the necklace was stolen. The king looked in every corner but he couldn't find it. He offered a big prize for anyone who would find it.

A clerk was strolling along a polluted river, adjacent to a factory. Then he saw something gleaming in the mucky water. It was a match for the missing diamond necklace.

When he heard about the reward, he was filled with excitement and rushed over to the filthy river to attempt to take it. However, every time he would attempt to reach it, the necklace would slip away from him.

He attempted to do it over and over again. He even ploughed into the dirty water and looked around thoroughly, but he didn't find it.

He was frustrated and disappointed, and finally emerged from the river.

As he was going along, a good saint passed by and asked him what had happened. The clerk at first was afraid to say anything to him. Later, he told them all this.

The saint said, "Why look inside the river when you can look up at the river?

To his surprise, he saw the real diamond necklace hanging from a branch of a tree. When he looked in the water, he saw a shiny picture reflected back at him.

He had been looking for too long in the wrong direction because of his lack of critical thinking.

Moral of the Story

But not all that we see is the truth. But sometimes, we need to take a different view on things to see what is really going on.

Life Lessons

•Don't assume: Don't make assumptions about what may be obvious.

•Avoid chasing false dreams; put in extra effort only if you're going in the right direction.

•Shift your point of view: If it doesn't work, think about it differently.