The Power of Distraction!

A man, in his late 50’s was seen sitting in a bar. From his mannerisms it appeared as though he was visiting the place for the first time. A concerned youngster approached him and asked him what the matter was.

The man was just waiting for someone to ask this question, before breaking down.

“Should we step outside and talk?” offered the young man.

Both men went out and took a stroll. They reached a public park, found a secluded place and sat on a bench put there for the purpose.

“Tell me Sir, what is troubling you?” the young man asked again.

“I have two sons and they keep fighting all the time. None of us are able to drive sense into their thick heads!” concluded the troubled man.

“Sir, if you don’t mind my saying this, I feel they have no real issues to think about. Their idle minds will thrash the same things over and over again”, the young man opined with caution.

“Though you are young I think you have hit the nail on its head. I always thought that wisdom was the function of age. If that is true, then seeing you I am tempted to say, that the two are inversely proportional!” said the man laughing loudly, a clear indication that his tension was on its way out!

The youngster joined the party, laughing with the older man.

After a while he continued.

“I have heard my grandmother telling us all a story. When an elephant is hurt on its back, close to its tail, it will keep swinging its tail over the wound. This made the wound worse and the elephant would swing its tail harder.

One farmer saw an elephant do this and cleverly made a wound on the middle of its back, where neither its trunk nor its tail reached!

For a long time the elephant tried reaching the new wound. Since the new wound was out of its reach it was more challenging and the big tusker kept persisting, until both wounds healed!”

When the young man completed the story, the older man was up on his feet. He took a bow to honour the young man’s grandmother.

“Creating a bigger challenge, will make my sons forget the smaller challenges over which they fight uselessly. I get the point and please thank your grandmother on my behalf” the old man said.

“She passed away yesterday and I visited the bar to forget the pain” said the young man, tears threatening to wet his cheeks.

The old man held the young man close to him.

“Old things have to give way to newer things. That is what life is all about. You have honoured your grandmother better by sharing her wisdom with me. Alcohol would have been a poor substitute” said the old man as they parted ways!