The Leap or Weep of a frog!

Aadhira

This is just a hypothetical story!

Take a pan of plain water filled half way. Drop a live frog into it. Let it be there for a while to get it settled. Now keep the pan on stove with the frog for heating. Let the heat rise slowly. The frog will still be settled in and not suspecting of your murderous plan. As the heat level increases, very slowly, the frog begins to realize and it will still find ways to be within the pan and start to adapt to the mild heat. At some point, it would even get cozy and well settled. As the heat builds higher and higher, the dumb lazy frog still wriggle and stay in. Only when it becomes totally unbearable, it starts to leap out. But the heat had already taken its toll from the frog and the strength to leap has evaporated!

I stop my story there, so you could either let the poor frog live or let the water to boil further and watch it die.

The following is not so hypothetical!!

What has made the frog suffer?
Did I hear your mind voice saying, the cruel heating the pan with the frog?
Oh, dear friend, why would you blame yourself?
It was an open pan and there were no other restraints on the frog. Let you wash off that non-existent guilt.
So what is the reason then?
The frog had the opportunity to jump off, when you started to heat it. It relished and relaxed in it. It never foresee the trouble nor doubt its ability to jump. It is the sheer miscalculation of the situation and self.

Since I hear your mind voice accepting to this fact, let’s move on to the final part.

Frog in Water

The frog in the water or Cat on the wall?

Now we are gonna role play.

The pan accepted to be the comfort zone.
The water is to play the pressures of wealth, health, physical and otherwise.
While the heat graciously accepted to be the time factor along with situational changes.
Now we need a player for the frog.
Since you have been reading through this story looking for something or just killing your time, you are unanimously chosen to be the frog.

Dear chosen one, now it’s you in the pan and the water is heating up. Are you gonna relish the gradual change while ignoring the threat, or gonna leap out of the pan before your strength becomes your weakness?

Dear frog, go leap now,
Out of the comfort zone
And achieve your dreams,
Rather than weep later
Losing the strengths!

34 thoughts on “The Leap or Weep of a frog!”

  1. Oh yes, that is correct. I was the frog too. However, I still can conjure up the strength to leap out. Maybe not too far, but out of the pan, at least. This is a beautiful parable. But in real world terms, there is another reason for the frog to stay in the pan. Heating the water really does make it comfortable for a while. But when it gets too hot, remember that their instinct to cool off their bodies is to remain in water. Conflicting signals. They come out in the sun to warm up because they cannot regulate their body temperature. They get back into the water once their bodies are too warm. In this case, a very confusing situation where they think they have to remain in water to cool down and yet the contradiction of the hot water escapes their tiny minds.
    I am half tempted to ask you if you tried this out yourself 🙂 All in the name of science, I hope. hehehe..
    Nah, just kidding. But where did you get the idea? If from elsewhere, who was this genius who parboiled a frog in a pan to test this theory? Genius, I bet. (You??).

    On a metaphysical or metaphorical level I understand your story and its meaning. Even I chose to be the frog who never emigrated, wanted to stay in my little village, never wanted to achieve anything etc etc. But, I have no regrets. If it is my fate to be boiled alive like that frog, so be it. But I can at least try to make a leap within the boundaries of my enclosed existence and make it slightly better for myself. I hope. Thank you for this beautiful lesson. I hope that other, wiser and more ambitious, people take this to heart.

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    1. First thanks for typing out such a long thought-filled reply!! Such replies and these conversations are my boost to take the next step!!

      I get the contrasting ideas the frog would have.. To jump or to stay.. But I could never ever think of someone actually trying this out, even in the name of science.. Let the poor creature live and I sincerely hope that no one has tried this out because of this parable too!! 😉

      There was a similar story making rounds in the social media platforms and this one intrigued me and was inspired by that.. But since it was a share to me over message, I could not identify the source and get confirmed that (s)he did not do anything to the frog..

      You started out saying, I could jump out.. I will tell you out of experience, the leap is not that easy as in our mind! We can have all the confidence on our strength, but when the timing is not right, we cannot leap! (It is not impossible, I agree!)

      It is not at all wrong to be within a pan, as long as you know it is just a pan, there is a whole big outside and yet you are content with the little pan. The problem arises only when the frog within the pan believes, that is the entire world.. (This one is from Swami Vivekananda 😉 )

      To Sum up, be happy and content where ever you are, but not succumb to false comforts!! 😀

      Liked by 1 person

    2. I am twice as old as you, which makes it worse for me to start thinking of jumping out of the pan now hahaha…
      No, there is strength, always. I never underestimate or overestimate that. I was invalid for the last three years and went through hell and came out unscathed. Ok, maybe bruised a little. But I have learned to cope with the pain and I have learned to grit my teeth and do things on my own. It took me a while, but I guess it was all in the mind. Even pain is just a thought, not really a real thing. So, yes, there is strength. It is not foolish confidence, but a quiet reserve that was meant for such crises. 🙂

      Take care. Good to hear from you.

      Liked by 1 person

    3. I don’t get the connection between age and thinking of jumping out now.. I believe there is no wrong time to start a right thing..

      But, I was under the impression that you are settled in the place you wanted to be, rather than in just some imaginary comfort zone.. So I couldn’t understand why you should be thinking of jumping at all.. 🙂

      I was reminded of two quotes while reading your comment.. “The pain is just a memory”- JK and “You never learn to use your complete power unless it is the only way ahead” – Not sure where I heard this..

      Now this quotes have more meaning to me.. 🙂

      Thank you so much for writing for me here.. It really means a lot to me.. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Food For Thought!!
    Great Post!
    Quiet Interesting how the frog is always taken as a bad example always in the popular culture!
    The KUPAMANDUKA, THAVALAI THAN VAAYAL KEDUM, and the SARDARJI JOKES (with all due respect to SARDARS) !!

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    1. Thank you!! 🙂

      It’s not just the popular culture.. The frog in the well is retold by Vivekanandar to let it go for another round, while the “Nunalum than vaayal kedum” is around since the golden age!! Seems the poor creature is not so poorly used in literatures.. 😉 😀

      Let us view that as the wise teacher!! 😛 Who teaches us lessons from it’s own stupidity..

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  5. Yes it is a popular fable and I remember someone told this story to me. So who is at mistake here. Frog ? Frog is just an animal with 5 sense 😛 But Humans will act promptly in such a situation 😛 #JustKidding Hehe

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    1. Do we really use that sixth sense is the billion dollar question here.. And even the frog has the sense to preserve itself in times of danger.. But the timing makes us human than a creature with six senses!!

      Thanks for stopping by and recording your views.. 🙂

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    12. It is as if you had never gone, you simply are and will be, forever looking over my shoulder, and watching to catch my feet in a stumble so that you might catch me , then set my feet back on the straight and narrow, so that you might then watch me dodder off into the twilight, existing only for your personal delight ! ; )

      Liked by 1 person

    4. You are too kind ! You should at least wait until the “victor” has doddered off to his mat before throwing such doubting facts beneath his unsteady feet ! Thank you for gloating so easily at my expense ! Good night, little one ! ; )

      Liked by 1 person

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