{"id":448,"date":"2022-05-01T10:36:36","date_gmt":"2022-05-01T10:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/qsconsultants.in\/blog\/?p=448"},"modified":"2022-05-01T10:36:37","modified_gmt":"2022-05-01T10:36:37","slug":"after-a-swim-idries-shah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qsconsultants.in\/blog\/after-a-swim-idries-shah\/","title":{"rendered":"After a Swim \u2013 Idries Shah"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Namaste, Welcome to SAM-VAD (Together In Conversation), as we begin today \u2018let us remember this about \u2018Attention\u2019.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our life experience would ultimately amount to whatever we had paid attention to. Attention: is important and most of the times we are so indifferent to it. It is as fundamental as food; and we go blundering about, seeking ways to assuage the craving, instead of learning how to provide ourselves with what we need, sensibly and calmly. We feed the hunger blindly. Once the mechanism is brought to our attention and we begin to study it, it is as if a veil has been stripped off ordinary life, and we become freer in our action and choices.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are all limited by our habits and if we are captive to our poor behaviour and make excuses, no amount of ambition, innovation or motivation will be of any use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week I bring to your attention a tale titled \u2018After a Swim\u2019 by Idries Shah. This tale draws our attention to such a situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After A Swim<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once upon a time there was a cat that lived in a field beside a wide, wide river. He often wished that he could swim because, that way, he might cross the river, reaching the large and well-stocked pigeon-house, which was on the other side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cat spoke to the horse, \u2018If only I knew who could swim and who liked sweet juicy corn,\u2019 as that delectable golden corn is really wasted on those fat foolish pigeons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018What a coincidence\u2019, said the horse. \u2018I\u2019m thinking of swimming across the river, to graze on some of that lovely ripening corn on the other side.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Picturing the feast he would have the cat made a proposition. \u2018Perhaps you could take me along on your back?\u2019 and in next to no time the horse and the cat were in the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the opposite bank, the horse slowly started to graze. While the cat immediately leapt upon the pigeons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In just a few a seconds, the cat had caught several birds. In a few seconds more, he had gorged himself. And in a matter of minutes he was fit to burst.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unable to eat another mouthful, the cat started to yowl as loud as he could. \u2018What delicious birds those were!\u2019 he sobbed. \u2018Shhh!\u2019 cried the horse, still munching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the cat kept on making a terrible din. \u2018Keep the noise down!\u2019 hissed the horse, his mouth full of corn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018The villagers will come out, if they hear this awful racket. And they will do us all sorts of harm!\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the cat kept on yowling on the top of his voice. \u2018Please stop it!\u2019 gasped the horse. \u2018You don\u2019t understand the damage you are doing\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018I simply cannot help it, my friend,\u2019 screeched the cat, the tears still streaming from his eyes. \u2018I always do this after I have eaten; It\u2019s simply the way I am.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The horse was extremely annoyed. It took him longer than the cat to eat his fill. And he was not yet ready to leave the delicious cornfield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the cat continued to caterwaul. And it wasn\u2019t long before the villagers heard his cries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

They came charging into the cornfield, brandishing sticks and hurling stones, giving the horse no option but to stop eating. With the cat on his back, he fled across the river once more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u2018You\u2019ve ruined everything!\u2019 the horse complained to his companion. \u2018Now we can\u2019t go back, and I am still hungry.\u2019 \u2018I have told you,\u2019 gasped the dripping feline, as they scrambled up the river bank. \u2018It is simply the way I am. It\u2019s a habit I have.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suddenly, the horse dropped to the ground. And started to roll on the grass\u2026trapping the cat beneath him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Stop it!\u2019 gasped the cat. \u2018You are squashing me!\u2019 \u2018I can feel my backbone crunching!\u2019 \u2018You don\u2019t understand the damage you are doing\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Oh well, my friend,\u2019 whinnied the horse. \u2018It is simply the way I am. It\u2019s a habit I have.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am sure that you will enjoy reading this wonderfully illustrated book; you can buy your copy from the following link<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/idriesshahfoundation.org\/books\/after-a-swim\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enjoy reading it with your family, friends and near and dear one\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before concluding today\u2019s episode please pay attention to these words of a Storyteller.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My stories require, at this stage, no extra commentary, imaginings, or guesswork by you, me, or anyone else. The very worst would be that of moralizing. To explain away is to forget. Thus, let the stories which you can remember do their own work by their very diversity. Familiarize yourself with them.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concluding today\u2019s post and podcast episode, I thank all who take time out and read (the blog post) and listen to the episodes each week. For those who listen and have not subscribed to the podcast I suggest you do and click on the bell icon so that you can be notified for all the new episodes that get uploaded every week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Namaste.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/qsconsultants.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/After-A-Swim-Idries-Shah.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div>

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Namaste, Welcome to SAM-VAD (Together In Conversation), as we begin today \u2018let us remember this about \u2018Attention\u2019. Our life experience would ultimately amount to whatever we had paid attention to. Attention: is important and most of the times we are so indifferent to it. It is as fundamental as food; and we go blundering about,   →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-human-pscyhology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qsconsultants.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qsconsultants.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qsconsultants.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qsconsultants.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qsconsultants.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=448"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/qsconsultants.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":450,"href":"https:\/\/qsconsultants.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/448\/revisions\/450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qsconsultants.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qsconsultants.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qsconsultants.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qsconsultants.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}