Donkey Fable

An old man takes a small boy on a trip.
The man hoists the boy onto a donkey
while he leads the animal on foot.

Soon they come upon a man,
who chides the boy for showing no respect to his elders,
so the boy dismounts the donkey and the old man climbs aboard.

Later they come upon a young women,
who chides the old man for riding while the child walks,
so the old man hoists the boy up along side him.

Next they come upon a women
who derides them both for placing such a burden upon a poor animal,
so they both get off and walk alongside the donkey.

Still later they come upon a philosopher,
who shakes his head in dismay
that anyone could be so stupid to walk
when they had a donkey to ride.

 

It is important to have a philosophy, know what it is, and use it.

Everyone has theories and differ not in whether they use theory
but in the degree to which they are aware of the theory they use.
Nathaniel Lees Gage