By Dr NV Palkar, Anesthesiologist, Florida,USA
This is a Biblical story. Many versions of the story may exist because it has been narrated by various people over the centuries. The story I know was told to me by a colleague of mine about thirty years ago, and I will tell you the story in my own words as I remember.
It was a pleasant early morning and a landlord was happily sitting on his front porch when a poor man walked up to him.
The poor man said, “Sir if I work on your farm all day today and do everything you tell me to do, will you give me a penny?”
The landlord said yes, and showed him whatever there was to be done.
A few hours later, another poor man walked up to him and said “Sir, if I work on your farm all day today and do everything you tell me to do, will you give me a penny?”.
The landlord said yes, and showed him whatever there was to be done.
It was late afternoon when a third poor man walked up to him and said, “Sir, if I work on your farm and do everything you tell me to do, will you give me a penny?
The landlord said yes, and showed him whatever there was to be done.
The sun was about to set when all three poor men finished their work and walked up to the landlord. The landlord gave each one their money. All three men were very pleased and thanked the landlord profusely.
They started walking away and after they barely went a few yards, they compared with one another what they had received for their day’s work. They got very angry and walked straight back to the landlord.
The first poor man said, “Sir, didn’t I work from morning till dusk and get a penny and these other men came after me and they also got a penny?”
The second poor man said, “Sir, I worked all these hours and I got a penny and this third man came much later and he also got a penny?“
The third poor man said, “Sir, I did all the heavy work and I got a penny and these other men did the easy work and they also got a penny?“
The landlord quietly replied. Didn’t each of you come to me and say if I do everything you tell me to do, will you give me a penny? And, didn’t I give you exactly what you asked for?
The three men walked away.
What is the moral of the story?
Even when we get what we asked for, we are not necessarily happy because we compare ourselves with others and think we got less than we deserve.
Shashi
( The author’s first name is Shashi)
Only headline and photographs might have been reworked by the team hubliexpress.com
