143 🦊 The Centipede and the Frog
There once lived a centipede, happily strolling along.
He ran into a frog, who stopped him in his tracks and asked, “How do you decide which leg to move first?”
At this, the centipede pondered, and pondered, and pondered…
The frog was long gone, and the centipede found himself stuck, sinking in a ditch.
Feeling hopeless, the centipede looked around, until he saw a flower in the distance. Its leaves of tantalizing green captivated him so fully, that he forgot the frog’s question entirely.
The next moment, he was upon the flower, deftly climbing around its thorns, chomping leaves with delight.
And so, the centipede learned to avoid the frog.
Thankfully, he never remembered why.
This fable is based on a short Taoist tale shared by Alan Watts in his book Way of Zen. Here it is scribbled in my journal along with a little sketch:
“The centipede was happy, quite,
Until a toad in fun
Said, “Pray, which leg goes after which?”
This worked his mind to such a pitch,
He lay distracted in a ditch,
Considering how to run.”
In the first chapter of the book, Watts describes an essential principle of Taoism—to avoid forcing things, to let things flow naturally, and embrace the way of nature.
Too often, we find ourselves stuck in overthinking mode, rather than letting our gut, intuition, and natural tendencies take over.
Now, dear friend, do not ponder this tale too much, lest you find yourself stuck in a ditch!
P.S. In case you missed it: I published an essay on my wild and wonderful experience looking into the eyes of a wolf named Keyni. I explored the history on the almost-extinction of wolves, along with the ongoing recovery efforts to save them. It’s an important story—we must understand and protect these beautiful creatures.
I looked a wolf in the eyes
The moment I looked eye to eye with a wolf, and the truth behind the ugly myths that haunted the wolves in America.
I still have goosebumps from those howls!