The Lion Amongst The Sheep – Life Lessons
Long ago, deep in the jungles lived a great community of Lions.
Many lions lived freely and happily in that community. They would get together for food and adventure. Exploring every bit of the beautiful, rich jungle around them.
Brave, courageous, and fearless, they were dubbed as the Kings and Queens of the jungle. Highly respected for their confident and powerful spirit.
Their toughness against the harsh weathers of the jungle was unmatchable.
Many animals were discreet and afraid to express their voices in the fear that some other animal might attack them.
But not the Lions.
Their roars reached far into the jungle. Their expression was free from any fears or insecurities.
The Lions constantly pushed themselves out of comfort. They knew that if they want to thrive, they need to take risks.
Hunting was never easy. It was fierce, intense, and very uncomfortable.
There were no guarantees whether they’ll get the target after all this struggle or not.
Sometimes they would end up empty-handed after utterly exhausting themselves in the hunt. But this was part of their existence.
They rested, rose up, and planned another hunt.
Yet with all the power and fearlessness, the Lions were modest in the use of their power and strength.
They would never abuse their power to harm the jungle, nor abuse their loud roars to disturb the peace.
Even the smallest of animals felt secure around these mighty creatures.
The Lions knew their worth, hence they didn’t have the need to compete or show their power off to anyone.
They had this calm, relaxed, and secure aura about them which is a sign of deep inner harmony and great wisdom.
Then one day, the jungle was hit by a large group of people who were professional hunters. There was absolute mayhem.
The hunters targeted any living creature they saw profitable. But their main target was this community of Lions.
The Lions were informed of their arrival. While many of them decided to hold their ground and fight back, some elder Lions suggested that some of them, especially the females, infants and some younger adults should leave this place, travel far, and rebuild this community.
The wise advice of the elder Lions made sense. The future of the community must be protected.
Many lions took their young ones and started their journey, while the rest fought for their lives and the lives of others.
Among the lions who were migrating, was a mother who had an infant that was born just a few hours ago. Needless to say, the cub was very small and the mother was tired and weak.
This drastically slowed them and soon enough they were left behind, alone and vulnerable.
Some of the hunters were on a search for the rest of the lions. The loud noises of the hunters yelling, running, hacking and chopping the branches.
The mother could hear them close.
She knew they wouldn’t make it.
So the mother in a desperate attempt to save the baby threw it in the bushes and disappeared.
The baby lion stayed and slept in those bushes that night.
As the sun rose bright and clear, it was a new day.
The mayhem seems to be over. There was silence in the jungle. No roars to be heard.
Even the birds were quiet after what had happened the day before.
The baby lion woke up and got out of the bushes. Not knowing what had happened, where he was, and who he belonged to.
He didn’t remember anything, not even his parents.
He was just a newborn, so it seemed understandable.
With his weak little legs, he ventured out to explore.
Not knowing his way around, after several hours of walking in random directions, he unintentionally got out of the jungle and into the nearby grasslands.
A herd of sheep that
The baby lion immediately felt a sense of company and belongingness.
He began to live with the herd and became a part of it.
Over a period of time, the lion cub learned to “baa” and bleat like all the other sheep.
He learned to graze and developed some understanding of the grasslands.
The sheep would always go to the same place to graze and had the same exact routine every single day. Never did they ever ventured out into the unknown lands out of the fear of the unknown.
Under the influence of the sheep, he unconsciously learned to be scared of the predators.
Whenever he would go out to graze, he would be anxious and afraid of the dangers of wild and fierce animals. The howls of the wolves and the barks of the wild dogs made him nervous and fearful.
Among the sheep, he was not allowed to be curious and exploratory because it was just too “dangerous” out there.
For his food – which was grass and leaves – he was at the mercy of the weather.
Whenever the grasslands were flooded after heavy rainfall, he would just sit and wait for the water to drain so he could have the “chance” and the “opportunity” to feed upon whatever little grass was left behind.
But even that too was dependent upon whether if all the other sheep would go out with him or not.
If the rest of the sheep decided to stay in the safe zone and do nothing, he would just follow their lead.
Soon this juvenile cub grew into a massive Lion, and the fears, anxiety, insecurities, and the social dependencies grew with him.
It was a strange sight to see this big, massive lion baa-ing, bleating, and grazing with the sheep.
Then one day, a group of lions who were on the hunt discovered this herd of sheep.
The lions attacked and within a few moments all the sheep were slaughtered but one. It was the Lion that was amongst the sheep.
The other lions were baffled and confused as to why this fellow Lion was so scared and running away from them.
One lion caught him and asked if he was okay.
The sheeple Lion replied: “Baa…baa…baa”
This infuriated the other lions and they roared: “What in the world is wrong with you!?”
One of the lions came forward and shoved some raw meat into his mouth.
This was a very strange experience for the sheeple Lion. He never before had ever tasted meat.
As the meat went down his throat…something shifted inside of him.
All of the sudden he discovered who he was meant to be and then he did something that he never did before.
He ROARED! He roared out loud!
It was so loud that the inhabitants of the nearby jungle herd his roar.
It was a long time since they heard any roar of their famous Lion community whom they respected from the depth of their hearts.
This Lion was no sheeple lion anymore. He knew his purpose. He knew what he was born to do.
The inner adventurous, brave, and fearless Lion came out of him.
We all have a Lion hidden inside of us. We also have hunters and sheep in our lives as well, don’t we?
Everyone has a different way of relating, so I’ll leave it open for you to dissect and interpret. Let this be food for thought.
Till another article, another guide.
