Opposition and Adversity

Opposition and Adversity

Once in a while, lemmings migrate. Then they have this fixed idea that the only way to go is forward, whether it goes up or down, without regard to the terrain.

If you put something in their way, they will not depart from their pre-set course; and if they cannot advance straight ahead, it is said that they get so mad that they burst.

People often display a certain similarity to the lemmings’ conduct. If they had gone out of the way a little bit and not been stiff and stubborn like a billy goat or like a lemming, they could have avoided much unnecessary opposition and adversity.

Many of our adversities and obstacles are not only the result of what we encounter on our way, they are also the result of our own peculiarities and self-importance, of our own fixed ideas.

By applying wisdom, humility, and flexibility, we avoid banging our head against the wall. Indeed, by applying these wonderful qualities, most opposition and adversities in daily life vanish miraculously.

Thus everything proceeds much better; you get further, you live longer, and you do not have to die before your time like a lemming.

How true Sirach’s words are: “Anger shortens your life, and anxiety makes you old before your time.”

When you say that everything is against you, the explanation may be that it is you who are against everything, like a lemming.