Episode 54: Ego Death by Story: Wisdom Loves Peace

Synopsis

Today we have something really special. I create in 9’s, so every 9th show closes a cycle, completes a minor journey in our great journey together.
This is a universal truth: completion allows new beginnings. Death is a vital part of life, not something to fear.

Some of us had someone to read us stories when we were little. Some of us didn’t. What I’d like to do is give 9th shows over to the telling of classic children’s stories. All you have to do is show up, sit back, and prepare to enjoy.

I hope by reading you a story today you can receive something beloved but forgotten; maybe you can recover something that was once thought to be lost forever.

For everyone who's paid the fee that comfort exacts, today's story is about cherishing our liberty, being proactive with gratitude, and the wisdom it takes to appreciate peace. I share with you today, Aesop's Fable, The Frogs Who Wanted a King.

Show Notes

The Frogs were tired of governing themselves. They had so much freedom that it had spoiled them, and they did nothing but sit around croaking in a bored manner and wishing for a government that could entertain them with the pomp and display of royalty, and rule them in a way to make them know they were being ruled. No milk and water government for them, they declared. So they sent a petition to Jupiter asking for a king.

Jupiter saw what simple and foolish creatures they were, but to keep them quiet and make them think they had a king he threw down a huge log, which fell into the water with a great splash. The Frogs hid themselves among the reeds and grasses, thinking the new king to be some fearful giant. But they soon discovered how tame and peaceable King Log was. In a short time the younger Frogs were using him for a diving platform, while the older Frogs made him a meeting place, where they complained loudly to Jupiter about the government.

To teach the Frogs a lesson the ruler of the gods now sent a Crane to be king of Frogland. The Crane proved to be a very different sort of king from old King Log. He gobbled up the poor Frogs right and left and they soon saw what fools they had been. In mournful croaks they begged Jupiter to take away the cruel tyrant before they should all be destroyed.

"How now!" cried Jupiter "Are you not yet content? You have what you asked for and so you have only yourselves to blame for your misfortunes."