Anecdotes - Adaptation

Written by Markus

October 2019

A beautiful story that applies to all our lives by Gaur Gopal Das. He tells:

“When Mr. Clark, a Scottish farmer, heard that the luxury liner Titanic was to make its very first voyage. Its maiden voyage from the United Kingdom to the United States of America.

He had a dream to be on that ship with his wife and his five children. He practically spent most of his life’s savings to buy tickets for his entire family. Non-refundable tickets.

Guess what, just a week before the Titanic made its way to America, one of Mr. Clark’s sons was bitten by a dog. The doctor recommended that the boy be quarantined for his own safety and for the safety of others around him.

Mrs Clark suggested that he and the other children actually make their way on the trip. But Mr Clark’s conscience didn’t allow him to leave his wife and his ill son behind.

Wednesday, the 10th of April, 1912, as the titanic sailed forth from England, Mr Clark stood there crying tears of disappointment and frustration. All his money was gone and none of them could make their way on the trip.

Just 5 days later, on Monday, the 15th of April, when Mr Clark heard news that the Titanic had sunk, collided with an iceberg, he started looking for the dog.

Where is the dog? I should worship the dog. I should offer respects to the dog. If the dog had not bitten my son, all of us in the family would be dead.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, isn’t it amazing how many plans we make and isn’t it a reality that not everything goes to according to our plans?

Just like in chess, we come prepared and have in mind what moves to make to win. But the reality is, once we make our move, we have no control over the moves our opponent will make. We have no idea that the opponent also has made his/her plan.

Whether it is the game of chess or the game of life, not everything goes according to what we envisioned in our lives. And this is why we need to go with the flow. To not be rigid about what we had decided. To learn to change our strategy as per the need of moment.

Ladies and gentlemen, adjust your plans. Adapt to the challenges that life is throwing at you. Adopt new strategies to match those of your opponent. In life, apply the greatest virtue of flexibility. Don’t be rigid. Let’s learn from a river. As she flows down the mountain to reach the sea, she is not rigid. She is extremely flexible. As sometimes mountains throw challenges, she does not stop. She will go around them, under them or above them, but she keeps moving until she reaches her destination”.

So no matter what happens. No matter how difficult it is to reach your goals. No matter how much you feel everything works against you, do not give up. As long as you are able to adapt, they are nothing more than lesson on your way to achieving your goals. In work. In marriage. In life.