The Elephant's Rope

Here's a story I discovered and felt should be shared. 

One day a young man was walking through a village and as he was passing by a pack of elephants, noticed something odd. He stopped and was bewildered to find that these giants were being held by nothing more than a small rope tied to their front leg. The man wondered how this could be when they could easily break away from their confining bonds at any time and wondered why they chose not to.

He saw their trainer nearby and asked why they just stood there and didn't make any attempts to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”

The man stood in awe. These animals could at any time break free, but because they believed they couldn’t, they remained stuck where they were.

Like the elephants, we are conditioned at a young age to believe what we are told. Many of us still go through life believing that we cannot do certain things because that's what we're conditioned to believe. Many of us meet failure, stop trying, and give up on our dreams. However, failure is a part of learning. Rather than giving up, we should continue to hang on and push. The path will manifest itself. You just have to shake off the negative beliefs that hold you back. Rather than listening to the voices that tell you to give up, keep pushing and make the stars align for you. Break free from the rope that binds you.

                                                                                                                          Peace & love