The Empty Boat story was just too buttoned-up. Now that is an American Taoist, if there ever was one. Walt Whitman wrote: I do not offer the old smooth prizes, but offer rough new prizes. They offer you the “red pill” and a glimpse at how deep the rabbit hole goes. Taoists usually don’t tell stories to help you find an easier way to cruise through life. I wrote about this when I compared the Grimm Brothers version of Sleeping Beauty to the Disney version.Īnd I started wondering about that with the Empty Boat story as well. Every little bit of perspective helps.īut sometimes stories get watered down by retelling and time. It is almost like a 2500-year-old precursor to sociology’s Fundamental Attribution Error.ĭon't get me wrong.
In other words, as it is typically used, the Empty Boat story, is about you better understanding your stories to help you manage your reactions. And I started wondering about that with the Empty Boat story as well.
On the other hand, when mishaps happen, though we might not be happy about them, we usually just deal, with less of the wild emotional swings that occur when someone else is involved. When we attribute cause to (read as: blame) someone else, then a whole string of judgments and reactions follow that usually are not all that helpful. The story can help others see where their emotions in general and anger in particular come from…from our story and framing of situations, especially those involving others. When the other boats rams into his, he unleashes a hysterical invective at the other fisherman’ moral and intellectual competence only to discover the boat is empty and was simply adrift.Ĭoaches tell this story to help their clients manage their emotions and stay calm. He sees a boat coming right towards him and starts getting frantic and yelling for the fisherman steering the boat to change course. Like the Taoist Farmer story, the story of the Empty Boat is often used by Executive Coaches to help their clients gain perspective.Ī fisherman is on the water at dusk with poor visibility.
0 kommentar(er)
