The Ideal Tribe

There once was a young, athletic lad who was driven to succeed. He saw winning as everything, and the only way to be successful was to cross the finish line first.

The youngster was practicing for a running competition in his tiny community one day. He was going to compete with two other little boys. A great audience had assembled to watch the athletic event, and an elderly wise man had come a long way to attend it as well after learning about the young child.

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When the race started, the finish line appeared to be at a level temperature. As expected, though, the youngster reached deep, summoning all of his might, power, and resolve. He was first across the finish line. The audience was overjoyed, waving to the youngster and clapping. The smart man showed no emotion as he stayed motionless and composed. But the small child felt significant and proud.

When a second race was announced, the young boy's two new, fit competitors lined up to compete against him. When the race began, the young child led the field and finished first once more. Once more, the audience was ecstatic, applauding and gesturing to the boy. Once more displaying emotionlessness, the wise guy stayed motionless and serene. But the young child felt much more pleased and more

The young youngster begged, "Another race, another race!" The small kid was faced with two new opponents by the wise old man: an elderly, feeble woman and a blind guy.

"What is this?" asked the young child. "This is not a race!" he cried out.

"Leap," declared the sage.

The child was the only competitor to cross the finish line; the other two were left standing at the beginning of the race. The young child was overjoyed and raised his arms in celebration. But the audience remained mute, expressing little sympathy for the young child.

"What took place? How come folks don't share in my success?" he questioned the sage elderly man.

"Leap once more," the sage man answered. The wise man went on, "This time, finish together; all three of you finish together."

After giving it some thought, the small child moved to stand between the elderly woman in her fragile state and the blind man, and he took both challengers by the hand. When the race started, the young child moved very, very slowly to the finish line and crossed it. The audience was overjoyed, waving to the youngster and clapping. With a gentle smile, the wise man nodded his head. The young guy felt significant and pleased.

"I don't understand, old man. Who is the audience applauding? Which one of the three of us?" the young child enquired.

With his hands resting on the kid's shoulders, the wise old man met the boy's eyes and said, "Little boy, you have won much more for this race than for any other race you have ever run." Additionally, the audience does not applaud a winner in this race.

"You see, what are you chasing after in life? Do you want to achieve that badly? Do you think anything means more to you than success? With whom? are you competing? Furthermore, if you consistently triumph over everyone, soon people will no longer applaud you. When your life is coming to a conclusion, you'll wonder who was your running partner in this race. Did you assist them in crossing if they were older and weaker? Did everyone finish at the same time? Since it's the greatest race you'll ever run. So go, go, go in this marathon we call life. Remember, though, that how you run this race matters more than whether you win."