‘A Lion used to prowl about a field in which Four Oxen used to dwell. Many a time he tried to attack them; but whenever he came near they turned their tails to one another, so that whichever way he approached them he was met by the horns of one of them. At last, however, they fell a-quarrelling among themselves, and each went off to pasture alone in a separate corner of the field. Then the Lion attacked them one by one and soon made an end of all four.’

-Aesop

You may have heard of this little story. I read it in a book the other day and thought I’d share it with you.

Although the threat the oxen are experiencing on the field may differ to yours, it is safe to say we all experience different threats in our daily lives. Things like job insecurity, our health, environmental disasters, political oppression, financial, mental, or emotional problems… you name it. These are all realistic problems that we are encountered with and often, even have the capacity to threaten our identity. And as you already noticed, these threats never really go away. And if they do, new ones emerge.

This ‘Circle of Safety’, as portrayed by the oxen, is rooted in one simple feeling that makes it so effective…

Trust.

When we trust, look after one another and cover our backs, we’re not only willing to take more risk, but at the core, we’re giving each other strength. It follows the simple principle that ‘We’ is the protector of ‘Me’.

What the oxen portray is that when we stand together, we are better and stronger.

If you were the captain of a large boat, sailing right into a storm, would it be better to throw the crew over board or keep them so that together they could survive the storm? (Disappointing to see that large corporations don’t think this way).

I’d choose the latter.

And you?

Let me know 🙂

Good day,

Max (The Ultimate Psyche)