The elephant drew a landscape painting and asked his friends to look at it before sending it to the exhibition. I thought that if this was to get outside the show, in case it was not good, it could be a shame.
The friends promised to appreciate the face, and the painter is pleased, but I do not know what criticism will be heard; I do not know whether their opinions are sharp, praise, or to give negative.
When the friends came, the elephant unfolded the canvas, and some of them looked at it up close while others looked at it from afar.
The osprey spoke first: “I think the painting is good, but I don’t see the Nile.”
The goat said, “It’s a beautiful painting, and if you add a vegetable garden, it’s the icing on the cake.”
The seal said, “It’s fine without the Nile and the vegetable garden, but where is the snow? Where is the ice?”
The field mouse thought it strange and said, “There are things more important than ice, let’s say rice fields, how could the painter forget?”
Then the pig said, “Hullo, hullo, the painting is good, friends, but from the pig’s point of view, the top should be painted with some acorns.”
The elephant accepted all the opinions, picked up the drawing board, and started again to use its one brush to satisfy all his friends and make everyone happy. The elephant drew the snow and ice, the oak tree, the Nile, the vegetable garden, the rice field, plus the honey. YoTheear didn’t give his opinion, but wouldn’t he come to see the painting if he was happy?
Finally, the elephant finished the painting and invited his friends to come back to his house to observe it. The friends looked at the picture and said softly, “What kind of painting is this? It’s a mess!”
Friends’ opinions are important, but you can’t let them dictate your own words and actions. You have to make up your own mind about what you want to do. If you lose your own opinion just to meet your friends’ wishes, you will only end up hurting yourself. However, many times we are always caught up in the comments of others. Other people’s tone of voice, eyes, gestures, can disturb our hearts, eliminating our courage to move forward, the loss of freedom, the right to be happy for nothing. Then, the only thing you can do, as a philosopher said: “Go your own way, let others say go!”
