A dry leaf was blown by the wind and fluttered to the side of a bird.
“Look,” it rustled triumphantly, “I can fly like you!”
“You can fly because of the power of the wind, I think you should stay quietly on the ground, follow me, if there is no wind, you will fall a big heel.” The bird turned its head and flew away, flapping its wings against the wind.
The leaf scoffed at the bird’s advice and proudly followed the bird as it continued to fly. Suddenly, the wind stopped, and the leaf was thrown hard. It felt its bruised bottom and kept cursing the bird, blaming it for not helping it until the wind blew at it again and made it float down in a small stream.
The water in the stream was crystal clear, and the stream was singing and running happily. The leaf was floating on the tip of the wave, and it said to the little fish, “Look, I can swim like you; how great I should be!”
The kind little fish replied, “You do swim beautifully, but the water is no place for you, you should go back to the land.”
“Bah! I think you’re jealous of me. It’s hard for you to see me swimming more beautifully than you, isn’t it?” The leaf continued to chatter and brag, “How well I swim, how beautiful my posture is, none of you can compare with me.”
For days, the leaf continued to drift with the waves, but it had no idea that its body had swelled up and started to decay.
It is wisdom to recognize oneself, assess one’s strength correctly, and stop when it is just right. If you don’t care what your strength is, and just keep pushing through, what will greet you may be a failure or even death.
In life, many people encounter failure because of blind arrogance, thinking that they can do anything, and as a result, driven by vanity, to do something impractical, the result is naturally unsatisfactory. Therefore, it is important to measure your strength before doing something.
