CARROTS … Yum, Yum

Here are my two little house guests, Wren and Bela, who are very well behaved. Once a day they get a special treat and you see them here waiting to be told “OK” … at which point they will pounce with glee upon their slice of carrot! Now, who would think that a carrot slice could bring such joy?

But, this is how they’ve been trained. They are not given table scraps or doggie bones. Rather, they have a set diet and by adhering to this they are both in excellent health. Their dispositions are very sweet also and it got me to thinking how important initial training is … in people as well as animals.

We’ve all seen examples of how small children play with others their age without prejudice. They could care less if their playmates are black, yellow or green, for that matter. They just want to enjoy what the world has to offer and to contribute to it. It’s only when the adults come into play that it goes downhill.

Imagine how different our world would be if we were taught early on to cherish the “carrots” of life, (those simple pleasures of our youth) and to forego the qualities of jealousy, hatred and greed that are so carefully taught to us by society and well meaning parents.

I love these words by Bill Wilson, the founder of Alcoholics Anonymous. He addresses a similar issue: “When I was a child I acquired some of the traits that had a lot to do with my insatiable craving for alcohol. I was brought up in a little town in Vermont, under the shadow of Mount Aeolus. An early recollection is that of looking up at this vast and mysterious mountain and wondering what it meant and whether I could ever climb that high. But I was distracted by my aunt who, as a fourth-birthday present, made me a plate of fudge. For the next thirty five years I pursued the fudge of life and quite forgot about the mountain.”