“Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth” – Pema Chödrön
There is a story of a woman running away from tigers. She runs and runs and the tigers are getting closer and closer. When she comes to the edge of a cliff, she sees some vines there, so she climbs down and holds on to the vines. Looking down, she sees that there are tigers below her as well. She then notices that a mouse is gnawing away at the vine to which she is clinging. She also sees a beautiful little bunch of strawberries close to her, growing out of a clump of grass. She looks up and she looks down. She looks at the mouse. Then she just takes a strawberry, puts it in her mouth, and enjoys it thoroughly. Tigers above, tigers below. This is actually the predicament that we are always in, in terms of our birth and death. Each moment is just what it is. It might be the only moment of our life; it might be the only strawberry we’ll ever eat. We could get depressed about it, or we could finally appreciate it and delight in the preciousness of every single moment of our life.”
― Pema Chödrön
I love this story. It depicts our life in so many ways and at times, we can feel overwhelmed by our circumstances. The thing is, we are not meant to concern ourselves with the past or the future, but rather, learn to accept and enjoy this present moment, exactly as it is.
Pick the strawberry, eat it, enjoy every bite, for it may not be there tomorrow.
LIVING IN THIS MOMENT 
Such a nice vision, Karen!
i’ve happily enjoyed strawberries
after safely escaping
incorrigible “tigers.” 🙂
It’s a yummy reward after such a difficult escape!! Enjoy 🍓🍓🍓
Such a wonderful read and yes to live in the moment is so beautiful and just letting go of our past is so great. Lovely story and a great post.
It isn’t always an easy task, but it’s certainly the right choice. Thank you 🙏🏻
Welcome and so true.
Thank you Kamal 🌸
Welcome dear
Such a true story, Karen. We need to leave the past behind us and avoid to worry about tomorrow, just enjoy each moment, as we are getting here ❤
Yes exactly! Thank you Irene 💕🍓
Love Pema Chödrön 😊🌸
Me too 🌟💕
So true. We only have today to savour.
And it is a practice to focus on that strawberry and not the Tigers ha! Thanks Jennifer 💕🍓
Excellent.
Thank you Nico 🙏🏻
Such a beautiful story and example. Thank you for sharing 💙
Thank you for your comment 🌸🍓
Such a powerful story Karen. Thank you for sharing it 💕
Pema is a wonderful storyteller! Thank you Val 🍓💕
I am the worst at eating the strawberry! In my younger days, I was great at it. Need to rediscover the art:). Thanks for the reminder!
Yes, we all have to practice this focus and enjoy the moment before us! Have a great day Kristine 🍓🍓🍓💕
What a lovely strawberries!
have a nice day
Thank you, you too 🍓😉
Beautiful reminder of savoring each moment. Thanks Karen 🙂
Thank you Shobhna 💕
I heard that story years and years ago, and it is a man in the situation. I love the female twist and I love Pema Chrodron. How do you get the little dots over the o’s? Is there someplace on the computer?
Anyway…lovely Karen.
Much love –
Mary
It’s a great story and reminder. It’s not on the keyboard, I just copied and paste it from her website. Have a great weekend 🌿🍓
What a great story! So many teachings in it.
Yes very true! Thanks Helen 💕
I am soaking up your blog and feeling grateful to have found it today. Thank you.
Thank you. You are always welcome 💚💕