The Boy Eating Chick Peas

Two boys were once walking together. One of the boys put his hand in his pocket, took it out, brought it up to his mouth and then started chewing.

The other boy couldn’t see what he was eating so he asked, “What are you eating? Why don’t you offer me some?”

“I am eating chick peas,” he said, “but I’m not going to give you any.”

The second boy begged and begged until the first boy laughed and said, “I was just joking. I am not really eating anything. I was just putting my hand in my pocket and pretending to eat chick peas to see what your reaction would be. Look. There is nothing in my pocket at all.”

The second boy looked and saw that what he said was true. When he had convinced himself that the first boy really had nothing to offer him, he said, “But why were you pretending to eat chick peas? If you are going to pretend like this, why don’t you pretend to eat something tasty, such as almonds?”

Similarly I tell people, “If you are going to pretend, why pretend that you are suffering? Why not pretend instead that you are free? It doesn’t cost you anything extra. “It doesn’t even cost you Rs 10 to say, ‘I am free,’ but if you start saying that instead of ‘I am bound,’ what a difference it will make to your life.”