The Tiger, the Ocean, and the Strawberry — A Zen Story About Your Life

Five minutes of inspiration to live mindfully every day.

A man went for a walk in the forest near his village. It was his favorite time of the day. He was eager to take in the forest smells; damp moss, needle trees, plants, flowers, and the rain of yesterday.

The forest always makes him feel good.

Sunbeams invited him to turn right. He took a turn and went on an unfamiliar route. Humming songs, enjoying the surrounding colors, and listening to the sounds the forest makes.

After walking for a while, he saw something in the corner of his eye. Something that made the hairs on his arms stand up and his ears alert.

It was a tiger, and it tried to find its way toward the man. Between the tiger and the man was a small stream. Thanks to that, the man had a bit of extra time to run.

He raced in the opposite direction of the tiger, not fully aware of the direction he was going. At least he was making the distance between him and the tiger longer, that was most of his concern.

Until he reached a cliff with the ocean below it, marking the border of the forest.

Damn, he thought. Here I am. Between a cliff and a tiger.

Behind him, he saw the tiger making its way over the stream. The man had to act fast.

Where the man was standing, a grape bush grew on the ground. One of the grapevines was somewhat separated from the bush. I can either be the tiger’s lunch or crawl over the edge, the man thought. He grabbed the vine and crawled over the edge while holding on to the vine.

Grapevines — those thin wooden branches — are incredibly strong and luckily held his weight. As long as I get out of the view of the tiger for a while, I should be fine, the man mumbled.

The man was wrong. The tiger reached the cliff and looked from over the cliff down at the man.

The tiger didn’t show any stress. Slow because of his professional patience, he lay his body down while looking over the edge. His eyes peeled on the man. Hanging on to the vine, the man thought about the situation he got himself into.

From below, the ocean looked up with its deep blue eyes.

Untamed waves crashed into the cliff. The man was dangling high above the waves. That eliminated the opportunity to just let the vine and the tiger be what they are, say ‘bye bye’, and let himself drop.

On top of all this, two rats approached the man and started nibbling on the vine. They weren’t in a hurry, but they were slowly making their way through the wooden branch.

When the man became more comfortable with the place he was hanging and pondered about what to do, he noticed a strawberry hanging beside him.

A beautiful, red, full, fat strawberry. The one that triggers your taste buds by solely seeing it.

The man’s mouth started watering.

Despite the rats, the ocean, and the tiger, the strawberry drew all his attention. If he could reach his arm out far enough, he’d be able to grab it and enjoy its juice.

While balancing his weight on the vine he reached out just far enough so that his fingertips tickled the strawberry in his hand.

He put the strawberry in his mouth. It made him forget everything around him. Only the strawberry mattered. The juice was so sweet and thirst-quenching!

Life

The situation of our dear friend, caught between the tiger and the ocean, represents each and every moment of our lives that we find ourselves in. Every moment of every day, you (and I) hang on to a vine on a cliff.

The tiger is your past. The ocean is your future. The rats represent time. The strawberry is the present moment.

The more we cling to the past, the more we let our past hurt us, and the more scratches we have from fighting with the tiger.

Simultaneously, there’s no use in worrying about the future, what may or may not happen. Of course, death is inevitable. And so is the mercilessness of the wild waves and the depth of the ocean. They will be there when we fall.

Time — the rats — will chew on our lives until the vine breaks. If it’s time to fall, we fall.

The man could only let go of the vine with one arm to reach for the strawberry — the present moment — because he was present enough to forget about his past and his future. To see what is right in front of his eyes. The strawberry was always there, hanging, waiting for someone to see and savor it. It’s so patient, right? Never in a hurry.

And so is the present moment.

“The ability to be in the present moment is a major component of mental wellness.” — Abraham Maslow.

The present moment isn’t necessarily always a positive experience, but it is the only moment that exists. It’s the only moment that’s ever guaranteed.

Being in the present moment makes it possible to enjoy what life has to offer, exactly when it happens. Right here and now. Without cravings for something more or something different.

Let’s keep noticing the strawberry that’s dangling in front of us. It’s delicious.

As a human being, if life gets busy, I can struggle to be in the present moment myself. Insomnia is the big red flag showing me that I’m not in the present moment. If I’m in the present moment, insomnia doesn’t need to be there. Via meditation, yoga and stories like the one written in this post I learn to not let it get that far, but if insomnia happens it’s the undeniable sign showing me it’s time to refocus on what’s right in front of my eyes :)

What helps you to stay in the present moment?

Thank you so much for reading. Writing you with love!

Here I like to put fellow writer Art Bram in the spotlight who wrote a warm-hearted piece about self-love, feeling unconditionally good, and an introduction on how to turn things around in case you don’t feel that way! Thank you, Art!

A talk on Insight Timer — I highly recommend their meditations, talks, and courses — mentioned the ancient Zen story briefly, which reminded me of it and sparked my enthusiasm to (re)write the story. No single origin of the story is to be found. Slightly different versions and interpretations of this story exist. I hope my appreciation for the story came through.

Two more stories for you:

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