Managing Shareholder at Technology & Entrepreneurial Ventures Law Group, PC
March 6, 2017
I admire Mahatma Gandhi, a fellow lawyer, such as I admire some of my other fellow lawyers, Abraham Lincoln, Jesus and Mohammed.
You’re probably a lawyer, too, although you might not view yourself that way.
What I particularly admire about certain lawyers, is when they practice what they preach—in the larger sense, of course. The beam in my own eye prevents me from saying otherwise than, “in the larger sense.”
The first lawyer in my life was my father: loving, fair and stern, all at the same time. When I was a child, he actually made a law that I had to read my Aesop’s Fables, and, further, that I had sign the pages as a representation of having accomplished the task.
It became a law in my own home, although I do not require the page-signing; I implement other methods…
One of the many resonating memories of my father is that he exercised in the morning. I have told many a higher education staff member that I learned more from the example of watching my father do sit-ups in the morning than I learned in any college course, and that includes law school.
But, back to Gandhi.
There is a story of a young boy’s mother approaching Gandhi to request advice on what she should do to have her son to stop eating so much sugar. She continued to scold her son, to no avail. Thus, she walked for hours under scorching sun to finally reach Gandhi’s ashram.
Gandhi listened to the woman’s concern carefully, thought for a while and replied, “Please come back after two weeks, and then I will talk to your son,” said Gandhi.
Curious regarding the delay, the woman nevertheless followed Gandhi’s advice. She took her son and went home.
Two weeks later they revisited Gandhi.
Gandhi then looked directly at the boy and said, “Boy, you should stop eating sugar. It is not good for your health.” The boy nodded in respect and promised that he would not continue this habit any longer.
The boy’s mother was puzzled, so she asked, “Bapu, why didn’t you tell him that two weeks ago when I brought him here to see you the first time?”
Gandhi smiled, “Mother, two weeks ago I was also eating a lot of sugar.“
In that story, Gandhi demonstrates his character as a teacher, if not a lawyer. Being the greater of us, Gandhi demonstrates that he would not give the advice that he could not accept and do for himself.
As a lawyer, like many other professions, I am trained to listen and to watch. I have listened to many a complaint about the economy, politics, politicians, religion, and so many other subjects, while watching the same complainants doing exactly the same thing or contributing to the problem. I remember the child’s retort, “Well, if you’re pointing a finger at me, three are pointing at you!” And, I include myself within the scope of my view, of course.
Indeed, it is a known fact that Gandhi read and loved his Aesop’s Fables. And our friend, Aesop, has been been teaching to practice what we preach—to be the example of our lessons—for more than 2,000 years, evidenced here in his great, The Mother Crab:
103. THE MOTHER CRAB
A mother Crab watched her son as he moved on the sand, and doing so by moving sideways. “Why, my son, do you walk that way?“ she asked in a scolding manner.
“Well, mother,” said Son Crab, “if I should not be doing it correctly, please do it correctly yourself and show me how.“
Moral of the Story: Example is the best teacher. We often criticize others in matters that we cannot or are not willing to do ourselves. Physician, heal thyself.
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© 2017 Gregg Zegarelli, Esq. Gregg can be contacted through LinkedIn.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/do-i-say-business-aesop-103-mother-crab-gregg-zegarelli-esq-
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