THE MOON AND THE ELEPHANT LEAVE THE BARKING DOGS ALONE









One afternoon, I heard one of our college lecturers blasting at some students in our class: “Let the dogs bark at the Moon; but, the Moon will keep shining.”

A group of students had complained to the Principal against this upright lecturer… The students wanted him to be like other lecturers; they wanted to have their way. But, the Principal, who was extremely proud of this lecturer, would not interfere… He gave a dressing-down to these boys and asked them to mend their ways. So, that afternoon, when this lecturer had come to our class, he looked at the boys point-blank, and blasted, “Let the dogs bark at the Moon; but, the Moon will keep shining.”

As the legend goes, the dogs have some weird affinity with the Moon… On a Full-Moon night, they all come out, look up at the Moon… and they keep barking…

Only the dogs know why they do it and what they want to say!

Maybe, they see the reflection of another dog – the spirit of their ancestors – in the Full Moon… Maybe, they are jealous, scared, confused or lost… Maybe, they do it just as an old habit!

Muhammad Ali, Steve Harvey, Oprah Winfrey and many more have put it dramatically with this quote: “It'’s common for the dog to bark at the Moon; but, if the Moon barks back, the dog becomes famous.”

Thus, it’s very clear to the Wise… That, when you are successful and shining, some will keep barking, keep criticizing; or, as they say it in today’s lingo – they keep trolling! But, that’s their nature… just as it is dogs’ nature to bark at the  Full-Moon. And, heed to the advice of the Wise: “If the Moon loses its cool and barks back at these dogs, it only makes the dogs famous!”

Maybe, it’s the desperate desire of the dogs to get some attention… the way they bark when a big elephant walks along the street… They go behind the elephant barking incessantly. But, the elephant does not lose its focus… It marches on!

Even after many thousand Full-Moons, nobody has been able to stop dogs from barking at the Full Moon, nor at the marching elephants. Today’s trolling is exactly like that… Nobody can stop people from trolling… When the Moon is full, some dogs have to look up and howl… when the big elephant gloriously marches on, some dogs have to go behind, barking insanely…

Lunatics!

The Moon and the Elephant leave the barking dogs alone! Yes, if they don’t, the dogs become famous!


GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: Pixabay


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