Ideas Vs reality

Recently found an interesting story in a book – ‘The prayer of the Frog’ by Father Anthony de Mello, S.J.. The story I am referring here is from ‘The prayer of the Frog – Volume 2, Page 113, Part – Human nature

A group of tourists, stranded somewhere in the countryside, were given old rations to eat. Before eating the food they tested it by throwing some of it to a dog who seemed to enjoy it and suggered no after effect.

The following day they learnt that the dog had died. Everyone was panic-stricken. Many began to vomit and complained of fever and dysentery. A doctor was called in to treat the victims for food poisoning.

The doctor began by asking what had happened to the body of the dog. Enquiries were made. A neighbour said casually, “Oh, it was thrown in a ditch because it got run over by a car.”

The author concludes –

Human beings react, not to reality,
but to ideas in their heads…