It's in my Nature.

There is a fable about a Scorpion and a Frog.  

It goes like this:

A Scorpion and a Frog meet on the bank of a stream and the

Scorpion asks the Frog to carry him across on its back.
 
The Frog asks, "How do I know you won't sting me?"
The Scorpion says, "Because if I do, I will die too."

The Frog is satisfied, and they set out, but in midstream,

the Scorpion stings the Frog.
The Frog feels the onset of paralysis and starts to sink, knowing they both will drown, but has just enough time to gasp "Why?"

Replies the Scorpion: "It’s my nature..."

This fable has followed me around for years.  It has been a ladder, an anchor and everything in between.  This is not to be confused with “fate”.  However, fate is influenced by our nature.  A dog may never bite you, but that does not mean it is not in it’s nature.

We all have a nature. Hero, Villain, Victor, Defeated, Aggressive, Passive…we all have a nature.  That nature though is not positive or negative, it’s both.

“There are two dogs fighting in everyone, one good and one evil.  The one who wins is the one you feed the most.”

I have a capacity for light and a capacity for darkness.  We all do.  It impacts and alters our experiences and the relationships that we forge with others.  A tongue in cheek quote that I found for this piece was “I’m trying to find someone whose demons play well with mine.”

In work, our nature motivates our team or strikes out on our own.  At home, our nature encourages our children and fiercely protects our family.  In sport, our nature bonds us to our teammates and drives us to greater heights.  In life, it determines who are the sheep, the sheepdogs and the wolves.

Our nature evolves as we evolve.  There is not only light and dark, the spectrum is not that simple.  I have been told that I “have a capacity that others do not”, I hope that’s true.  I plan to challenge my nature and my capacity, to fully realize what I am capable of.

I challenge you to do the same.

M