The Parable of the Hare and the Hedgehog

One day the hedgehog challenged the hare to have race with him.

The hare, being sure of his victory, accepted the challenge without hesitation.

The race started at the entrance to the vineyard. After they started, the hare ran fast, while the hedgehog, snouting in the air, took his time and loitered along the boundaries.

Surprise!When the hare, totally exhausted, appeared at the end of the vineyard, the hedgehog was already there. "I was waiting for you. You have taken lot of time."

The hare, too proud to concede victory, proposed a return match. Again, when he crossed the finish line at the end of the field, the hedgehog, not at all breathless, waited.

The score never changed. The hedgehog was always at the finish line before the hare.

The hare, exhausted by these races, couldn't understood why his competitor did not seem to be affected by the races. The solution to the mystery was obvious; the hedgehog had a twin who waited at the other end of the vineyard.

The hare, however, was not a fool. He asked the tricky hedgehog whether, during the race, he had seen the vine stocks heavy with fruits, the shining dews on the leaves, the rays of evening light across the rows, the warm smell coming out of the perspiring earth, the patient climbing of the snell on the vine plant.

The hedgehog, a little embarrassed, replied, "What really matters is that I reached the finish line before you. Is that not true?"

The hare retorted, "What matters to me is having made a fine journey, full of discoveries and benefiting from the experience. You cheated, and you deprived yourself of the scenery of nature.

I am not convinced whether, in the end, you really won."

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This small tale could be nothing but a joke, but every parable has its moral: it is not the question of becoming first and knowing everything in advance.

It is also necessary to be actually on the route. The theoretical knowledge is not always the best; one should also face the reality, pass through the fire of the things.

Nothing can replace personal experience.

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"One of the finest experiences of life is walking with somebody in nature, participating in everything and at the same time in nothing".
- Christian Bobin.