Never argue. If your aim is to help people unlearn and learn, tell them a story

There was once a Hummingbird that lived on a tree in a forest. One day the forest was on fire and as the fire approach the bird, all the animals shouted at the Hummingbird to get away from the tree. The Hummingbird refused to listen. ‘Ever since I was born, I have lived on this tree. The tree has given me shelter from rain and sun. The tree has given me food, water and life. Today, the tree is under threat, how can I leave it to die? I’d rather burn in this fire than ditch the tree.

This little story was shared by a young graduate studying law at the Gujarat Maritime University in Ahmedabad during a recent lecture. It is so deeply meaningful that it puts us out of depth on topics as wide as ethics, moral values, leadership, human behaviour, and ecosystems.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘴’ 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯?
Mutuality: A society built on the ethos of self-centredness cannot imagine an act of kindness and mutuality in the midst of a crisis situation.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘥’𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯?
Ethics: The true measure of our ethic and morality is not how well we speak but how we behave when faced with a moral dilemma.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘭?
Interconnectedness: Everything and everyone is interconnected. Pain and suffering is best healed through social connections.

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺?
If I gave you a lecture on interconnectedness, mutuality and ethics, we would be arguing all day to prove ourselves.

𝗡𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝗴𝘂𝗲. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗶𝗺 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻, 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆.