Let’s Stay Connected! – Anderson Connect

This week’s inspiring Anderson Connect, covers the following:

• COVID-19 Update
• 2 Short Stories
• Staying Connected

We hope this helps You feel connected to Us!

COVID-19 Update – We Are All in This Together

We are all carrying the heaviness of the Covid shutdowns and we wish you the courage to stay positive and look to brighter days ahead. As we move into warmer weather and can enjoy some more time outside, we would like to remind you to reach out to loved ones and look after your own mental health.

In addition to the province-wide shutdown, which was put into effect on Saturday April 3rd, the Ontario government is tightening up restrictions and is currently enforcing a Stay-at-Home order once again. Everyone is strongly advised to continue to stay at home, avoid social gatherings, minimize travel, and limit close contact to their household.

We know that this is incredibly challenging for so many, but we will get through this together! Our hope with our Anderson Connect is that you feel this and are somehow lighter and better informed for the read.

Short Stories

Shark Bait

During a research experiment a marine biologist placed a shark into a large holding tank and then released several small bait fish into the tank.

As you would expect, the shark quickly swam around the tank, attacked and ate the smaller fish.
The marine biologist then inserted a strong piece of clear fiberglass into the tank, creating two separate partitions. She then put the shark on one side of the fiberglass and a new set of bait fish on the other.

Again, the shark quickly attacked.  This time, however, the shark slammed into the fiberglass divider and bounced off.  Undeterred, the shark kept repeating this behaviour every few minutes to no avail. Meanwhile, the bait fish swam around unharmed in the second partition. Eventually, about an hour into the experiment, the shark gave up.

This experiment was repeated several dozen times over the next few weeks. Each time, the shark got less aggressive and made fewer attempts to attack the bait fish, until eventually the shark got tired of hitting the fiberglass divider and simply stopped attacking altogether. The marine biologist then removed the fiberglass divider, but the shark did not attack. The shark was trained to believe a barrier existed between it and the bait fish, so the bait fish swam wherever they wished, free from harm.

The moral of the story: many of us, after experiencing setbacks and failures, emotionally give up and stop trying. Like the shark in the story, we believe that because we were unsuccessful in the past, we will always be unsuccessful. In other words, we continue to see a barrier in our heads, even when no ‘real’ barrier exists between where we are and where we want to go.
We are certainly not fated to be this shark. We are wiser and our destinies much grander when we recognize the barriers and are determined to overcome them!

Credit: medium.com

The Needy King and The Philosopher

A philosopher was passing through the capital city of a famous king. While he was walking, he noticed a single coin on the road. He picked it up. He was satisfied with his simple living and he had no use of that coin. So, he planned to donate it to someone who needed it. He strolled around the streets throughout the day but did not find anyone in need. Finally, he reached the rest area and spent a night there.

The next morning, he woke up for his daily activities and saw the king and his army passing by, prepared for war and off to invade another state When the king saw the philosopher, he ordered his army to halt. He came to the philosopher and said, “Oh great philosopher, I am going to war to win another state so that my state can be expanded. So, bless me to be victorious”.

After thinking, the philosopher gave the coin he’d found to the king! The king was confused and annoyed with this because what use did he have for a single coin when he was already one of the richest kings in the land! He curiously asked the philosopher, “What’s the meaning of this one coin?”

The philosopher explained, “Oh Great King! I found this coin yesterday while strolling around the streets of your capital city. But I had no use of it. So, I decided that I would donate it to someone needy. I strolled around until the evening in your capital but found no one in need of it. Everyone was living a happy life. It seemed that they were satisfied with what they had. So, I found no one to give this coin to. But today, I found you, the king of this state, still desiring to gain more and not satisfied with what you already have. This is why I feel you are in desperate need of this coin.”

The King realized his mistake and gave up the war he had planned.

The moral of the story: We all should learn to be happy with what we have. Yes, we all desire more or better than we already have, but do not waste a chance of enjoying what you already have always seeking something else. There are those who may not have what you have, and there will be some who have lots more than you have. Do not always compare, be happy and lead a healthy life.

Credit:moralstories.org

Staying Connected

Technology has made it easier to communicate, but it has not made it easier to connect. In a tech-obsessed culture, it can be difficult to build genuine relationships with people, especially right now. We all know how important our relationships are normally, but during the pandemic it is crucial to give our relationships the attention they need. Reach out to a loved one, organize a virtual games night or grab a virtual coffee. As we continue to be shutdown let us not shut ourselves off from the ones who care about us.

The last few weeks have been difficult, check out this quick video that is guaranteed to make you laugh!