I desperately need someone to convince my nervous system that the tiger does not exist.
Have a strawberry
...👀will it help?
OK, so not long after I started studying Buddhism, I was told a story at our discussion group.
There was a guy walking through the forest when he spotted a tiger stalking him. He took off running, but the tiger was keeping pace. Putting on a burst of speed, he shot right over a cliff
He grabbed at a vine to keep from plummeting to his death. The tiger was there, at the top of the cliff, snarling, so the guy decides to climb down. Suddenly he hears a snarling from below. He looks down, and there’s another tiger, tail lashing, waiting for him to get down. Looks up, and there’s the first tiger staring at him. He sees that the vine is starting to break. Something will happen soon, and it will end with him inside a tiger
Just then he notices a small strawberry plant clinging to the cliff next to him, with a single ripe berry on it.
It was, without a doubt, the best strawberry he had ever tasted
When you’re surrounded by tigers; find some small joy near you. It won’t stop the real tigers, but it will let you have what joy you can.
And if they’re metaphorical tigers? Ignore them long enough and they’ll go away
Finally, an anxiety metaphor that actually describes what it's like to have anxiety...
