Lo Zu, after one of his frequent walks into the fields and wooded areas of nature, came walking into the village. He stopped to rest for a while and leaned on his sinuous pole, his meandering cane; nearby, a small group of men, all of them sitting together, continued to repeatedly laugh hysterically.
Lo Zu realized that they were laughing at the fact that a nearby dog was repeatedly chasing its own tail. Lo Zu continued to walk again and came closer to the men who were laughing. He heard one of them say, “That dog is really ignorant!” All of them, except Lo Zu, continued to laugh at the dog as it continued to chase its own tail.
Lo Zu turned to face the sitting men and said, “It is so easy to come to conclusions; conclusions that are wrong.” Lo Zu further went on, “That dog could chase that cat that is a little way down the road, but cats can quickly scratch and the dog could easily get a gravely injured eye. Likewise, the dog could chase after that man walking across the street. However, the man could kick the dog or throw something at it, injuring it. Instead, the dog takes the prudent approach and, for great exercise, chases its own tail. A most intelligent animal! I, myself, walk daily to the meadows and woods to enjoy the sweet butterflies and creatures; therefore I get quite a bit of exercise. I see that dog exercising ‘most every day also. Sometimes I see it chasing butterflies, which is also a very wise and safe form of exercising. Exercising often is great intelligence. I see you men sitting around here a lot each and every day. Do any of you exercise?”
“Not really,” said one of the men. (The men were no longer laughing.)
“I didn’t think so,” replied Lo Zu. He further added, “The beginning of this doglike life always chases its own end; let the dog be your teacher.”
Black Swallowtail on Thistle Plant … Photo by Thomas Peace c. 2018
Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog 
See Spot run. Run Spot run. Run, run, run! Dogs in my neighborhood acted the same way when I was growing up! 😀
What about now? Are all of them leashed?
That was about 45 years ago and they don’t have that kind of shelf life! LOL Nope, they dug their way out of their fences, which were chain links mind you! 😉
LM chases her own tail occasionally (she came to us doing this.) Wise dog! 😀
And I like the thistles. 🙂
LM gets Lo Zu’s stamp of approval (i bet)! Please give a big hug to LM from Lo Zu. 🙂
Will do 😀
better than chasing power & money at expense of peace & simplicity.
Yes, like so many corrupt politicians do (these days).
Ah, makes me want to grab my walking stick, dub it a meandering cane, and meander away into some unpeopled area!! (Beautiful post – thank you!)
Do it! 🙂
Great post
Thank you, TJ! Exercise daily! 🙂
Wonderful teaching he gave, and a beautiful photo to go alongside.
Thanks much, Paul! Now grab a meandering cane and give it a go! 🙂
🙂
More wise words, Tom.
We hope so! Now get a good cane, or cane-monopod combo, and get out there. 🙂
Great tale and photo!
So glad you liked it, Belinda! Like was mentioned to Sandy, get a good cane-monopod combo and get out there. 🙂
(It was snowing for a bit here today!)
Snow already, say it ain’t so😏
Great photograph Tom! I’ve never seen one of those swallowtails around here! Love the story too! 😊
They are fairly common around here. Thanks about the story, Sabine! 🙂
Good lesson. I need to do better at chasing something on a regular basis. Lovely butterfly. I haven’t seen one of those dark swallowtails. It’s sitting on teasel. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipsacus
Certainly do hope it’s a good lesson! Thanks much, Eilene! 🙂
Lo Zu shut them up pretty quickly didn’t he? Beautiful Swallowtail on the thistle plant – just picture perfect Tom.
He sure did, Linda! (Well, the Swallowtail isn’t exactly picture-perfect; look at its rear wing area. A chunk is missing. Maybe from a dog that swallowed a tailpiece of the Swallowtail! 🙂
Might have caught it on some thorny bush perhaps? I took a picture of a Tiger Swallowtail and never realized its rear wing was tattered and almost non-existent until I uploaded the photo. I think all butterflies make good photos, even the tiny ones … ros
Loved the lesson, Tom. Beautiful image as well!