I don’t know who first wrote this this as but applies to us both as business owners and as people:

Fable of the porcupine

It was the coldest winter ever. Many animals died because of the cold. The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together to keep warm. This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions.After awhile, they decided to distance themselves one from the other.  They began to die, alone and frozen.

So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth. Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. They learned to live with the little wounds caused by the close relationship with their companions in order to receive the heat that came from the others. This way they were able to survive.

The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other person’s good qualities.

The moral of the story is: Just learn to live with the Pricks in your life!

The moral of this fable is particularly true today as people lock friends and family members out of their life because of different political and religious beliefs.

We may think that the other person is “stupid,” “dumb,” or just plain “ignorant” because they have fallen for something that they have read in a book or on the Internet or heard someone else say.  It’s easy to walk away from them and forget that they exist.  But when we do, we also walk away from other things that can make our own life richer and more complete.

So the next time you don’t like the pricks in your life, ignore the pricks and learn to live with them.  You will be a better person because of it.