What could you change in your behaviour?

Still on the subject of frogs, I recently heard this story about a frog and a scorpion who met on a river bank. The frog was about to swim across the river and the scorpion asked for a ride across. ‘No way!’ said the frog. ‘You’re a scorpion and if you sting me I’ll die.’ ‘Please.’ said the scorpion, of course i won’t sting you because if I did you’d die and then I would drown.’ The frog decided to take the risk and set off across the river with the scorpion on his back. Half way across the river the frog felt the sting of the scorpion in his neck and , knowing he would now die along with the scorpion, asked the scorpion why he had done that. The scorpion replied: ‘Because I am a scorpion.’

A horrid story, but by contrast human beings can make so many changes in our behaviour. We can’t honestly use the kind of excuse the scorpion gave. Even if they ‘die hard’ we can break old habits. We can respond to life in thoughtful new ways. That leads me to a question that may not be an easy one to face, but may be a very important one. ‘What could you change in your behaviour?’