A sage was resting by the shore of a pond. His attention was caught by a dog, worn out with thirst, that kept coming right up to the water — only to flee the instant before it could drink.

The dog was desperately thirsty, but each time it reached the pond it took fright at its own reflection in the water and ran back. At last, unable to bear the thirst any longer, it threw itself into the pond and drank its fill.

Watching all this, the sage reflected: “The only barrier between a person and what they desire is the fear they nurture within themselves. Only by overcoming that fear can one obtain what one longs for.”