The parable of the ring, which teaches us to always believe in ourselves

by Shirley Marie Bradby

April 22, 2018

 The parable of the ring, which teaches us to always believe in ourselves
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A persona can be born with low self-confidence or esteem or you can lose it over time due to negative experiences.

In any case, it is always good to try to regain it, to be able to live better in the world and especially with yourself.

If you are also living in a phase of your life where you feel insecure, you are always undecided, and you are the first to disbelieve in your abilities then here is a parable that will teach you something very important and that you should keep in mind in moments of vulnerability.

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One day, an elderly wise man was visited by a young man who confided that he had little self-esteem and felt crushed by social pressure coming from others.

One day, an elderly wise man was visited by a young man who confided that he had 
little self-esteem and felt crushed by social pressure coming from others.

British Museum/Wikimedia

"They tell me that I'm worthless, that everything I do is a mistake, that I'm clumsy and That I am not even intelligent enough to know how to improve my situation ..." The wise man interrupted him, paying little attention to his words: "I'm sorry for you young man, but now I'm busy and I cannot listen to you ... In fact, if you go to the market in my place, I'll finish what I have to do quick and then I can solve your problem." 

The young man once again felt diminished and put in second place, but he still accepted the wise man's request. 

"Just go to the market and try to sell this ring, accept any offer, as long as it is not inferior to a gold coin."

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The young man went to the market, confident of bringing back the money from the sale of the ring to the wise man.

The young man went to the market, confident of bringing back the money from the sale of the ring to the wise man.

Nouf Kinani/Wikmedia

Many people stopped to look at his ring, but their interest ceased when they learned about the price: "Boy, I could give you a couple of silver coins, but a gold coin is exaggerated!". After being covered with derision and insults, he returned to the wise man very discouraged. 

"Master, I'm sorry, but at the market, no one believed the value of the ring, they even offered me a copper pot!" He said. 

The wise man was not troubled, but an idea came to him: "Boy, your words have given me inspiration! We need to have the ring evaluated by an expert, run to the jeweler and listen to his opinion." 

The boy walked to the village jeweler's shop, who after carefully examining the ring, said: "I cannot give you more than 58 coins. However, if your master was not in a hurry, I could evaluate the ring better and most likely arrive at 70 coins, but for the moment my offer is this." 

The young man could not believe the jeweler's words, so he ran back to the wise man to tell him everything. The sage listened to the boy's words, then concluded: "My dear boy, I hope you have learned something.You have the solution to the problem for which you came to me. As you saw at the market, no one understood the value of the ring because no one was an expert, but the ring has value and even a high one. In the same way, you should not pay attention to the judgment people make of you, people do not know your value, just like that of the ring. You, first of all, must believe in your own worth and you will see that it will be very easy for you to ignore the opinions of others."

The young man left, finally aware of his value and of the ring that the wise man gave him.

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