There is a genre of writings that can be called consolation literature. I have a certain dislike for them. Of course great spiritual classics like Imitation of Christ too can be included in this group. But I am not referring to them. What I have in mind are books like Chicken Soup for Soul. I remember reading a chicken soup book recommended by a friend when I was in Colombo. It was shallow and insincere. To me it seemed the author was trying to make you believe that you can squeeze success out of life by tricking it. I remember having an argument with my daughter about it. She was enraged when I called it lollipop philosophy. The last such book that I read was Jeevitavijayam in Malayalam by Jose Panthaplanthodiyil, the former editor of Malayalam Daily Deepika. I found most of the familar flaws of such books in this one too and was not impressed at all. However, it contained this deeply insightful story. (I don't remember the author giving any source for the story.)
It is an exchange between a shepherd and a villager which went like this.
Villager: What distance does the sheep in your flock walk every day?
Shepherd: You are asking about the white sheep or the black sheep?
Villager: Well, take it to be the white sheep.
Shepherd: They walk about ten miles.
Villager: What about the black sheep?
Shepherd: They too cover the same distance.
Villager: How much water your sheep drink every day?
Shepherd: Which sheep you mean, white or black?
Villager: Well, let us say the white ones.
Shepherd: Each one of them drink about two litres.
Villager: What about the black sheep?
Shepherd: They too drink two litres.
The villager became curious. He wanted to know why the shepherd asked whether a question referred to the white or black sheep when it made no difference in the answer.
"Well, because the white sheep are mine", replied the shepherd.
"What about the black ones", asked the villager.
"Of course, they too are mine" was the shepherd's reply.
The shepherd suffered from the incorrigible habit of seeing reality in divisions and categories, ignoring even the most obvious strands of unity.
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