Bear

This morning, in Dublin, I was conversing with a woman over breakfast. She had the loveliest Irish accent, and she posed me a provocative challenge, which she had apparently heard on a radio show. It seems that your answer to this challenge reveals a lot about what is currently going on in your life. Here is what she said:

“If you were walking along a road in a forest, and you were to come upon a bear, answer the following two questions: (1) Describe the bear, and (2) When you find yourself faced with the bear, what do you do?”

My immediate response was “I don’t know. What’s the answer?”

She would have none of this. “Oh no, you can’t get out of it that easily. You need to answer the questions.” I was so entranced by her lilting Irish accent that I accepted the challenge.

I thought about it for a bit, and then I gave my response.

“In answer to the first question,” I said, “it’s a teddy bear. In answer to the second question, I would pick it up and give it as a gift to a child.”

I was worried that she would think that I had somehow cheated. On the contrary, she was completely delighted by my reply. “It’s clear,” she said, “that you are leading an untroubled life.”

I was very happy to hear that.

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