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The Second Arrow
“The Buddha once asked a student, “If a person is struck by an arrow, is it painful?” The student replied, “It is.”The Buddha then asked, “If the person is struck by a second arrow, is that even more painful?” The student replied again, “It is.” The Buddha then explained, “In life, we cannot always control the first arrow. However, the second arrow is our reaction to the first. The second arrow is optional.”
Eric describes the parable of the Second Arrow and how it to makes things worse.
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Stephane Rosenberg says
Hello Eric,
Thank you for this great podcast. It was my first time listening and my first time on your website. Unfortunately I was completely distracted by your logo: black wolf bad, white wolf good. Why? The tale doesn’t specify the bad wolf is the black one. The tale doesn’t specify any fur color. I find it so unfortunate as it echoes of strong and deep seated bias that assault people of color in this country, and around the world really. This complete lack of mindfulness is quite ironic on this site really. Too bad.
Best,
Stephane
Eric Zimmer says
Stephane,
Your point is taken. The logo was never intended to be a representation of racism or bias. It is more about light and darkness (this is a universal principle, that has nothing to do with human color). In addition they are wolves, not humans. Plus it is striking from a visual presentation (the goal of a logo).
However, we have been looking at alternatives because for some it triggers something negative and we do not want to contribute to anything that makes people feel worse.
Thanks for listening and thanks for your feedback.
Stephane says
Eric, thank you for taking the time to respond. I don’t mean to sound melodramatic, but the parable is for us to reflect upon as humans, so yes, they are wolves, and we draw lessons from that. I hope you find an alternative that will be both visually striking (vivid red – violence vs pale blue – peace, maybe?) and meaningful to you.
Best,
Stephane
Devina says
I completely agree with Stephane. That is the *first* thing I thought of when I saw the logo, and it made me very sad. I am glad that you are working on a new logo. I really hope you will get one. These negative archetypal images need to be mindfully purged away from our collective unconscious, especially by those of us who have the sense to choose differently for our own symbolic visual and aesthetic representations. Aesthetics are meaningful, and I definitely disagree with the symbolic clothing the podcast chose to wear. Yes, even a dark gray and a light gray would have had the same effect, I think.
Isabella says
Seems like it’s two years later and the logo remains the same. I agree that the logo immediately feels racialised to me and I’m a little shocked that three years later, in the current political climate, and given the content of this site, there has still been no change made. Or maybe I’m not really shocked. People are very willing to talk about this stuff and unwilling to consider their own complicity in it.
Eric Zimmer says
Hi…thanks for staying with this. The logo has now been changed.
KM says
Do more mini episodes—these are phenomenal. K
Eric Zimmer says
Thank you