The Sun and the North Wind

Ever hear of Aesop's fable of the North Wind and the Sun? It goes like this:

One day, the mighty North Wind and the Sun had an argument over which of them was the stronger. While arguing, they spotted a traveller on the road below, and they came to an agreement: Whichever one of them could get the traveller to take off his cloak would be the stronger.

The North Wind went first. At first he blew softly, but then blew harder and harder still. But no matter how hard he blew, the man would not take off his cloak. Instead, he gripped his cloak ever more tightly. Finally the North Wind gave up. Then the Sun smiled gently upon the man, and, after a few minutes, the man took off his cloak.

I thought of this little story when I saw this. I knew the winds were about to blow. Father Z, to his credit, tried to quiet the winds with his own version of the fable.

If we are ever going to change people's hearts and minds, we need to smile more often, and try not to blow so much.