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  "description": "Do we all have ‘scorpion nature’ and if so, what can we do about it? 🦂",
  "path": "/the-enlightened-scorpion/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-03-13T07:00:45.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gilespcroft.com",
  "tags": [
    "as early as 200BC",
    "all our behaviours lie downstream of our relationship to thought",
    "may not get to choose",
    "evolving our species",
    "Behaviour stems from beliefThe fact it happens is obvious. The implications… less so 🤓The Daily RemindersGiles P Croft"
  ],
  "textContent": "Me and the child were larking about on the sofa last night— _“Close your eyes!”_ she pleads, _“I promise I won't…”_ do x, y or z to me in my vulnerable state, and this prompted a telling of the scorpion and the frog parable.\n\nIf you haven't heard it, it goes like this:\n\nA scorpion wants to cross the river but can't swim. It asks a frog to take it over, on its back. The frog replies,\n\n> _“No way – you'll sting me and I'll die!”_ to which the scorpion responds,\n\n> _“Don't be daft, why would I do that?! I'll drown, if you die!”_\n\nThe frog thinks about this, sees the logic, and agrees.\n\nHalf way across, the scorpion stings the frog nonetheless, and as they're both sinking, the frog asks the scorpion why it did this, to which the dying scorpion replies,\n\n> _“I couldn't help it. It's in my nature.”_\n\n🦂 🐸 💦 🪦\n\nIt's been a long time since I've recalled that, and as I was telling it to my daughter, I was half wondering if there was something _more_ to it than this; whether I'd forgotten part of it, because it all just sounded a bit bleak, really.\n\nWhat are we supposed to learn from _that?!_\n\n(Incidentally, some form of this parable has apparently been shared among humans from as early as 200BC, so it's got legs!)\n\nOn the surface of things, it sounds to be a **warning of sorts,** i.e. some people will not respond to logic and reason, but are instead driven _entirely_ by their base instincts, even if it's to their own detriment.\n\n_[Checks Twitter… umm, Yep.]_\n\n😂\n\n## Reactive vs. Responsive\n\nBut before the Reader Ego Construct 📦 starts getting all holier-than-thou, what if there's a deeper meaning to it – one that's kept this fable alive for centuries?\n\nWhat if **we all have ‘scorpion nature’** within us: our conditioned beliefs / the content of our Thought Systems / ego?\n\nAnd we can be _unconscious_ of this, going through life ‘stinging’ others, innocently enough, never really questioning our ‘nature’ and feeling like we don't have a choice as to how we behave. **Reacting.**\n\nOr we can at the very least be _aware_ of how ego will run the show if it goes unquestioned or unchecked.\n\nIt is perfectly possible to _see_ that all our behaviours lie downstream of our relationship to thought, i.e. how attached we are to it in each given moment, and how beholden to ego's needs we are.\n\n_Knowing_ this is half the battle, for while we may not get to choose our behaviours, just being aware that at some point in the process **options _are_ on the table**… allows the mind-body to _express_ those different options, through the medium of wisdom and common sense. **Responding.**\n\nSomewhere, there's a scorpion sat on a frog's back, _not_ stinging it.\n\nNot because it knuckled down and overcame the urge, but because it didn't make sense for the urge to manifest like that in the first place.\n\n💟\n\nGiles\n\np.s. A trait that would likely be selected for, from an evolutionary perspective. So if you're reading this, well done you for evolving our species! 😉😆\n\n### Related\n\nBehaviour stems from beliefThe fact it happens is obvious. The implications… less so 🤓The Daily RemindersGiles P Croft\n\nDon't take my word for it – get your own evidence!",
  "title": "The enlightened scorpion",
  "updatedAt": "2026-03-31T10:14:45.376Z"
}