How the Porcupines Survived the Ice Age

Paulo Coelho tells the story about when the Ice Age came and porcupines had to find a way to survive.

At first they decided to group together to keep warm and protect one another.

Unfortunately, their spiky quills made it uncomfortable to stay in such close proximity, so they dispersed.

Of course, this left them exposed to the elements and they started to freeze to death until they realised that they needed to make a significant choice.

Stay apart and die, or tolerate and accept their fellow porcupines’ thorns and survive.

Wisely, they chose to stay together, knowing that the small wounds that they received from each other was worth it in the end.

We’re porcupines!

We are prickly and so often find a way to offend and take offense to those around us.

Sometimes, it can become so unbearable that we wish we could live in isolation, protected from the barbs of others.

Alas, we are created to be social beings and being left alone only decreases our standard of living.

The next time you are hurt by the prickly nature of one of your fellow porcupines, remember that you have spikes as well and can be just as challenging to live with.

Let’s learn to live with the sharp quills of others and hope and pray that those around us can learn to live with ours.