The Taller and Mightier Horse

A Story on Comparison

There was once a young horse. This horse was always surrounded by other horses of different shapes and sizes. But his favourite was the horse that lived next door. Not only was the neighbouring horse tall, but he was also mighty. He would look at his neighbour with envy and walk away telling himself that one day, he too would grow up to be just like it.

Every day, the baby horse would always start his day walking up to his favourite horse, and then make rounds to visit the other horses down the path. And he would always end the round believing that one day, he will be taller, mightier and better.

But as the years went by, he soon realised that no matter how much he grew, the tall and mighty horse was always taller than him. There was no way he could outgrow his neighbour. Met by this brutal truth, the horse started feeling ashamed. He would have nightmares of his neighbour laughing at his puny size and would wake up in tears. In a bid to stop his nightmares from turning into reality, the horse would always crouch during his habitual walk, in hope that none of the other horses would notice how much smaller and tinier he was than his neighbour.

One night, the nightmares got worse. Not only did he wake up in tears, but he also could not go back to bed. He was so afraid of getting exposed by the other horses that he decided to avoid his neighbour once and for all. And for the first time in his life, he took another path.

As he walked further on, he noticed a horse standing far away. It was the smallest and tiniest horse he has ever seen, almost half his size. The horse was elated. He finally was taller and mightier than someone else. No longer did he feel inferior to his neighbour, for there was another horse that was inferior to him. For the first time in a long while, the horse could finally walk around without crouching, with his head held up high. Now, he was the taller and mightier horse. The days went by and he never walked his old path again. The new path, he told himself, was the path that brought him content and confidence. The nightmares never haunted him again.

One faithful night, the horse leapt up from his sleep and sensed danger. The ground he slept on started to shake. Afraid that his home will collapse, he galloped away for safety. He galloped and galloped, but it was so dark, he would run into things he could not see. In one instance, he crashed into something so hard, he fumbled. Pain coursed through his body as he fell but he stood back up again. He could make it, he told himself, for he is now the taller and mightier horse.

Soon enough, the floors stopped shaking but in fear that it might start shaking again, he thought he would stay here instead of going back to his shelter, for it might have collapsed. He paced around to look for a place to rest for the night, but things on the ground would prick his hooves. It must have fallen and broken in the earthquake he thought. He eventually found a place without pricks on the floor and decided to rest there for the night. The night went on and the ground never shook again. The horse fell into a deep sleep.

Just like any other morning, the horse arose. Except for this time, he woke up feeling proud of his escape from the night before. He looked around to get his bearings right and surprisingly, found himself somewhere along his new walking route. Worry swept over him as he realised that the smaller and tinier horse could be in danger. If a taller and mightier horse like him found it hard to escape, what of the other horse? Despite his legs aching from the night before, he braved through the pain to look for the other horse. He had to, as he was the better horse.

As he galloped toward the destination, his heart sank. He saw no small horse from afar and it was probably too late. He galloped up to the place where he always found the smaller and tinier horse and surprisingly, in its place, he saw mirror shards instead. He then looked around and realised that all the other horses too had disappeared overnight and in their position laid mirror shards as well. He was living in a mirror illusion all along.

Tall, Mighty, Small, Tiny. Words that are technically neutral but somehow, some seem better than others. I wrote this story to illustrate the inner demon that I always struggle with: Comparison. Comparing myself with others often gets me feeling better or worse than other people. It never ends well. Countless nights I have pondered why I struggle to contain it, but interestingly, yesterday midnight, I made a discovery.

Just like the taller and mightier horse, the smaller and tinier horse, they are all an illusion that we project on others. For at the end of the day, none of these illusions are real and the only truth that we can know for sure is who we are as an individual. The journey to escape inferiority and superiority can only begin if we recognise that the root of this evil is the illusion that we cast upon others. And we can only truly free ourselves from it when we realise that these illusions are not real.