The Camel's Nose

A good lesson can be learned from the fable of the Camel's Nose:

One cold night, as an Arab sat in his tent, a camel gently thrust his nose under the flap and looked in. "Master," he said, "let me put my nose in your tent. It's cold and stormy out here." "By all means," said the Arab, "and welcome" as he turned over and went to sleep.

A little later the Arab awoke to find that the camel had not only put his nose in the tent but his head and neck also. The camel, who had been turning his head from side to side, said, "I will take but little more room if I place my forelegs within the tent. It is difficult standing out here." "Yes, you may put your forelegs within," said the Arab, moving a little to make room, for the tent was small.

Finally, the camel said, "May I not stand wholly inside? I keep the tent open by standing as I do." "Yes, yes," said the Arab. "Come wholly inside. Perhaps it will be better for both of us." So the camel crowded in. The Arab with difficulty in the crowded quarters again went to sleep. When he woke up the next time, he was outside in the cold and the camel had the tent to himself.

And to quote Boo Hewerdine (I've quoted him before...):

And you think by now I'd know
What a mess you make of me
You think by now that I would see
I'm a slow learner

And we always seem to start
At the beginning of the end
Some things are hard for me to understand
I'm a slow learner

Everybody knows
Everybody sees
I guess everybody's just smarter than me
Some things you just can't teach
A slow learner

And you think by now I'd try
To learn from my mistakes
My heart bends it just won't seem to break
I'm a slow learner

Everybody knows
Everybody sees
I guess everybody's just smarter than me
Some things you just can't teach
A slow learner

Ever feel that way?  Sometimes I do.