The Kind Octopus

There once was a kind octopus who played alone in a quiet cove. One day, a lonely shark swam by and saw the octopus. Happy to know he wasn't the only one in the ocean, the shark asked the octopus if she wanted to be his friend. Grateful to have company, the octopus excitedly agreed.

They played from dawn until dusk. It was the most fun she ever had. When the sun set, the shark realized how hungry he was. "I'm starving. I haven't eaten all day. Do you have anything I could eat?" The octopus hesitated. Looking at her eight legs, she figured she could spare one for him to eat.

There wasn't anything she couldn't do with seven legs that she could do with eight. Besides, it would regrow in a couple of months. She enjoyed playing with him today and wanted to play with him again. She didn’t want the shark to starve to death. She allowed the shark to eat one of her legs. It seemed like the kind thing to do.

The following day, the shark came by again, and they played from dawn until dusk. Again, when nightfall came, the shark became hungry and asked if the octopus had anything to eat. The octopus reasoned she was perfectly fine after giving him a leg to eat yesterday. She didn't want to lose her new friend by being inhospitable. She allowed him to eat another one of her legs.

Day after day, the octopus gave the shark another one of her legs to eat until eventually, she had only one leg left. Even with seven of her legs gone, she still enjoyed the company of the shark and had fun playing with him. On the eighth day, when the shark asked if she had anything he could eat, the octopus hesitated.

The octopus looked at her stubs where her legs used to be. In sadness, she firmly replied, "No. This is my last leg. I need this one to live. Why don't we try to look for food together?" However, over the week, the shark developed an appetite for her legs. In uncontrollable hunger, the shark attacked the octopus and ate her remaining leg. With seven of her legs gone, the octopus was no longer able to defend herself or swim away. It was no longer in her power to say no.

For her whole life, the octopus believed kindness meant giving selflessly. However, by allowing the shark to eat her legs, she had only taught the shark it was okay to feed on her. Reflecting on what happened, she learned that kindness without limits was self-negligence. She knew now kindness had to include herself. From that point forward, she stopped sacrificing who she was for the happiness of others. She decided her kindness would no longer come from self-sacrifice but from self-care. Soon, she found she could do more for others by being at her best than she could by always putting herself last.