# The Eskimo in the desert

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Joke
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-joke-eskimo-in-desert
- Themes: humour, fear of judgement
- Life situations: fear of judgement, needing a laugh

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

A man dying of thirst in the desert meets a real Eskimo with sled and huskies, and gasps with relief that he has been lost for days. The Eskimo replies: “And you think you're lost!”

## The story, as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)

There was a guy lost in the desert. He had been in the desert for a long time. And he couldn't walk anymore. He was crawling and he was parched, about to die. You know, when you get this very hot desert, you get delirious? So there he was crawling and he saw an Eskimo coming. You know, in a sled with huskies, the works. You know, with a big fur hat on. And he says, "This can't be true. This can't be true. An Eskimo in a desert?" But the Eskimo came right up to him. And he was real. He could touch him. It wasn't a fantasy at all. It was an Eskimo in the desert. And this guy said, "I'm so glad you're here. I'm so glad. I've been lost for days in in this desert." And the Eskimo said, "And you think you're lost!

## Teaching point

(Told to show he isn't afraid of groans: tell the joke and enjoy it.)

## Reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)

It's a groaner, and Ajahn Brahm knows it; he tells it with relish whether you laugh or not. Not needing everyone's approval is a quiet kind of freedom. When you stop fearing the groans, you stop over-controlling, and life flows more easily. Go on, tell your bad joke.

## Source

- [Letting Go of Fear | Ajahn Brahm | 22-05-2009](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7rFsrdtMM8) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 51:29 to 52:24: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7rFsrdtMM8&t=3089s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Decisions, Decisions, Decisions | Ajahn Brahm | 9 May 2008](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOJVD0Lh-ZU) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 20:56 to 23:11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOJVD0Lh-ZU&t=1256s