Zen vs. Modern Life

"From craving, grief and fear are born; for the person who is free of craving, their is no grief or fear." -Author Unknown

This quote got me thinking. It appears to be true but I kept asking myself: If one lives without cravings what are they living for? Don't we live to satisfy our cravings??? I think I found the answer in the following Zen Story:

"A man who, fleeing a tiger, jumped over a cliff to escape, grabbed a vine and hung suspended from the side saw another tiger gazing hungrily up.
While the tiger pawed down at him, glancing below he saw another tiger gazing hungrily up.
In a moment of surrender, the man looked to a solitary flower growing from the cliff.
'Splendid!'" -Author Unknown

I know this sounds a bit strange for those who haven't read Zen before. But the point is that when the man had abandoned his fear, his craving to survive (because he accepted that he was doomed), then he saw the true beauty of the flower... We don't need cravings to appreciate life. In fact they appear to distort our perception from the truth to a constructed reality filled with cravings, fear, grief, "successes," false goals, and endless disappointment.

Now the question is: How do we attain the truth? How do we shed our cravings? I often think it is impossible given the influence our modern environment's exert on us. Instead I try to maintain a balance between being craving driven and grounded in truth. Not a glutton nor a Yogi. Still fear does play an unwanted role in my life.