A Handful of Grain
A parable for the future
And so it is over. And here we are.
Things may or may not have turned out the way we hoped. Some of us may be celebrating. Some of us may be in grief, shock, rage or fear, considering what to do next. Some of us may be questioning what kind of country we live in. Some of us may be wondering what kind of world we will live in.
All of us should be asking what kind of people we want to be NOW.
Do we want to be people who give free reign to our anger, fear, despair, righteousness and hate or people who keep striving to be kind, generous, hopeful, and caring? Do we want to find ways to work together or continue to vilify and dehumanize those who don’t agree with us? Will we sit back on our laurels, gloating, or do we just want to throw our hands up, crawl under a rock and wait for it to end?
We have a choice. We are not victims of circumstance, but active agents in our own becoming.
Who do we want to become now? What world do we want to live in now?
A parable from the past for the future:
Many years ago in a land not so far away, there was a small, impoverished village where the people suffered under the yoke of a tyrannical bureaucrat. Barely getting by, the people cursed the heavens for their lot, and blamed the overlord for everything from not having enough food to the weather being poor. In their minds, he was responsible for whatever misfortune they had. They dreamed of the day the tyrant died, believing that all would be well once he was gone.
One day, the lord was out in his gardens when, out of nowhere, the skies opened up and a bolt of lightning struck the man, killing him instantly. The people of the village rejoiced! They threw big parties to celebrate their freedom, praised the heavens for intervening on their behalf, and were absolutely certain that now, everything would be perfect.
But the next day, they were still hungry. The rains came and fields were flooded. The villagers cursed the heavens again, and blamed the gods for their misfortune. Soon, they began to turn on one another, neighbor against neighbor, suspecting each other of all kinds of evil.
The days went by, and people grew hungrier and meaner, and still, they cursed they heavens, each other and their former overlord.
Then one day, a new bureaucrat came to the village. The people came to him and told them of their misery. He listened to their woes and promised to help them. Satisfied and hopeful, they all went home and waited for the good times to come.
But, they didn’t come. The people were still hungry. The weather was still bad. They cursed the heavens. They cursed their new governor. They cursed each other.
Finally, one old villager, a baker, called a meeting.
“Clearly, the new governor isn’t any better than the old one. He’s not as mean, but he’s not really going to change things, either. It’s going to be up to us to put aside our differences and work together to feed and care for ourselves. Here’s my proposal: if each of us donates a handful of grain, I will bake bread for the whole village.”
The people grumbled loudly.
“I’m not giving any grain to you! I need it for myself!”
“I’m not giving any grain to you to make bread for THOSE people.”
“I’m not giving any grain to you. I worked hard for it!”
But the old baker wasn’t going to give in. “If we don’t come together, pretty soon, none of us will have any food and we won’t have a village to live in. Is that what you want?”
The crowd got quiet. Then one woman rose and said, “I will give you some grain.”
Soon others joined. “Me, too! Me, too!”
By the end of the meeting, the baker had pledges for enough grain to bake bread for the whole village for a week.
And then new ideas starting coming in.
“I have some extra seeds. We can all plant more grain.”
“I have extra vegetable plants, and I am happy to share.”
“I am willing to watch the children so everyone can work in the fields.”
“I will share my tools and oxen.”
So, the people got to work. They planted more fields, built drainage and irrigation to weather the floods and storms, and repaired and built houses and shelters for the animals. They even got together to build a school and a clinic, and learned how to teach and cure. It wasn’t long before the village became prosperous. Everyone had food to eat and plenty to share. The people were happy and healthy and they stopped cursing the heavens or the overlord or each other. They realized that they had no one to blame but themselves if things were bad.
And every week, they gathered together for a feast, with many loaves of bread, to celebrate their good fortune, praise the heavens, give thanks for one another, and plan the next projects. Sometimes, they even invited their governor to join the celebration. Turns out, he wasn’t such a bad guy after all.
Regardless of what has happened or which side you are on, it’s time for us to stop blaming our overlords, the heavens or each other, or looking to them to save us. The future is not anyone else’s fault or responsibility. We are the only ones who can build the world we want to live in.
It’s up to us, now.
Are we willing to let go of whatever we are holding on to right now about our leaders, other people, the world, or even the Divine, and find a new way? Are we ready to imagine, and become, better?
We have to put aside our differences, put down our swords, come together, do what we can and work with one another for a future we can all believe in. It may not be easy, but we have to start somewhere, even if it’s just with a handful of grain.
Maybe we need a new meaning for the hashtag - #metoo
For some ideas of how we can become better people in a better world, check out my latest book, TEN WORDS: AN INTERSPIRITUAL GUIDE TO BECOMING BETTER PEOPLE IN A BETTER WORLD, available now from all your favorite booksellers.