May our journeys be shared, and may life be one.

Two people meet each other on a single track road.  The person heading west knows that her destination is a mile ahead.  The person heading east knows that his destination is a mile ahead in the opposite direction.  The two sit in their cars staring at the other; each desiring to preserve their individual ways of life, each hoping that none of what has already been gained on the journey will be lost.  What will happen if one were to back-up to a lay-by or side drive?  Would his journey lose ground?  Would life go on, or would it come to an end?

Similarly, we might consider the farmer, who growing his grain, was afraid to cut it.  After all, the grain is growing, the field is producing grain, and if you cut it, the field will cease producing of this harvest; the farmer will lose the very thing he is there to produce.  What shall the farmer do, shall he cut his grain, or shall he keep it?  If he loses his grain, will he lose his livelihood?

Obviously, this is a ridiculous proposition, because the purpose of farming is to cut your grain that the people of this world might have food to eat.  If a farmer did not give up his grain, or his cattle, or whatever crop or animal is his source of livelihood, then the world would go hungry, and the farmer’s purpose would never be met.

Just as the farmer must share his crops (give up his crops) that others may live, so when we drive down a road on a daily journey, we realize that the road we drive down is a shared way.  If progress is to be made then we must give way to one another, we must share what we so easily view as ours, otherwise neither of us moves from our track, then no progress will be made by anyone either behind or ahead.

Just as what makes a farmer a farmer is that the farmer produces a product for the livelihood of others, so, we share the road, because if we each held onto our piece of road, as if the piece of road makes us who we are, no-one would get anywhere.

As we have been celebrating harvest festivals across the country, let us remember that our lives are best lived when our lives are shared with others; life given by one for the sake of another.  Living a life that is not shared or given for others is no life at all, but more like single track road leading nowhere.