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.
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