So true of mankind today…

A neat analogy…

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, “Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.”

The Lord led the holy man to two doors.

He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man’s mouth water.

The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms, and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful. But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.

The Lord said, “You have seen Hell.”

They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man’s mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.

The holy man said, “I don’t understand.”

“It is simple,” said the Lord. “It requires but one skill. You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.”

In life, many times we see two persons in similar circumstances having different lives — one may be content and the other may be miserable. What are the factors that make their lives so different from each other even though their circumstances are similar?  The one who is miserable has a negative mindset, refuses to accept his circumstances and constantly keeps cribbing and complaining about it, instead of dealing with it and moving on with life. On the other hand, the one who is content, has accepted his circumstances with a positive attitude and has learnt to deal with it effectively without any complaints. 

Most of us  are selfish — some less, some more. Very few in this world act selflessly. We can’t live in isolation. We live in a society and therefore, we need to help each other to survive. We should rise above our selfishness and greed.

An old man, in his nineties, was planting a mango tree. A youngster who was passing by asked him, “Will you live long enough to eat the fruit of this tree?”

The old man answered, “All my life I ate mangoes from the trees planted by others. Now at the near end of my life I am planting this tree so that others may enjoy its fruits.      

We should always remember to share our spoon with others.