Once upon a time (yes!) there was a stone cutter. He found his life monotonous and was unhappy with his routine.
As he returned home from work one day, he passed a rich man's house. The gate was open and, curious, he peeked in. He could see the grand décor and noticed there was a party going on with affluent guests. Envious, he wondered how powerful the man must be.
He wished he was the merchant.
To his surprise, he suddenly became the merchant.
He now basked in the luxury and power. Naturally, now those who were not as wealthy as him were jealous of him.
In a little while, a VIP went past, carried in a sedan chair. He had an entourage of attendants and soldiers. No matter how rich, everyone had to bow before the procession.
Wow, how powerful this man is, thought our stone cutter. And he wished he were that VIP.
And no sooner than he wished that-he became the VIP! He was carried everywhere. People feared him. Being one of those hot summer days, he felt uncomfortable in the chair.
He gazed up at the sun which beat down from the sky.
You know what he did next - yep - seeing how powerful the sun was, he wished he was the sun.
Sure enough, he became the sun.
He shone down on everyone. He scorched the fields. The farmers were mad at him.
Then a massive black cloud came by and blocked him from the earth.
No prizes for guessing what happened next! Of course, he wished to be that cloud!
And so he was!
He showered down on the fields and villages. Naturally people got irritated. He carried on until he found he was being pushed by a stronger force. This was none other than the mighty wind!
Instantly, he wished he could be the wind.
He became the wind and played havoc on all around him, destroying houses, uprooting trees and generally being hated by all those who were unfortunate enough to cross his path.
But then nothing is permanent, and this situation was no exception. He came up against another resisting force greater than him and no matter how much he huffed and puffed, this was one house he could not blow down-for, this opponent turned out to be a rock!
And predictably, he wanted to be that rock!
He became the rock, supremely powerful.
Felt invincible.
Until a tiny sound reached his ears.
Chip chip chip...
Eh? He thought. What could that be?
What can be more powerful than me, the rock?
Then he looked down and, in the distance, down the slope, saw the figure of a stone cutter.
♥
I'd love to know what's your takeaway from the story.
Everything we seek is within us? Sometimes we go looking for happiness and realize it is already within us? Life's a full circle? Celebrate who we are?
Wednesday Wisdom is a series with short bursts of non-fattening, easy-to-consume wisdom in the form of stories, quotes, anecdotes, and humor.
